NOTES AND COMMENTS. 



FRUIT AND FLOWER EXHIBITS AT FAIRS. 



Ar the meeting in Toronto of the Can- 

 adian Association of Fall Fairs and 

 Exhibitions, Mr. T. H. Race, of 

 Mitchell, criticised the present methods of 

 exhibiting fruit adopted by our fall fairs. 

 The great object of a fair was, in his opin- 

 ion, the education of the public along certain 

 lines. This object was largely defeated in 

 the case of fruit when signs were put up of 

 " Hands off," and a bar built alongside pre- 

 venting people from coming near the ex- 

 hibit. In some cases wire netting was 

 added, still further defeating the object in 

 view in making the exhibit. To learn the 

 most from the fruit exhibit, the people 

 should be allowed to come near and even to 

 handle the fruit. 



" They ivould steal it," said one. " They 

 ivould eat it all up," said another. 



" No, they would not," said Mr. Race, and 

 he instanced the case of the London Fair, 

 where the fruit was set out on tables not too 

 wide, without protection, and after a trial of 

 four years no complaint was made and no 

 fruit was stolen. People should be allowed to 

 examine the fruit if they wanted to. It was 

 _ shown for people to see and study its char- 

 acteristics, and after it was judged why 

 should they not be allowed to do so. 



EXPERl JUDGES IN FRUIT ARE NEEDED. 



There were many testimonials to the ex- 

 cellent satisfaction given by the expert 

 judges who had been sent out by the super- 

 intendent, :Mr. G. C. Creelman, during the 

 past year, to judge horses, cattle and sheep 

 and swine, and a resolution was passed ask- 

 ing that expert judges in fruit and poultry 

 be also sent out. 



How do you select expert judges? asked 

 some one. 



Such men are few and hard to find, said 

 Mr. Creelman, but we ask the various asso- 

 ciations to name their best men, and from 

 these we make our selections. Each judge 



is instructed to attempt nothing outside of 

 his specialty. 



What is the cost to the Fair hoards? asked 

 another. 



Five dollars a day for each judge, was the 

 reply. The total cost, including traveling 

 expenses, is about $io a day, of which the 

 department pays one half. 



All seemed to agree that this arrangement 

 was most liberal and satisfactory, and that 

 one expert judge, who was not acquainted 

 with the exhibitors, was worth far more than 

 three judges, as ordinarily chosen. 



THE JUDGE SHOULD BE AN EDUCATOR. 



Mr. Race would not have the people ex- 

 cluded while the judging of fruit was in pro- 

 gress. They should be present to see the 

 scoring of the varieties, and the judge should 

 be prepared to give his reasons for every 

 award, a course which would be both edu- 

 cative and in most cases satisfactory. Prizes 

 ought not to be awarded to a collection sim- 

 ply for its number. Every scrub apple 

 added, in his opinion, lessened the value of 

 the collection, and detracted from instead of 

 adding to its value. A collection for home 

 use should be selected to cover the season, 

 as well as embrace kinds of best quality. 



ATTRACTIONS. 



Mr. F. W. Hodson, of the Department of 

 Agriculture, Ottawa, in the course of a most 

 excellent and comprehensive address, point- 

 ed out the importance of the selection of a 

 secretary, who should be constituted manag- 

 ing director and be paid to give certain office 

 hours to the work ; and of having the direc- 

 tors each represent a section whether of 

 fruit, poultry, horses, etc. 



Among the attractions he would have 

 school children's exhibits of collections, seeds 

 and plants ; Caledonian games : horseback 

 riding ; and many other features, barring al- 

 ways the horse race, which injured a fair 

 more than it helped. Mr. Race would have 



