AT THE SHOW

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 110, 5 November 1937, Page 11

AT THE SHOW

VARIETY OF INTEREST

ARISTOCRATS ON PARADE

PEOPLE IN THE SUN

(From "The Post's" Special Reporters.)

PALMERSTON N., This Day.

,„■-. Sunshine, dust, colour-flecked crowds, .. idlers and jostlers, and clashing under- -: currents—that is the jumbled impres- '']'-.■ sion of a Royal Show, no matter where „=.; "held. The blare of "canned" music, i • ■ rusty exhortations of sideshow spruik-j ' ers, and. heat and discomfort covered up by the novelty of watching old ..'things with a new interest. There i- : is:the country tang in the atmosphere, and a holiday spirit; money to be spent'and little to worry about. The show at Palmerston North is "... well, the show. The expan■v sive showgrounds, giving the impres- ■■"..■■ sion of a fuming platter as the dust rises, settles, and rises again, loose all ' the noises—and not a few of the smells —of the country, with a splash of the . city in the heterogeneous crowd. • Sideshow Alley is the most obtrusive, because of its blatancy. Persons " and things especially created in the most inaccessible parts of the world impress upon the public through amplifiers and high-pressure sales talk that national education has the expansion opportunity of a "decade and will be. irremediably damaged if a shilling : per person, half-price for children, is :.-' riot forthcoming. Necks .are risked •■' willingly for a few pence in super, "*" colossal, 'amazingly .daring, •'unique-*- ---'•'-. not to mention awe-inspiring—acts. ' The biggest man, the smallest woman, '-' and pigs that do everything pigs '<■ shouldn't do pique the curiosity and *''■• lighten the pocket. A miniature train ' spends a lot of time getting nowhere ■'T at a leisurely speed, and motorists can vent their passion by crashing about : in a little vehicle that crashes into 'others of its kind and anything else 1 that is handy. Fortunes are to be " made—with a touch of skill that seems to be strangely missing—with hoops, guns, and wooden' balls. A ruddyfaced youngster startled one of the showmen by neatly knocking the bull . out of the target with five rifle, shots. THE CANINE CHOIR. Next in order of rowdiness is. the temporary home, of-.the canine aristocracy, where hounds of all shapes and inclinations may be patted and given growling practice. A dog is just a dog to the layman, but, to the man who knows, he is one of an extra: ■ ordinary number of breeds. Highpitched yelps, throaty bays, and weighty sighs come from the rows and " rows of cubicles. Here is a schnauzer ' (German: one who schnauzes), and '.' along the lane a bed of straw has just 1 been filled by his compatriot, a dachs- '".-. liund; investigation shows.that it is all one dog. A beautiful, pointer with '■.nothing to point at is sleeping off his "*: disappointment in the corner. A trio '•'' of spotless samoyedes have just been •>-' fed, arid their digestive slumber is be- ■ ing'disturbed by the chatter of the fox - terriers across the aisle. Pert Sydney '-■' silkies huddle in the'straw, one- or. *f b'ottf '^yes;apening1 ■■t&'-eacti ■ passer-by; •■"■■" "A: huge bloodhound, saa-eyed'beneath » 'tiose wrinkles in the massive fore- '■;. head, looks as happy as a Govern-. -. -ment without a taxpayer. The dogs :.. seem to know why they are there, and ■ ' take a jealous interest in the decorations of their rivals It is a busy, noisy scene, and the contestants are •r among the best in the country. -'•,'■• Around the display of general agn- *'■ cultural implements and machines a ■-'. ; large crowd is gathered, the attraction being the manouvrings of a caterpillar tractor. It has the lurch of a tank as it climbs over logs and sacks, , it pivots without forward motion, and, what is more, it mounts the steeplyinclined planks leading to the tray of a motor-lorry and resumes the position in which it arrived at the show. Further along are hungrytoothed agricultural implements, glinting in the sun. They represent the latest advances: in the mechanisa- , tion of fanning. A device with.three ',• curved prongs a side, coloured red, '"-.-■ ', hangs like an outsize in spiders; a r . pneumatic tractor, driverless, chugs ... slowly, round a roped ring, missing '~ once and chewing up two staying ■'•'. pegs. Header harvesters and s machines -that do what several men used to per- -.''. form show their paces to the farmers. . The mass of instruments, angular and sharp, impresses one as the vertebrae of the primary industry. On the one side stalk the natural riches of the Dominion; on the other stands man's ingenuity to wrest the utmost from the soil. , .... ' HORSES ON THE OVAL. And all the time the best of equine grace has been delighting the stands with sure-footed jumping. The roll of the gallop on the turf, slight checking of speed, and upward and over • good rider and horse, skimming the ! brush and flattening over the water- .- jump. Now there is something differ- , : ent—Ben Hur modernised. Two chariots, each drawn by two horses, career round the oval, straining at the long reins held by the drivers. One driver, putting full weight on to the leather to restrain the mettlesome horse, Is shot off backwards as a rein breaks and the chariot hurtles onward. There is a gigantic catching of, breath, but the driver is not seri- *' ously hurt and it is an extra thrill "■■ for the spectators. • A short distance from the oval are the exhibits that form the basis of the show. Bulls, strong of head and broad of back, lumber in the ring, chafing at the cords that lead them. Almost perfect as representatives of their' breeds, they are symbolical of the strength of the industry in New Zealand. The plaintive calls of lambs separated- from mothers lead one to the pens on the verge of the showgrounds. ■ They are chubby, healthy creatures, '- with thick wool that yields and warms -the finger-tips. A judge is prodding, feeling the firm flesh, and the lambs group in fright at the disturbance, Manawatu fat lambs have few equals jn New Zealand, and the judge is finding it hard to separate them in the class. Further along are the fat sheep, some*.shaggy, others closely shorn. They are more thoroughly examined than the lambs and have to submit : to a dental inspection. The aromatic pig is here in force— Tamworth, Berkshire, large whites, and large blacks. Groups of youngsters squealing in thirsty agony hunt their tolerating parent until they are appeased; boars root in the straw or weightily doze behind the palings; huge sides quiver as over-inquisitive fanciers test what will join the break-fast-table eggs; and sniffles and grunts ; , tell what the pig itself thirds about = all the fuss. - It is a pity to forsake the open air, but the hall of industries must be , seen, for it is an excellent display. Evei-ything from waffles to carpet - sweepers seems to be represented, all .'■ the latest in time and labour-saving inventions. . Yes,' it is a Royal Show, fresh and ■miling and entertaining. j