1 1 6 Exhibition of Wild- f ok ns . rvoT'^^xxx i v 



The large attendance means that tlie pubhc, in increasmg 

 numbers, is becoming famihar with the beauty and sweetness 

 of our native plants. In particular, the nurserymen, horti- 

 culturists, and florists — who, with fcNv exceptions, have been 

 slow in realizing the possibilities of so many singularly attractive 

 flowers — were again given an opportunity of correcting their 

 past mistakes by seeing some of the best flowers our bush can 

 produce. One can only hope that they did profit by the 

 lesson, and will devote some of their attention to the serious 

 cultivation of them, and, now that our exhibitions arc on a 

 larger scale and more eftectivcly advertised, this is more likely 

 to happen than ever before, and our plants in increasing numbers 

 will be listed in the nurserymen's catalogues. 



The wild-flower exhibitions serve several purposes : money 

 is raised for patriotic objects, interest is created and fostered 

 in our plants, leading to their cultivation, and our society is 

 advertised. It may, however, be asked whetlier some still 

 further advantage might not be reaped from the expenditure 

 of so much energy by those engaged in the effort to make the 

 cxhil:)itions a success. At present we are still sadly lacking in 

 exact knowledge of the range and distribution of many species. 

 Though at first sight this may seem a somewhat unimportant 

 matter, it is highly desirable, for scientific reasons, that the 

 range of many of our flowers should be definitely recorded. 

 It cannot be expected, except, perhaps, in a very few instances, 

 that those sending flowers will also send lists of tlic species 

 with tlie parcels. Those of our members who are familiar 

 enough with our flora to identify the flowers rapidly and with 

 certainty are still, nnlortunately, too few, and, in the rnsh of 

 unpacking and staging the flowers, have time to label only a 

 small proportion of them, and no time at all to record the species 

 from each locality. It has been suggested that in future 

 collectors might, with very little extra trouble to themselves, 

 send with each parcel of flowers an "index" bunch -that is, 

 one specimen of each species sent, these to be ])n)j)erly tagged 

 with the name of th<- exhibitor and the locality, these " index " 

 bunches to l)e set aside for subsequent examination and record 

 by competent authorities, and thus each year would add 

 valuable information to our present incomplete records. 



The recent display was hardly as spectacular as the previous 

 one. It was, however, more interesting, on account of the 

 greater number of flowers from other States— Western Aus- 

 tralia, South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland all 

 contributing specimens more or less unfamiliar to Victorian 

 plant-lovers. I-'rom the West a grvat mass of colour was made 

 by the everlastings, mainly Helichrysums and Helipterums, 

 which had been ol)tained through tli<' eftorts of Miss l'"uller. 



