SHOWS AND SHOWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16408, 9 December 1916, Page 1 (Supplement)

SHOWS AND SHOWS.

IN THE CITY AND IN THE BUSH. BY TE FAXA. To the average city dweller, the very mention of the word " show " conjures up a phantom vista of green, shady, lanes, endless paddocks rich in verdure, dotted with sleek, contented tattle, running streams and broad acres of ripening grain, with the sun flashing and glinting in golden colours on the -enclosed homestead. A portion of this vision in concrete form set down on the borders of the smoky, dusty city, is designated a show. In reality, to many people it is a glimpse of the country, to others it speaks of wealth, and the basis of com mereial prosperity, and to some it displays the animals whence comes the morning milk, the breakfast steak, and the luncheon cutlet. To the man on the land, the owner of unencumbered acres, the struggling dairy farmer, the " roustabout." a show is the event of the year. He sees his neighbour's cattle in all their glory in the orand parade : his wife's jam. or his daughter's butter, or the boss' hunter, is out for the honour and glory of winning the judges approval, and show in-; the city public what is being done by the people to whom face massage :;ii> silk stockings are unknown quantities, and are only frills in the real matters of life. At the back of the farmer's mind is always the firm conviction that he is the man who counts, that his is the industry which feeds the city, and makes or mars a country. He is proud, very proud, of the opportunity to show his tools of trade, and the things that he helps to fashion. When he drives home Strawberry, with her neck encircled by the red white and blue ribbon of champion grade, he feels contented with his lot, and appraises the show as a huge success. If the coveted class awards have passed him by. the old red cow that he turns into the bottom paddock at the farm, is still a goodly sight to his eyes, but the show has demonstrated that there are better beasts grazing in the pastures of his county, that So and So light draught geldings show more bone and shoulder form than his ploughing team, and that his merino flock wants culling a bit if the wool is to reach top price. Stimulus to Improvement. It is the show that demonstrates the finer points of breed and training, and of scientific aids to successful farming. He is conservative, is the man on the land. Adopting methods of his own. and slow to believe in the other fellow's system, or to lose faith in his own. the yearly show is prima facie evidence of results to him. For weeks after the Metropolitan exhibitions, he is a hard thinker. Jim. who was at the show, and saw Sis beaten in the riding competitions, adds his ideas to the paternal directorate, and considers that it is high time the old farm began to bestir itself, and dc something in the improvement line sufficiently meritorious to impress the neighbours at next show. Call it the spirit ol i competition if you like, rivalry, anything j It is a condition that aims at improve . ment, and the annual provincial show | is an exhibition .of improved improve i ments. | The City Man's Part. The city man sees only an array o I cattle, endless pens of pigs and sheep and fine upstanding horses. The gaj crowd is an attraction to him, and _ tin | collection of weird machinery fascinate: Iby its strangeness. The smells and thi ; dust and the fragments of country ver j nacular bewilder him, and as often a: I not, he seeks refuge in the tent of < ! side-show man. who ladles out magii 1 that is nothing of the kind, or find: • entertainment at the dingy tables, when i skill in dart throwing is necessary to wii j an imitation gold bangle or a worthies: ; ring. He is a sordid being at a show j The horses attract him. and he enthuse: i about the hunting events, although thi j pinnacle of his day's enjoyment, is at j tained should a horse land in the middli lof the water jump. He is thinking mos j of the time about avoiding the rush fo: the city car, and reaching home in timi I for tea. But despite his superior air and blase talk of the exhibition, hi played his part in the show. He was om of the units that made the crowd whicl assembled to see the products of the mai j on the land, and thereby gladdened th farmer's heart. | farmer's heart. A Show in the Bush.

I The bush show is more in the nature ) of a picnic, a meeting place for the ! farmers of the district to foregather in. j There nothing in the way of Elood j stock, nor any large displays of machI inery. A wired off enclosure in someI body's paddock serves as a ground, and J pens, and accessories are unknown. The j shelter of the nearest tree makes an I excellent " stand,"' and Mum and the I family on arrival, proceed to lay out the snowy white table cloth", while "the children scout round for chips wherewith to boil the billy. The men folk chew straws, and prod the only example of fat sheep with their boots, and reckon that this j year's show beats last season's function Iby a mile. They consider old Brown's | heifer with the black patch is the best i milking cow on the ground, and that he | offered the beast to Smith the butcher j for five pounds at the end qf last year. Good rains and plenty of feed, do wonders for a cow. As for pigs, well, the fat sow of Timi Tairoa's was the only thing in the class. Bit heavy in the | side for good bacon, perhaps, but a fair pig all the same. There were plenty of I kumaras in the pa, and that accounted i '' t the condition of the animal. Had a bit of Tamworth in him too. Yes, a fair baconer alright, and if the judge was anything of a judge, he would be an easy winner. The March of Progress. Under the trees, lunch is ready, and the crowd of good country folk browses 'on its own rich productions. Talk is genI eral. and of the locality in particular. A ! group of greybeards, discusses the present . in comparison with the settlement in their , young davs. Ah. the improvements, the i advance that has been made Areas torn . i mil the bush, grassed, and producing j •-♦tie. The roads that have been formed, | Hii.l young settlers just- coming in to carve j out their homesteads, and make the land I pre!active. And shows! There were no | shows in their early davs. Thev had [ nothing to exhibit but slab Huts," keenj edged axes, and the results of their toil, j a patch hewed from the virgin bush. ; They missed the young men to-day, the ! boys that ran in races, and flirted with the girls. Thev were all away in uniform somewhere. France, perhaps, and they did say that young Smith. who won the lone: jump last show-day, was in hospital in Enjrhnd.

The clay passes and drifts on to its end. The crowd disperses, taking short cuts through fences out on to the dusty road, "here the exhibits are bein<j ' slowly driven homewards. Riders dash by, and carts and buggies, with the occupants singing and lauerhing. jog towards the sunset. Tn the little township knots of stay-at-homes are gathered around the store, awaiting the results of the judging. Did Flossy get a prize ? How about old Sam's bull? What did you think of the sheep? Who won the chop? It is a great event :s show-day in the bush.