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EXHIBITIONS 



EXHIBITIONS 



feature of a meeting of the American Pomological 

 Society in Philadelphia; the Niagara grape, which was 

 featured at a winter meeting of New York fruit-growers. 

 Striking examples of this are found in the annals of 

 floral exhibits. The dissemination of the most delight- 

 ful strains of carnations and chrysanthemums dates 

 from some particular fair or "show." 



In recent years, the experiment stations of the coun- 

 try have added greatly to their usefulness in preparing 

 technical exhibits for winter exhibitions of horticultural 

 societies, helping their progressive work, through 

 graphic illustrations of the results which they have 

 obtained in growing products under varying condi- 

 tions, and having in mind the demonstration of prob- 

 lems of value to growers. 



One of the most recent developments has been the 

 opportunity given students of agricultural colleges of 

 putting into practice the knowledge of varieties which 

 they have acquired in the naming of various collections 

 as a competitive drill. 



The products of glass farming have been brought 

 into prominence through national, state, and local 

 horticultural societies in their annual exhibitions, and 

 the great seedhouses of the country have used these 

 exhibitions as avenues for the dissemination of new 

 and valuable varieties. Nurserymen have success- 

 fully utilized exhibitions in publishing to the world 

 not only their new creations but their methods of 

 propagation. 



During recent years the initiative of the American 

 Pomological Society has been followed by many other 

 organizations in perfecting a scale of points for judg- 

 ing exhibits of horticultural products. By this means, 

 more accurate methods have come into use at our 

 great fairs, and, in the hands of experts, the judgments 

 rendered have been far more satisfactory and useful. 



A most important result of exhibitions has been the 

 acquirement of the knowledge that varieties vary a 

 great deal as the result of climatic conditions and dif- 

 ferences in soil, and it is found as an outcome of these 

 comparisons that certain localities are especially 

 adapted to certain varieties in which they reach their 

 highest perfection. This is illustrated in the Rocky 

 Ford cantaloupe, the Albemarle Pippin, certain strains 

 of carnations, and head lettuce. The facts brought 

 out through these comparative exhibits are leading to 

 scientific investigations concerning the conditions which 

 produce these variations which will be of great use to 

 the producers, as well as deep interest to the scientist. 



Commercial problems are finding their solution 

 through exhibitions which illustrate styles of packing 

 and kinds of packages and general attractiveness in 

 presenting the products to the consumer. Already 

 these exhibitions have brought to the attention of 

 law-makers the importance of uniform legal requisi- 

 tions concerning methods of marketing throughout 

 the land. 



The most recent development of values resulting 

 from horticultural exhibits of great utility has been 

 the carrying of the methods of comparison instituted 

 there to the growing of products on the farm and in 

 the garden, orchard and vineyard, thus awakening 

 a deeper interest in the factors which affect the pro- 

 duction of horticultural creations and a recognition 

 of the uses of these creations in landscape art. Thus 

 an abiding interest has been awakened in the develop- 

 ment of the science as well as the art of horticulture 

 through the adoption of new and improved methods of 

 production and widening the usefulness of the products. 

 CHARLES W. GARFIELD. 



Exhibitions of plants and flowers. 



Floral exhibitions undoubtedly had their origin, in 

 part, in the desire to display publicly the products of 

 one's skill and to attain renown and a position of pre- 



eminence among one's fellows by successful rivalry and 

 the demonstration of superior cultural abilities. But, 

 in addition to this factor of self-interest and excusable 

 pride, the laudable spirit that seeks to promote a taste 

 for ornamental gardening and floriculture in general, 

 and to acquire knowledge and diffuse information con- 

 cerning it, has from the first been a powerful incentive; 

 and it cannot be questioned that public floral exhibi- 

 tions have contributed most substantially to the 

 advancement of refinement and good taste and exer- 

 cised a potent and salutary influence on the domestic 

 life, health, morals and happiness of the respective 

 communities in which they have been held. 



Exhibitions of plants and flowers, as usually con- 

 ducted, may be broadly divided into two classes: 



(1) Those whose particular purpose is to demonstrate 

 advancement in cultural methods and exploit new and 

 improved varieties and which are calculated to interest 

 primarily the trade and professional gardeners. The 

 unavoidably monotonous system of staging exhibits 

 in such an affair is well known. To the general public, 

 its salient points are scarcely apparent, and the ele- 

 ments which often appeal most strongly to the profes- 

 sional are all but lost on the average visitor. It has 

 been demonstrated over and over again, that as an 

 attraction for the people who look for entertainment 

 in a show and are willing to pay for the privilege of 

 seeing it, this sort of an array is fundamentally deficient. 



(2) If public support is sought, the first requisite is that 

 the public fancy be considered and catered to and the 

 character and scope of the exhibition be such as the 

 people care to take an interest in. A practical demon- 

 stration of the uses of flowers and plants and their 

 appropriate arrangement for the various events of 

 social or home life will invariably excite curiosity and 

 interest when prim rows of dozens and fifties of com- 

 petitive blooms will often fail to awaken appreciative 

 response. It is to be regretted that the so-called 

 retail florist trade has so long been neglectful of its 

 duty and its opportunity as a supporter of and par- 

 ticipator in the flower shows. Without the assist- 

 ance and cooperation of the experienced decorator 

 and artistic worker in flowers, these affairs must 

 invariably fall short of their mission and their educa- 

 tional possibilities. How to overcome the indifference 

 of this branch of commercial floriculture toward these 

 enterprises which should bring immeasurable benefit 

 to their industry is one of the serious problems for 

 which those who believe in flower shows must find a 

 solution before the ideal of what a horticultural exhibi- 

 tion should be can be realized. 



The direct cost of installing a public flower show 

 is no small matter and many a commendable enter- 

 prise has failed through lack of sufficient income 

 properly to finance it. Rent of hall, music, advertising, 



Eremiums, tables, vases, management, labor and a 

 ost of incidentals must be taken carefully into con- 

 sideration, and to launch any such project, under con- 

 ditions now existing, without some form of endowment, 

 subscription, guaranty or other definite and reliable 

 resource, apart from the uncertain sale of admission 

 tickets, is merely tempting fate and taking chances on 

 misfortune. 



The grouping of pot-plants for effect calls for talents 

 of a high order. Arrangements of this kind, which are 

 so indispensable in giving character to a flower show 

 that will appeal to the artistic eye as effective studies 

 in form and color, are indeed rarely seen. Two almost 

 universal faults are excessive formality in contour of 

 the group and overcrowding of material, and it not 

 infrequently happens that when a studied effort has 

 been made for irregularity of outline, the result is 

 still unnatural and often almost grotesque. The pro- 

 miscuous mixing together of incongruous subjects, as, 

 for example, hardy conifers, tropical palms, geraniums 

 and orchids in one group, is all too common. A taste- 



