THE• 79th ROYAL SHOW AT DARLINGTON.
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Full Report of the. Machinery Section, Which Covers Farm Transport, Motors and Power-driven Agricultural Implements.
THE ADVENT of the Royal, which is itself an. annual landmark of our editorial journeyings, seems this year, more than ever before, to emphasize the swift passage of time. It seems but yesterday almost that we walked along that pleasant avenue of trees which was such a feature of the Cardiff site. The impression is heightened, too, although this is a. feature of all "Royals," by the close similarity which 'exists between the lay-out of each successive annual Show. The practice, which seems to be confined almost entirely to agricultural shows, of allowing each entrant, so far as is possible, to take his stand year after year in practically the same location within the exhibition, is one which has many advantages, not the least being the ease with which, as one result of it, experienced visitors can find their way to the particular exhibits'in which they are interested.. It has the effect, too, as we have hinted, that, once within the grounds, the visitor immediately feels at home and gains the impression that he did but the other day leave the previous Show, Which, as Euclid wduld say, is absurd. It may be, too, that the similarity is more apparent than real and is largely effected by the aspect of the ,Show on entering the main gates, when one faces at. once the old stands of Fowler, Aveling and Porter, and Garrett. Actually, as Sir Gilbert. Greenall, the hon. director, informed us, the respective positions of the heavy and light portions of the implement yard, in which readers of this journal, of course, are particularly interested,..are determined by the lay of the landin regard to the principal railway siding. Visitors to this year's Show, for example, will notice that the heavy section is on the right as the Show is entered,
and, if they trouble to investigate, they will also find• that the railway siding is also on that side. The reason for the arrangement is, of course, clear.
The original object of the Royal Agricultural Society in holding the Show was that of educating the farmer to the wider and better use of improved methods, and, simultaneously, to encourage the breeding of good live stock. That obiect is still the main one of the Show. In pursuance of it, the practice of moving it to a different locality each successive year has, with the exception of one short period, been generally adopted, s0 that the circle of the agricultural population reached by this );neans should be as large as possible.
Naturally, the sites chosen are, more or less, in the centre of agricultural districts, and the average reader of the " CAL" will no doubt be disposed to question the claim of the county.of Durham to that distinction. it is, therefore, not without interest to note that it was in Durham: that the practice of holding agricultural shows was originated, in about the year 1783. As a direct result of those shows, the Shorthorn • Society was founded, and, subsequently, the whole modern practice of breeding true to some specific variety was built up from that small beginning. The present show is, of course, of special significance to readers of this journal, as, by a new rule of the S.M.M. and T., which is the ruling body in the trade, it i8 the only show in this country, apart from the Society's own exhibitions, at which those members of the Society who have signed the bond, may exhibit. As might have been expected, there is, on that account, a representative serection of commercial vehicles of all types on view.