REPORT 



OF THE 



COMMITTEE ON PLANTS, 



FOR THE YEAR 1897- 



Bv AZELL C. BOWDITCH, Chairman. 



The exhibitions of plants fluring the past season have been fully 

 equal, and in manj' respects superior, to those of the preceding 

 3'ear. They have attracted many new exhibitors, and the speci- 

 mens offered have shown a marked improvement, especially in 

 Orchids. 



Many ucav plants have been brought to our notice which will be 

 mentioned farther on. The public have taken a greater interest iu 

 the exhibitions through the season, as manifested by the increased 

 attendance, the amateur and the beginner having a fine chance to 

 study and compare varieties and acquire knowledge not otherwise 

 attainable. 



Tlie display of Azaleas has not been as good as your Committee 

 could have wislied, but, by doing away with the restrictions on the 

 size of the pots, we hope in the future to get exhibits more worth}' 

 of the premiums offered. James Wheeler has entered for the Pros- 

 pective Prize a fine white Azalea, named Mrs. J. H. White, of 

 which your Committee think favorably ; if on further trial it should 

 bear out its good points, it will be quite an acquisition. 



The first prize exhibition was on January 9, when John L. 

 Gardner, IMrs. B. P. Cheney, and others showed some fine plants 

 of an improved strain of the Chinese Primula. Your Committee 

 hope, by removing the restrictions as to tlie size of pots, to have 

 the coming season much larger and finer plants. 



