Warmer weather brings large crowds to show

Press, 10 November 1978, Page 10

Warmer weather brings large crowds to show

W armer weather and larger crowds marked thi second day of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastora Association’s show yesterday .

The Addingion Showgrounds came ;u life with much larger crowds than on the previous day Exhibits a id sideshows which had not b ,j en open or finished on Wednesday were ready yesterday. Gate takings were 813.644 —well down on last year’s\ tally of $16,274. However,! according to the A. and P. Association’s secretary-! manager (Mr T. M. Maskew),' this was to be expected because last year was a Royal! show. “In the year following a Royal show you always expect your takings to drop.’’ he said. Accordingly, he was well satisfied with the attendance. “We hope it will in some way make up for the loss we made in 1976 —$17,000 odd.” However. Mr Maskew said that he was “not going to count our chickens before they hatch,” and would not predict whether the association would make money this year. Activity in the showgrounds themselves was noticeably more bustling The members grandstand was tilled for the first time, as the cattle parade began in the early afternoon. Long Jines of cattle filed down each side of the ring, led by the St Andrew's College Pipe Band. Hereford bulls led the parade, to mark Waratah Battler’s win of the Meat and Wool Cup the previous day. Behind them came beast after beast — tons and tons of cattle flesh — until the main ring was packed with hundreds of the enormous! animals. Down the middle pranced equally enormous animals — the Clydesdales, decked out in their finery for the spectators' benefit. In addition to such common cattle breeds as Friesian, Hereford, Angus, and Jersey, some relatively rare types paraded the ring. The new Maine Anjou breed was represented by a single bull, and two Brown Swiss-cross dairy cows appeared. The parade was followed

by a “musical drive” in which 16 gigs belonging to Canterbury Harness Horse and Pony Society members displayed precision driving. Canterbury Court was the venue for numerous exhibits. Especially popular was the Wool Board’s stand, where! two shearing instructors dis-! played their skills before: dozens of wide-eyed youngs-! ters. Another stand which at- ] tracted large numbers of ] children featured a nail-i ] making machine. In one end! i ! of it ran an unbroken line of wire while dozens of nails /were simultaneously spat out i|at the other. But it was the “sheep-for-meat” auction which drew : the most attention from their ; parents. ’ Live sheep were individuLallv displayed and knocked > down to the highest bidder • for prices between $lO and l $l5. At no further expense ■ the animals will subse- > quently be slaughtered and returned within a few days -to their new owners in > freezer-sized packs. Those whose budgetI mindedness outweighed their ■ squeamishness could get a i bargain. However, at least one buyer was overheard to I tell his wife: “Don’t tell the , kids what’s going on, or ■ we'll never get them to eat I: it.” Many women were drawn ' to the home industries hall, j where the results of hours i o f labour at all manner of hubbies and crafts were on i’display. II Fruit cakes and hand-knit-i ted ierseys were among the 11 products lining shelves in lone part of the hall. Behind ’ a strategically-placed screen of wire-netting nearbv stood row upon row of entries in the home-made wine competition — blackcurrant, raspberry, gooseberry. apple and orange, grapefruit, and dozens of other exotic varieties. Throughout the pavilion women were busy. One sat 'atting. while ai her right ha: -' another was wood-car-ving. Still others were handspinning wool, weaving rugs,

sewing, or potting with claw While the wives examined the homecrafts, their husbands might have studied the machinery exhibits. Attracting particular attention from farmers was the “farm inventions” sec-, tion. The principal winner' was Mr R. Ross-Smith, whose small hand-built four-wheel-drive tractor was de-' signed to remove manure from his Rangiora poultry] ■ sheds. i Other esoteric devices like ’ a “lamb-tailing trough slide” : and “carrier reel for mobile ;! irrigator hose ‘loop lifter’,” ’also drew attention. A large area was occupied! ■ by the commercially built! ' farm machinery Tractors of ■ e ery conceivable size and shape stood alongside comb i n e-harvesters. seeders. I ’ d’-c-harrows. and other pieces of equipment with, functions incomprehensible to the city-bred. As varied as each piece of equipment were the brandnames. and the claims made for them by their manufacturers. Interest was noticeably ’stronger in these functional agricultural machines than’ their sleek neighbours — the i cars. Many a gleaming veil hide stoor’ ignored while: {farmers crawled over and ■ around an ugly farm implejment nearby. i Several smiles were raised I , by a sign outside the tent in! : which Booroola sheep were ’ housed These relatively i little-known animals are of particularly high fertility, ■ and ar» described as “one of i the world’s most fertile sheep.” Cross-breeding with I’New Zealand’s native sheep i’is advocated to increase I lambing percentages. i The sign which caused ■ amusement read: “See what . a tip top tup can do for you.” I The missing children’s’ stand, run by the League of Mothers had a quiet day' compared with Wednesday, when the showgrounds were packed with schoolchildren. However, today was expected to provide much bet-, ter business.