HIGH GRADE VERSUS PROFIT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 234, 26 June 1908, Page 5

HIGH GRADE VERSUS PROFIT.

Palmersiorr North, Juno 25.

The public aro patronising the National Dairy Show in great numbers. To-day; and So-morrow, and even yesterday, can be called People's Days. The weather has been showery; in the mornings, with clear skies in tho afternoons and ovenings, and tho mud of tho \ streets; has been' the ' only disadvantage. Greatest' interest has been shown in the Agri- • cultural, Department's display, the mai chinerjY; and the great cheeso. , Half of the great cheese had been sold up to .to-day, the ficklo chanco of getting some of . tho buried gold and silver coins proving a greater .temptation than weak natures could resist. The fact that the coins aro invisible does not seem to deter a credulous, enterprising public from ".putting a bit on." No absolute proof was forthcoming that tho reputed £15 worth of coins really existed in tho choese, but all officials who were appealed to for convincing evidence ->on thowint showed- themselves greatly shocked that such a ■ mercenary doubt should be raised. Tho cheese, which was three times the size of the' big drum in a brass-'band, and half a ton in weight, occupied ,v place on top of a plat-form,';, where .nobody, but the man who did the' cutting could see the . sparkle of the coins, as they peeped forth (presumably) in tho substance of the Ngaire Factory's best' quality cheese, or hear themgrate musically on tho edge of tho knife. : These pleasures wero for Mr. Pringle alone — tho man. with the knife. This steward is- a pushing gentleman, and the crowd around him' has beon generally substantial. Some are there to speculate, others to; watch re- ■ suits and laugh when the investment brings forth nothing but cheese. Cheese for a Shilling. ."This isn't a shilling's worth'of cheeso," shouts one, as a small triangular lump concealed in a paper wrapping is handed to him. We're not selling you a shilling's worth - of cheese,'.' retorts the ready salesman, "but a piece. of cheese for a shilling, which is quite different." : . . Then the crowd laughs, for it is good--humoured. Show crowds are always good- . humoured. . - What did you get? shouts somobody . toward a delighted party in another corner. '' " A threepenny bit," is the answer, and his countenance assumes the glow of a' . victor under the admiring gaze of a crowd. Ho has got a threepenny piece and a third of a pound of cheese, worth" threepence., and ho has paid a shilling for it. But the joy of having won a prize/wipes out the debit balance, and he is a happy man. He will probably bore a hole in thei coin, and hang it to a watch-chain, for. luck or convert it into a gilded brooch: for his sweetheart. "A. schoolboy ( got half a sovereign in ' a piece yesterday," says one anxious to push tho : business.

"I bought fives pieces yesterday, and got nothing," says another mournfully—angrily. A Gilt-Edge; Packet,' r-"Here;is-a half-sovereign in this piece," says- the salesman, lifting up a newly-cut lump to'show the gold. , _ "I'll take it," says a greedy, wit, tendering \a shilling. ■■ ",No,ffyou don't," says the,man on top; "not yet." And he wraps it up in paper ind adds it to a bundle, of other-similar-, packriges which he mixes vigorously. It is futile to attempt to keep trace of the " gilt-edged " package in this process. It is fiopelessly Viuixed-.'- <; Even' the' purchase of 'tho whole heap .won't pay, for there are twenty packages there, and they, would cost twenty shillings—three' shillings ' a pound tor the chefcse and : nothing for the coins. • Half a ton of cheese contains 1120 pounds «e:pht— 3360.-packages,,' at a shilling—£-12 worth of cheese and.£ls worth of buried coins, all for £168. On theso figures one can confidently predict that the National Show of 1908 \vill be -a , tremendous financial success. It ought to yield a profit of 200 per cent. In the Machinery Hall. v i;-. ■ i Many small, crowds choke'the footways in the '• hall ; watching /the novel: features in : ;this-scene of life. ,Belts travel without cessation, engines large and small pop and _ throb and thump and hiss and whistle in a great' discordant ' chorus.' Farmers take away pamphlets describing the qualities of various goods, 'and hovel devices attract .the attention of others. There is a bicycle;wheel • at.' one'-' spot which you are invited to spin Tound. ' A distance l register is attached, and .you write on a card free of charge a guess as. to the distance the wheel will travel during: the ishow. If you win you get a cream' separator. 1 There are\ a few motor-cars on exhibition outside, but not. such an array as is seen'at the "summ'or show. Apparently motor-cars and winter go.'ill together.' A big farmer's, motor dray, which professes to travel fifty miles an/hour on the'roatf, absolutely refused to travel on the . wet grass of . the' .showground, the rubber wheels skidding with tantalising: persistency. A merry-go-round provides gaiety at nights, but is silent by day. Gaiety' at this' winter show, however, is not a strong featuro. It is"a show for hard, stern business. Tho point of chief • interest to-day was the arrival of.Mr. Cuddie, 'dairy commissioner, after his European and American. tour,., and his address: to, dairy people in tho afternoon.', There'were many probloms of great' urgency, which farmers wanted him to dc-al with. ,

Motes. i . This afternoon there lias been continuous 1 Tain, and visitors to tho show congregated chiefly in the sheds, even the football match failing to drag them into tho open air. The sheds were consequently packed with peoplo. There was a visit of country school children during'the day, estimated to number about five' hundred. ; Tho town children 1 will bo pre- ■ sent'to-morrow. Mr. Brown, assistant poultry expert, gave, a demonstration of force .feeding of fowls in the presence of a large crowd of interestedonlookers. 110 operated on tho fowls at tho rate of six birds a 'minute,' and apparently the birds enjoyed, the .experience. Mr. H.vde (chief expert) stated subsequently that 250 fowls could he put through 111 an hour, and in twenty days a fowl was fat enough for the trade. ' , • Mr. Kirk, Government biologist, addressed tho school children on modes of mounting spc-cimons of insects and plants, and Mr. Gehbie, of'Tc Roti; addressed them on farmroots. • •'

INTERESTING MATTERS DISCUSSED.

(BY TELEGIIArH—FROM OTJK. SPECIAL. REPORTERS.)