THE SUMMER SHOW.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14381, 26 November 1908, Page 6

THE SUMMER SHOW.

Occasionally the complaint is heard' of the similarity between one Summer Show and another, ami there is a sense, of course, in which the complaint is justified. But the best'answer is to be found in the fact that year after year, despite this similarity, there is uo sign, in so far as the successive Summer Shows of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society are concerned, of any falling off either in interest or attendance. It may further be declared that in this very similarity consists the secret of the successes of the past, since it enable.? those comparisons to he made which reveal defects and make for progress towards perfection. The show which opens- to-day at Tahuna Parkwill—as for .more than, thirty years past—have as its leading features the usual long array of exhibits of sheep and cattle and horses and pigs. To the uninitiated probably there will not be any perceptible difference betwe'en tho exhibits of to-day . and those of many years past, except.that there are more of them—in itself an encouraging feature. But to those who look beneath the surface and who recognise that tho good breeding and right feeding and tending of these animals—the representatives of the flocks and herds of the Dominion—involve all the difference between depression, and prosperity, the • examination of the occupants of the various pens becomes a most interesting task. For while it is satisfactory to reflect that the wool markets of the world are firmer and that prices are rising, the "best prices v cannot be realised unless the. quality of the wool is such as will suit the requirements of buyers in England and in America, and on the Continent.; and what is true of the sheep applies in a,proportionate degree to the other classes. A great deal, too, depends, upon the spirit in which the agriculturist or pnstoralist enters upon and continues in his somewhat arduous occupation. Towards this the tenure; of liu holding contributes net

— ■"■" " ' - " — *,' a little, and the farmers of ( Otago' and Southland should to-day foregather in capital tune and temper, conscious of tlio fact that they have administered a severe rebuke to the manifestly Socialistic tendencies of the Government in so far as tho leasehold system is concerned by returning to Parliament men who are pledged to tlw sanctity of the freehold. The annual recurrence of the Summer Show gives opportunity for that intermingling of tho spirit of town and country so essential to the welfare of the community as a whole. There are many vital questions upon which urban and bucolic interests appear in some sort divergent, and this divergence largely arises because either section is inclined to view matters solely from its own Standpoint, It k a happy coincidence, thorcfore, that the Summer Show occurs at a season when the majority of Jown dwellers feel strongly the calf to the country, rind when country residents can find leisure to pay a , visit to the oity. *'or in this way, the .-point of view being temporarily altered, there is a better prospect of arriving at a mutual understanding than when both the townsman and the country man remain undisturbed each in his own special little corner. .There is a leisureliness in. a country life which is wanting to the town dweller;- and, on the other hand, thero is a feverish haste about life in a crowded city which is ploasurably absent in the back-blocks. And as one writer remarks when, reproached with his idle life in the country, "I have the satisfaction of differing from the world as to the meaning of idleness. A windmill twirling its arms all day is admirable 6nly wheii there is corn to grind. Twirling its arms for the mere barren pleasure- of twirling them or for the sake of looking busy does not deserve any rapturous, ptean'of praise." Thus when brushing shoulders at the Summer Show, while possibly the farmer may discern the benefit of occasionally moving a trifle faster, the man of business will also perceive tho folly .of rushing about merely for ;the sake of going quickly, and thus mutual benefit may accrue. With an advance in both the number and the quality of exhibits, with the visitors from the country in good." heart and in capital spirits, with the city folk delighted at the influx of fresh faces and anxious t'o display their hospitality,. only one other factor ia \ needed to ensure the success of the show—namely, good weather. We are pleased to note that the committee responsible for the arrangements at Tahima. Park has left no stone unturned to cater for the comfort and enjoyment of patrons of the show. The grounds' have again been extended and improved, end the park is in "perfect order. A number of attractions have been placed upon the-programme both'for to-day and for People's Day to-morrow, these including such displays as jumping contests, wrestling on horseback, bare-back riding, steeplechasing, and military, feats. Satisfactory arrangements' have been entered into for the speedy transport of visitors to and from tlie Show Grounds, and thus everything augurs well for the placing of another record to the credit of theVotago A. and PV