TALKS ON THE SHOWGROUND.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 125, 19 February 1908, Page 3

TALKS ON THE SHOWGROUND.

' WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY. .' THE LINCOLN'S. ' _Mr, Georgo Dingwall, 'who was judging Lincolri 'sheep, has riot be'eii a ; visitor . to a Masterton Show : for many years. ' Speaking of tho exhibit a--whole, compared'with the time/he was last in the district,-,he statedthat 5t seemed to him that the constitution of the !animals had improved. He might be wrong, lie said, but there seemed to be a fault. Then ends of the wool did riot show tho' "good old-square block tip" of years ago, but were fine and drawn out.-The result. Avas much waste- when the Avool went oil to. tho, loom, because these ends wero invariably cut off. Mr/ Dirigwall' thought that 'the'position might well be studied by Wairarapa breeders. ' . Referring to • the' Lincoln exhibits individually,-the judge: thought that Mr. ; Bland Rayner's ch'ariipion. ram, bred by. Mr. W- H. Wyhourne, was. an animal of excellent constitution. It might "riot, cut quite " so; much wool, ; but' constitution was what' was wanted, '-something that -would live. -Mr. W. Perry's champion ewe- was typical in every, sense ,a splendid, animal; Regarding ; .the other .animals, the j.udge thought.Mr. Perry!s aged ram was not quite up to. the - standard, but both Messrs. Bland Rayrier's and W. Perry's other rams were 'good - -sheep)-'.while- Mr. Perry's four-tooth ewes; .were fit ■ for any show • ground : in the Dominion. - ; FARMERS' .SHEEP CLASSES. ~ ' Mr.. Andrews, who was judging .these classes, said, that although the /entry was large,' it was difficult to' say much -'about it-.'-The - sheep were all mixed breeds, crosses in Lincolns, Romn'eys,. and English Leicesters,. "and, few men., .were .conversant; individually with, the. qualifications ofi each breed., ' Linf. coins,.-and; Romneys!..sepiTied; to .score" best. The sheep*.were .generally ,of. gpodiVquality-,' and wer'e : no doubt.excellent in tlicif class.; ,He .was not. .disposed to say deal about the quality, of-the'wool, but 1 the bodies showed strong constitutions. ;,v " >.horses. • i ~ .' Reporting on-the thoroughbreds generally, Mr. E. 'D. O'Rorko, referred to Porirua,'the champion/stallion, as*a very nice horse, and, spoke most .favourably ofMr. .Q. ;F.;,-vVal-:lance's / champion-.; mare, v • The foal}' at-',foot. was' alk> a good;one..;,Sir.' AV.,D.-/ Watson's yearling l colt, which was awarded .first prize in .itsiclass, ; -was-stated-.,t0- be -a- very, active animal,-6f excellent bone,/.with- good ,should-, ers; Lord Yanderbilt, the .trotting, stallion which, beat Wicklow and Boston, ,was, ..in Mr. O'Rorke's opinion, a very-nice; active liorse,-; with.-j excellent;'action.. -Young King Colo and 'Mustard,;- first and .. second respectively uil' the' qntire -pony ;.qla.ss,;-xere . "both nice,""-Young-" King: Cole being;-". ;a - capital nioveri'iiiiiGony'.vmarcs ; -.:wfice;.:a:i:gooclr;vclass.; Approvai'-was expressed/' of B. Liddington's ;Topsy;- awardcd--first, fynd ,the very- excellentqualities .of; the -mares up to 13. hands.;, Mrs. • W. - B.';;Chonncll's Julie, /which beat two others, had a' l hard fight, the 'judge ,Temark-irig".that-'.it 'was'- hard to' -part--them 1 . -In-' the-l 'hack 'classes - judged;' Dagg Brothers'-; yearling .filly'' was 1 described' as i "capital;" -arid' : Mr; »ii. T. Morcdith's -Comus-.was ''"very nico;" -■■■■ •' ■' '- -;•••/ ■: THE DAIRY CATTLE. . . Th'ero' were only a few eiitries" iirHolsteiri and Ayrshire, and-one'section'bf ,the dairy cattle'.': 1 Mr'.' S." W/ Luxford, of' Palmerston .North;who;'was''judging ;tho Holstein-Fries--iau's,. stated.''that it'iva3"curious' .that- the treed 1 did not appear to be taking-oil in'the Wairarapa. Possibly ' the ; "caiise might '''be' of a'-'Dalefield - farmer,/ who .w'as gor'ed tp'death, by a. Holsteiri bull sonieyearb ago, but the breed was undoubtedly n good one for 'dairying''purposes';; Mr. Luxford expressed /some concern.' about the sirialliiess; of.' the' Ayrshire exhibit,' ■ although tho /'animals shown'Vere of good quality. ;'Thefe'.>vas .no doubt, said' Mr. .Luxford, that iAyrshifes'wei-e good dfiiry 1 ' cattle,' liut_ the -fashion' at/.thd' ; present time seemed to'place them in a back position. Some'farmers; I had' 'a grievance' against Ayrshires on" account of . the small•rioss of the., teats,, but- .this .difficulty .was .likely , to be- obviated'now that the- milkingmachines were, coming . into general use. It would be found that the Ayrshire ; was as good a dairy -anim'al.- as^ajiy.:>., Tliijjr: -possessed excellent constitution and could li.ve on anything. ; ; .. .FAT CATTir '■ Tho judges stated that;in their opinion' the, fat cattle classes wero the strongest ever seen 'on a show ground in the!Dominion...-A- great many exhibits which did not get a place 'wouldjhave been 7 awarded'first on' almost'any "show grounds/-' - -. - "'/.- ' , / ; jerseys. •, . The Jerseys generally; considered to bo as good a class as on the Masterton grounds. Mr. W. ,M. Tapp, of Onehuriga,' who was ' stated . that "although the exhibit was not so strong numerically. as'those seen, at, the ManawatU; and Hawera shows, the quality,.,was possibly ' as good as any. Surprise was expressed by tho judge that-.there was not-;more competition in the aged bull class.- Thero was only one entry in one class and none in two others. Farmers should encourage the showing of aged bulls, because by that moans they .kept animals which had been- tried, and proved. At the. present, time'thero was too great an inclination on the ■part of .Now Zealand farmers to rush for young blood for their stock, unmindful of what the result might be if tho. animals turned out. unsatisfactory. Something more than pedigree was wanted—prepotent qualities, for instance. By keeping a .bull for a few .-years tho farmer would bo quite sure'as to its capabilities as a sire. .If-a hull-'could not breed something as good or rather better' than' himself, he was not fit to keep. "I would like to see tho various A. and P."Associations institute a; class comprising; aged bulls- and their daughters in milk,'' said Mr. Tapp,,; "Then wo should know what they were, doing. This is no now idea, I might say. It'is followed in Amorica and Jersey, and wo. could .very well adopt -a similar procedure. So far as cows-, aro concerned there is nothing' like tho bucket and scales to .let the' farmer know how his , herd is. progressing." : Referring 1 .again '..to. the quality of tho Jersey exhibit at to-da.y!s show,-'Mr.-';Tapp thought very,' highly.of Mr. Paul Hunter's yearling, which was awarded the championship, although lie was agairist : giving'preference to such youthfur stock. However, lie said. thero was nothing else for him to do with such an absence of competition.'. In. the cow.class, Messrs. W. H. and A. animal, which carried 'off the chamuionsliin, was a typical beast; Mr. Paul' Hunter's aiiimar in the'samo class-was a good.-second. "I If farmers could always obtain cows'liko"those just, mentioned, they' would havo nothing to fear. These were tho cows which really looked like milk. The heifers were very good, and there were three very nico. yearlings, but ono could hardly tell what they would come to.' ■ / SHORTHORNS. "The Shorthorn exhibit," said the judgo (Mr.-P.'A.' M'Harcly, of Palmerston 'North), "was much about tho "same as that seen in

previous years. .The classes were well filled. There has been no deterioration in tho breed • judging by the animals shown. In fact, they all look especially well. I put this down to tho dry season, "wlieiv stock aro ; usually better fed and better looked after than when pastures arc luxuriant. If I wero to make any special selection regarding tho whole entry it would bo in favour of Mr. M'Mastors's imported bull, Silver King. Ho is a really : typical animal; well-filled, and stands liko a Southdown ram. Yes. Shorthorns will givo you good milkers provided . there is not too much fattening. Dairy farmers, however, do not seem to,'givo.!thematter much attention. They will cross a cow with anything.' MOUNTED INFANTRY COMPETITION. Sergeant-Major Burr, the judge, of.-tho mounted infantry competition, said that.with the exception of the display by tho winners, Sergeant Ranly's scction, the exhibition was poor. LEAPING. ; -Mr. E. D. O'Rorke, the judge of the leaping, was well satisfied with-, tho jumping. Speaking with reference to the jumpnig iur . the Buick Memorial Challenge Cup, won by ; Mr. W.' Strangc's' Caroline, Mr. O'Rorke said the jumping was' splendid, there being only one point of difference after the three rounds. There were some of the horses, however, which might have been better schooled. ■ In the maiden jumping, won by Mon'a," Mr. O'Rorke said the exhibition "was most creditable. Mona, Caroline, Carpenter, and Robin were hard to separate, and the others in the class also jumped very"well.. Mr. J. Lawrence's Stockings, winner in one of tho pony jumping events, went well, arid was; well ridden, while Mr. Donald Grant's winner in another section was, said Mr. O'Rorke, a beautiful juniper. FINEST SHEEP IN THE NORTH ISLAND. The sheep judges declare the entire exhibit of sheep; .to be.''.the finest seen: on any;-show grounds ;-in'the- North'. Island. / The- principal flock owners of tho Island were competing. SHEEP DYING ;OF; THIRST. , ' The drought is'at-present most severe on the East Coast of the Wairarapa. Proof of this was a statement made by >a prominent . sheep farmer that, owing to scarcity of water, many shoep on tho march from the back of To Wharau had died of thirst and exhaustion. THE NEW SHOWGROUND. -AN ATTRACTIVE SCHEME. DETAILS OF THE PROPOSAL; - The proposal to soli tho Masterton, showground , and purchase a larger ground | adjoining tho railway lino is ■ now at an interesting stage. Tho. Committco has . already favourably reported on the scheme, and a meeting is to be hold on February 29 to tako the decision of tho" members. THE PRESIDENT FAVOURS THE' , SCHEME. . . Mr. J. D. Cruicksliarik, president of tho Masterton A. and ,P. Association, - discussing the.proposal with'a Dominion representative, said the proposed new site—part of tho Solway Estate —had an area of 95 acres. It adjoined the Kuripuni, railway, station, and had a railway siding on ono sido and tho main road;to Carterton on the other. Tho portion abutting on tho railway.will be used for paddocking, and tho road frontage for the show ground and buildings. There is a natural terrace and lovely Native ' bush at the back. The land belonged to a syndicate of Wairarapa gentlemen, who proposed to retain the homestead of about 70 acres, and offered the society tho balance at practically .cost price.. It was ostimated that tlioj price ; .of the now site of 95 '<'acrcs>woukl..bo.- nb'j greater than the selling valuo of the present show ground' of 34i acres. Tho present ground would bo readily bought up for building purposes,, at a total prjco,'. of about £8000. Five acrc3 along'the railway siding, to give railway access to the Solway Estato, cost £700. , •• ■ '• ; As to the advantages ,of tho change, Mr./ Cruickshank said that, "though"'the new site . .was a little farthor' from tho town of Masterton, the importance to exhibitors, of being" able to get their stock. .dircgt, from tho . railway truck to tlie "sliow' groVufd;' was' very 'great, saving, as it would, much cost ; and inconvenience, and attracting many moro , ontrios. Many of tho peoplo south of Carterton would become exhibitors at Masterton in preference to Carterton, if it wero not for ,thc distance from tho railway lino. The'syndicate owning the property were keen supporters of the A. and and wore offering the estate at a. lo\v figure'to help along the change." LAND VALUES RISING. , /"Land values, around .the. .pr.cs.ent- showground," said a' Masterton farmer, " havo multiplied several times over during the la at -fow years. - u-The- showgrop.d-was. bought, about fivo or six years ago at*£3o ail acre,, arid two or.throo years afterwards a fow acres adjoining wero bought for £120 an ,adro. To-day tho land would fetch over '£200 an acre." • : BUSINESS MEN OBJECT. / ' "Among some of " the Masterton business men;.tho opinion is-expressed-that the'.-re-moval.of .the, grounds-to; the proposed new site will militate against the interests of the town." Mr. D. Donald stated t-o a Dominion representative that he thought that the idea of shifting from tho present position was shortsight«l. : ' ''Biero there has beeri fitted up an ~excellent showground, .of which the pooplo are justly portid:' - If tlie showgrounds are shifted the saleyards will follow,. ' and Masterton .as a business centre will be partly dead." It was suggested to • Mr., Donald that Masterton might; benefit in .other ways by the new. showgrounds', which would give increased- importance.,to a most; flourishing centre.", /Mr. 'Donald, , howev.er,'views " the. position most pessimistically. , "/- NEW 'SITE INSPECTED. - ' ' - To-morrow morning, at 8.30' o'clock, a special party of Masterton A. • and P. Com.mittocmon and other gentlemen interested in .the question of the nbw showground will visit the'Solway Estate'for inspection. ..