CHAPTER V. 



VEGETABLES FOR EXHIBITION. 



No branch of gardening deserves more encouragement 

 than the culture of high-class vegetables. Good vege- 

 tables are one of the necessities of life, and it is pro- 

 fitable and pleasurable to grow them to perfection. 

 During the past thirty years enormous strides have 

 been made in their development, and this is greatly 

 due to the encouragement in the shape of prizes offered 

 at many of our large exhibitions, and also at our cottage 

 garden shows held in many towns and villages through- 

 out the country. Mr. Beckett writes : 



I hope I may live to see the day when a truly 

 National Vegetable Society is formed, in which en- 

 couragement is given to the trade, professional garden- 

 ers, amateurs and cottagers. If such a society was 

 once formed I have not the slightest doubt, if properly 

 worked, it would prove one of the most useful and 

 interesting of horticultural organisations. It is argued 

 that vegetable exhibitions are not sufficiently beautiful 

 or interesting to attract the general public, but I am 

 convinced that this is not so. We have only to call 

 to mind the interest centred in fine collections at such 

 shows as Shrewsbury, London, Birmingham and Read- 



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