THE FARMER.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 211, 5 November 1896, Page 6

THE FARMER.

£;..;>;; -"•->'■:..- » " ". — - - i ; .ON THE MANAGEMENT OF LOCAL SHOWS. . . .- . ._. .BY.AN EXHIBITOR. The • question, is often asked, "Are ;-'. agricultural shows really beneficial insti- ';' tutions ?" For the purpose of these notes . we shall certainly assume that they are, and they have at least had practical approval given' to them by many generations of farmers, and the number of these exhibitions is still on the increase. But there are some of these shows in the most flourishing condition, while others, if not really dead, are gradually vanishing . ■ away from steady and constant decline. It may riot, therefore, be out of place to consider shortly a few leading elements which make towards the success of shows. It is very much a question of manage.- . . mont, and there .are things of essential to be attended to, and things ♦ ■£4p .be avoided. That the lasting success *\46i /ajoeal show is easy of attainment, no ! ""bner-who • has^ had practical experience will' say. The seeds of cross purposes ' , and friction, with their kindred fruits, ! seem to be more thickly sown ■ and more ! easily grown in Email communities than in large ones, aud- thus difficulties sometimes arise to the prejudice of shows; but, on the other hand, we only require to look behind the scenes of many a local ■ show to find how often success is attained | by the sinking of all differences ; and, on the contrary, by the devoted enthusiasm and. self -sacrifice of a few men, whose work is little heard of, but whose counterparts are hardly to be found in large - cities or among the busier life of more , densely populated districts. In the make-up of the successful man- . • agement of a local show, the first thing . generally considered is the working com- . mittee, and they can certainly do much to make or mar their exhibitions. But it is the secretary, he who is constantly at - the front of the battle, and through whose hands all the details of the work must pass, who, we think, has far the greatest possibilities for good or evil placed in his power ; and we believe that the main point towards the successful management of a show is undoubtedly - the appointment of a thoroughly suitable secretary, who will throw life, and novelty, and energy into his work, and that without fear or favor, and without ' the prospect of much reward. We all kpow how impossible it is for local societies to afford sufficient remuneration to their officials for many arduous duties performed by thera ; but the public spirit shown by many a secretary, simply because the work is congenial to him, and because it is believed to be for the good of the community among whom his lot has been cast, is a real credit to the country districts, and a good example to those who live in our cities. It is a duty, therefore, which the members of every local society owe to themselves, for the benefit of their shows, to encouragp, by • every means in their power, the official work of a zealous secretary, and to see that no one makes it difficult to that official to serve the society in the most enthusiastic way. There is no doubt but that some societies have suffered from the want of such effort, although a large- . hearted and energetic committee, working along with a broad-minded and versatile convener, can, if they please, generally clear the way of all difficulties. Let their policy be constructive rather than destructive, and, i£ fighting at all be necesBary, let all fighting be for and along with each other and their officials, and then the outside difficulties will seem very trivial. One of the most important details for attention in connection with a show is to . see that the date for closing entries is as near to the show day as possible, because it is only towards the last that the excitement of the competition comes to its full height, and, if the entries are closed a considerable time before the show, the numbers of entries will suffer. But, on the other hand, time must be given for the preparation of a complete catalogue. Then the committee should see that the .rules of the show are adhered to by ..;■ all exhibitors. The game must be played ■. ' . the same by all the exhibitors, otherwise the best of the exhibitors will quietly retire from showing, and leave the field the poorer for their absence. We do not . . mean that mere matters of innocent want of form should spoil the chances of well meaning exhibitors. The motto should merely be "fair play and no favor "all round. Another important point is to encourage, as far ar possible, breeders who do not lay themselves out as " showmen " on a large scale. How best' to do this is no easy matter, but the practical solution of the difficulty means a large increase to the entries of every local show, and continued life in its membership. — ' Australasian.' DKATJGHT HORSES IN AUSTRALIA. In every country where agriculture has been extensively practised for centuries there is sure to be formed a distinct type j of farm horse, and in some countries, as in Britain, there are several types of draught horse, each suited to the descrip- | tion of work to be done in the locality. I In Australia fashion has had much to do .with the stylo of horse raised for draught purposes. A large majority of the early horsebreeders were Scotchmen, and, naturally enough, they selected the Clydes- j dale horse as the best animal to breed. The finest specimens of the variety were imported every year, and the type of Clydesdales raised by Victorian breeders left nothing to be desired. But the conditions of life for draught stock are very different here to what they are in the old country. A team on the roads must put ' up with much less fodder than the Clydes- j dale requires to keep him in condition. ! Then the introduction of the stripper and reaper and binder into farm work requires the services of smart active horses, not necessarily as powerful as the Clydesdale, but quicker stepping. The employment of modern agricultural machines has told against the powerful heavy draught horse even m the old country, as the following extract from the ' Live Stock Journal '■ plainly shows :— " Harvest is coming on, and some of the Lothian farmers seem to be of opinion that a quick-stepping, netive, clean -legged horse does better for binder and reaper work than one of the heavier havry-legged varieties. There is nn amount of reason in this, because to keep the knife cutting freely and cleverly a good steady pace must always ba maintained beyond mere haulage." ' The breeding of Clydesdale horses has been neglected for some years past in A r ictorb, and there has been no distinct type of horse raised to take their place, and the result is that at present good useful draught horses are scarce. Perhaps the best type of horso the Australian farmer could raise would be the Suffold Punch, or the Norman Percheron ; the latter is, perhaps, the most useful all-round horse in existence. The demand that has sprung up in West Australia has cleared out all our surplus stock, and just now there are indications ■ • ' that South Africa would become purchasers of a considerable number of useful draught horses if we had them to supply. CATCHING A TARTAR. It was a Hielandman who told this story of himself:— l was drofing two mobs of sheep at the same time, and it wass fery important that they should not be boxed, whatefer. So I gave instructions that one man should not go off watch till he was reliefed.' I got np one morning, and the two mobs wass boxed, and I wass fery mad. I sacked the man who had been on watch last, and tolt him I would giff him a goot hammering into the pargain. when I had drawn out his cheque. " You're making a mistake, boss," he said to me. " I called Jack five times, and then I had to cook your - breakfast — and the lazy beggar did not -. get up." "No matter for that," said I, "You'll get your cheque and you'll get your .hammering," for I wass fery mad, ', and I didn't know how I was to draft out

the sheep again." "AH right, boss," he said, " I'll take the cheque, but I'll take no havnmerin' from you." " "We'll see all apout that fery Boon. Take off your • shirt and come outside and I'll teach you to let my sheep get boxed, you tarn loafer." As soon as I saw him stripped I thought I hat made a mistake, and pefore we had | had a couple of rounts I was sure of it. ! But I coult not giff up at once- for the sake of the Hielan' bloot in me. After two more rounts I wass quite convinced that I hat done the man an injustice. So I Backed the other man and kept him on, and he wass one of the fery best men I j ever hat. Ho told me afterwards that he j hat been the champion of the light-weights iv Sydney, and I haf efery reason to pelieve it wass true. RATIONAL FARMING. To find out whether a crop really does pay the grower or not, many years' work and side effects or benefits bave to be considered and taken into account. Luck ! may favor the haphazard grower now and then, but there is no uncertainty about ! the ultimate result of the practice of ! abusing the law by injudicious cropping. ! The crops that pay. best are those that are raised on a rational system of farming, even although the immediate return may be less. The best and most successful wheatgrowers in the dry districts of Victoria | are now becoming less anxious about sowing a large area. They prefer to raise fat lambs or keep milking cattle, and do less of the fallowing and scarifying business. But in order to keep stock successfully in a dry district the farmer requires a much larger area than the ordinary selector in this colony is allowed. In fact, scores of men now in Biverina have told me they would ultimately have succeeded in establishing a good home in Victoria had they had the area of land necessary to enable them to keep a small flock of sheep or a hord of dairy cattle. This is a matter for politicians to study. — ' Australasian.'