CLEVEDON SHOW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14836, 13 November 1911, Page 5

CLEVEDON SHOW.

* SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITION. ["he spring show of the Clevedon A. and P. ' issociation, which was held on Saturdays -•.'., ivas unfortunately marred to a certain sxtent by squally weather, though, as the weather cleared towards the afternoon;'-the ittendance improved considerably. The mtries for the various classes compared very "avourably with those of last year, but it was distinctly disappointing to find in some passes that there was very little competi;ion. This was particularly noticeable in ;ho poultry section, and the Jersey cattle section. The various officials worked hard, and groat credit is due to them for the admirable way in which the show was brought to a successful termination. ' The Horses. . The classes for horses were extremely well patronised, the judges speaking very highly M the animals that came before them. Messrs. E. D. O'Rorke and R. A. Bent, who judged the classes for light horses, said they were extremely gratified with the typo of horse that competitors were breeding, and were quite satisfied that the district was capable of producing animals of first-class breed and stamina. There was only one entry in the bloodstock section, the first prise being awarded to Mr. A. D. Bell's mare Mavis, which was a perfect picture. In the saddle-horse sections, an excellent class of animal was shown, Messrs. A. D. Bell, W. Tozor, Hawthorn, Munro, H. Ward, W. Johnstone, R. J. 8011, E. H. Kelly, C. W. Stephens, r m. Bremner, and H. Swaffield ; winning either one or mora prizes in their respective classes. Mr. W. ' Johnstone's weight-carrying hack, Ngaware, was declared by the judges to bo the best they had seen in the Dominion. The judges were particularly pleased with the horses shown in the weight-carrying classes, whilst the polo ponies and children's ponies also deserve special mention. . The classes for light harness horses provoked keen competition, some of the turnouts that entered the ring in this section being far better than those seen at larger shows. Messrs. J. P. Sinclair, C. Aitchison, _ J. Clow, A. D. Bell, A. Paton, Wm. Sharp, J. M. Ward, E H. Kelly. P. McConnachie. Thos. Tidd, G. D. Smith, and Rutherford secured the coveted ribands in this section. .'.. In the class for hunters, special mention was made of Miss E. Gills' Tikitere, the judges describing it as the best hunter in the field. _ • ' ' ' ''The animals that we have judged to« day would be hard to beat anywhere, and we are delighted ( to see that. breeders aro "breeding , such. an' excellent type of beast" was the verdict of Mr. H. Pellow, the judge in the draught stock section. .-. , Mr. A McNicol's mare with foal at foot was easily the best in her class. In the entire class the judges said Mr. Wm. Johnstone's Lord Plunket would take a lot of beating anywhere, and it would bo a critical judge who could find a fault. The light spring cart horse Polly, owned by Mr. J. Paton, was described as a horse that could.hold its own in any show ring, and the judges hoped that breeders would go on producing horses of the same type. The two and three-horse teams, with which Mr. McNichol received two first prizes, were magnificent beasts, showing great quality arid stamina, and were a great credit to the district. In ; the draught stock, the progeny of Better Times (a local stallion) were easily to the front. ■■• Cattle. ■'■-■■■ .**'■■ In the pedigree shorthorns, Mr! A. McNichol was the most successful exhibitor, ho securing two firsts and champion, and three second prizes, i Mr. A. D. - Bell being the next best with one second and two third prizes. The judge (Mr. G. Hawkins) was particularly pleased with Mr. A. E. Bodle's bull, which, secured first prize in-the dairy shorthorn class. Mr. A. D. Bell's two-year-old bull was a perfect animal. Mr. ?A. McNichol's cow, which secured the first -J, and championship prize, was of a type that is seldom met with in the average herd. The yearlings exhibited were very forward for their age, and had the makings of tip~top cattle. .......... /■.: > . •■:»- The class for Holsteins provoked keen competition. . Mr. . J., Hansch's aged bull Alfnston was a splendid beast,, and well calculated to improve the standard of this popular strain. He secured first.and championship prizes. In the same breed Mr. F. Stephens's Spotty secured | similar honours in the-class, for cows, and was an excellent specimen of the " bucket-filling" variety. In fact all the entries in this section wero of .very high quality-, , Messrs. W. Duder, H A. Mullins, and C. Aitchison each securing one or more prizes, . in addition to the competitions mentioned. v , ; 'V.. Only one entry v/as received in the class for pure-bred ' Jerseys, which is a matter for regret, as, judging from the appearance of the district, this butter-producing breed should thrive, and 'benefit the farmer accordingly. ._• •.-.,""' ."'''* " : v . But few entries were received in the class, for grade Jerseys, Mr. Geo. McCullotigh with oho first, two seconds, and ;a./.third being the most successful exhibitor. Mr. W. P. Seaton's Ramsey was a charming little cow, and deservedly received the first prize in her class. ■■'■' (. : ' :: . ; '?"': ; y ;;;- : ';^ In the section for dairy cattle (any breed) tome choice animals Were put forward, Messrs. Geo. McCullough, C. Aitchison, R. J. Bell, A. D. Bell, D. ; Hastie, and F. Stephens winning first .prises -. in y their respective classes. ■v/ - L

Sheep. .A " ; v I . Sheep are not exactly a speciality in the \ Olevedon district, but some capital exhibits were put forward, though, the judge. (Mr. Ebn. Barriball) was sorry there was not more .competition. In the classes for Romneys, Mr. Barriball said there wero sheep that would, in his opinion, easily have carried everything before them at the V Waikato show. He was also .enthusiastic in favour of Mr. W. Knight's imported Shropshire ram, which was of excellent quality in fleece. The, awards wore not available. t . „. Pigs. , <-/" ;■ ~ , Perhaps the most disappointing section in the whole list was that for pigs, Mr. W. Howard, the judge, said there was great room for improvement in every class, tbe Yorkshires wore good, the Berkshires very ordinary, whilst in the class for Tamworths there was not a single entry. Ho was very disappointed, as. he quite expected, in a dairying district like Clovedon, to' find that the pigs were something above the average.. It was "not so much that the farmers ; had , not get the pigs as their inability to judge a good pig when they saw one, and he i'elh confident that there were better pigs in the stiles at homo than were brought forward for competition. With a view to im- • proving the breed generally, Mr. Howard said he had offered to supply free a '.half* dozen pigs to the district. ; ~/. ;;. / ; Butter-iat Competition. That farmers aro awakening to the fact that the testing of their cows is a thing not to be neglected was' evidenced by : the large number of entries in the 'butt|er-fat competition. In this competition two milkings are taken for the test and points are given as follows Add weight' of milk to ■ test, , and for every 10 days over 14 days since • the cow has calved add one point. The results in this very interesting competition were as follows:—

' OPEN CLASS. " * - <• " "-- "•■ • ; ' Points ' ' ■>■■: ;•: ■>:•■■, ■~■:.'■ for Weight. Test, time Tl. lbs. • calved. IJ. McPherson's Jersey 52% 5.2 3 1074 2. A. D. Bell's Squint ... 66* 3.8 0 104 i 3. A. Dowe's Bluebell ... 64 3.2 3 101 4. G. McCullough's 46 4.7 6 99 CLASS LIMITED TO MESSES. J. MCKNIGHT KjUA^a AND CO.'S SUPPLIERS. Points ' '... ..V: ... . for ; Weight. Test, time Tl. lbs. calved. 1 H B Potter's Bimit 614' 4.2 5 108J 2.' A.' D.' Bell's Squint ... 66* 3.8 0 • 104J