WAIKATO WINTER SHOW.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 8, 9 July 1909, Page 2

WAIKATO WINTER SHOW.

[By Telegraph.] [BY TELEGRAPH — SPECIAL TO THE POST.] HAMILTON, This Day. Those concerned in the management of the Waikato Show have much reason to be proud of the success which has attended their efforts. The attendance throughout has been large, the exhibits, very numerous, are excellently well arranged, and the side attractions have proved enjoyable. The display, by the Agricultural Department, of grain from the State farms at Ruakura and Moumahaki, has attracted a lot of notice. WILSON'S PORTLAND CEMENT COMPANY, LIMITED. (Inserted by arrangement.) The above company showed their Portland Cement "Star Brand," and concrete in many useful and interesting forms, and demonstrated how to produce concrete suited to varied classes of work, with aggregates ranging from pumice, burned clay, and gravels, to hard, broken limestone. Mr. John Wilson, who was himself in charge of the stand, has been connected with concrete for over thirty years, and says that if farmers fully understood how to produce high-class concrete floors to the best advantage, few complaints would be heard in regard to the dairy regulations in that respect. The above remarks apply to all forms of concrete, and a view of the company's exhibit would convince any one that concrete has come to stay, and that the way to save money is to know how to handle and proportion the cement and aggregates for the various purposes. Wilsons, Limited, also claim that they can give many points in concrete construction, and that dry concrete buildings can be erected quickly, and at a moderate advance on good timber. Also, that hollow walls are not necessary in concrete to insure dryness, and are not generally economical. The firm holds the patent rights for "Medusa" Waterproofing Compound, in the Dominion, and asserts that its use insures dry structures without necessarily increasing the cost. The Wilson Company also exhibited burned agricultural bme, ground and unground, carbonate of lime (raw ground limestone), for applying to land. The latter form of liming gets rid of the unpleasant ieatures in handling burned lime, and reduces the cost. The firm has spent large sums in developing this industry, and providing good road metal, and farmers will serve their own interests, and show appreciation, by fully testing the value of lime in the forms presented. The company, without cost, supplies farmers in any part of New Zealand with information based on special circumstances surrounding each case, and is pleased at all times to answer correspondence relative to the best methods to adopt m construction of concrete Hoors, buildings, etc. It is interesting to note that the concrete beacon, Rangitoto—at the entrance to Auckland Har■^t 11 ! 111 in 1886 ' was constructed with Wilson's "Star" brand Portland Cement, and is a striking testimony to its quality. The Grafton Bridge, Auckland, which has a centre span of 320 ft, and is the longest reinforced concrete span in the world, is another monument to the fame of the company's goods. An idea of the importance of the cement industry may be gauged by the fact that upwards of one hundred men are employed m the different departments An interesting picture of the machinery and buildings is on view at the stall, and there is also an enlarged photo of Mr. Wilson's private home, which 'is constructed exclusively of concrete, including the floors. Specimens of plastering and roughcasting are also on view at their stand, which has proved a source of great attraction to farmers ever since the show opened.