OTAGO AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL SOCIETY. ANNUAL SHOW.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9904, 24 November 1893, Page 6 (Supplement)

OTAGO AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL SOCIETY. ANNUAL SHOW.

President, Mr W. Patrick; vice-president, Mi P. Pattullo; lion, treasurer, Mr W. 0. Smith hon. vete»inary surgeons—Messrs A. Hamilton,1 %■ S 1?? I,^'' Joha Douglas, and J. A. Gilruth, M.R.O.V.S; secretary, Mr E. F. Duthie ; coruJnlttee—Messrs Joseph Allan, D. Bacon, T. Brydone, E. Campbell, R, Charters, K. B. Ferguson, J Duthie, R. Gawn, J. Gow, H/dney James, A. M'Farlane, A. M'Kayi J. 1. Peako, 0. S. Reid, J. Roberts. J. bbiel, James Smith, jun.. W. C. Smith, Mark Sinclair, W, D Stewart, W. D. Sutherland, W. H. Taggart, J. W. Wright, Cochrane Weir; honorary stewards — the presidents of kindred associations throughout the province, Messrs John Allan, A. D. 8011, A. 0. Begg, B. w ft 7< J- Birch, E. Bowler, J. C. Buckland, H. Buckland, W. Cowan, G. Dowse, J. Drinnan, John Duncan, J. A. Duthie, J. Fleming, W. Gray, H. Gourley, J. L. Gillies, J. Grindley, G, 11. Gilroy, E. H. Hart, J. Hnzlett, M. Henderson, A. Imne, W. Jaffray. C. W. Kerr, W. Kirkland, w. Livingston, F. Meenan, E. Menlovo, L. Maci°-». -Alex. Matheson, J. J. MAuley, W. L. r £'■£•■}* al^ er- A- s- Paterson, A. Petrie, W Kiddle, J Ross, James Robin, A. W. Robin, Ct. G. Russell U. Rutherford, G. L. Sise, E. J. Spence, Alex.Smaill, J. C. Short, A. Stewart, F Stronach, W Snow, JohnStephenson, R. Stewart A t °, U! teft hM - Turnbull, G. Todd, R. Todd A. Todd, C. Weir, R. Wilson, Wm. Wright. The Ofcago Agricultural and Pastoral Society are almost invariably unfortunate in respect o the weather at the time of their annual 6how, f but never before have they experienced such cruel fortune as befell them yesterday, when their seventeenth annual exhibition was commsnced at Tahuna Park. Year by year the B iow weather eeems to have been growing worse; is was supposed to have beaten the "record" lwtyear, but if a "record" for bad weather ■fas really " established " 12 months ago that •'record" has now been completely left bahind, and if it is not famous for anytimg else, the show of 1893 will be remembered as having been held in the worst weather-that the long-suffering society have ever experienced. A heavy rain which simply streamed .down morning and afternoon, hour after hour, during the whole day—and it had got a loDg start of the society, having commenced on the previous evening—and drifted across the park from a south-easterly direction, Bteahng beneath the dripping umbrellas and s >aking through the macintoshes of those woose attendance was commanded by duty, 8 imply ruined the show for the day. It need scarcely be said that there was only a meagre gathering of the public. The executive omcers of the society, of course, had to be preBsnt—their duties, probably, not their will, consented 'to their spending such a day at Tahuna Park - and they worked indetitigably under circumstances which could only bs described as most disheartening. The Radges, too, could not shirk their engagements, however gladly they would have done bo; nnd regard for the comfort and safety of their valuable stock necessitated the attendance of exhibitors; but the general body of the public ■jvas either absent altogether or concealed itself n the cattle pens, where it would be sheltered from the rain, or gathered in the licensed bars or uader the tents on the ground, where it could discass the election prospects, discuss the advisability of altering the date of the show, and discuss something "hard" at the same time.! The aiscomfort endured by those present was lacreased by the fact that the grass in the park was bo long that they could not move about icoui one ring to the other or from stand to Btand without getting wet .icbout the ankles. It '/as from every point of *iew unfortunate that tie weather should hays been so inclementit was unfortunate because the society will never, until the public support the show, be able to occupy the place which it should occupy, and the public will not attend unless the weather is fine; and it was unfortunate also because under more favourable circumstances the show should have been highly successful, for, as the subjoined comparative table will show, the entries ware well up to the mark •

. f-H r-l i-i r-A r-4 r-t Merino sheep ... ... 44 47 .7 12 30 7 Leicester sheep 102 105 37 64 40 40 X,incoln sheep 34 38 20 23 16 17 Komney Kmh sheep 22 19 15 28 33 32 Down a«f Cheviot sheep 33 34 4 21 14 15 fa* sheep 22 27 2 12 -14 9 Shorthorn cattle ... 31 2S 5 9 6 18 Polled Angus cattle ... 17 24 16 18 26 14 Ayrshire cattle 84 85 51 69 63 51 Alderney and dairy cattle... *r> 19 12 6 12 10 10 Pat cattle and extra,... 23 28 9 26 11 21 Draught horses ... 70 132 62 6S 75 81 Blood and light horses 187 107 89 123 137 127 Pig?. 54 68 25 18 23 21 Uolhe dogs . 13 Dairy produce .:. ... 167 131 63 104 "S9 73 Agricultural produce... 51 131 58 132 133 125 Implements and carri ages ... 204 134 232 319 356 481 N.Z. manufactures and extra ... 176 23 115 44 124 56 Totals ... ...13061173 822107212001224 " The number of entries of sheep, it will be observed, was about the same as was received last year in every clas3 except merinop, but there are special reasons why this breed should not be well represented. As it iB Mr Watson Shennan, of Conical Hills, has the class to himself. There were just as many Leicesters shown as were penned 12 months ago, and there was good competition in a good class. The Lincolns were also a satisfactory lot, and the Romney Marsh were as fine a collection as has ever been seen in any show in the colony—Mr John Reid having formidable opponents in the Hon. M. Holmes and the trustees of the late Hon. James Fulton. The other classes of sheep were less noteworthy. There was a gratifying increase in the entries of shorthorn cattle, and it is to be hoped that the class will recover its former importance. The New Zealand and Australian Land Company and Mr John Deans were responsible for the principal entries, and the former exhibitors were as usual strongly represented in the polled Aligns clas3, in which Messrs Murray, Roberts, and Co. and the Hon. M. Holmes entered into competition with them, but tho ! name of Mr A. R. Wallis, however, who has entered the lists in recent years against the company, was absent from the catalogue. The society's pre-eminence for its show of Ayrshireß was well sustained, notwithstanding that Mr W. Cowan was not represented in a singla class, Messrs A. and J. M'Farlane, Mr K. B. Ferguson, and Messrs Ireland Brothers being the largest exhibitors. The competition was particularly keen in the classes for cows and heifers, and there was not a solitary exhibit that could be said not to j possess sufficient quality to justify-the entry. The Alderneys were above the average, and there was a fine show of fat cattle. The leapiDg matches and the trials of trotting horses which were to have taken place during the day were postponed on account of the weather, as the soft ground would militate greatly against the jumping events, and the trotting track was in a tarribly bad state. The new secretary, Mr E. F. Duthie, showed that he had quickly adapted himself to the position, and his activity, energy, and courtesy mark him out as a capable successor to the secretaries who have preceded him. His corps of assistants was an able one, and all worked in a way which deserved a Kreater measure of success than could under the circumstances possibly be attained.