178 The Forestri) EA'hihition at the Shreu'shuri/ Show, 1914. 



Reference may be made here to the fine Arhoricultural 

 Exhibition, which was held for the first time at the Royal 

 Show. The number of rare and beautiful trees, shrubs, and 

 climbing plants displayed was remarkable, many of them being 

 new species from China, which were probably seen for the first 

 time by many visitors. 



Praise must also be given to a very interesting exhibit, 

 adjoining the Forestry Building, which contributed much to 

 public interest in forestry at the Royal Show. Mr. Dnchesne had 

 established here, on behalf of the English Forestry Association, 

 a band of w^orkmen, who illustrated with their tools and 

 materials some of the old rural industries, which are dependent 

 on local utilisation of our native trees. One man from the 

 beechwoods of the Chiltern Hills worked a pole-lath, a very 

 ancient implement, not yet obsolete, used for fashioning the legs 

 of chairs and similar articles. Curious baskets, said to be cheap 

 and durable, were being made of cleft oak by a Cumberland 

 workman The manufacture of clog-soles, of barrel-hoops, of 

 ash handles of all kinds, and of crates for use in the Potteries, 

 was also exemplified by skilled craftsmen. 



To return to the Forestry Exhibition. As in former years, 

 there were two main divisions of exhibits, Classes 1 to 15 being 

 competitive, while Classes 16 to 23 were for exhibition only. 

 The show of planks was very large, the competition being 

 keener than usual. In Class 1, oak, elm, ash and beech 6 ft. 

 boards, the silver medal was given to the Earl of Powis and the 

 bronze medal to Lady Wantage, the qualitj' of the exhibits 

 being extraordinarily good. In Class 2, larch, spruce, and Scots 

 pine timber, represented by 6 ft. boards, the first prize was 

 secured by Mr. T. J. Mytton More, while Lady Wantage again 

 obtained the second prize. In Class 3, specimen boards of 

 other broad-leaved species, the competition was very keen 

 among six competitors, the first prize going to Lady Wantage, 

 and the second prize to Lord Harlech. In Class 4, other sorts 

 of coniferous timber, Mr. J. Murray Naylor, who was awarded 

 the silver medal, made an interesting display of twelve species, 

 the most remarkable of which were : — a Redwood (Sequoia 

 sem2nrvi7'ens) plank, 2 ft. wide, cut from a tree at Leighton 

 Hall, which contained 120 cubic ft. of timber at .50 years old ; 

 and a cryptomeria plank, also about 2 ft. wide, cut from a ti*ee 

 of 58 years old, which contained 58 cubic ft. of timber. Lieut.- 

 Col. LLoyd, who obtained the bronze medal, also exhibited 

 twelve species. In class 5, planks of home-grown woods of all 

 kinds. Lady Wantage secured the silver medal with an exhibit 

 of 23 specimen planks, all of different species, the finest of 

 which was perhaps one cut from a walnut tree 100 years old 

 that measured 95 cubic feet. The bronze )nedal in tliis class 



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