OUR AFFILIATED SOCIETIES. 



489 



brightens our autumnal landscape by its delicate 

 sprays of littl§ starry flowers. In High Park, near 

 Toronto, during the latter part of September, this 

 flower mingles with many other varieties of asters, 

 and the little bye-paths appear to be hemmed in 

 by natural hedges of it, likespirea in the springtime. 



A feature of the lecture was that portion of it 

 which dealt with the physiology of the vine, the 

 nitrates, and the effect of watering and liquid fer- 

 tilizers upon the flavor of the fruit. Mr. Spurr's 

 argument in short was, that melons planted in a 

 sunny location transpired through the leaves to a 

 greater extent than those shaded ; that the function 

 of the leaf was to extract carbon from the air and 

 deposit it in the stem ; that the greater transporta- 

 tion caused a greater deposit of carbon and the 

 more carbon in the stem, the more material there 

 would be for the fruits to draw upon when nearing 

 maturity. To water the vines to excess when rip- 

 ening was to dilute the carbon in the stem, en- 

 courage new growth of the vine and lessen the 

 quality of the fruit in point of flavor. 



Some of the musk melon varieties exhibited and 

 sampled were : The Melrose, Exquisite, Read's 

 Scarlet, Nectar of Angels, Golden Eagle, The 

 Carmes. Hackensack, Banana melon, 23^^ inch in 

 length by 14 inches in circumference; Osage, Net- 

 ted Nutmeg, a green flesh melon from Syria, very 

 unique ; Cantalonpe Von Trevana, Jenny Lindand 

 Perfection. 



Deseronto. — The fifth annual flower show of the 

 Deseronto Horticultural Society was held in Union 

 Hall, on Wednespay, Oct. 2nd, and it was a huge 

 success. The judge, J. D. CoUip, of Belleville, 

 expressed unstinted admiration of the magnificent 

 display and said it was doubtful if any of the towns 



or cities for many miles around Deseronto could 

 equal it. The hall, which has been repainted and 

 decorated, made a good setting for the magnificent 

 display of plants, flowers, f 1 uit and vegetables, 

 which were arranged with exquisitely good taste 

 and effectiveness. The illumination in the even- 

 ing added greatly to the beaut}^ of the exhibition. 

 The music of the Deseronto Citizens Band and the 

 good things provided at the ice cream stand, which 

 was under the able management of the charming 

 president, contributed largely to the enjoyment of 

 the evening. The fine bank of ferns which faced 

 the main entrance was much admired and the col- 

 lection of palms to the left contained some splen- 

 did specimens of rare and beautiful plants. The 

 two collections of greenhouse plants were worthy 

 of careful study and they received it. The ar- 

 rangement of the plants in both collections showed, 

 that the gardeners were skillful and artistic florists. 



SiMCOE. — The annual exhibit of flowers and 

 vegetables took place in the Town Hall on Thurs- 

 day, October 3rd. A beautiful display of potted 

 plants and flowers were shown by the ladies of the 

 society and others. The ladies seem to take more 

 interest in the exhibit than the men. The vege- 

 tables and fruit were not so good. Mr. Groff, 

 of Simcoe, came down in the evening. No 

 one is better known than the genial President 

 of the Simcoe Horticultural Society. That 

 gentleman gave an excellent address on the Buf- 

 falo Exposition, chiefly in connection with horti- 

 cultural and floricultural exhibits there. Le Lov- 

 ering contributed largely to that exhibition, and 

 won many prizes. 



The hall was crowded, and a very pleasant and 

 instructive evening was spent. 



Fig. 2i8^ 



A Horticultural and Farmers' Institute Meetin(; at Sherrington's 

 Fruit Station, at Walkerton. 



