The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-06-28 00:00:00

THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW.

7'he Times of Wednesday had an article on the prepara-
tions for the Royal Agricultural Society's Show, which is to
be opened in London on Monday, June SOth, and which will
be duly honoured by the presenoe of Her Majesty the Queen.
The following extracts from The Tins' article will be found
interesting :

The Royal Agricultural Society, this year under the
Presidency of the Prince of Wales, has completed all
the preliminary arrangements for its International
Show; the most spacious area ever occupied by such
an agricultural display being covered by vast lengths
of temporary buildings, from sound, well•built
stabling to canvas-roofed sheds, far exceeding in total
capacity anything hitherto witnessed at an exhibition
of the kind.

The hundred acres of leve pasture land are now
being packed with steam-engines and machinery and
collections of home-grown and imported produce,
and will at the latter part of the present week
accommodate in the several miles' length of stalls
and pens the competing home and foreign live-
stock in readiness for the opening day of the Exhi-
bition, which is Monday next. The site is easlly
accessible from all parts of London and all its far-
reaching suburbs, as well as from the great railway
termini which will bring large concourses of country
visitors. In fact, the show-ground adjoins the
Salisbury-road, Queen's-park, and West Kilburn
stations on the London and North-Western Railway,
and also the Kensal-green station on the North London
Railway; while it is only a mile from Westbourne-
park station of the Great Western and Metropolitan
and District lines, and from the West-end station of
the Midland Railway.
The general arrangement, as heretofore, provides
that visitors shall pass pass through the mechanical
division of the show before arriving at the live-stock;
and the first object which meets the eye on the
inner side of the main-entrance range of turnstiles
and offices is a tramway line, with Decauville's
narrow•gauge cars, drawn by a steam-engine of John
Fowler and Co., to convey passengers to the further
end of the ground. The line runs straight along
the principal or central avenue, exactly dividing the
immense field of implement sheds, passing the clock
tower, the buildings appropriated to the Council and
stewards, the President's tent, the spacious pavilion
for members of the society and their friends, the large
buildings containing the loan collections of ancient and
modern English and foreign farm machinery and of
foods, the plans of farm-buildings, and judges' rings,
numerous dining and refreshment tents, some of them
on temperance principles, through the sheds of cattle,
sheep, and pigs, past the great horse ring, the grand
stand, the long lines of board-roofed horse-boxes or
stables, and between the sheds of foreign horses and
foreign cattle and the great show of dairy produce to
the extreme end of the ground abutting on Kensal-
green station. Turning either to the right or the
left after entering the show, and keeping near the
boundary wall, you pass a long succession of stalls
of seeds, foods, manures, models, and other objects of
Interest and importance in agriculture or horticulture;
and you find, both on the right and left sides of the
show ground, hitherto unexampled arrays of agricul-
tural machinery in motion. The seeds and models
occupy 2,220 f V. lineal of shedding, which is more than
double the extent filled at any former show; and the
ten sheds of macninery in motion measure 4,6433 ft in
total length, or three-fifths more space than at the
Bristol meeting last year. Nearly a mile in length its
crowded with steam-engines driving more or less power-
ful machinery. The ordinary stands of machinery and
implemental are arranged in lines at right angles to
the main avenue, transverse avenues separating four-
teen long rows of sheds on the right, while as many
avenues on the opposite side divide a similar number
of rows of about the same length. For convenience
of access, these rows of stands are cut by four cross
avenues at intervals, running parallel with the main
avenue. Than rows ef ehedding cover a total length
of 16,000 ft., or one-third more than at Liverpool in
1877, And some idea of the magnitude of the show
may be gathered from the fact that simply to walk
along one side of each of the sheds, which are all
pnched with articles in as close order as may be con-
sistent with their adequate display, would take the
visitor a journey of 2??903ft., or 41-3 miles.
The live stock will occupy g total length of over six
miles of shedding, The entries of Cattle have reaphed
to the extraordinary number of 1,007, whereas the
gr;atest entry hitherto was 465 at Birmingham in
1876; and there are 841 pens oi sheep, very far ex-
ceeding the 7italt,iraF,77y of previous shows—namely, 486
at Bedford in 1874. The 211_ entries of pigs have been
sprpassed on one occasion—namely, nt the Bedford
gqiiiAing•l when 226 pens were exhibited. liorsee hare
not always heen a strong feature in the Royal Agri-
culturai Rhowyard but for Kilburn there are entGred
no fewer than BTh horbs3P, ponies, mules, and asses;
the largest previous show Of horse-flesh having been
424 entries at Birmingham. the t4tal entries of live
etock amount to 2,874, against 1,354 at Bristol last
year, spd an average of 1,317 for the last seven years.
Monday is the opening day, when the public will
witness the judging IA all the departments of live-
stock, including Bijtiali anpi foreign horses, asses,
mules, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs ; the judging of
British and foreign hops, butter, cheese, hams, bacon,
fresh and preserved meats; and the judging of bees,
ireand honey. And there will be seen in opera-
tion bt4ter-nl4kin,o; on the English, French, Danish,
and Swedish syslaras, trnd pheese-making on the
various English, Danish, FlOl4sin, and Limburg
orgtems. On each day of the shim there will be
paracie.s pf. the horses and prize cattle; and on Thurs-
day in next wee kt In exhibited the processes of
bee-driving an,d nunirpt4tiNi.
The society has wisely Issued season-tickets at
hatc-a-gT4ipee, available for admission and re-admission
on each day ; them z gn extra payment for the
accommodation of the grand stand ; but single ad-
missions to the entire show are fixed at be. for Mon-
day, 0,9 same for Tuesday, 2s. 6d. for Wednesday
and for and Friday, Saturday, and Monday
(July 7) are is. davd.