THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



pose, Mrs. Hoodless also brought before us 

 the objects of the Women's Agricultural and 

 Horticultural International Union of Eng- 

 land, which are as follows : — 



1. To form a bond between women in all 

 countries who are engaged, whether directly or in- 

 directly, as employers or employed, or as working 

 amateurs, in 



{a) Farming, dairying, poultry- keeping or 

 bee-keeping ; 



{b) Fruit or flower growing for profit ; 



{c) Laying-out of grounds, forestry and the 

 management of estates. 



2. To circulate useful information, and to com- 

 pare the methods of different countries and dis- 

 tricts. 



3. To advise as to training, and to make known 

 openings for obtaining employment, and for the 

 dispo-sal of produce. Members can also consult 

 each other : — For example, one intending to settle 

 in Canada could write to a member here, and get 

 information at first hand. 



4. To endeavour to secure an adequate rate of 

 payment for women employed in any of the in- 

 dicated lines of work. To uphold the highest 

 standard of work. 



Those desirous of joining the union as members 

 must send in their names to the honorary secretary, 

 stating in what branch they are engaged, and en- 

 closing the names and addresses of two referees as 

 to their qualifications. 



The rates of subscription for such members are : 

 2S. entrance fee, and 2s. 6d. per annum. All em- 

 ployers, amateurs and others interested in the 

 objects of the union, are classed as honorary mem- 

 bers, and pay 5s. per annum. Donors of £5 are 

 life members. Subscriptions are due on fanicary 

 ist. 



Membership entitles to advice from the executive 

 committee ; to the receipt of such papers or reports 

 as are issued periodically ; to advice as to the dis- 

 posal of produce ; and to assistance in finding 

 employment. 



The papers circulated by the union will contain 

 lists of members, and of appointments obtained by 



women, articles by experts in various countries, 

 correspondence, reports of the honorary secretary, 

 and matters of ijeneral interest bearing on subjects 

 coming within the scope of the union. 



The council meets twice a year, the executive 

 committee at its own option. The latter is re- 

 elected annually. New members of council can 

 only be elected at council meetings, and must be 

 duly nominated and seconded. 



A general meeting is held annually in May or 

 June, in London. 



Xon-members corresponding with the honorary 

 secretary or executive committee, without any 

 intention of joining the union, rnust pay is. 

 fee. 



Mrs. Hoodless proposes that each of our 

 affiliated Horticultural Societies, and each 

 Woman's Institute be allowed to take one 

 membership for the society, thus bring'ing 

 the membership in touch with the union, 

 and in sympathy with its work ; and form- 

 ing an organization for receiving the pub- 

 lications and the visiting lecturers of the 

 union. 



This might result in the direct sale of pro- 

 duce, properly packed, by members of the 

 societies in Canada to members of the union 

 in England, or to trade with persons recom- 

 mended by those members. 



We wish Mrs. Hoodless every encourage- 

 ment in her work. She is a charming 

 speaker, her addresses are listened to by 

 every one with the greatest attention and 

 interest, and we hope to induce the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture at Toronto to send her 

 out to address all our affiliated societies 

 next season. 



ADVANCES IN PLANT BREEDING. 



IT IS astonishing how much there has 

 been said and how much there has been 

 ' written during the past twenty years on 

 the subject of hybridizing of fruits and of 

 plant breeding in general. It is also surpris- 

 ing in the face of this that such small 

 advances have been made in the way of syst- 

 ematic production of improved varieties of 

 fruits. Aside from the great work of Burbank 



of California, the work of some other plum 

 specialists in the south, and the monument 

 which Rogers raised up to himself when he 

 originated that remarkable array of hybrid 

 grapes, there has after all been very little 

 done in this interesting and fascinating 

 field. However, it is cheering to note that 

 now and then some one does work a period 

 in the work by the production of a fruit 



