DECEMBER MEETING. 287 



of evergreens would bo a tasteful and all sufficient ornamentation, and thus our 

 light would be husbanded instead of squandered. 



The first cost of material thus to kalsoniinc our cxliibition hall would be 

 considerable, but when once bought the same stuff would avail for several vcars; 

 and even this cost might be materially lessened if we could secure shopworn or 

 otlierwise slightly damaged goods, which in such large quantity could be had at 

 very low prices, 



Anotiicr expedient which I put in practice, to remedy in part the defective 

 light was simply to cover the entire shelf surface devoted to fruit and llowers 

 with white printing paper, securing it in place by means of strips of wood about 

 a quarter of an inch square and tacked exactly in the manner of a stair carpet 

 rod along the inner angle of each step in tlie shelves. 



The advantages of this arrangement are the ease of application, the neat and 

 uniform appearance of the shelves, and a white background, wliicli is the best 

 possible one for sliowing to advantage tlie delicate colors with which we have to 

 deal, and makes the most of all the lio-ht we have. 



There are some matters which were brought forcibly before me during the fair, 

 but whicli, as they may hardly be considered within the scope of such a report 

 as the present, and more especially as they are each deserving of separate dis- 

 cussion at length, I will do no more than to suggest. 



The first of these is the matter of our premium list, which, as at present 

 constituted, seems to me designed to secure to every exhibitor some little crumb 

 of comfort, rather than with tlie object of stimulating a sliarp competition iu 

 the production of an extra article — something a little better than anything 

 heretofore known. For this latter purpose we need to have very much fewer 

 premiums, and these few so large as to excite wide-spread efforts to secure them. 

 Along with this change would need to be the substitution, from our present 

 liap-hazard system of awarding committees, of paid judges, experts in their 

 several departments, who are chosen in advance by careful consultation of the 

 Exective Committee. Our subjects are all so closely allied that we would really 

 need but three such judges (aside from the Orchard Committee), one for the 

 plants and flowers, one for fresh fruit, and one for all varieties of preserved 

 fruits. 



. If our display were properly classified and arranged to facilitate the work of 

 these judges they would be able to do the whole. The plan of liaving three 

 members to every awarding committee is solely designed to divide and spread 

 the responsibility, which is exactly what we do not want. 



A much better way of lightening the odium of unpleasant decisions would be 

 to protect our judges and instruct our members with a well digested scale of 

 jioints under every premium offered. Our orchard committee have before this 

 found the necessity of such a scale, not only for their own justification, but 

 for their guidance ; and I am fully persuaded that it would be found equally 

 xiseful in almost every class. 



iVnother point requiring attention in our premium list is the necessity of 

 greater definitcness and precision in the statement of all conditions affecting 

 the different compositions. Several unpleasant differences of opinion arose, 

 and some of our committees were subjected to undeserved criticism because of 

 such incomplete statement. The premium list is almost the only explanation 

 wiiich is read by the majority of our exhibitors, and it should leaVe nothing to 

 be understood or taken for granted, as whatever is so left will be pretty sure of 

 being misunderstood by a great many. 



