THE WINTER SHOW.

Otago Witness, Issue 2884, 30 June 1909, Page 11

THE WINTER SHOW.

t i i TTHE CHILDREN'S PRIZE ESSAYS. ! Mr Frank Hudson, to whom was assigned " the duty- of judging the essays, written by , boys and girls between the ages of 13 and j 16 years, descriptive of the exhibits at the ! winter show-^-the essays not to exceed 600 j words and to be the independent work in i each case of the competitor — has given the following decision: — Phyllis Haweridge, 14 years (Ravensbourne School), 59 points 1 "William M'Pherson, 13 years 4 months (Albany Street), 57 points 2 Ivy Dunn, 13 ■ years (Ravensbourne), 56 points 3 Willianv Duthie- (Anderson's Bay) and Elizabeth Paterson (Waiwera South), each 53 points vhcj Henry Rosevear (Albany Street) and 1 Ruth Pearce (Arthur Street), each 52 points . -•• lie The essays of Jack Jeffery (Anderson's Bay), Thelma Menzies (Arthur Sti-.se t), and ; Dorothy George (school, not- stated) were j also commended. , . j The .Judge "supplies the following' critical ; examination of the -essays: — .. .. I There is a sparkle and fluen-cy in; Miss Eaweri-dgo's^ style; xnaMngher work" attractive and eminently readable. ' 'She has realised an important;' fact— that ah «ssay .is by no~means to -be "confused with, -a catalogue. Materialistic but .useful facts .'"are judiciously str&wn froru'ona end 'of the chapter to the other, draped with a grace of diction which, while robbing them of their ruggedncss, ' does not detract from thei» di^ndty or importance. For instance, consider one- of her sentences arient the farmers and the show:—" . - With their wives, their sons, and their daughters, they flock from all parts of the country to see the produce of their rivals and to learn the latest wrinkle upon the ever-changing face of the times." Neatly and briefly put, but re-read it, and you will begin to see what a load of 'weighty argument . as to the value of the show has been crushed into that happy * little literary^ •curtsy. Miss Hawcridge is in sympathy with her subject, and has been able to create that intangible but powerful attractiveness that book critics call "an atmosphere." TJk* Symmetry- of her work is parhaps a little marred by a soyt of bracketedpostscript, which she definitely, states is ; not to bo included, so as to "keep within ; the 600 words. Then why have written it? Nevertheless, her work is fche» bast. Only two points behind . comes William M'Pherson (Albany Street. School), who takes second prize with a capital essay • giving a powerful idea of the value of the . winter show in , promoting the agricultural, , pastoral, and dairying "interest, for which ] he gets "full .points. " His ," description ; of tho exhibits is perhaps of neces- : sity weaker. Tho term <- fat.' is ap- } piled both to turnips and cattle. Such a ! phrase as "... motor cars, motor \ cycles, and waggonettes, which were albj tastefully arranged," does _-not betray originality, and is not an expression a boy, even in an essay, has apy rigfct to use. All tho came, thtf* performance throughout is of sterling merit, and William M Pherson is to be congratulated on having written *> exceedingly well. ",.«,. ,< j Zfliss Ivy Dunn (Ravensbouine School) , ~~wins the third prize,- with only one point "behind William M'Phefeon. . Her comments on the value of the show, > and her description of the exhibits, show powers of observation really remarkable in one so young. She does not, however, deem it necessary to mention the-.Cathns Bay. Her work is "scrupulously neat, and her style ot writing is most promising. Elizabeth Paterson (Waiwera South) and William Duthie (Anderson's Bay School) era bracketed fourth, and are botn to be very highly commanded for their work. Miss Elizabeth Paterson gives us a. first impresrlon of the winter show— a jivid and very charming one. She says: ' < • • ■«■ had expected to be surprised, but not nearly to the extent I was, when- I entered ihe . building saw the blaze of lights, and heard'■Owi" roar of machinery." There is a fine jxitrioHc ring in her conclusion: It benc■fiU the whok; country by showing strangers what New Zealand can produC2.' William Duttik's essay shines especially j \in describing tfcc exhibits, particularly the display by the Government. His work - shows concentration and the faculty for facts. Like that of f,ome other competitors, l.i~- opening senternre is rather weak: "The v/int--r show inav be regarded from many ' -noirits of view." This is a waste of spaco. • W-e wanr the point of view William Duthie * xe«ard= it from. H«niy- Rosevear (Albany Street Stfhcol) tUso Hjis written a capital essay— a fvriumoh in it's wav for a. lad -of a little' over 13. The T&asot.s for his not hcinv . up among the. i prize- -takers are that his id'Oas on the value : of -tha j-.h'ow are a little apt to lack con- . viction. He .doo-s a, great deal, better in de- j -scribing tim exhibits. His -views are very | frankly exprs'ssecl. Analvs?" this sentence: . " Th? wealth" of orchards lies temptingly J on tables enclosed with wire nottin*r. This ■precaution was taken to prevent unscrupulous people from stealing." Is not that a delightfully straightforward way of putting , i( ? Ruth Pearce (Arthur Sf.veet School) con- 1 ■veya a very good impression of the value '. ■of the winter show, end has evidently taken ! groat, paint? with her work, which does her ■credit. It is a pity she has used the word " purpleish." which :s: s very ugly English, and quite inadmissible. The prize essay is appended : — THE WINTER SHOW. By Phyllis Hawcridge. The* bustle and the jostle of the iovial, •sturdy country settlers; the sight- of fresh faces, tanned with the sun, beaming with ■good humour arxl -with living among the great open spaces of Naturs ; the exciteTOiemt of being tossed hither a.nd. thither on -the great 'waves of the den«e crowd ; the noise, the atmosphere of cattle and grain — all combine to . draw a crowd of curious citizens to the winter chow of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society. To the farmers, however much as they ■enjoy this annual meeting with their friends and fello-w agriciilturists. tho talk- of old times, the ceaseless talk of "slop "-^of oats and wheat, of sheep and cows, of pigs and dog 3, of the rival merits of lonchorns and shorthorns, or even of polled beasts with no horns at" all,— it is with dead oarnestne»s and keep busines? instinct thah with their- wives, their eons, and the:r " daughters, they flock from all parts of_ the country to see thf produce of their rivals and to learn the. latest, wrinkles updo tho j ••rer-changing face of the times.

3&reat3Wess "with excitement, they await the verdict of tho judges, -who must decide upon the m&rits of father's stock; of Sandy's wurzels, which he has tended, weeded, and gorged "with phosphates until one pf them is larger than Cinderella's pumpkin ; of mother's butter and cheese ; of Jean's oatcake and scones, and of clever Mary's wonderful bouquet of butter flowers. Flushed with prida they cluster round the coloured cards which crown thtir efforts, or silently admit themselves fairly beaten, and doggedly determine to do bettor next year. Yet neither success nor failure i<s allowed to interfere with their determination to learn all the lessons which the show affords. The wonderful educational displays of the Government, and the lectures of the experts, are criticised and discussed with intense interest. The good points of the picked produce exhibited call for a close examination of the growers' methods; the prize sheep and cattle are a well-under-stood and a, .closely -studied object lesson in stock-raising; the butter and cheese call for the closest inspection of dairy methods ; and even the cooking screws up the spirits . of the farm daughters to the highest pitch of competition. " - ~ .. Although we miss the magnificent " bays " of the districts which used to attract us so- much,. the eplendid exhibit 'of the Catlins^district- makes us hope that next year we may see them once again. Nothing else is absent — wool, grain; hams, bacon, poultry, fruit, and honey are on every side; even ihe school gardens have their exhibits, and the young gardeners have been much praised for their productions. For these reasons the winter show can only be considered invaluable as a means of promoting not only the agricultural, pastoral, and dairying, but also the manufacturing interests of Otago. More, even, than the summer show does it appeal to our country settlers, since it comes at a season of the year when time can beet be spared for a visit to town, so that each year its importance becomes more recognised. If this is true 'of the farmer, it is equally true of the manufacturer. The show is filled with new inventions. Milking machines, shearing machines, machines, harvesting machines, churning "aiachines, pumping machines whizz and whirl in the most .bewildering and deafening manner. Everywhere are -goods made from farm produce; the. factory butter and cheese, tha wonderful woollens made in the New Zealand factories, the rope and twine made from our flax, and the furniture made from our timber ! The -prize essay competition by children uu-d-er 13 years of age in connection with the winter show resulted as follows: — Annie Henderson „ (Albany Street School), 12 yoars 11 months, 53 • points • ...- 1 Rita Gillies (Albany Street), 12 years 9 months, 52 "points ... 2 . Lindsay Park (Kaikorai), no_ a.£e given, 51 points 3 ■Mollie Muir (Maori Hill), 12 years 9 months, 47— 'points ... — . v.h.c. • Wipiajn Owen (Anderson's Bay), 11 years -6 months, 46 points ...h.c. After- these came in order of merit : — "Vera Webber (Ravensboiarne), 44 points ; Jack Gilts (Albany Street), 42 points ; Doug-las H. Sa-unders (school net mentioned), 41 points; A. Pbillipps (Albany Street) and Mary Holmes (North-East Harbour), equal, 40 pointe. The judge (Mr Frank Hudson) in his report to the AgricuLtriral and Pastoral Society, supplied the following comir.eirits : Annie Henderson's essay is written* apparently without effort, and is therefore geed reading-. She brings cut her points clearly and well, and makes the most of them. She c'oss not throw in too many superlatives, and uses good logic and better English. Rita Gillies is at her best in ckseri'bini? the exhibits. Her essay is beautifully neat t and in good style. # Lftidisay Park's work, considered entirely in a literary sense, outshines all the others in his class, but too much space is frittered away on side issues, which, though they make the essay more readable, are not mark-getters. Appearances are against Mollie Muir's contribution, which contains a number of afterthoughts slipped in betw?en the lines, giving the essay rather a ragged look displeasing to the eye. Thf words and argument, however, are nearly as they should be William Owen is convincing. He makes a good point with :".... therefore better brands are- got. This is iust what wo want in competing for the Home market w : tih the Argentine." Vera Webber's English is not yet formed, but it is- foiming". She takes great pains to bring out, the "value of fhr 1 winter show, and succeeds to a very creditable degree. Jack Gilk's eseav bristles with information, but he does not clinch his sentences. which end as it were i.n a whisper instead of with a ba.ng. A good deal of the information therefore escapes. Douglas S. Saunders do c s good work, but daals with the necessity fcr, rather than with the value of th? show. A. Phillipps and Mary Hclrr.cs ix>th have written cnpital essays displaying a wisdom beyond their years. The latter is al=o e\cel!ent in neatness, and tho writer would have been much higher up had she devoted more energy to demonstrating the value of ihe show. The other essays also make excellent reading. Some are humorous, others reflective, and all are delightful. On^ boy writes : "On enteric,! the show I heard a great noise of machinery and the talking of the Deoalo " — a sensation rather well eMjressed. Thus a lx>v of the Kaikorai: "The fat cattle chew contentedly, blissfully ro?.ardlc~s of the ijrueeoiro and pronhetic notice — ' Bousrht by W. Duke, Esore, George street,' nailed to their stalls." One boy writes topically: "I learn frcm the Hon. T. Mackenzie's spsech at tho opening of the shew that dairy produce has come forward a good deal in the last few years, but it is not go with our frozen meat, for it is now refused by th-p German Government — at lea/rt. rh*> Hon. T. Mackenzie says so. but that was denied in Saturday night's Star, in th< a correspondence column. Anyway, the German Government, aro now taking steps to overtake us in war, but I do not. think they are likely to do so, as Britain's defences are pretty safe, and if America keeps hr promie-o sho will sta.nd" by our side in life or death. But this is not talking of dairy prcduc-e." Quite so. and thi* is an awful example of what, happens if little boys read the Hon. T. Mackenzie's speeches.