THE WINTER SHOW.

Otago Witness, Issue 2934, 8 June 1910, Page 6

THE WINTER SHOW.

By a Practical Farjif.r and Breeder.

So much has already beep written—and ■well written —in reference to the winter show, that any further reference imay seem tc be superfluous, but the few points which follow may prove interesting to readers: i The prosperity or failure of each recurring year's operations is reflected to some extent in the winter show. A generous and full exhibit of approved quality in Lthe various classes indicates that the ,'farmers have experienced a. prosperous year, in which agriculture has thriven. <IA poor collection of produce, on the other hand- a-egisters the fact that farmers are left as badly off at the end of the yea:i as they were at. the beginning. It is therefore gratifying to note that the entries filled up well, and that the, quality {was better than could have been expected. Jjphis year a- genial growing spring, without cold drying winds, and with plenty of 'moisture, was followed locally by an almost tropical summer, with warm nights Iflbut not a drop of rain. The farmers, iMichawber-like, were continually wanting | for something in the shape of weather to tiurn up which never came. The barometer ;'remained as steady as a-rock or proved deilusive, and hopes for improved conditions , of growth were repeatedly disappointed. It is therefore not surprising that the grain returns axe largely below the stan'dard, and the swede crop in the field has not been as heavy as usual. The sale of H,he golden fleece has done much to counteract the bad trade in mutton, but 'dairymen have not had sufficient succulent grass for their cows this season. One would naturally expect that this 'jondition of things would have manifested Itself more prominently in the show than jt seems to have done. Judging from the Appearance of the exhibits, everythingindicates that our leading industry j»

flourishing, and that the disabilities mentioned have been of a somewhat local character; but inquiry from representatives of different districts reveals the fact that this is a somewhat optimistic view of the position. A dry year suits Southland to perfection, but the fwrther north one- goes\ the worse the reports become. In the Oamaru district it is said the average return of wheat will not exceed 18 or 20 bushels per acre, and the farfamed Taieri is little batter. The grain and swede crops there have been exceedingly disappointing, while in the Canterbury district there has been far too much rain v/ith grain growing in the stook and watery grass for the stock. It is inevitable that some farmers will do better than others on account of the varied nature of their callings, and although a good many complaints are heard of the drought and turnip blight, it is a hopeful feature that whenever a decent piece of land is placed on the market competition is keen and the demand insatiable. —Grain.—i It will thus be seen that whatever grain was exhibited from Otago would prove to be excellent in condition and well saved, and this proved to be the case. Hard, dry, thin skinned, and well matured, every pile of wheat which was large enough to reach the sack contributed towards the making of a perfect sample. Such quality over all the grain exhibit has rarely been seen. Unfortunately, we know that the proportion of seconds and shrivelled grain was abnormally large, and the yield very disappointing. —Sheep.—. Taken as a whole the exhibit of fat eheejj was a very fine one. Many valuable crosses of the various breeds well brought out were exhibited, and some of the hoggets were exceptionally good. In the merino class some tip-top exhibits were not shown on an equal footing. In a fat class the length of wool is not so material as that all the exhibits should have an equal chance of winning. This is hardly the case when one or two exhibits carry an 18 months' fleece of wool, and the others have only six months' growth. The former, in no better condition than the latter, immediately catches the eye of the judge, and everyone knows what that means. Some date might be determined on which show sheep should be shorn before being exhibited. In the sheep most suitable for freezing the weight of each exhibit is a source of trouble to the judge. If the judge were relieved of considering the weight by passing each pen over the scales, as it done in Invercargill, it would simplify his work considerably. He would then have to determine the quality only. First grade sheep in the freezing works run up to 641 b in weight, and there is frequently great diversity of opinion as to whether the exhibit will kill first class or second. As the value depends upon it, the point is material. A hypothetical allowance would have to be made for offal; but with show sheep equally fed any percentage selected would bear evenly on the exhibits. It was very satisfactory to note that the judge was consistent throughout. He might have had a eli.o-ht leaning towards the Leicester breed, but as a whole his judgments were first-rate. In one class only could any exception be fcakon to his judgment—that in which thr«e hoggets most suitable for small farmers were exhibited. Many good judges thought that the first prize lay between the pen of Down cross sheep, which were certainlv the heaviest, and the pen awarded second) prize; but the judge thought otherwise, and placed them as reported. The good work of the judge is not to be undervalued. On this occasion %e was a pood judge and did good work,

1 but the best of men sometimes err, and in this class many sheep-breeders thought he had done so. A beautiful pen of Eyelands sheep weighing about 1201 b each was unfortunate in that it was the only one of the breed in the show. We could do with many more of them. —Cattle.—■ One exceptionally fine bullock which turned the scale at 22£cwt live weight would be hard to beat anywhere. We have seen nothing like him since the first year in which cattle were exhibited at the winter show. On that occasion a magnificent red bullock was exhibited which would have run him very close. He competed for first place with three others, one of which was of excellent quality, but too small. Most of the other cattle exhibited were sent in by the president, who secured nearly all the prizes, but none of them were of outstandingmerit. THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE'S EXHIBIT. In his speech at the opening of the show the Hon. Thos. Mackenzie . complained of some criticism directed against the cost of running the Department of Agriculture. He may be reassured on that point. It must be" cordially, delightedly, and gratefully admitted by every farmer in trie land that the department has done good work, and is the best investment the Government ever entered into. Criticism is the very life of it, and when Mr, Mackenzie fully realises the possibilities as well as the limitations of his department's work he will not allow the Government to tie their hands for want of money to run it. The department has contributed in no small degree to th° satisfactory financial position disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture .at the opening ceremony, and should be supported and encouraged in every possible way. Their exhibit in the Winter Show this year bears abundant evidence o£ the good work the department is accomplishing for the Dominion. —Weeds and Grasses.— This section does not appeal to the casual observer, biuit is of great value to anyone who wishes to improve the feeding capacity of his pasture, and thereby fill his pockets with enhanced returns.. It also enables him to discriminate between ■ plants which are actually injurious and those which . are occupying the ground in place of some more valuable jgrass. A vast amount of information is amassed by means of labels attached to each exhibit which is not readily nor authoritatively obtained anywhere else. The less to the colony resulting from slovenly work in arable ground must run into enormous figures. There must be quite 10 per cent, of the cultivated land of the Dominion growing weeds instead of grain, so that some estimate may be formed of the loss sustained by the Dominion and the necessity for clean cultivation, which after all is the best and only antidote. A weed, according to G. M. Thomson, is only an ordinary plant out of place, and one of the items staged in this section exemplifies this statement. This is the winged thistle, on which the depleted pastures of 'Otago Central depend when the grass gives out with drought. In some other localities the plant is rightly regarded as a troublesome noxious weed; but this is only one instance of the hundred that might be picked out. Some close study would be necessary to appreciate the wealth of information this section contains. Among the valuable lessons imparted by the department's exhibit, not the least was the fact that it is easily possible to store summer fruit in a suitable chamber and keep it thus sound as a bell for' months. This will enable growers to feed the market and avoid the inevitable glut which annually ruins the local orchardist. Almost any apple may be stored in this way, and growers cannot go wrong in combining together to get a suitable insulated chamber provided for them to send their products to. The fruit staged by the department has been selected from various districts throughout the colony, and grouped in such a way as to show ' the influence of soil and climate. The department also exhibits a number of roots grown for the variety test under the supervision of its officers. Among them there is one specially valuable turnip, which is ready for consumption six weeks after it is sown. This variety would be particularly mseful for sowing out with young grass to come on for early winter keep. —Fruit,— After studying Messrs Waight and Sons' exhibit of fruit in the show, the only conclusion which can be arrived at is that anyone who attempts to establish an orchard and grow apples outside of the Chitha Valley or some other choice spot in Central Otago cannot have the full use of all his faculties. However reluctantly this conclusion may be arrived at, the sooner it is admitted the less money will be lost. In spite of the encouragement given by the department's experts to go ahead and plant out an indefinite number of trees, and the capital at present sunk in local orchards, we must freely admit that we cannot compete against such fruit as Waight and Sons exhibit. Such size, quality, evenness, and colour have surely never been exhibited before from any part of Otago. With a soil capable of producing such fruit available for settlement and a perfect climate, anyone who wishes to embark in the fruitgrowing industry would be foolish indeed, to put it mildly, to go anywhere else in Otago. —lmplements.

The outstanding features of the implement section this year were the number of milking plants of various kinds exhibited and the improvements to the existing shearing machines and . oil engines. The former are now so perfected that there is no practical difference between the motion of the machine and the hand pressure, and the parts necessary to keep antiseptic have been materially reduced. The latter have been arranged so that the overhead gear stands further out from

' the wall, and can therefore be ■&£•€<] in a much lower shed than hitherto. More flexibility has been imparted to tfea connecting rods, and screwless joints, always a source of trouble formerly, have been provided for the shear. One firm exhibited an electric lighting plant, composed of a 3 h.p. oil engine directly coupled to a 1 kilowat dynamo, which drove an electric shearing machine and pump in addition to supplying the various lights for the stall. A .very neat little motor was also exhibited, with magneto ignition, so 6mall that it could have been put into a box 2ft high and 18in across—a very model of completeness, considering the power generated—2£ h.p. The " best churn on earth" proved a source of attraction to-the ladies. This phenomenon is. said to turn out butter in from two to two and a-half minutes. To think of the hours we used to spend as youngsters grinding one of these infernal machines till the arms ached again and we went fit to drop before butter came along ! Some very cunning little automatic-igni-tion gas-burners were also new this year. Cream separators were much in evidence. Not the least important, though a modest, exhibit was a plough wheel the hub of which runs in oil, and when filled up will travel for a week without renewal of lubrication. —Conclusion. — The dairy produce has been so freely commented upon by experts that any further remarks would be superfluous. The absence of a number of factoriis is much to be deplored. —The Attendance. — The attendance throughout the week indicates that the show possesses a secret power of attraction alike to the farmer and the city man, and while congratulating the association and its officers on the success of this vear's exhibition, the hope may be expressed that the one-thou. andmembea- mark may soon be reached, and the society continuously supported and countenanced as it should' be.