The  Liverpool  Show,  1910. 
148 
had  any  special  recognition,  “ and  they  filled  two  rows  of 
sheds.”  At  Liverpool,  in  1877,  a trial  of  Automatic  Sheaf 
Binders  was  held,  but  the  Gold  Medal  offered  was  not  awarded, 
as  none  of  the  machines  entered  were  considered  to  be  adapted 
for  an  English  crop. 
In  view  of  the  visit  of  the  national  Society  to  Lancashire, 
the  usual  annual  show  of  the  Royal  Lancashire  Agricultural 
Society  was  not  held  in  1910,  the  county  organisation 
co-operating  with  the  “ Royal  ” by  undertaking,  through  its 
catering  committee,  the  refreshment  arrangements  in  the 
Showyard,  They  also  very  kindly  placed  at  this  Society’s 
disposal  several  challenge  cups  for  competition,  and  these 
were  duly  awarded  at  the  Show. 
The  Society  was  fortunate  in  having  had  placed  at  its  disposal 
by  the  donor  and  trustees  the  extensive  open  space  known  as 
Wavertree  Playground,  which  proved  to  be  an  ideal  site.  The 
shape  of  the  ground  permitted  the  several  sections  of  the 
Show  to  be  laid  out  with  exceptional  uniformity,  and  enabled 
visitors  to  inspect  the  whole  of  the  exhibits  with  the  minimum 
of  trouble. 
The  Playground  needed  little  of  the  preparation  generally 
found  necessary  to  adapt  a piece  of  ground  to  the  requirements 
of  a “ Royal  ” showground,  it  being  well  turfed,  drained, 
levelled,  and  enclosed  by  substantial  iron  railings.  Two  public 
entrances  were  erected,  one  at  the  Sefton  Park  end  in  Smith- 
down  Road,  and  the  other  at  the  Picton  Road  end,  facing 
Grange  Terrace.  A well-laid  road  through  the  ground  connected 
the  two  entrances. 
Under  the  conditions  attaching  to  the  gift  of  the  ground  to 
the  City,  it  was  only  possible  to  close  the  Playground  for  seven 
days,  consequently  the  work  of  erecting  the  show  buildings, 
occupying  several  months,  had  to  be  carried  out  in  the  presence 
of  the  public  ; but,  owing  to  the  goodwill  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Wavertree  and  the  surrounding  district,  no  material 
disadvantage  was  experienced.  On  the  Saturday  before  the 
Show  opened,  previous  to  closing  the  ground  that  evening, 
the  Yard  presented  an  appearance  similar  to  that  of  a good 
shilling  day,  there  being  several  thousands  of  people  walking 
about  the  various  avenues.  The  ground  was  closed  to  the 
public  on  the  evening  of  June  18,  thus  allowing  two  clear 
days  (Sunday  and  Monday)  before  the  commencement  of  the 
Show  on  Tuesday,  June  21.  The  Show  concluded  on  Saturday, 
June  25,  and  the  public  again  had  free  access  to  the  ground 
on  the  following  day  (Sunday).  With  the  exception  of  the 
way  through  the  ground,  however,  the  Implement  section  was 
enclosed  by  chestnut  fencing  for  a further  few  days  until  the 
exhibits  in  that  section  had  been  cleared. 
