130 EXHIBITING. 



finger on the outside at the base; this causes a slight 

 indentation which makes the petal He back ; for other 

 petals a slight pinch given at the base will suffice ; 

 others only the downward pressure of the camel's hair 

 brush need be brought to bear. Do not, good re; der 

 go way with the idea that blooms at flower shows are 

 faked, or that there is anything unnatural in the dress- 

 ing of a show Rose. 



I have noticed every bloom — 



A secret I'm confessing ! 

 Like a blushing bride or groom, 



Needs a little dressing. 



No judge would pass a faked or damaged flower; the 

 exhibitor only tries by gentle method^s to so present 

 his Rose that at the time of judging, it is at its fullest 

 glory, which, unless open and properly displayed, it 

 could not be. 



I have often coaxed a large bud ready to unfold 

 into a glorious blushing Rose, and it has often saved 

 the situation when I have been short of a bloom. It 

 is a gentle art, and I am proud of being a pastmaster 

 of the same, far more so than any exhibitor of birds, 

 cattle or horses, all of w^hich exhibits need, in their 

 way, like showmanship before they pass the judge's 

 eye. There is, however, the greater difference ; flowers 

 require so little, indeed, hardly a touch if you catch 

 them just right. 



Whether it be an exhibit of garden Roses or a 

 box of exhibition blooms, staging will always count, 

 and, no matter what folk say, weig'h heavily with the 

 judges. 



Study, therefore, so to arrange your colours that 

 the one bunch or single bloom sets off its next-door 

 neighbour to advantage : a white, a red, a yellow, a 

 red, a pink, and so on ; avoid as far as possible the 

 staging of two colours next to each other. 



If you are called upon to judge exhibits, while- 

 remembering the rules and regulations of the N.R.S., 

 yet use your judgment and knowledge of what a Rose • 



