OVK AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. 



between 60 ami 70, ami ao ])lease(l was every 

 one of them, that all would become members 

 for next year, and he would not be surprised 

 if too additional names uould be secured. 

 Anyone who wished to give his name as a 

 member should at once call on Mr. .Joseph 

 Barker, the Secretary of the Society, on him- 

 self, or any of the directors. The chair- 

 man also spoke of the advantages to be de- 

 rived by the town, when citizens joined hands 

 for the common purpose of adding beauty to 

 our surroundings, whether it be in the or- 

 chard, the flower or vegetable gardens. This 

 was the object of the Horticultural Society, 

 and such being the case, very many of our 

 citizens would be glad to give a helping liand. 

 — Kincardine " Reporter," Sept. 23rd. 



Annual Flower Show. 



DtlRHAM HoRTIfULTrRAl, SoCIKTV. — On 



Monday afternoon and evening last, (Oct. 

 00 ) thanks to the efforts of the Directors and 

 Secretary, and man}' sympatlietic members of 

 the Horticultural Society a floral exhibit was 

 made in the Town Hall which surprised even 

 the greatest enthusiast in our midst. '' Well 

 done Durham,'' " Who would think Durham 

 could show this," "Isn't it lovely," "Jts 

 just splendid," where some of the expres- 

 sions used to faintly express the delighted 

 feelings of the onlookers. We have heard 

 many regrets from those who were unable to 

 be present, those who forgot ! and from those 

 who didn't know ! and it is certain that if any- 

 thing of the kind is again attempted, a rush 

 may be expected. 



Mr. Oorsline, Mr. Firth, Mr. Arrowsmith 

 and Mr. Thomas Brown were some of the 

 chief workers, and they had a busy day of it 

 collecting, and their labors were rewarded by 

 the splendid exhibit I'erhaps with so much 

 to do it was to be expected that some would 

 be overlooked, but it was unfortunate, that 

 some who had cut their best flowers by re- 

 quest should be forgotten in the collection. 

 Kext time a better system will prevent this 

 little mistake. 



Shalt we attempt it ? To describe the 

 scene ''. Likely to be a failure, and our own 

 account of necessity must be brief, the limita- 

 tions being the lack of a Linnaean tempera- 

 ment and the abundance of our botanical 

 ignorance. 



A platform about 12 feet wide and 24 feet 

 long was improvised on the lop of the seats 

 in the centre of the hall, and every part of 

 this was covered with forms of beauty. Along 

 the centre were ranged the larger plants form- 

 ing the background of the banks of flowers 

 on all sides. In front and nearest the spec- 

 tator were bocpiets of cut tiowers arranged 

 with effectiveness as to color and variety. 

 Here were found rich hued dahlias, beautiful 

 asters and petunias and the sweetest of sweet 

 peas. .Some modest ferns interspersed, were 

 suggestive in their green beauty of the cool- 

 ness of their native home, as the evening was 

 a warm one. 



(ieraniums were a large display and some 

 brilliant specimens were seen, though one or 

 two would stand some pruning to advantage. 

 The tender drooping fuchsia hung gracefully, 

 the gaudy gladioli glared their gladness and 

 made the tiery cockscombs blush the <leeper. 

 Variegated phlox Drummondi made a be- 

 witching display and the tuberous begonias 

 captured all eyes. Over all this waved the 

 fronds of the feathery palms, five kinds of 

 which came from the greenhouse of Mr. Kelly. 

 At each end of the centre row stood oi, guard 

 large specimens of the harsh yet curious 

 cactus, while were seen, first time for many 

 specimens of cactus grafting, done by natural- 

 ist Firth. A profusion of "rat tails" grew 

 out of a com cob variety, and other fantas- 

 tic specimens of the spiny tropical plant was 

 there. 



Of curious there was no lack. Here was 

 the Norfolk Island pine, almost like our 

 balsam, the Australian silk oak, whose slender 

 form dill not suggest the ruggedncss with 

 which we associate the oak, a ginger plant, a 

 banana tree doing well far from home, plants 

 called dracena and acacia and the fleshy- 

 leaved rubber plant, all being supplied by 

 the enthusiastic florist Mr. Kelly. Mr. Thos. 

 Brown showed a lemon tree 22 years old, 

 which, two years ago, had undergone a life 

 and death struggle with king frost but was 

 victorious ; he had also a tobacco plant. 



The band delighted the ear while the sense 

 of sight and smell were being gratified. 



Many specimens of plants from seeds sup- 

 plied by the Society were shown. — Durham 

 Review. 



Desoronto Horticultupal Society. 



The Desoronto Horticultural Society was 

 organized in December last, under the Agri- 

 cultural and Arts Act, lSfi.i, and is therefore 

 less than a year old ; but although young, it 

 is a strong and active Society, and has been 

 doing something ever since it started. This 

 year it has already made three distributions 

 of seeds, plants and bulbs worth more than 

 double the memliership fee ; it has given lec- 

 tures and has had valuable papers read at 

 its meetings, most of which have been pub- 

 lished in the Tribune ; it has distributed 

 good and interesting literature on horticul- 

 tural and entomological subjects and has 

 advocated the best and most approved meth- 

 ods of combating and overcoming fungus and 

 insect diseases of plants and trees. TThe 

 directors had some doubts as to the advisa- 

 bility of holding a flower show this fall ; and 

 they bad many reasons against it, amongst 

 which were the youth of the Society, the 

 inexperience of many of the members in pre- 

 paring plants for show, the failure in the 

 growth of numerous plants owing to extremes 

 of temperature throughout the summer, and 

 the lateness of the season. But they decided 

 that if the flower show was to be an annual 

 affair, the first year of its existence should 



43" 



