DOMINION STOCK.

Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 16174, 27 December 1924, Page 18 (Supplement)

DOMINION STOCK.

IN FOREIGN FIELDS. THE i&24 INTERNATIONAL SHOW AT PALERMO: (By C E. Robertson, Honorary Commissioner to the Dominion's Breed • ■' .Societies.) An-Impressive Scene. ; The show and saies extended for three weeks. The official opening does not until."the -judging is almost completed, although this 'year.it was held on Saturday instead of Sunday. The opening ceremony was performed by the Minister of Agricul- ■' -ture, who was accompanied by the : President of the Republic, as well as by the Minister of War and other members ot the Cabinet. The official stand was filled with the delegates of other countries, the judges, and leading i breeders. The scene was a most impressive "«one, as the five huge stands 'and the. surrounding areas were sim- . ply; packed with people. This func-tion-is one of the great social events of the year in the Republic. In the course of his remarks, the president , of the, Rural Society called attention to'the improvement in the beef mar- . ket during the previous 12 months, • and the opening up of a market on the Continent, and particularly in France . for Argentine beef, wliich was rapidly ; ." developing into an important trade. He , also referred to the prohibition issued ' by the British authorities against the importation of meat treated by the Linley process, which, prohibition he stated favoured the Argentine chilled beef. industry. . Following upon the inaugural ceremony, held at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the grand parage commenced. There can be no other, sight in this . world to compare with it. Hundreds of prize winners of all breeds, both, cattle and horses, paraded. Words cannot portray the magnificence of ' this spectacle, which surely inspired some genius to designate the exhibition "the Royal of the world." Stately ; Shorthorns'in hundreds, cattle of ail breeds, four breeds of heavy horses, .: and light horses of nearly a dozen breeds—thoroughbreds, coach horses, hackneys, beautiful Arabs, the hardy ' native breeds —all were represented : . by their best.. It is, too, the great event of the year Jor the /people of '-. the country,-some quarter of a million of. whom attended the exhibition. Stock-raising is the staple industry of the country; and the people" recognise, its importance by their patronage of ■ .'this great exhibition and,; the'many '.other shows held throughout the ■'■ country.' At the .conclusion ■• of tlm ,: parade! the President of the Republic ' and the official party made a tour of " the cattle pavilions, where the Presi- ; dent personally congratulated the herdsman who .hart conditioned the ; grand champion Shorthorn. • Sunday, the, clay of • sport in the :'. country, was devoted to ring events. The jumping on a heavy sand track ' which had been well watered in ncjj vance was unique.' Many of the. ' jumps were quite original, and those extended not-only, to doubles, but lo treble jumps, which required rare skill, both on the part, of the rider and his horse to negotiate.. The whole, scene was most animated. the attend-

: ance being..huge, the,scores of stands , and,great pavilions a blaze of.bunting, i ' bands played delightful music, military

merr' in : - multi-coloured-regimentals \ mingled with the throng, and com--tpeted against the civilian riders, and the scene was completed by the originality of the course, which zig-zagged back and forth, across antl around the ring, while the obstacles, painted )■: white, were grouped about with shrubs . and marked by bannerettes. Practically every animal of every breed is offered duririgHhe exhibition for sale at auction. These sales commenced on the Sunday mornirtg, when sheep, horses and dairy cattle were

offered .in different pavilions, but it ■.was on Monday afternoon, when another of the great social events of the exhibition, the sale of the grand champions, was carried out. At noon on that day the annual banquet in honour of the delegates and judges was held, some three hundred-attending. The guests of honour were the judges of the various sections and the'dele-

; gates .of foreign royal agricultural societies, these including representatives } of the Brazilian and Uruguayan Societies, and the writer as representative of the Royal Agricultural Society of i New Zealand. Addresses were ihadc

in Spanish, English, French and Por- ■'! '.tuguese, evidencing the cosmopolitan ;nature 'of the gathering. Mr Scy- -'. mpur, secretary of the Shorthorn s So- '. clety of Great Britain and Ireland/who • delivered his speech in Spanish, received an ovation in recognition of his speedy mastery of the language.

Sale of Champions. At 3 p.m. the invited guests and members only, to the number of several thousand, gathered in the immense and lofty Pabellon Buenos Aires, a magnificent structure on the grounds reserved for such events, to witness the sale of the grand champions of the beef breeds. Following promptly upon the arrival of the President of the Republic and the Minister of Agriculture, the grand champion Shorthorn was led in by Mr Peter Kihlberg, a young breeder who had extraordinary success at the show, for not ■ only did he prepare the grand champion, but other"champions and numerous winners. Simultaneously Senor Eduardo Bullrich, head of the great auctioneering firm of the coun- :• try,. Bullrich and Gia., to whom is entrusted the selling of the whole en- ; try of stock in the show, some 5000 odd, took up his place in the rostrum, "himself wielding the hammer. It was still one more impressive sight, and again one was made aware that the •beauty as well as the wealth of the Republic was paying tribute to the national industry- Senor Bullrich spokeat length upon the merits of the grand champion, and then came the openipg bid of 10,000 dollars, which was raised by seven bidders to a total of 52,000 dollars before Senor L. Ruiz became the owner at that figure, which in our money was equivalent to 4000 gns. This was 2000 dollars in advance of last year's figure, and was laken as signifying a return to a more stable position following upon the disastrous slump, or cricis as it was termed in South America. .The reserve grand champion sold* for £2700, the two-year-old champion for £3200, the reserve for £ISOO, the junior champion for £I3OO, and the champion group , of three for £SOOO, the eight Shorthorns selling at an average of £2220. The grand champion Hereford sold for £I4GO, a price that was beaten by the two-year-old champion, which • realised- £1730. The average for the six Herefords was £I3OO. Among the Aberdeen Angus both the grand" champion and the two-year-old champion realised an equal price of £Ol5, and the average for seven was £477.

The New Zealand Court.

On the three great days of the show just referred to, the magnificent stock pavilions, of which there are twelve, were thronged with people, and the New Zealand court attracted a very great deal of, attention. It made quite an-imposing spectacle, as it was in the form of a Maori house, but open on all four sides. It was thatched with heavy rushes and across the top in bold letters were the words, "Nueva Zealandia," the Spanish for New Zealand, while around the base of the letters; 18in in depth, was the inscription: "Delegacion de las Asociaciones de- cria Dominio de Nueva Zealandia ante la Exposition International de Palermo de la Sociedad Rural Argentina," vthe translation of which reads, "The 1 Delegation "of the Breeder's Associations of the Dominion of New Zealand at the International Exhibition of the Argentine Rural Society in Palermo." In the centre was a pyramid on which were grouped the photographs of individual animals and the coloured views of New Zealand agricultural scenes. Surmounting these was a fine stag's head, which was afterwards presented to the Rural Society. Smaller pyramids of. dressed seeds and classed wool samples were built up on the four frontal tables, on which were also displayed rugs made in the country from New Zealand \voolsi another fine collection of enlargements of New Zealand stock photographs and scenic views loaned by the Tourist Department, -and last but not least the fine collection of Maori mats, relics and curios, from the Levin district. Messrs Wright, ■Stephenson and Co., Ltd., have.every reason to be proud of the very fine show made,, the fame of which spread right through the exhibition, and during the hours' of the day when the throng was moving through the buildings, as: many as eight of us at a time were ] busy explaining or distributing the stock and seed catalogues. These were in great demand, as they were illustrated and printed entirely in Spanish. It was necessary to conkserve copies of the special Argentine issue of the New Zealand Farmer so that these would be certain to pass into the hands of breeders, but this paper created quite a sensation and every visitor demanded a copy and was prepared to\pay any price for it. We could not satisfy all 4he demands. The Tourist -Department's literature was also helpful, but not so popular, as .Spanish is the universal language. A: great, many breeders visited the pavilion and showed the keenest interest' in the wool, seeds and stock illustrations.; All titles were also printed .in Spanish, and this was not only" most; helpful but very popular. Quite a proportion of breeders speak English, when it is necessary to do so, but one could not fail to note the need for a mastery of the' language of the country by all who wish to do business there. Two Spanish-speak-ing attendants:,were always in the pavilion; which remained an attraction for the", whole ten days it was maintained. We were greatly indebted to Messrs Gibson Bros, for their assistance in establishing this pavilion, and its success is very much theirs. Sir Herbert Gibson, who has always been a warm admirer of New Zealand, and a consistent importer of our sheep, is of the opinion that the enterprise of i Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Co., Ivtdi, should be followed up in the interests of. the .Dominion/ and a' permanent pavilion established at, the ' show. Not only is there a big market in South America for our stock and seeds, but for other products of the Dominion. - •

Herefords and Aberd&en Angus. Reverting .again to the stock, the Palermo Show is the Shorthorn show of the world, and naturally this section overshadows all .else. Many of the other sections are also quite remarkable exhibitions. Of Herefords and Aberdeen Angus there were just short of two hundred entries in each section. Both breeds are growing in popularity rapidly. We saw many thousands of each breed on individual properties as we moved about the country after the show. The Herefords were judged by Mr A. W. Trotman, a breeder from Herefordshire itself, and who should be known to New Zealanders, for he it was who bred Mr Frank Moore's noted bull, President Wilson, purchased from his importer for the record price of 2220 gns. Mr Trotman told me that this bull's dam is still alive, and breeding exceptionally well still. In comparison with New Zealand Herefords, I could not sfee that those* at Palermo were better/but one bad certainly to admit that they were brought, out in magnificent form. Not only were all the cattle in perfect bloom, but every animal equalled in manners that of a well-trained horse. It would be impossible to get anything more docile. If the shipping expenses were not so high, New Zealand Herefords would, when they became known, bring quite payable prices, and if they were fed and handled to the same advantage, would quite hold their own in the show rings of the Argentine. After viewing the various Hereford exhibits, I came to the conclusion that the best of the imported bulls sent from England to South* America find their way into Uruguay, where the breed is very popular.. Mr Trotman awarded the grand championship to the well veloped bull, rising three years old, in Senor Ricardo G. Quesada's Eric, by Egletbn Hero (imp.) This was the senior champion. The Argentine breeders thought he would have been better with,more colour in the face, as, like /mrselves, they favour a ring of colour around the eyes. The average entry in the thirteen classes for bulls was over twelve. Mr Trotman told me later he was not impressed with the Herefords. The same breeder's Nick Carter won the two-year-old championship. This was a grand' bull, as was also the junior champion, Sturdy, bred by Senor William A. Udaondo. The, Aberdeen Angus - cattle were judged by Major Whyte,' Spott, Inverquharity, whose herd was visited by Mr Donald Grant, of Dannevirkc, when be made his historic purchases for himself and other Hawke's Bay breed- ■ ers. Those of the Home judges we came most in touch ■ with impressed us very much as being men thoroughly capable of fulfilling their important duties, both in and outside of the ring.. Major Whyte had some grand cattle to judge, both in male and female classes. Some of the winners were indeed of very great merit, and i had most exceptional development over the loins and along the, quarters. The Grand Champion was the two years and ten months old bull Tatay Proud Favour, exhibited by the Samuel B. Hale Compania, Ltd. This bull, by imported Peasant of Glenfarclass (5550) was ajso the senior champion, beating a number of fine imported , bulls for that honour. The two-year- ' old champion, the Succession de Pedro Estangnet's Maceo, one year and- ten months old, was a grandly developed bull by Victor Valentine (5714). This bull also took the reserve grand cham-

plonship. The young stock were exceptional, and the junior championship was of the most advanced type, low set, thick, and fleshy, with both character and V quality. This was Senor Ricardo Hogg's Go On Ombu, by Dauntless of Banks (5077), and just rising .18 months old. The outlook for the blacks appears to be excellent. Judging had "proceeded for three days before a start was made with the sheep and dairy cattle. This was according to plan, but some of the sheep sections were not proceeded with as arranged, owing to tl>3 illness of Mr Addison, the English sheep judge. Eventually his work had to be taken over by Messrs Reynolds (judge of Romneys), Trotman (judge of Herefords), and Hornsby (judge of Shorthorns), and the- delays which necessarily ensued rather disorganised the sheep section. It was with very heightened interest that we saw the first of our stock led out to "face the judge. Literally this is correct, for every ram and ewe is led out to bo judged just as we have our Clydesdales led out for the same purpose. We lost heavily here, for the Argentine and English sheep, fed and developed as they are under cover, are being constantly handled and taught their paces and poses. The English sheep were really wonderful in this respect. On the other hand we were keenly disappointed with the French judge of dairy cattle, who did not parade his classes at all. Fancy attempting to judge Jerseys without putting them through their paces, but actually that is what happened. Again, we were sadly lacking in condition with our sheep, for they had a frightful handling and knocking about from the time they left Monte Video until they entered the show grounds, and as they had no special attention before leaving'New Zealand, it was their own individual merit and not their condition that carried them to the successes won.

(To be continued on Monday)