PALMERSTON WINTER FESTIVAL

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 146, 21 June 1916, Page 19

PALMERSTON WINTER FESTIVAL

BUTTER, CHEESE, AND FRUIT

A NOTABLE EXHIBITION.

(FnoiiiOCE SPECUL MfOBTER.)

The big Winter Show oflthe Manawatu and West Coast A. and P. Association opened a± Palmerston North yesterday/ and promises to be just as successful as, has been the case in previous years. /It' is styled the National Dairy Show, ,and the description fits1 it in every particular. Certainly no title; could .be more appropriate than "National,",for entries come from every prbyincev in the Dominion, and in the factory butter and cheese competitions, the results of which/h.ave been published, competition was^ "unusually keen. '; / // The day for the openingiwasnot ideal. During the night it rained heavily, and almost throughout the day the gky was overcast, but, although a downpour threatened, the rain : kept off. Nature was certainly kind...-The entries this year show a slight /falling off, but this does net indicate that the Show is losing any of its wonderful popularity. It is war time, and, for the; short-handed farmer, a busy time. Many farmers l^ave as much as they.can do as it is without preparing Show exhibits. , Yesterday was .judging day—a day essentially for 'experts. .-The country people—people, in search of information, and who ca-n fill in time without the diversion of the side show or ring events. The crowds; .will be too big for this sort of thing- on Thursday and Friday. Then the trade exhibits and the sideshows will be in full swing, and there will be plenty to interests the outsider. More than, that, the opening day is a reunion. There they are, bronzed men from the backblocks, who, .perhaps, have not seen each other since the last show. They'shake hands. It is a day of handshakes, and of gossip, mostly interesting and instructive.- They talk of old times, the good (or the bad) season, the latest improvements in machinery, and perhaps their boys at the front. The shadow of the great war is there all the time, although it may seem^ less perceptible amidi the many evidences of nationa,l prosperity which the show provides.','' Clearly;, the war has acted as a stimulus to the producer.