The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1809. LESSONS FROM THE SHOW.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2645, 29 October 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1809. LESSONS FROM THE SHOW.

It would ljc futile for those who are concerned in the conduct of the annual Show to deny that the one which has just concluded was disappointing in many This is not to say that the exhibition of stock and other features was. not of interest, hut simply that it was not nearly so good as the resources of the district warrant. Similarly in regard to the general management of the Show, to state that there are still some matters requiring improvement does not alter the fact that the arrangements generally were! really excellent, and in consequence the large crowd which assembled went away well pleased with the instruction and entertainment (provided. Dealing first with the exhibits we must accept as a basis that these should represent the potentialities of the district. As a matter of fact they were far from doing so. Our public men are prone to boast in after'dinner speeches, and when deputationising Ministers or the Crown, that the district is one of the most fertile in New Zealand. It is; for there are few localities even in this highly favored Dominion where nature will respond more readily and moro bouivte-. ously to the efforts of the “man on the land.” Yet up to the present our farmers have been satisfied to direct their efforts almost exclusively to the production of mutton, lamb and wool with a percentage of beef. Ono would have thought that the poorness of our shipping facilities would have stimulated production in many other lines, but instead our farmers still buy their oats and chaff. from Southern merchants, and every loaf of bread consumed in Gisborne is made from wheat grown outside the district. Even the universally used potato :s imported in very large quantities. To .say that these articles cannot be produced in the district "is simply to say that our farmers have not taken the trouble to overcome the obstacles whiclx exist in regard to their culture. The production of wheat and oats here would mean the use of many agricultural implements as well as the establishment of a flour milling industry in the town. All this added activity would be reflected at the annual A. and P. Show, and the implement section, which in its numerous branches is such an interesting feature in other places, would he an important part of the local gathering. It must -be confessed, also, that the paucity of our dairy exhibits this week was a severe reflection upon the district. However with the promised appointment of a ■ Government grader Gisborne dairying should make some rapid strides before next year and it is to be hoped that the fact will be indicated in the cattle classes and also in the dairy machinery at the 1910 fixture. The energetic people of Palmerston North have set a high standard m this respect, for at their annual winter Show many thousands of pounds worth of dairy machinery is displayed, and the exhibition is one that could scarcely be surpassed in any part of Australasia. Yet the hills and flats of Poverty Bay provide ideal conditions for dairying, and we have all the natural advantages possessed by our neighbors in the Manawatu district. Despite this, our dairying industry was represented!?) by some half dozen cows, ‘and there was not even a. solitary milking machine to demonstrate that up-to-date methods prevail with our farmers. In many of the cases we havo mentioned tlio underlying factors in our backwardness are to an extent beyond the powers of individual farmers and where they are it is the business of the Association as a body to stimulate as much as possible any lagging industries. Thus the Association could profitably urge on all possible occasions the necessity for such Government assistance as is being given in the appointment of a Government dairy grader ‘and it might very well induce •active farmers who comprise its membership, to take up the work of experimenting in regard to farm matters. If it co-operated with the Government Agricultural Department it is more than probable that a satisfactory solution would be found to many of the difficulties which at present confront the farmer who would like to go in for more intensive culture of the soil. The most suitable varieties of wheat, oats and roots of various kinds, the classes of manures best suited for local conditions are all matters which might profitably engage the attention of experimenters and the result would he apparent in an immeasurable improvement to the A. and P. Show. This conception of an association’s duties is one that we should, like to seo discussed at an early date, while the shortcomings of the recent exhibition are fresh in the minds of all and in order to give time for any improvements becoming effective before the next gathering. If the Government could bo induced to make one of the Departmental exhibitions which they have displayed in otilie» centres the result would be to l provide a great additional attraction to the public and at the same time to supply the farmers of the district with a magnificent object lesson in the advantages of applying scientific knowledge. One other subject remains, and that is the very .important one of infusing a spirit of local patriotism int-o tho minds of farmers and breeders. With all its backwardness in some respects, the district is at \ present capable of making a much better display than was presented on Tuesday and Wednesday and the falling off in entries was simply due to the disinclination, of farmers to,,exhibit. This is a point whore the nltim&te success or

non-success of a Show becomes dependent upon individual effort. An Association may make the most perfect arrangements and may offer ample inducements to exhibitors, but if the farmers whose interests, after all, are being mainly considered, deem the matter of not sufficient importance to warrant a personal effort the net. result is bound to be unsatisfactory. It must become a subject for the serious consideration of the Association whether the inducements for exhibitors to properly prepare their stock and exhibit it are sufficient, and to act accordingly; but for the rest we must look to the public spirit pf those whose fortunes for good or ill- arc wrapped up in the general progress of the district. Coming on to the question of Sjiow management it becomes necessary to emphasise that it is a duty of the Association to ensure that its patrons shall be fairly treated by those to 'whom it grants concessions of any kind. One other subject deserves consideration, namely, that of transit. Another year imorc trains should be run; in fact at least three trips should be made from the course to the town between the hours of three o’clock and six in the afternoon, and the Association should certainly interest itself in any movement that may be taken up for the laying down of a tramline from Gisborne to Makaraka. On Wednesday many hundreds —possibly a couple- of thousand people—had no other means of returning from the Show than by using the much despised Shank’s pony, and it was in some cases pitiable to watch weary mothers tramping home with their tired little toddlers too fatigued with the joys of the day to put one foot before another. If the 1910 Show is to he made as successful as it can be made the time to prepare for