INTRODUCTION. \\\,:i 



would naturally form subjects of conversation,, 

 to the advantage of the country at large. 



At Ghent a Botanical Society was esta- 

 blished in the year 1809, which continues to 

 hold annually two Floral festivals called the 

 Salon d'Ete and the Salon d'Hiver. At these 

 Salons, or Floral exhibitions, the amateur 

 and professional cultivators of flowers assem- 

 ble from all the towns and villages for a con- 

 siderable distance round, almost every one 

 contributing" something towards the general 

 show. The meetings are sanctioned and 

 attended by the public authorities, who not 

 only countenance but endeavour to support 

 these rational assemblies. 



The plants exhibited are generally placed 

 in boxes or pots, so that they arrive at the 

 Salon in a fresh and growing state, where, 

 by a little attention, their beauty is preserved 

 during the three or four days which the ex- 

 hibition lasts. At each of these meetings an 

 honorary medal is awarded, and by an inge- 

 nious fiction the flowers themselves and not 

 the cultivators are regarded as the competi- 

 tors, and the successful plant is said to be 



c 5 



