OTAGO AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL SOCIETY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2437, 28 November 1900, Page 15

OTAGO AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL SOCIETY.

The monthly meeting- of the committee of the Otagp Agricultural and Pastoral Society I "was held in the board room of~the Agricul-. j tural Hall on Friday; present — Mr H. V. ! Pulton (president, in the chair), Messrs J. ■Wright, W. Patrick, ' W." Jaffray, A. "C. Stronach, J. "W. Blair, D. Andrew, J. C. Gow, O. S. Reid, James "Ross, A.. Johnson, Wv-Blackie, , James :6ow, J. Bethbridge, J. Hazlett, R. Campbell, and J. Angus: i .Ap.ologiesL.were received for the absence of Messrs H. M. Driver, G. Eoberts, and H. Buekland. '< A letter was read from Mr John Gibson, of Ashley Downs, -.enclosing a cheque for £5, as a second donation, to "assist in liquidating the* debt at present existing on the Agricultural Hall. — On the motion of the Chairman, j a vote of thanks was accorded Mr Gibson for , his 'generous support. ! A quantity of other correspondence- was also read and dealt with. The Ground Committee reported that the whole of the improvements at Tahuna Park were now completed," including the erection of extra horse boxes and an extra judging ring. They had made special arrangements to facilitate the judging on the second day of the show. The I/uncheon Committee reported that ■ they had disposed"of the-pfivileges in connectioa with the show, and had made all the necessary arrangements for luncheon for the •committes and the.juflgeE. The secretary reported that the. list of judges for the show was now complete, and that the marshals had appointed class stewards for the various classes. The secretary was instructed to make arrangements for a- drag to convey the judges to the ground on each, day- of the show, and to notify the class stewards that 'the -judging on the second day would commence sharp at 9 o'clock. The president intimated that His Excellency the Governor " would -arrive on _ the ground at • one o'clock, and a sub-committee was' appointed to receive -him. _, A sub-committee was appointed to interview the railway traffic manager regarding arrangements for the carriage of stock to and from the show. "We have been asked to remind intending exhibitors that entries 'for _ the show • positively close on Saturday night. "We have been permitted to inspect • the entry book, and while in some of the classes the entries might be a little more numerous, in others the competition will be exceedingly keen, and by the time entries close the secretary anticipates that the total will be quite up to the best entry received in the past. Machinery promises to be an even bigger ' feature than it has been at former shows, every available foot of space having been taken "up. , -* n " . • The" entries- for' th 4 e twerity -fourth annual summer," sho'.w "practicalljr "eldse'd on Saturday, 1 although late 'entries, for horses >vere received ■up -to noon onMoßtday. ..* "We v/ere unable to obtain a complete list of entries received in all .'the different sections at a late hour on Saturday, owing to the inconvenient habit of many exhibitors withholding their entries until the last day. On Saturday there were a constant- stream of exhibitors from 8 o'clock in the morning until close on midnight, and it is practically impossible for the officials to keep pace" with the entries received. They are thus compelled to work most unreasonable ihours to overtake the rush of work, which might be easily obviated if exhibitors would forward their entries a few dayawprevious to the date of closing, and not hold them back iintil the last day. , ._ In looking over tho entry book it is noticeable that in several of the sheep sections there" are practically no entries, and in others the competition is not too good. This may be accounted for by the severe weather that has ** been experienced lately, .which has told very muck against getting sheep in a fit' condition t or a show ring. .Referring to the cattle isoe-

< tion, it is found that the principal exhibitors in shorthorns are the Clyde vale estabe, Messrs James Gow, J. and J. Miller, J. W. Blair, and W. Waddell; in polled Angus, Messrs Murray, Roberts, and Co. (Gladbrook) and E,. and A. Officer ; in Ayrshires, Mrs K. B. Ferguson, Messrs P. Ireland, A. Ewing, K. und,.! .T. Mills ; and in Alderneys, Messrs-!?. Hellyer, i A. Quarter, and J. Hooper. Fat stock are , not too strongly represented. This was not , unexpected, as owing to the high price at . present ruling, graziers are able to readily dispose of their stock at sp-tisfactofy prices. Horses, both heavy- and light, always considered one of Dunedin's strong points, are j again represented by a very, large number j again represented by a very large number from different competitors. In the class "Horse most suitable and adapted for mounted rifles " the judges will be called' to select the prizewinners from , a ring of 20. "The entries for tho polo and jumping contests are received on th.9 grounds, but, judging from the mimber of entries already received, the competition will be exceptionally keen, and -will no doubt 1 cieate a lot of interest. ; The principal exhibitors in pigs are Messrs James Howe and John Dean? (Ohristchurch), W. 0. Ladbrook (Mataura), Seacliff Asylum, ' and R. M. Dickson. j . I _ The display of agricultural machinery and i implements promises to be the best that has ' been on the show grounds- for some • years. *■ ' The whole of the apace on both sides of the . roadway will be occupied, from the main entrance right down to the judging rings. His Excellency the Governor will arrive on the grounds at 1 p.m. on the second day of the show, and the Hon. J. G. Ward will also be present, •- representing the Government. - The ■; judging to-morrow will start at 10.30 a.m., and, j to .enable the committee- to carry out -their ar- j rangements, judging on Friday will , start at 9 a.m. A grand parade of prize , stock will be held at 2 p.m., and the competi-" 1 '.tion in the polo, mounted rifle -elassea, and] jumping contests will follow immediately the I parade is over. Friday (the People's Day) will j be observed as a close holiday from noon, and J I it -is to be hoped that -employers will' close- j i punctually, -so as to, give 'their employees ail 'opportunity of 'seeing the parade of stock. The Dunedin Pipe Barid will make their first public appearance in dress uniform, and play special selections during the afternoon, j The committee have made special arrange- j ments for the conveyance of visitors." Trains j ; will leave Dunedin railway station every 20 1 minutes from 10.20- a.m., and trams will leave j Manse street every few minutes from 9 a.m. ' The admission to the .how on both days will I be Is, and family tickets to admit two adults ' 1 and four children will be issued at 3s. Giveri ! good weather, there should be a racord attend- ! ance. _ j i The following are the particulars obtainablo i of the entries received for stock, exclusive of ', the jumping events and excluding all agri- | cultural machinery, implements, and New Zealand manufactures, which are now catalogued as stands. Sheep... 160 Cattle 93 Horses (draughts and light) ... "318 Pigs 44