CANADA'S ROYAL SHOW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19453, 8 October 1926, Page 15

CANADA'S ROYAL SHOW.

NEW ZEALAND'S PRODUCTS.

FINE DISPLAY OF EXHIBITS. ARTS, INDUSTRIES AND SPORT. [from out. own correspondent.] TORONTO. Sept. 4. Twenty-two thousand square feet of space at the Canadian National Exhibition is given over to the Npw Zealand Court, which has brilliant indirect light - ing at night. There is a theatre, which is always crowded, whether tho New Zealand films are being shown or not — people in the sweltering heat find there a cosy resting place. Screening timetables have had to be doubled, so great is the demand. Xext to the theatre is a large hall of trophies of the hunt and the sport of Isaak Walton. These aro a very representative display of deerheads, trout and game, with a replica of the giant swordfish, wegbing 9691b., caught last summer in the Bay of Tlenty. Maori arts and crafts trophies have proved a revelation to tho visitors. Bewildering questions are asked about the life and habits of tho Maori and the wonders of the thermal regions, which are illustrated by a physical configuration, showing tho geysers in operation. Thousands linger there. Officials and students collect all the anthropological data available about the Maoris, for purposes of comparison with the North American Indians. Of all the exhibits in the court none attracts such attention as tho woollen goods from New Zealand—rugs, suitings and manufactured clothiug. Experts have tested these articles, pronouncing them as among the world's best of their class. Their surprise at the quality of New Zealand woollens is as genuine as it Is spontaneous. It is this encomium of the expert in the woollen trade that assures the most practicable justification * of New Zealand's decision to have representation here. The seed falls on rich ground with theso hard-headed business men, who are already urging that New Zealand be permanently represented here, as well as in Vancouver and San Francisco by a permanent trade official. Trophies of the Chase. The resemblance between New Zea- I land and Canada, in that each attracts | a large body of tourist traffic and travellers in search of good hunting and fishing, has excited the attention of thousands of visitors, who spend much time viewing the trophies of the chase and deep-sea and fresh-water products that form the basis of a large array of exhibits. Canada and the United States number their hunters and fishermen by the tens of thousands, and surprise is the general sense expressed at the variety of the trophies shown in tho court. Sea fishing, with its products of swordfish and other denizens of the deep, as well as tlie trout, and the success of the experiment in acclimatising to New Zealand the quinnat and Pacific rivers salmon, are a very present source of wonder to these people. American visitors have indicated their desire to pay a visit to these fishing and hunting grounds. The inclusion of a fine exhibit of seeds has Jed to many inquiries regarding trade. Eager purchasers are available for the ladies' footwear in the leather section. A special attraction in this part of the ■world, where winter boots are a necessity in season, are the ladies' Wellington boots. The Maori race has acquired thousands of new admirers from the visualisation of their arts and crafts in a fine trophy, flanking which is a graphical model of Rotorua. No audience is so interested as that which listens to the lecturettes given by the New Zealand delegation regarding the Maori race, their legends, traditions and splendid patriotism. The section devoted to Western Samoa and its products attracts many students, who evince great interest in the successful administration by the Dominion Government of the mandate for this dependency from the League of Nations. !Tew Zealand Forest Products. The kauri, monarch of the world's has rather disturbed the previous convictions of American visitors, who claimed that distinction for the California redwoods. A section' of the 400-year-old kauri tree, showing at various periods of its age the development of the early history of New Zealand, is always a centre of interest. The exhibit of kauri gum, rough and polished, hitherto unknown to the bulk of Canadians and Americans, has been productive of many offers of trade, which should enable the gumdiggers in the Auckland district to emerge from their economic difficulties of the past few years. Associated with this is a wonderful collection of products from New Zealand forests, in chaste designs of furnishings, gramophones and articles of domestic utility. In this, as in many other of the exhibits in the general show, there is a Spirit of rivalry between the product of the two Dominions. In the comparison, New Zealand, it is generally accepted, does not suiter. The press is loud in its praise of New Zealand's gesture of friendship to tho Canadian nation, in sending such a composite exhibit of the industries of the country. The impression one gathers behind their articles, and behind the general conversation of visitors, is that New Zealand is a country where there is no race problem, and where the ethnic distribution of the people is all British. For t.Ms alone is New Zealand intensely .admired, especially iri regard to the large migration of races, other than British, that has br"n a feature of Canadian policy of recent years. People recall here with pride of the response of New Zealand in 1922, when war with Turkey was threatened. Plunket Society's Work. The president and officers of the Canadian Women's ' National League have called freqeuntly at, the New Zealand Court, and taken the latest information iri regard to the operations of tho Plunket Society. Their organisation has kept close, touch' with the New Zealand body during the past five years, but they eagerly accepted the invitation of Mr. J. W. Collins, deputy-commissioner, and attended the court, where the whole matter was discussed with them. The infantile mortality rate in Toronto and Ottawa has been lowered appreciably --from 18 to 10 per 1000 births—in tho last five years, and these earnest women aro accelerating their efforts in order to emulate the proud distinction of New Zealand in saving the infant life of the nation. They are taking steps to secure the more active co-operation of the federal and Provincial Governments in the work carried on by the Plunket Society. Among interested callers at the New Zealand Court one may mention Mr. J. A. Crawford, now 90 years of age, who made the first cheese in Canada in 1866. Mr. Crawford brought- photographs of the first cheese, as a gift to the New Zealand Government. Another visitor was Mr. E. J. Cooper, a great-grandson of the first white couple married at Fort Garry (now Winnipeg).