SPRING SHOW

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 105, 31 October 1923, Page 4

SPRING SHOW

|>PE^S AT PALMERSTON I NORTH | BEAUTIFUL WEATHER I ; CONDITIONS '*' ■•-■'- ■ ■ • " :| VERY LARGE CATALOGUE. «• (By Our Special Reporters.) S -PALMERSTON N., 30th Oct. ftThough a. half, gale interfered yester."l&y with preparations for the Manawa■/Eu and West Coast Society's Show at Iklmerstbri'North, to-day, the .first day, -fought beautiful weather conditions, and preparations' proceeded apace, for §. morrow,. ..which, is .the main judging ,y, and -Thursday, which is. People's Bay. ~ ,'The. 'prospects are exceedingly tod. !In a few classes'there is a crease, but the quality ia present, and ' tlie exhibits are drawn 'from a.ll over ■file southern portion of the island. Prize dinners from other shows will come together in competition to-morrow, and generally; Paliiierstou- North is upholding its reputation -of being the most ' comprehensive. Show.. in the North IsKnd. In a few classes the competition is..limited, but in most cases those fio have - shown successfully in one ow or another arc putting up their l£6st animals in the endeavour to 'maintain their standing. Compared with list yeliv.'.there is a,pronounced imfifovemte'nt''.i'n';.en'tries. Horses are slightly moTe numerous. Competition horses, .However,-.show: a slight, falling-off, but i3je quality' is good, and a number of tlje^horses^ are : now reaching their best form:'"" Sheep' sKow" a, marked improve,in;ent on last year,, and extra accommo-j-jlafei'Cfn -had--to-be--6eeure<l. for- them. ■ f>h'A large number of people appeared ', unaware of the change in the days of 'tjie Show. Previously the Show started <5h Wednesday, and the big day was on lEriday.'. .This year the Show was. corn;nienced"a day earlier, and it was poorly the sparse attendance to!iday being attributable to this fact as Jwell as to the lack; of entertainment for (spectators, home -industries and school iifcork, in addition to :a small programme, !$■ competitions, 'being insufficient-to atjteact spectators. --— .- -. .. ( '•?-'A very large section of the. entries ISpines from the- home industries and ;schoolj sections. Inyfact,- for an agri■Cliltural show the school section is abiittirmally large, the number of -.entries jin- one class .in several cases quite (eclipsing a whole section in the anijgial ctasss?,;; r. So^e; °f ijhe --,exhibits; ;<hpuld 'nevery be .put.-up £ they are''so. 'obviously'"'poor. The fact was coni[inented on last year that the smaller. i;tfie children the larger is the. -writing 'that is demanded. This is what makes the writing classes weak, while at the Mine time it does hot have the slightest , effect on the children. There jis a, very apparent improvement genef,'ajly ip the classes'where the. writing is ;about half the size.; ' In theee classes ioine very fine papers are on exhibiitibn. ;, : ... . . i. ■ )£Tt may be mentioned here that .the" [judge's comment on the writing was as-;fi?llows:—-"The writing in all classes ;w:as uniformly good and reflects credit :6n both competitors and instructors. IThere was little margin between the jspecimens exhibited in each class." '£; AET AND TECHNICAL. . '/■Though., the olMses . in. the art and /technical -section have not yet reached ''anything like tha numerical strength of [pip-wav Shows, there is obvious a iodhtinual improvement in the exhibits. Black and -white work is strikingly good, ■and figure drawings have shown a distinct improvement. ~ Heads from life Uxe in most cases a credit to the com-. petitora, but the standard' is lower in landscape* from nature and still life paintings. Plant- life exhibits denoted that the competitors had been observant. 'One of the most outstanding exhibits was a bird life study by Miss Ella Tomlinson, the judge commending Ser work very warmly. Entries in the world map • drawings were, sparse, and indicated ..that this very important ;branch. was being neglected. A noticeable feature was the absence of ■ ekBibits from the various art centres. These have fallen away year by year until they are a very disappointing' quantity. ;>DRAWING AND: BRUSHWORK. _ One of the chief classes in the drawing and brushwork sections is that containing specimens of mapping.. This, class was decidedly weak; not on the ffame, plane as the exhibits last year. In many cases the maps were out of proportion. There were, 'of course, a few exhibits that were 'quite creditable pr Auctions. More interest, was displayed in. the drawing sections, espec- ■ ?.W py the upper standards of the schools entering. The most outstanding feature of the exhibitions was a id.rawi.fe from nature by E. Tapp, a. Central School boy, whose work was excellent. The judge remarked that tfie >yark would eclipse anything from high . prHechnical schools. . ■' . igßrushwork sections were generally good. ■ Competition Was keen, and some Jgost creditable exhibits were on show inhere was, however, a falling-off in the work of the lower standards, as qpmpared.'with;previous years. ' :■'':, ■:■ 'PHOTOGRAPHY. ■ >.It was pleasnig to'note that ,a numfcjsr of photographs ■ which have been fSPSBiCTPBs. >y their presence at 1 ex..tebition after " exhibition have disappeared .iram-4-his ..year's showing, . and quite a number of new ones have taken their places. It is strange that though the exhibitors have shown pictures for ye^.rs, their subjects always draw adverse comments from the judges. In the present showing the professional and amateur classes are good, but there Js^a. ..failing in 'classes limited' to New Zealaaid -landscapes. These were ■• in many, cases-not- typical, the trees appearing gmn K . the. landscapes more an Egghsh than-a; New Zealand aspect. Camera work .in the amateur section . wjs good,' but other features were inclined to be lacking. Wellington competitors cleared up most of the prizes the successful exhibitors being Messrs. ■F.. Hilton, H. C. Milne, and J W Jones. The best photograph.;in portrait, or figurg: .study went to Mr G Li Adkm of..Levin, with-, a charmingstady titled "A Beach Sprite." Titles onj this occasion, were, more in keeping ■with .studies;, though there were, .one'-or two titles""'-which.- without the pEc^olra^'migTii-'liave led : one' to expect something more imposing than ware displayed. . '-'The stately poplar leaches to the sky," read one. "The stately-poplar" in thi3 case was a very indifferent specimen of its class. : the-^pho/tographio Section fa "an;.exhibition.;of pen. and ink sketches of interiors and exteriors pf - cathedrals Toy S. Drake, of the Palmerston North High'SchooL'- ~ He" had one picture only pn'"''shbw last" year, ..but has increased the tp. nearly a. dozen. It is xdo&il magnificent work, and is ;the centre oV'& large.amount of- interest, ■:. ; V =HO.ME;"INbUSTRIES. .; :'' '!;Tliis. year's :e*shibitionr in the horn& inSustri^'s- section in a...great T 'mpfovement, and the quality - is'goodc -■ There are, one 1, or.two minor 1 discrepancies. Some «ooks hays yei to realisg ttgUrfi SBX.

rate for show' purposes—a sponge sandwich is not a sponge cake. The result of entering it as a sponge cake is that the exhibit is disqualified—that is, -if the judge has the courage of her convictions. In any case, it. never takes a prize. TRADE EXHIBITS AND SHOWS. The Machinery Hall, which at the Winter Show is a roaring corridor of all sorts of engines and "mechanical appliances in full swing, this time, is rilled with booths for the sale of all sorts of things of which machinery forms only a very small part:. What plant there is impresses -one with its usefulness, ingenuity,' and . novelty.- For instance, there are tiny shears, which cut through jth and quarter-inch steel plate, admirable appliances for the workshops. I There is a small lathe, eminently useful to inventors and amateurs: for'the con-1 struction of models. Other devices attract attention. One booth is entirely given up to electrical appliances—a popular exhibit in view of the coming of electricity into the Manawatu. The motor display is the best-yet held at . any > Manawai.u Show. In -■ former years the motors used to be ranged' 1 on the green sward in the open during Show time. They camo in the morning and were driven away at night, and in bad weather they suffered. This year there is a splendid indoor exhibition comparable, on a smaller scale, with the motor show held in Wellington in July last. Those who can" look backward to some of the earlier Manawatu Shows when the motor first made its appearance will note the almost measureless improvement that has takeri place in the motor vehicle from then until now. One never sees a really ugly car now. The design and finish of the exterior has reached a uniform- standard of excellence, and when the bonnet is raised the refinements on the mechanical side are equally cleav to anyone with- the engineering eye. •It is satisfactory to note that in machinery the British-made article more than holds its own, while the tendency in motors is towards a more gradual, but, ono hopes, a sure recovery' in this valuable market. The motor display is a distinct feature of this year's Show. SIDE SHOW PKE-EMINENT. ' Another tendency most marked to one revisiting the Show after a good many years' absence is the vast growth of the side show at such annual functions as tho Manawatu A. and P.. This tendency was noticed in "The Post's" special issues years ago. .To-day the side show has definitely arrived, and the show grounds are largely occupied this week by tents great and small, from the' travelling circus to the humble penny "gaff." The agricultural and pastoral side of the business, to the average observer, certainly seems to be swallowed up by the entertainment side. The A. and. P. Show is now more and more like the American county fair, the North, of England "wakes," and the Southern fairs.' PIGS. The pig- sections must have been very satisfactory to the society, for they were easily-the best that have been recorded at any New Zealand show this year. At Hawkes.Bay and Carterton competition was limited. In fact, there was no competition, but in several of the classes to-day the judge (Mr. R. Charmley) found that he had some fine animals, which .were hard to distinguish between. At Hawkes Bay, Bowen and Wilson cleared up the prizes, and even at.-Falmersten they have practically no opposition in Tamworths. At Carterton, Ponrua Hospital took all the prizes. I? Fa"?erston North the two met, with the added competition of another Government institution, the Central Development Farm," and of Mr. E:J, Kogei-s (Ngaruawahia). The closest class was that for Berkshire boars (over 12 months) . Three., vei'y'good, pigs headed the list. Central Development Farm eventually took 'the first prize with'a fine.boar a, little etraighter in the~s:des than the others, and with a good- wide nose and head and great hams. The Pom-ua exhibit was second. He had a particularly good coat, but was just' a little pinched in the nose, and not quite so good_ m the sides and hams. The* other prizes were fairly equally distributod,between Porirua, Bowen and Wilson. an£., Mr- Rogers. Faults amongst the exhibits were in the markings, skimpiness in the middle piece, and' lightness in the shank. One young boar'(under 1? 8 ¥ d a SOW'S head °* very good body indeed. * The Central Development Farm se£ot for Berkshire £ ' J? ni p °nrua the reserve. Porirua, showed the champion sow, and Mr Rcjr•ers the reserve. In the Tamworth section, E. J. Rogers had the champion boar and Cowen and AVilson, Hastings, all the other championship awards. The championship awards in the Yorkshires weJ« evenly divided between Porirua and Mr. Rogers, the latter also securing championship large black sow. COMPETITIONS. In the competitions, the first awards were: Maiden riders, J. Doreen; Palmerston North; pony leaping, H M. Blundens De Wet, Kakariki; second pony leaping, N. P. Walsh's Betty, r-eildmg; champion pony jump, E. H Thomson's Tango, , Woodville; ladVs turn-out,. Miss G. Maher's Rangoria, Hastings; lady's pony, Miss A. Hurley's Dear Dolly, Palmerston North.