170 
The Newcastle Show, 1908. 
Horse-shoeing. — The Judges report that the work done by 
the best competitors was excellent, the first prize winner in 
each class made no technical error, and the placed competitors 
showed a good knowledge of the scientific principles under- 
lying the important art of horse-shoeing. It was gratifying to 
note that nearly all the prize winners were men who had R.S.S. 
after their names, and who had attended County. Council 
Technical Classes, a fact which clearly demonstrates the great 
good to be derived from attending these classes of instruction. 
It is to be regretted that the work done by many of the local 
competitors was of an indifferent character, showing a great 
want of knowledge of the structure and functions of the horse’s 
foot. The preparation of the foot for the shoe was ignored, or 
wrongly carried out, also the fitting and nailing on ; the idea 
evidently being that the making of a pretty shoe was of greater 
importance than the comfort of the horse. The medals offered 
by the National Master Farriers’ Association were greatly 
appreciated and the competition for them was very keen. The 
public appeared to take a great deal of interest in the com- 
petitions, as was evidenced by the large number of people in 
attendance during the whole of the proceedings. 
Plans of Farm Buildings. — The report of the Judges of this 
competition, with reproductions of the designs, specifications, 
and estimates of the prize winners was published in the form 
of a pamphlet, and copies were on sale in the Showyard. The 
report is reprinted in the present volume (see pp. 241 to 273). 
Farm Prize Competition. — The report on this competition 
will be found at pp. 212 to 240. 
Sheep Dog Trials. — These were held in the Large Parade 
Ring, and were a great success in every respect. There was 
a good entry of forty-four, and the work of the dogs as a 
whole was good, not one abusive dog coming forward for 
competition. The only regrettable circumstance was that the 
time allowed for the trials was too short to admit of all the 
dogs being tested as thoroughly as they might have been. 
Each dog was given a simple preliminary run in order to 
get an idea of its style, command, and abilities, and also to 
weed out the least brilliant workers, so as to allow a consider- 
able length of time in testing more severely, in a second trial, 
the selected or short-leet dogs. The preliminary runs occupied 
on an average about five minutes, and were finished by one 
o’clock, thus leaving ninety minutes for testing — in driving, 
penning, shedding, and wearing — the thirteen dogs that were 
selected for a second trial. As every dog that was preferred 
for a second run possessed some outstanding qualification as a 
worker, and as the work and tests were more difficult and critical 
than in the preliminary run, the spectators had an opportunity 
