THE ANNUAL MEETING. 183 



earnestly urged to tiikc six. Naturally wo were "rushed," audit was only 

 when too late tliat we had time to think of the importance of saving the hur- 

 riedly scribbled lists which we made for the i)urpo.se of passing judofuient and 

 successively threw away as that Avas done. Lists prepared as I have sug- 

 gested would have been preserved and have greatly assisted our operations. 



Most of our exhibitors, coming to the fair with a varied lot of fruit intended 

 to compete in several, many or all of the different divisioiis, insist very stroncr- 

 ly on having all of their fruit togetlier, so that it may make a fine advertise- 

 ment for themselves and their locality, and so that they cau the better watch 

 over and take care of it. This method of arrangement, or rather non-arrange- 

 ment, is much easier than any other and takes less room ; but of what use is it 

 when accomplished? A large and general collection of fruit intended to ad- 

 vertise a locality is all very well and has its proper place along with other simi- 

 lar collections, but it has no business with duplicate plates intended to compete 

 in other classes or divisions. They should be taken out and put where they 

 belong. 



Visitors and awarding committees have much the same needs in this respect. 

 Either one comes into the hall Avith his premium list or his committee book, as 

 the case nuiy be, wishing to see and compare varieties with varieties or classes 

 with classes. He does not wish to see whether Mr. A. has brouHit several bar- 

 rels of fruit or merely one or two plates full; but be does wish to see their 

 merits compared, not with somebody's fine display of grapes which may chance 

 to be alongside, but with other entries of the same kind. The interests of the 

 exhibitor as well as of the visitor and committeeman all lie in favor of the 

 most thorough classification and arrangement. Without it, it is impossible but 

 tliat the committee should fail to find and pass upon many of the entries. 



This was the case at Detroit, the chief trouble there which prevented a pro- 

 per arrangement of the exhibits being, besides the persistent opposition of some 

 of the exhibitors, the insufficiency of the space allotted to us by the Agricul- 

 tural Society. For future exhibits we must insist upon space enough to place 

 all of the entries systematically and advantageously, for without it one might 

 as w^ell go into the fruit market as into the Pomological Hall to secure an 

 opinion as to varieties and localities. 



Another need is a large number of uniformed and duly authorized police who 

 can be at the disposal of the society's officers and see that the fruit is duly pro- 

 tected without the presence of the exhibitor. We cannot require, as we do in 

 rule 11, p. 89, that all articles must be placed entirely under the management 

 of the officers of the fair unless we can give exhibitors reasonable assurance 

 that their property will be protected. This done, exhibitors should be allowed 

 no more right to handle their fruit or go inside the railing, after it has once 

 been placed, than any other visitor has. This will give committees a chance 

 to go about their business rapidly and free from much interference to which 

 they are now subjected. 



One more suggestion, and this too-long report will come to an end : Should 

 not the committee on nomenclature begin its work as soon as the exhibits are 

 placed, and, as far as possible, go before the awarding committees? Otherwise, 

 by the rules, each awarding committee becomes practically a committee ou 

 nomenclature, as they are recpiired to exclude all incorrectly named specimens. 

 A worse result of delayed action by the committee on nomenclature is that incor- 

 rect labels and entry cards bearing the society's name are left to mislead and 

 mystify unskilled visitors who have come to learn^ and thus receive a false les- 



