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Of the many fixtures which it is our duty to observe and report as a journal, on behalf of the commercialvehicle industry, the annual open-air shows which are organized by the Royal Agricultuval Society of England have perhaps the pleasantest characteristics. Primarily, of course, they are organized with a view to serving the interests of agriculturists and farmers in provincial districts, and to this end their consecutive location at agricultural centres throughout England in the height of each summer, as the years go by, renders a visit to them a much more agreeable task, if perhaps not quite so technically interesting, as many of those which we have to undertake during other parts of the year. Last year the Show was located at Bristol, on the famous Durdham Downs, and it was on a very beautiful site indeed. This year it will be recalled that the venue is at Shrewsbury, which is in the centre of some of the most lovely countryside in England.
i Our purpose in the present issue, as on previous similar occasions, s to assist the visitor to the Royal Show, who is primarily interested in one or other branches of the commercial-vehicle movement, eithcr as a manufacturer or a user, to turn to the best advantage the opportunity which the Show affords by reason of those of its mechanical exhibits which are of specific interest to us and to hint.
Most of us are aware of the fatigue which invariably accompanies the conscientious investigator at an exhibition of any kind, and if no attempt be made to systematize the method of viewing the exhibits, the result almost invariably is boredom and a day spent inadequately. Time has been wasted in looking for the things one expects to see, and when the end of the programme approaches, as a rule, it is found that there is much not included to which most attention should properly have been given. This is true of any exhibition almost, as we all know, and it is part ci larly true in a display of the character of the Royal Show, where those of our readers who journey to it are presumably only interested in what is after all but a small proportion of the total display. It is conceivably possible that, on arrival at the Showyard, some of our friends, to whom an exhibition of this kind is an entire novelty, may spend an interesting, but more or less unprofitable, day amongst the pigs and poultry, and come away without having seen anything of the motor plough, the steam tractor, or the motor wagon, which they had in mind when they started on their day's outing. It is to guard against this kind of contretemps that we have adopted the plan for some years past of indicating how best to see what is interesting to us at the Show in the least possible time, yet adequately, and with the smallest risk of missing what should obviously be inspected. The simplest way in which to give effect to this plan is, we have found, to conduct an imaginary visitor round the Show by a route whicli we, by careful study, have selected as being the most likely to yield the results desired, and this route we show graphically on a special map, which is reproducer] on the preceding page. By the unvarying courtesy of Mr. Thomas lkteRow, the Secretary of the E.A.S.E., we have been favoured with the particulars from which ilits.map has been compiled, and we refer our readers to it, with the suggestion that it may prove useful to cut it out and to carry it in one's pocket during a tour of that part of the implement section in which we are interested.
We shall in no way attempt to review the exhibits tme ps-sssnt issue, reserving that for the next issue,
after we have carefully inspected all the individual stands that concern us, and have there secured photographs of the more prominent ones.
We will proceed at once to describe our conduct of our mythical friend, having assumed that he has arrived at Shrewsbury in time to commence his itinerary not later than, shall we say, 10.30 .a.m. Facilities for reaching Shrewsbury are • specially offered this year by the London and North Western Railway and the Great Western Railway, both of which companies have issued special pamphlets giving particulars of trips, excursions and regular services.
Arrived, then, at the familiar entrance buildings to the Showyard. we pause to view the finished nature of the organization of these animal 'displays, and to point out that a number of weeks ago, when we were in Shrewsbury, we found many of the transportable buildings already erected, the whole ground surveyed, and preparations in a very advanced condition indeed. This great shed-town is annually taken to pieces and packed up ready for transport to the next annual site in ample time beforehand.