OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. 



inaugurate the institution, and the citizens 

 of Desoronto are very much indebted to them 

 for that decision. 



The directors and officers are deserving 

 of great credit for the prompt manner in 

 which they acted upon their decision. Their 

 first meeting on the subject was held on 

 .Saturday evening, ISth Sept. On Monday 

 morning the prize list and rules were in the 

 hands of the printers, by Thursday morning 

 following they were printed and bound and 

 by Friday they and the complinientary tick 

 ets were in the hands of the citizens. 



The show was held in Union Hall on Fri- 

 day afternoon, from 'A until 6, and in the 

 evening from 7 until 9. The hall was taste- 

 fully decorated for the occasion, and on 

 entering the building, everyone was pleas- 

 antly surprised at the brilliant display at 

 this late season of the year, and perhaps 

 none more so than the exhibitors themselves. 

 At the back of the hall, above the platform, 

 was a broad band of evergreens, in the centre 

 weie the initials 1). H. S., worked in rich yel- 

 low Marigolds by the president, while over 

 them and stretched all the way across the hall, 

 British ensigns were festooned in graceful 

 folds. To the left as one entered the build- 

 ing, was a fine display of farm produce, 

 exhibited by James K. Mitchell, the back- 

 ground being Corn stalks : there were some 

 immense Squash, Pumpkins, Mangolds, etc., 

 and also some fine specimens of grain. To 

 the right was a tine collection of Greenhouse 

 plants, shown by E. W. Rathbun ; noticeable 

 among.st other beautiful things, was a mag- 

 nificent specimen of "The Crown of Thorns," 

 which attracted great attention and was 

 much admired. Alongside this collection 

 was a collection of Cacti by the same exhibi- 

 tor, in which was a very fine specimen of 

 the Night-blooming Cereus. Three tables 

 ran the whole length of the hall ; on the cen- 

 tre table there were some very fine exhibits 

 of Grapes, Apples, Pears and Plums, also a 

 fine show of vegetables. H. Townsend's col- 

 lection which took first prize, was very nicely 

 arranged, and Jas. K. Mitchell's made a 

 splemlid second. C. Bennett showed some 

 fine specimens of very large Tomatoes, they 

 looked good enough to eat. The Cabbages, 

 Savoys, Parsnips and Beets were good, but 

 the show of Celery and Brussels Sprouts was 

 poor. 



On the table to the right was a fine show of 

 cut flowers, some tastefully arranged in bou- 

 quets of garden flowers and bouquets of wild 

 flowers ; there was nasturtiums galore and 

 very fine ones too, also some fine sweet peas, 

 the beautiful, pure white sweet peas, of the 

 Kmily Henderson variety took Ist prize. 

 There was a good show of geraniums of all 

 sliades from deep crimson and bright scarlet 

 to pure white ; some pretty spikes of hybrid 

 gladioli were also shown. Asters, zinnias, bal- 

 sams, pansies, roses, carnations, dianthus and 

 stocks were well represented, but being so late 

 in the season, the Verbenas were poor. On 

 the same table were shown the Amateur Kxhi- 

 bits of plants, and judging from the grand 



display made there must be many ardent 

 lovers of flowers in Deseronto. It would be 

 almost impossible to single out plants that 

 were specially worthy of mention, they were 

 all so good, but we will have to notice a very 

 fine specimen of Maidenhair fern, a Lilium 

 speciosum roseum and the CTjllcction of 

 begonias — Hex, Maculata and Tuberous. 

 There were some fine coleus, cannas, geran- 

 iums and hanging baskets. The Professional 

 exhibits were shown on the table to the left, 

 and the first thing one noticed was a very fine 

 design by C. Bennett ; the ground work was 

 the white blossoms of the Sweet Allysum with 

 the letters I). H. .S picked out in Zinerarias, 

 yellow dahlias were placed at the corners and 

 a pretty border worked all around it. The 

 display of plants was good. Some fine speci- 

 mens of ferns, tuberous and Rex begonias, 

 etc., were herein bewildering profusion. The 

 upper portion of this table was devoted to 

 collections of fruit. E. \V. Rathbun's collec- 

 tion was very fine, also H. Townsend's which 

 won the Leslie prize On the centre of the 

 platform was a grand collection of greenhouse 

 plants shown by Mrs. F. S. Rathbun. It 

 was composed of very many beautiful and 

 valuable plants, the names of which are quite 

 beyond the layman, and we will have to liope 

 that the Horticultural .Society will so educate 

 us, that these grand names will be as familiar 

 to us, as household words. Behind this collec- 

 tion and arranged on a terraced stand was a 

 grand collection of palms and coleus exhibited 

 by Mrs. E. Walter Rathbun and .James K. 

 Mitchell. To the left was a fine display of 

 plants by C. Bennett, flanked Ity some grand 

 specimens of palms bj' Mrs. F. S. Rathlnin, 

 and a fine jasmine in full bloom by H. Bris- 

 coe. To the right was the ice cream stand, 

 where there was a profusion of flowers and an 

 abundance of grapes, cakes and ice cream, 

 wliich were supplied b}' the fair hands of the 

 President and the lady directors to the eager 

 throngs that besieged the stand throughout 

 the evening. The background of the stand 

 was a splendid collection of palms exhibited 

 by E. W. Rathbun, who also supplied the 

 two immense rubber plants which were placed 

 on either side of the platform. In the even- 

 ing the Citizens' band occupied the gallery 

 and discoursed sweet music, and the Society 

 feel deeply indebted to them for their assis- 

 tance in making the Flower Show the most 

 succ-essful event of 1897, in Deseronto. 



Smith's Falls Horticultural 

 Society. 



\\ hen a little less than a year ago, Dr. Mc- 

 Callum called a me ting of those interested 

 to organize a Horticultural Society in Smith's 

 Falls, tlie response was not so hearty as might 

 have been expected, only about two dozen 

 gentlemen putting in an appearance at the 

 I'own Hall. The society was organized how- 



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