MORE DAIRYING COUNTRY. A SHOW RING. DIFFICULTY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1027, 17 January 1911, Page 8

MORE DAIRYING COUNTRY.

A SHOW RING. DIFFICULTY.

MARAKOPA MOVING AHEAD. A recent visitor to Wellington gave a member of Tiie Dominion staff a hopeful account of prospects' in tho vicinity of Kawhia, particularly ilarakopa, which is eortio miles south of .ICawhia. He liked the country up there, and said that some of it would suit cows splendidly. The soil was- mostly of. limestone formation, and there was a good rainfall, which :was ensured by the presence of a small mountain thereabouts. Speaking with settlers there, lie wa9 told that they were, anxious to improve their dairy factory, facilities, and were in hopes of doing so in-a very short lime. A correspondent of 'a Taranaki paper reports that at a meeting of directors of tho,.Marakopa Dairy Company on Saturday night, the tender of J. B. MacEwan and Co. was.accepted for' supplying a ■butter-making plant for Jlarakopa "factory, the tenders being for a 1000-cow plant. There was keen competition: between the successful tenderer and UlO next lowest.' The chances of a big dairying industry beiig built-up a Marakopa are good, but the want of facilities is felt by tho settlors. who are working well in the face of disadvantages.

REVERSAL OF DECISIONS. AND A SUGGESTED REMEDY. ■•••An ever-present-perplexity at New Zealand shows is the fact that decisions are reversed. That is to say, that Mr. Jones v.-iU place A.B.C.'s bull hret and X.Y.Z.'s buli second at a certain show, and Mr. Thomas, v;lio judges at the immediately subsequent show, will make tho awards: •X.Y.Z;'s .bull,: l;-A.B,C.Vbul], 2; ' These "things ' have' occurred "in every season, and. at almost.every show tho'reversal of some'decision' has been a topic very earnestly attacked by exhibitors looking lor an answer to tho inevitable, "Why:-" .which confronted them. During tho spring show season fnrther examples came under notico, and (lie North Taranaki branch of Jersey Breeders' Association, seems to have been moved to action by the. never-failing recurrence. Tho branch favours the-introduction of a system of. score-cards for judges at agricultural shows, and passed a reso!uti6n to this effect at their recent meeting, says the "Taranaki News." "A member ,of the asiooiation relates (continues the "Notvs"), in support of tho movement, an interesting example of the present system of judging, which had come under his notice. A beat B-- at -Palmci'ston North ; B beat Cat Hawera; and 0 beat A at Stratford! • v . 'Die possibilities of a score-card system are visible, but the association is setting its horse at a big fence. So long as there aro judges so long will opinions differ and when tho opinions of all judges can beVbrouglit into line with one form of scoro-card will there be any need for the judges? .The fillings in tho, score-cards would be interesting-to' read,-they.might, provoke discussions which would result in something of value, they might even be' credited with' mitigating: the trouble, .but they , will never succeed in regulating tho opinions of independent judges. The. branch ofvtho" - Jersey Associtaion might, with greater advantage,- have nlovC<l in the direction of bringing tho facts before them under the notice of A. and P. Associations, in orders to secure-, for the Jersey -Association and other cattlo associations recognition and support from tho A. and P. Associations in the matter of the appointment of show judges. At a meeting of the Feiiding A. and P. Association on December 20' a phaso of this,'the latter, side>'of the question cropped up. It was there pointed out that the judge selected-for the Ayrshire section was ■ not one of thoso suggested by the Ayrshire Association. "The committee," said a Press Association message, "discussed the [flatter, arid decided to adhero to the judge selected. They were not going to be dictated to by any breeders' association. The sooner the question was settled the better. The judge selected was recommended by t the Wairarapa- Association, therefore he was qnite reliable." It is possiblo.to build up a good and valuable understanding between A. and P. Associations ajid breeders' associations: Breeders' associations, are the best-inform-ed-bodies 1 in the matter of what men are rapable judges of the respcctivc .breeds, and ..tjierefpre ..cpuld ;be ;heeded \xjth adyan- ; tage, jp'r'oyidihg,.'of> course,- that -the breeders' associations did not confine their nominees to the limits of their own erirolmeiit register. By following a line of .this kind there might, .too, bo a chance oMessening the variances of decisions. • .. . Withal, it should be borne in mind that the changes in the condition',of the stock 'sho.wii. have a great deal to -do with what appear to some to be erratic decisions. . On this account it is not necessary, sometime!; to even have two distinct judges, to obtain reversals; one judge (will reverse pjacings;at two subsequent shows. ; You go-,t<J, say, ;the;Wanganui show, and notice tl)ttt-a certain'.'cqw liks -tfoh ® clfanl-.pl-onsliipi''- In talking ;with the judge, ho may remark, "Yes, she's a find cow. She would have won at Palmerston North two Weeks ago if 'she had been ill bettor condition, then. , "I had to, place the cow whioh was second -to her '• to-day ahead of her thero because she wasn't up to showform."