OTAGO CENTRAL A. AND P. ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, 14 December 1893, Page 11

OTAGO CENTRAL A. AND P. ASSOCIATION.

Fihst Annuat, Snow.

The ficot annual show of the above- society took place at Ophir on Friday, the lsb inni;., the weather being perfect, and reflecting great credit on the management for having Becurod ib by previous arrangement with the weather department. The show, which was held iv Mr Fitches's paddocks, a few hundred yards from

Ophir, could not have been held in a better place. By 3 o'clock in the afternoon there was a very large number of people, some 500 or 600 beiDg present. Up to and including the day of the show about 140 members had joined the association, which speaks well for its future prosperity. The amount taken ab the gate was £13, and for extia entrien — above those allowed for membership — £14 7s, while the total number of entries was 237. Owing to the present show being the inaugural one of the society, the incidental expenses have been larger than they will be in the future. It is expected that the surplus will be upward of £9,5. The following was the number of exhibits in the various sections : — Horses 89, sheep 34, cattle 18, pigs 5, dogs 3, dairy produce 22, sundries 26, poultry 11, implements 8 ;— total, 216.

From the above it will be seen that the greatest bulk of the exhibit?, in animals, consisted of horsss. Of these ib may be briefly stated that the hacks were, on the whole, cf a medium cJa c s. The ponies exhibited were a surprise to many, both on account of their number and general appearance. The draught horses were, on the whole, of a very high quality, in splendid condition, and a number of them would have been a credit to any show in Otago, while thoroughbred horses were of a very fair class. The cattle exhibited were few in number and call for little comment-, except in section G, where all the winners were excellent dairy cows. In section H, Sheep, the merino rams were very good, the wool being bright and dense, and would, not have disgraced any show in the country. In section I, Leicester Sheep, the rams, ewe', and hoggets were fair, bub both hoggets and ewes somewhat lacked condition. The pen of two ewe hoggets (four-tooth and upwards) were very good indeed, and were much admired. In section J, Romney Marsh, the first prize winuers were quite a feature of the show, being of a very high class and exceptionally good both as to quality and density of wool The same remarks apply equally to the two ewes exhibited by the same prize-winner. In section X, Fat Sheep, the ewes and wethers exhibited were admirable, and the lambs fair, bub not as good as might have been expected. In dairy produce the exhibits were not very numerous, but were generally of a fair order of merit, the fresh butter being very good indeed. There was a very slight difference between the different fresh butter submitted, and the judges had great difficulty in coming to a decision. Section P, Poultry, was more remarkable for the smallness of the entries than the quality submitted for exhibition. The implements exhibited by the Buckeye Company and Massey, Harris, and Company attracted a good deal of attention, soveral machines, we hear, having been aold by the former company.

It will be seen that, as we have pointed our, the feature of the show was the large exhibits of horses, and the excellent quality of sheep submitted for exhibition ; but the number of the latter ought to have been fourfold greater than it was. Taken all round, the show was a brilliant auccess, and was far and away superior to anything of the kind that has ever before takea place in Central Ofcago ; but the surprising discrepancy between the number of sheep and catlle exhibited and the number of horses calls for some comment. Here is a society got up in the interests of the farming class to create a friendly rivalry between farmcrp, and by so doing induce them to improve their stock, and we find 34- exhibits of frheep and 18 of cattle ! It is to be hoped that by next year farmers generally will be far less apathetic, and will lend every assistance to the show by sending in stock. Next year the society will no doubt be in a position to issue a programme of £100 to £120, and with the assistance it has the right to demand from farmers, the number of entries should be nearly doubled, and be as good a show as any outside Dunedin.