The Ensign. GORE: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19. AGRICULTURAL SHOWS.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 1413, 19 November 1904, Page 2

The Ensign. GORE: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19. AGRICULTURAL SHOWS.

On the face of it there does not appear much scope for improvement in the methods pursued with regaixl to the holding of agricultural shows. Nevertheless, although the farming industry in New Zealand retains most of its earlier characteristics, during the last few years considerable changes have been brought about materially affecting the nature of effort necessary to be exerted. The saving of labor is probably the most prominent feature resulting in opportunity being 'afforded to those connected with rural callings for a much greater amount of recreation than ever fell to the lot of the pioneer settlers. Social intercourse as the outcome of denser population, is more readily available, and on every hand there arc evidences of

tlii! growing attractiveness of country life which cannot fail to bo advau tagcous to agricultural pursuits ii the near future. Sympathetically with an improvement in the amenitie of rural occupations it is neeessnr; tliat A. and P. shows should be mudi more attractive, than they arc to-day Those charged with the adiainistra tion of affairs of, sunk institutions wil probtably have to face this problen bl'lore very long in view o f the with drawal of implement firms from tin ranks of exhibitors. The displays o machinery have always constituted I leading feature at such gatherings and their place must Mot only be fill cd with something equally inslrucbivi to the public, but greater inducement! than ever must be available to per suade the coming- generation of farm ers (whose interested attention is lesi easily claimed than that of the oh school of agriculturists) to tuahiUiii

sucli organisations in prosperity. and progressiveness. Attention might be specially directed to the fortunes ol the t.iorc A. and P. Association, which in spite of the large interests it re presents, is but poorly supported bj the district in regard to membership It is possible that if a bolder aiu more enterprising policy were pursuct better results might he achieved ii (his particular respect. At all events the time has now arrived when a de cidedly forward move will Have to b made, otherwise this show, menace! by the greatly superior atlractivenes of those at Duncdin and Jnvcrcargil (owing to the fact of extensive exhibits of implements being mude) will full lower mid lower in the scale of importance. A grand stund is badly needed at the grounds, and the expense of this would speedily be repaid by .the attendance of those who hitherto have absented themselves fromsolves from the Association's gatherings owing simply to the lack of siieh a convenience as we have named. In order to enlist the sympathies of those who exhibit neither sheep, cattle, horses, nor dairy produce something should also be done on the lines adopted in Pahnerston N'oithI—viz., 1 —viz., to institute divisions for young people in the country whereby they could enter into competition witih each other in purely industrial classes, such as needlework, mechanical handicraft, drawing, writing, etc. To accommodate „ department of this character a special building would be required, but its cost need not be so great as to

preclude the possibility of its being provided without unreasonable delay. It must be recognised (hat tlhc Jot of farmers' families is not. concerned exclusively with the milking of cows and the feeding of pigs. They. have facilities probably as great as have young' people residing in the towns for the acquisition of knowledge in those delectable branches of study which contribute so largely to the happiness ■ and success of life, and, therefore, upon occasions such as the holding of A. and P, shows, advantage should be taken of the splendid j opportunities afforded to cater to the requirements of their tastes. If some , such scheme as that referred to were ] put into .practice it would enhance the j attractiveness of the gatherings im- ! niensely. Nov would it detract in the slightest from the practical side of ; the mission sought to be fulfilled. On ■ iilie contrary, it would bring the Association's work prominently befoie , perhaps twice as many farmers as | now are reached by its means. A ' livelier and more intense interest would be created, which would make, far creator usefulness and increased J benefits to the district, at large..

The directors of the Waimea Plains Co-oporativo Dairy Factory met in the Riversdale Athenaeum on Thursday afternoon to consider a nuntber of oilers from different iirms for tho season's output of cheese. After considerable discussion, the directors decided to export on the company's own account, in preference to accepting- the prices at present ruling. It was left in the hands of Messrs Jas. Kelly (Chairman) and MacAlistcr to make the best arrangements possible for shipping. , Our Waikaia correspondent's weekly letter published to-day indicates that mining matters in that district aie in a distinctly flourishing condition. Tho Lady Anne dredge has washed up 201 oz lldwt for the week, exceeding her best previous return by JlS'oz. The Duke of Goidon with 210oz for one I week's return to her credit still holds tho record however. ,- One of the northern firms interested iu the implement combine commenting upon the paragraph which appeared in our issue of Saturday last, ijfving an of the stand taken up by local farmers, writes :—"We regret this very much, but the attitude taken up by the farmers is absurd in the extreme. If the expense of running the shows is not ■decreased there is only one alternative, and that is to make tho prices of the machines higher. It is plain that the implement combine have studied the interests of the farmer as well as themselves, when doing away with ex- : cessive exhibiting."

The motor-car as an agent of commerce has caught on in India, a country whose vast distances and long level roads are peculiarly suited to this form of locomotion. A particularly useful trial is now being organised by Die Motor Union of Western India—namely, a run from Melhi to Bombay, a distance of 9(10 miles. The journey would take about three days each way. and it is proposed lo devote next Christmas holidays lo lho competition. Hut it is 1 to lie a lest of reliability and not of speed. Tl..> Maharaja of Mysore has offered a handsome cup for the ear that arrives in Bombay in the smartest condili.m, ami the Maharaja of Kupurlhale a prize for the ear that' proves itself best suited to Indian requirements for district work. This is the form of excellence which should be encouraged by competitions in this country. The romance of the early gold-dig-ging days in California has lately been reproduced by a native o' Ceylon, who has had an extraordinary run of luck in the. finding of cat's eye gems. Tie was (quite a poor man when some months ago he found a ijcm worth £1230. Soon afterwards he found another, which he sold for £2500. Alnd now he has crowned his good fortune by finding the largest known gem of the kind, which weighs nearly seven pounds, and for which ho has refused £19,000. He says that ho can cut the gem into forty stones, each of which will bring £IOOO. This moans wealth beyond the dreams of avarico in the East. Mr J. 11. Wright, who .conducted the Criterion Hotel, Gore, for some time, has taken the Occidental Private Hotel, corner of Manse and High street, Dunedin. Visitors to Dunedin Show i will find every comfort and attention at this hotel.' which is centrally situated, being convenient _to all trams and to the railway station. Mr S. .1. Mathij-on, oi the American

School of Correspondence at Amour 'lnstitute of Technology is at present staying at the Coffee Palace. 'I hose interested in building, architecture., electrical, mechanical, steam, and civil engineering, i also illustrating and caricaturing, have this opportunity of calling on .Mr Mathison. within tho next few clays, and obtaining all information about the various courses. They may also inspect the school text books. As the tuition fees are lo be raised at the end of the year, intending students are urged to enrol now. free catalogues will be sent to any address on request. The storm of opposition to enforcement of the Shops and Offices Act in the four large centres of the colony, which entails the closing of all business premises excepting refreshment rooms, restaurants, and hotels at 0 p.m. every day has subsided somewh.il on the Premier's assurance tihat pending the decision of a test case no steps would be taken to enforce the proVisions of the Act. The secretary of tho Wellington Fruit Auctioneers' Association, states that, entirely owing to tho Act, the, fruit musket during tho ourrent week has been in an absolute state of panic and unrest, and tho volume of trade has decreased in an alarming fashion. Prices all round have seriously declined : for instance, Hofoart apples, soiling last week at 10s to 12s, uro now neglected at Os to Ss, Sydney oranges 10s, now (is, mundarins Us, now 3s, (lines Ills, now Bs, lemons 0s (id, now Is t>d. | Bulimias from Tonga last month sold at up to 8s ; on Thursday they fetched -Is (id. New potatoes have suffered a reduction of at least £3 per ton, and tho same depreciation has affected N.Z. spring produce, such, as rhubarb, green peas, cucumbers, tomatoes and asparagus. At Thursday's sale of 2000 assorted cases of Sydney fruit, prices all round were fully 2s per case less than those ruling in tho Sydney wholesale fruit market. Hotol keepers have been accustomed to sell tobacco, cigjars, and, cigarettes. This » has always been a sore point with tho'itraders* of those lines. The provisions of tho Shops Act, however, will bo enforced against piibdi.oans, whose licenses, it is held, only permit them to sell liqiiior, and if they sell other articles* they will be liable to prosecution. A general meeting of the Gore Harriers and Amateur Athletic Club was held lust cvoniog in Mr Gibbs' room, there being a large number present. Mr S. Ritchie, presided and several now' members were elected. Matters in connection with the affiliation and reinstalment of tho (Tub wore finally settled, which put the Club on a more Satisfactory basis. The secretary was instructed to write to the (Hugo Centre thanking members foi the trouble and jnturcst they had taken in the matter. It was decided to ask Messrs Anderson and Macassey (Dunedin) to retain their positions as the Club's representatives to the N.Z." A.A.A. A tost race is lo bo held on the Caledonian Ground next Wednesday at 7 p.m. to select men to represent the Club in a reluy race to bo held in Dunedin on December 2nd. Any members who are willing to .make the trip are requested to get into training at once and hand in their names to the secretary before.tho test race comes off. It was also decided that the Gore Cycling Club should be approached with a view to running a pedestrian event at the evening cycling meeting to bo held in Jauujary. Messrs King, Bust, and A. F, Tosswill , were selected to wait upon the Cycling Club to arrange matters. It is proposed to hold a 'lloyds steeplechase at the meeting. Mr E. It. Bust was appointed secretary, and Mr H. J. Cameron treasurer. A most enthusiastic meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the chair. Ever abreast of tho times, Mr John Jamie, Gore and Wyndham, is already opening up his stoelt of Chiistmas and New Year novelties in jewellery, plate, and presentation articles. Tho goods have been chosen in the best markets and tho prices being as low as is compatible with first-class quality, those in search of seasonable gifts should experience no difficulty in making a satisfactory selection.—Adft. i

Mr A. M. Pateison, organiser and j official veterinarian for the Southland branches of the Farmers' Union, attended tho recent summer conference of the Union held in. Christehurch, and addressed the delegates at .tho close of tho proceedings. He made a distinctly favorable impression upon the members present, so much so, indeed, that one Canterbury delegate offered to pay all Mr Paterson's expenses if he would return for a six weeks' stay and address tho farmers in his district. For centuries man has been evolving the mould-board from the treo bough, and when ho has now got it apparently as efficient as it is likely to be, it is timo for something quite different to mako at least an effort to re- i place it. Now that has been done, it seems a very obvious thing to exaggerate the disc harrow action till the skeiths act as ploughs, weighting the frame, if necessary, to make the skeiths cut deep. Weighting has, however, been found unnecessary, if set to a proper angle, and this has been well arranged for in the three-furrow Beniciu Disc Plough. As a pulveriser of the ground, this plough is far ahead of other kinds, and it is specially useful for dirty lands, tearing up the most obstinate twitch with case. This plough, quite a new-comer on this murket, has been well taken up about Ouina.ru, where no fewer than twenty.four farmers uso them, and in no case has a sale been made until tho plough has been first tried on the Girl wanted.

Uouseu'bout wanted. Grazing wanted for cattle. Fireman seeks employment. Station hand open for engagement. Comfortable board and lodging at Mrs Macurthur's. Boyne Bros., the Cash Warehouse, have opened out new goods. Toinoriow'H church service* notified. Turnip ridger triul at Pyramid siding on Monday. .1. 11. Wright, hus taken over Occidental Hotel, Dunedin. Gia/ing <„ lei at Waikaka. Concert and ball at Wuikuikoi on Wednesday evening. Grazing for sale or to let near Lintley. Meeting Gore Cycling Club on Tuesday evening. Meals at <ft>l':'w I'nlaee iron. 'J a.m. on Show Dav ; Is. ' N.M. and A. Co. hold monthly horse sale at Gore on 2Sth inst. A. Christie offers special inducements to purchasers Klondyke tea. Xinas and N'ew Year cards at Duncun's Fancy Bazaar. H. Murie has bargains in bicycles. Cluth'a County Council invite tenders for works. •I'oseph Hoffman applies for discharge from bankruptcy. Annual meeting Gore Trotting Club on Tuesday evening. Southland Fducalion Board insert notice re scholarships. Tenders wanted for grazing on Gon racecourse.