WAIMATE PLOUGHING MATCH.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13703, 18 September 1908, Page 2

WAIMATE PLOUGHING MATCH.

President, itr A. Brown; vice-piveidem, Mr \Y\ F. Gheverton; - ground < ommittee, Messrs 0. Faulkner, <l. Hunter, A. Rattray,..J. Dunbar, J. Foley, ami officere. •'i he-fourth match of s the Waimate County' Ploughing Association was held, yesterday iii a paddock lent by Mr W. M. iiamilton, about; a mile aud a half from Studholmei Junction, in a western* direction. , Oyer . twenty, years ago ploughing matches were held at Waima.ce, but fur some unexplained reason tlnry went out of fashion, but- four years ago the fumieit. of the' County determined to revive them, and they did go in a most successful way. It. is worthy pf note • that Mr Rattray, >euv., wbo was one of the strongest supporters of these matches in Waimate County over twenty yeais ago, is 61111 one of the most energetic workeis in connection with them. - It was thought by a good many that the ground would be rather wet for ploughing yesterday, but this was not so, the paddock in which the match was held having a light subsoil, which let the water away freely. There was a. very large attendance at the match, which was declared by the judges, and otheits. to be as good as anything of the kind held in any part of New Zealand. One ploughing expert, who follows these matches up pretty consistently, declared that, it was the best match he had ever se-:n between Three Kings and the Bluff, and the judges *>aid that, taken all round, it was the best they had seen for a good many years. Among those present were a good many members of the fair sex, some of whom busied themselves in regaling lompeutors with liquid refreshment as they arrived at the end of the row. The big array of traps on the ground and along the roadside gave to the scene of operations quite an agricultural show - appearance. The arrangements were all excellent, thanks in a large measure to the courteous secretary, Mr R. R. G. Rattray, who was untiring iu his efforts to see that c-veryoiw was attended to, and that, everything was in its place. There, were four dowses for com-, petitory, and there was good competition in all of them. Each competitor had to plough half an acre, the furrows to . be not less . than 6 inches deep. 7

A start was made at 10.30 a.m., and the /last furrow was turned at 4.30-p.m. The judges had a difficult task in making their awards, as the competitors-were »o evenly matched. In class A, fancy ploughing. G. Hunter was awarded, pride of jjlace, his work showing, all .- round - excellence, though hi* ms ajKj ;oufs , wei£ not 100 clear. A'. Brown, who . was '.placed-t-econd in this class. showed a ver}- good feering. and his cut .would be difficult to beat, . liis furrows being.as straight and even as though they ltad been ruled out. A. Gibson, who was placed third, showed a lean and not too straight furrow at the liist, being unfortunate m drawing as his plot of ground, a rather rough piece. His work, however, improved materially as he went on. P. Hunter's furrows did not show as much comb as was desirable, and were not what is termed in ploughmen's parlance, "fat" enough. In addition to this, he made the mistake of pairing his furrows. T. Hall, who did not get a place, turned a very clean furrow, and showed some excellent work, his feering, and ins and outs, being very good, though hi* pick-up left room for improvement. In clack B, plain ploughing, much wider furrows were seen than in the fancy ploughing class. J. Hay, an artist at the game, was placed first here, his ploughing showing all round excellence—straight, clear cut, and plenty of harrowing substance in furrows, while his ins and outs and finish left nothing to be desired. J. Luck, who came next to him, did good, as well as smart work, being the first competitor to finish. Alex. Cochrane and M. Horgan, who came third and fourth respectively, both put their grass away well, and did solid, tidy work. In class C, pride of place was awarded to .C. Hay, who well merited the honour. He cud a clean, straight furrow, and easily sustained his reputation itk un unbeaten' ploughman. G. Peck wa.i placed second to hiin, and , • lie showed a good break, a well set-up furrow, and iini«h»d well. W. Currie and T. Jacobs who gained third and fourth place respectively, did good work, though it was not so well lined as some of the other. In Class D (a youths class), a, schoolboy of 14 years, J. Cochrane, appeared, and much comintnt of a highly favourable nature was passed on his Mork. He ploughed with only three horse 1 ?, and as the rules said he must liave four, the lad was disqualified, but the officials thought so wdl of his work that a special prize was presented to him. G. Brown was placed first in this class. He did faultless work, but had an advantage over some of his opponents in that he had an up-to-date plough by which he could alter the width or depth of the furrow as he went along. F. Merrin, who gained second honours did splendid work with an ordinary plough, though his furrows would have been better had they been made more twilled. J. Fitzharris came third. He showed a good comb to his furrows and was good with his ins and outs, but was unfortunate in striking a stack bottom, (his spoiling tlia symmetry of hi* work. There were some well-dressed teams on the ground, though the decorations in some cases were overdone. Mr R. Irving, of Albuiv, judged the teams, Mr J. Ronaldson, of Timaru, the harne-s and Mr J. Ross of Waimate, with Mr C. Whyte, of Pa]>akaio, the ploughing. Mr W. Miller supplied an excellent luncheon on the grounds. The followiug is the prize list: CI.AISS A—(Open) cut. as you please; ptues, £a. £4, £2 and £l—U. Hunter 1, A. Blown 2, A. Gibsou 3, P. Hunt«r 4. T. Hall .tl-o comj>eted. Best, leering T. llall. Best finish I'. Hunter. Best alltound ploughing I'. Hunter. CLA.S.S B— sOpeii) cast shares, cut as vou please, with coulter's; prizes, £5, £4, £2 and £l. -J. Ilay 1, •). l,uck 2, ACochrane 3, M. 4. \V, U. Paul and J. Hatilev al>-o competed. Best feiruijf J, Hay. Jjesi tinish J. Luck. CLASS C—(Open) for 4 boree tewiis. To start and t>ni*h with four horse-. Ca»t share*, no couiw-r cut ; prizes £5, £4. £2, £1 10s and £l.—C. Hay 1, G. Peck 2, W. Cuirie 3, •). Jacobs The natmot the matt placed fifth was not available. The utlur competitors were—J. Hunt, 1). lioigan, K. Myers, and \V. Horgan. break, lifli-h and >traightest C. H»y. I I.ASS I) iojK'ni for youths under 18. 4 horse teams, to start and tinish with 4 iuiiM-M. No tut, ca*t shares; jrri/.es £3, £2, £1 ami lrr«.—Ci. Brown 1, F. Men in 2, .1. I'itzh.trris 3, J. Cochrane 4Spenal jir./.e —Rest tini-h on ground I'. liunt-T. .Strai(;hte-t ploughing on K'ound I'. Hunter. lk->t in* and outs J. Luck. Kir»t to <ini»h J. Ltuk. Tiire*> hot>e tram A. Blown 1. I'. Rreen 2; 4 hotM- team E. Myvr* 1, \V. Hrowti l. !>»-»*- orat< il team M. Horg.ui 1. A. Blown 2Rest ijiiMiiinxl team G. ]Wown 1, A. Rnnvn 2. R.'.'.t harness IJ. Hunter 1. A. Brown 2. Jte>t kept harnrts in every day ,1. Lurk 1, G. {trou'ii 2. ("i<mj> t:tj"r wish fanitlv J. Llick* l lie club dc*ir<- !■» thank tin- i<i|lnH'ilt j diin<ii<i <.f prize* : Mcl'lirr-oii, ; T. M« l>hri■.<,». \V. Cameron, \V Mcn/i«-», ! A (' F t'.A.. G. ,J. Slu'l»!'toi», j \V. (l< <>i j;.-. \V. Mil'lkfi'ti, 1' Ca"> I W. .1 Wi!!». ChrMchnr.-h Meat ; t <>liiJ :ui\ ..1 i ji'lurli, .ill ) I v ill-