HASTINGS SHOW.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 334, 22 October 1908, Page 4

HASTINGS SHOW.

YESTERDAY'S OPENING. , THE LAND OP THE BIG, SQUATTER. "• .(FROM,OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.) , ' Hastings,'Octobor 21. The.; Hawko's Bay Show'at Hastings opens to-day. By tho time that these notes meet tho eyo of Dominion readers-the great fights between historic animals will bo finished, and . champion ribbons will be hanging gracefully from tho necks of the winners. But at the .time theso notes aro being penned that stage • has not yet come. It is a stage of anticipa- ; v tion—a time of foregathering—an hour when ; .crowded trains are labouring from fast and west to tho show. ' '■ .The Newly Poor. • V This show is a great event in the* year's -round, just as Hawko's Bay is.a great pro- . vince.-; Tho squatters hero are great'men, '. and ricli—or wore so till the slump in wool. Perhaps they must now bo reckoned among • the newly poor. However, they carry poverty v with dignity, and light hearts, for. Hawke's ' i-Bay is still a land that'floweth with tho dusts of motor cars. They aro to be seen 'scurrying along the.clqan white roads by tho railway 'side, .racing the train to put passengers aboard at some station ahead. Current gossip has it that theso are last season's ■motbr- cars. One would fain disbelieve such 1 a base report, but the rumours:aro persistent that canvassing for niotor-car firms has been ;a dull.'business this season. To the ordinary ' .poor man,who does not live in Hawko's Bay, : : tKese ,polishod rushing chariots, ancient with the spall of twolve months, appear as chic ' and as gorgeous as those of'the hew season,' bht possibly motor cars go out of fashion : and become dowdy, just like a lady's hat, and those who are exports at these things notice tHe sign of poverty with poignant grief. Well, , when the'ro is a famous slump in wool, things, of 4 course, must happen. But a great province like Hawko's Bay will shake off the depression and riso ajain invigorated. Already there aro ripples or better times on the sur-face'of-tho wool market. > The Career of a Province. It has had'ail interesting career, this great pastoral territory that tho Hastings .show serves. One wonders-why >it was that they wore nearly all rich men who bought the province in the early days. Those who did not possess money possessed at' least the power.to;borrow it; and when one peeps into i the eras'that are past one feels a deep admiration for the clear heads that financed a ■ i vast industry. To develop such a magnificent territory, whether on hard cash in .- j one's own right, .:or;, by , responsibilities in-" : '"curred to one's banker, was a performance ■ that makes the names of the pioneers memorable. They were but few, and they came in ' families. : Among, those .who brought wealth with them, were'the .Williams's, a family ' famed in'stock and. fruit—for, Frimley owes its origin to a Williams, just as ono of the best shorthorn herds in Australasia is said to belong to a Tji Aiite Williams.:: .Then there were the Douglas's and tho Russells, and the Johnstons, all families that have contributed to the wealth and-development of Now Zealand's best pastoral territory. Sheep that wertLPfonsers. ...... These men apparently had. thp.keen sense to sbo what; has, ibeen, perhaps,j Ifawke'B Bay's ohief virtue, the, ease with which its soils could "Be r'fer'oufeKt to profit" " There was practically no bush felling on those pioneer sheep statioas. . v Those) who recall tlie Province in its: virgin state 'say-its .vegetation was fern—•magnificent'ferri, doubtless. Fern -' at tho worst makes',|nrt.casy Rearing, but on- the rolling qf~Hawke's Bay they did not oven clean,: They set" a match to'it ; as it stood, and thp .flanjes lioked it'to ashes. . Then the grass seed was promptly sown and sheep were tilrn<Kl : .iji;;..and they kept down the new-growing fern.., Strange/stories aro told of these sheep—the " fern-crushers," as -they were called;;;.. Usually they were some' !/'worthless old freth'ers, picked out for the . sacrifice, and they .wero 'penned off in small _. paddooks of thoro " till tho pangs of hunger .(if necessary) forced them to clean uip\OTejy'ferh shoot that nppeared. Tho good medicine, but tho lack of .grass to supplement the 'ration made them very",poor. "My fern--1 crushers," said ono gentleman who practised ,this businoss, " sometimes looked so disreputable that I )vas ashanied for 'anybody to see them." So the: old'sheep have to sliaro ' tho honour of the pioneer work of'.Hawke's . Hay. • . ' . • ■ : Creen Hilltops. • L There is about the . spring ■ appearance of tho province that is scarcely . equalled ; elsewhere. .Picture the Auckland ■ pastures'. Therei the hilltops are mostly,bushi clad or scrubby. ■ Only tho lower slopes aro i grassed, and those.. indifferently; But on • the typical Hawko's;Bay .runs'the hill tops aro tho":groenest; and on 'those .-rich limo ' hills the rare tfept-h .of tho green- does o'ne]s heart good at this season. Later on, it is true—they may bo parchod. : But this is not the tihie for summer reflections.

A Reoord Show. ■ - , This year's show is to bo a big record— ; a record for entries, for visitors, for new features.,-All the trains are crowded.. But, ."it .'is., yet , early, 1 and the . night .has. been-, rainy., 'The entries number 1984.. Last .'year. , << they numbered only' 1578."'1t "will be 2000 noxti-yeaL-..The' chiefly anions* tho' saddle and other light norsea'. Tho .total .horse, entries .nunibcc J491.V . including 143 in the competitions. Hawke's. . ■ Bay" does' not' make much noise about /its' ability,.ta. in .a,quiet . • way, it .'is coming 'to the, front: . Last year , - 1 it had' moro draughts than at tho Palm'er- . ston. Show, and- this year it lias-still nioro^- ■ ' 65." 'It'is-said of Hawke's/Bay - that it abounds in thoroughbreds, hut does, not show them.i-.'Thoro arc very- few-on exhibition.' In fiit oattle, however, tho provinco ..puts ••" 'i itself ; on trial, . Mr, Donald. Fletcher, the • , ? .famous New South'-Wales judge, will be con- ■ --..fronted with 87 \shorthorns and ,20' HereV 1 .fords,,besides other breeds.' They will probs:; ably do deolarod to ho tho best mobs of Short- • i.'l -horns and Horefords over grouped together , south of:.th'e equator. The aheop number ■}' J". 486.,' Among the principle outside exhibitors > are Mr. Bland Rayner and Mr. Perry in Lincolns, Mr. G'orrigan of Hawera (the srcond largest oxhibitor at the show), with 43 -Lincoins, 'Border,,,and' English and i Shropsliires. Ho is beaten only by Mr. DouVglas M'Lean, who covers wide ground with -• sheep,' cattle, and horses. Mr. Arthur Harclv; • ing is another'prominent outsider, With Eiiglish Leicesters and Romneys. Mr. G. C. "JVhoelcr and Mr. Ernest Short, of courso, i werebound.to meot in their traditional, war--fare with their now-famous Romne.v sheep y arid Heroford cattle, The Romncy contest V', is, very keen. There are 26 .entries in tho J ;ram .hogget class, 21 in tho ewe hoggets, ' and 'altogether a'total of 122. The Southdowns are recovering. Recently Messrs. J Nelson Brothers havo ruled tho roast in this ' breed, but this year they meet some good animals of Mr. S. R. Lancaster, Mr. F. A. Prioo (Takapau), Ellis Bros. Bulls), Mr. A. H. ' 'Russell (Hastings), ayliq bring, tho entries, up to 63. ' Mr. Bernard Chambers is showing for exhibition a South Devon imported ram (from J; S. Hallet, Sherford, Plymouth).and ewe lambs of his own breeding ; while Messrs. Chambors Bros, show 2 Ryelaml rams and 5 owos (from W. H, Davis. Herefordshire). Tho poultry .entries ■ Jiumbor 158. .This shows a good inoreaso,. Utility classes have • been added' thin year, to be judged by tho ■' physiological test, ■ and there aro 35 entries in the three, classes for'heavy, breeds* light ... breeds, andveross-breds. _ It is'a ;big jump .; " from wool-raisiri'g to utility poftltrjr farming, ; but Hawko's Bay is making-a beginning for ■ '""1 it.'- ■" The Maori section, at this show is always important. Taranaki,' tho great; Maori chief, says it surpasses by far.tho Maori exhibition at Christcnurch, "for it contains treasures . that aro priceless. " The Maori's put considerable enthusiasm'into the work, and tho entries number 14s>.. , , . Tho chief leaping contest of tho meeting -• '(for £20 and tho 10-guinea challengo cup) ■ ' vi has 20 entries, This is not such a big number as usual, but the quality is said to bo - better. This, is duo to an.increase of the entry fee. Prominent among them . aro E. Short's Blue Ribbon, Mrs. Sunderland's Tho

Sinner, C. Hart's Playboy, J. H. Macniven's Pickpocket, and A. Mitchell's Bushy Park. In a parade of stock to-morrow, all horses and all prize cattle aro commanded to take part, under a penalty ;of £1 a head. Mr. I. Hopkins, Government' Apiarist, ivill afterwards give an exhibition of bee transferring. Mr. E. Clifton (chief inspector of stock), Mr. T. W. Kirk (biologist), and Mr. Bisset (editor of publications) aro already here as roprosontatives of the Agricultural Department. The Minister, the Hon. R. M'Nab, is expected torinonw, when doubtless Mr. J. D. Ritohie (Secretary for Agriculture) will also bo present.