December, 1907 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



307 



of the exhibitors and the onlookers. A little 

 dissatisfaction was expressed, over the 

 decision in the class for Paris golden celery. 

 Many growers thought that either first or second 

 prize should have been given to one bunch of 

 celery that received nothing, and which they 

 claim was the largest and best lot in the collec- 

 tion. In the class calling for general collections 

 of vegetables some superior specimens were 

 shown. The first and the second prize collections 

 were exceptionally good. They were shown by 

 Messrs. J. G. Brown and W. Harris, Humber Bay, 

 respectively. The third prize went to a fairly 

 good collection shown by Mr. J. W. Rush, also 



of Humber Bay. The collections of four varieties 

 of celery were as fine as could be grown. The first 

 prize went to Mr. Frank Jones, Humber Bay. 

 The first prize for a collection of six varieties of 

 potatoes was awarded to a clean, smooth lot 

 shown by Mr. C. Plunkett, Woodbridge. For 

 an excellent collection of eight varieties of onions, 

 Mr. J. G. Brown won first prize. The ropes of 

 onions were high class. All other vegetables 

 were of fine quality and the classes were well 

 contested. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



The biological department of the Ontario 

 Agricultural College, Guelph, had an exhibit 



of injurious insects and fungi, in charge of T. 

 D. Jarvis, B.S.A. A trade exhibit of apples in 

 boxes was made by the Biggs Fruit and Produce 

 Co. of Burlington. A display of paper and 

 cushions for barrel heads and boxes was made 

 by G. P. Reade, of New York City, who is repre- 

 sented in Toronto by Thos. Bain, P.O. Box 472. 

 Many visitors were attracted to the exhibit of 

 Doolittle hose couplers, which device should be 

 welcomed by all persons that use water hose. 

 The preserved fruits in jars was of high quality. 

 The Women's Institute booth in charge of Miss 

 Shuttleworth, attracted the lady visitors, and 

 added to the educational value of the exhibition. 



TKe Ontario Horticultural Association Convention 



The; second annual convention of the Ontario 

 Horticultural Association was held in 

 Toronto, on Nov. 14 and 15, 1907. The 

 president, Mr. W. B. Burgoyne, St. Cath- 

 arines, was in the chair. The first day's attend- 

 ance was exceptionally large, being quite an 

 improvement on that of last year. After the 

 president's address, Mr. H. B. Cowan, secretary- 

 treasurer, reported a balance on hand of $86. 



Supt. J. Lockie Wilson, Toronto, then deliv- 

 ered an encouraging address on "The Work of 

 Our Horticultural Societies," in which he said 

 that the man who makes two flowers grow 

 where only one grew before is a public benefactor, 

 and he gave it as his opinion that "whosoever 

 could make two ears of corn, or two blades of 

 grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only 

 one grew before, would deserve better of man- 

 kind and do more essential service to his coun- 

 try, than the whole race of politicians put to- 

 gether." He impressed upon the members 

 present the fact that the work of the horticul- 

 tural societies was a noble one, and mentioned 

 how, by visiting the cotters' homes and instruct- 

 ing them in the best kinds of plants and flowers 

 to grow, and telling them where they could buy 

 them the cheapest and best, a great work could 

 be done in beautifying those humble homes and 

 making the lives of the citizens more pleasant. 



WORK FOR SOCIETIES 



f "What Can Horticultural Societies Do to 

 Promote Civic Improvement," was the topic on 

 which Major H. J. Snelgrove, of Cobourg, Ont., 

 read a very instructive paper. He said: "To 

 this query my answer is: By arousing and in- 

 viting all citizens to develop beautiful and 

 wholesome surroundings. By raising the stand- 

 ard of municipal thrift and tidiness. By ma- 

 terially contributing towards making our Can- 

 adian home life brighter, healthier and happier. 

 To do these things, by means of the organization 

 which we have at hand, working out its valua- 

 tion by dint of patience, stick-to-itiveness and 

 common sense." He submitted that the prime 

 object of our horticultural societies should not 

 be merely to cultivate a love of flowers by the 

 distribution among the members, once a year, 

 of seeds, plants, bulbs, shrubs, and trees, but 

 our constant aim should be to educate the pub- 

 lic sentiment along the lines of civic improve- 

 ment, and thereby achieve the greatest good to 

 the greatest number. 



The question was raised by the president, Mr. 

 W. B. Burgoyne, St. Catharines, Ont., that the 

 only way to handle the bill-boards question would 

 be to impo.se a license tax, and the larger the 

 bill-board, the higher the license. 



INCREASING MEMBERSHIP 



"The Best Methods of Increasing the Mem- 

 bership of a Horticultural Society," was the 

 subject of a talk by Mr. R. B. Whyte, Ottawa: 

 "I do not suppose there is any subject that can 

 come before the members of the horticultural 

 societies with greater force than that of increas- 

 ing the membership," said Mr. Whyte. "The 

 more members we get the larger the grant and 



the more we can do. After an experience of 

 about 15 years in the matter, we have very 

 definite ideas in the Ottawa Society. I do not 

 know as there is anything better than a personal 

 canvass on the part of the directors. There is 

 hardly any community in the country that have 

 not 200 or 300 people that are willing to pay a 

 dollar if you can show them that you are doing 

 something. I think that is the chief feature in 

 ncreasing the membership." 



Mr. Joseph Barker, Kincardine, Ont., re- 

 marked that when they first started the society 

 in Kincardine all they thought they had to do 

 was to appeal to the members and to in- 

 form the press that a horticultural society had 

 been organized in the town and then they 

 would do all the rest for them, but they learned, 

 very quickly, that there was no response, not 

 because they had any dislike to the name of the 

 society or its object, but simply because there 

 was not $5 accompanying the request. By per- 

 sonal canvassing, Mr. Barker has built up a 

 memljership of 118 in his society. He intim- 

 ated that his aim is to have a membership of not 

 less than 150. 



Other experiences in the matter of increasing 

 membership were mentioned. Some delegates 

 said that they gave concerts in connection with 

 the monthly meetings in the winter, and straw- 

 berry socials after the monthly meetings in the 

 summer. One member said that the society 

 members met every month on the lawn of one 

 of the members and held their meetings there 

 and had a talk on roses in the rose season, or on 

 peonies in the peony season, and in that way 

 made the meetings more interesting to the people 

 attending. 



A valuable paper on "The Selection and Classi- 

 fication of F'lowers," was read by John Cavers, 

 Oakville, Ont. "CitiesandTowns Beautiful," was 

 the subject of a paper by Mr. J. S. Pearce, Park 

 Superintendent, London, Ont. A paper on 

 "How Are We to Expend Our Funds to the 

 Best Advantage," was read by Rev. A. H. Scott, 

 M.A., Perth, Ont. "Should the Horticultural 

 Society Act be Amended, and If So, How?" was 

 discussed by Mr. H. B. Cowan, Toronto. A 

 paper on "Wild Flowers Worth Growing," was 

 read by Mr. John Dickson, Hamilton. These 

 papers, with the discussions that followed, will 

 be published in later issues of The Canadian 

 Horticulturist. 



growing peonies 

 Mr. R. B. Whyte, of Ottawa, gave a remark- 

 ably apprehensive and instructive address on 

 "The Growing of Peonies." He advised all 

 gardeners to keep notes. The bud of the peony 

 is as beautiful as that of the finest rose that ever 

 grew, and the perfume is equal. He referred, 

 also, to the time it first appears through the 

 ground. He thought there was nothing more 

 interesting than to see the fat red buds coming 

 up through the ground, and then the beautiful 

 profusion of leaves and stems, and afterwards 

 the flowers, and then for months after the flow- 

 ers are dead, the foliage is an ornament to the 

 garden. The plant itself is good for 20 years; 



you do not need to shift it. Mr. Whyte then 

 read a long list of the different species of peonies 

 that he recommended for growing in gardens. 



Mr. Alex. McNeill, Chief, Fruit Division, Ot- 

 tawa, delivered a very interesting address on 

 "Fruit that Can Be Grown on a City Lot, 66 by 

 99 feet." Mr. McNeill referred to the different 

 kinds of fruits and flowers that can be grown on 

 a small city lot. He describes the details of 

 training trees along the fences and trellises, and 

 growing grape vines over small sheds. The 

 Canadian Horticulturist expects to publish 

 a more detailed account of this address at a 

 later date. 



officers and directors 

 The following are the officers and directors 

 that were elected for the ensuing year: Pres., 

 Major H. J. Snelgrove, Cobourg; 1st vice-pres.^ 

 R. B. Whyte, Ottawa; 2nd vice-pres., Roderick 

 Cameron, Niagara Falls; recording secretary and 

 treasurer, H. B. Cowan, Toronto; correspond- 

 ing secretary and editor, J. Lockie Wilson, 

 Toronto; directors. Rev. A. H. Scott, M.A., 

 Perth; W. Jeffers Diamond, Belleville; R. J. 

 Franklin, Toronto; A. Alexander, Hamilton; 

 Isaac Langstreth, Seaforth; J. T. Rose, Brant- 

 ford; J. S. Pearce, London; Auditors, J. O. 

 McCullough, Hamilton; Mrs. Robt. McDowall, 

 Owen Sound. The retiring president, Mr. H. B. 

 Burgoyne, was elected an honorary director. 



Hon. Mr. Monteith, in an address, said that 

 the past year had given a great impetus to 

 horticultural work, that the quality of the 

 fruit productions had never been excelled, and 

 that the exhibition in Massey Hall bore out 

 strongly what he had said. In concluding, Mr. 

 Monteith thanked the society for the support 

 the department had received at the hands of the 

 horticultural interests of the province. 



resolutions 



It was resolved that a special committee, 

 composed of Messrs. W. T. Macoun, R. Cameron, 

 John Cavers, H. B. Cowan and Wm. Hunt, be 

 and is hereby appointed to be known as the 

 CoBunittee on Nomenclature, with instructions 

 to Bquire into the whole question of the adop- 

 tion in Canada of a standard on nomenclature, 

 and descriptions of species and varieties of plants, 

 including ways and means for the establishing 

 and maintaining of such a standard ; and to 

 enter into correspondence wih sister societies 

 in this country and in some of the northern 

 United States, with a view to securing the co- 

 operation of two or more such societies in the 

 preparation and publication of authentic lists 

 of varieties of perennial phlox, Japanese iris and 

 gladioli, the said committee to report at the next 

 convention of the association. 



Later it was resolved further: That a 

 special committee, consisting of Mr. Macoun, Mr. 

 Hunt and Miss Blacklock, be and is hereby ap- 

 pointed to act as a Novelties Committee to re- 

 port at the next meeting of this association. 



It was moved, seconded and carried that Mr. 

 Cowan's address on the Horticultural Societies' 

 Act, and all proposed amendments to Act, be 



