TVIAY 1, 1847. 



163 



Exhibitions. 



The Exhibitions of Plants and Fruit at the Garden have again 

 proved eminently successful ; the number of visitors having been 

 unusually large, and the cultivation of the plants exhibited so 

 excellent, as to have led to the award of medals to the value of 

 1284/., the largest sum ever so expended by the Society. The 

 Council trust that such an outlay, thus annually renewed, cannot 

 fail in rendering permanent and universal the horticultural skill 

 for which the gardeners of England have become pre-eminent. 

 They learn, with satisfaction, that many persons last year en- 

 tered into competition who were before unknown at the Garden 

 meetings ; and they confidently anticipate a further increase in 

 consequence of the facility of safe transport now offered by the 

 railways. With a view to increase the inducements of gardeners 

 to produce their plants, various changes have been introduced 

 into the detaiis of the Exhibitions, the effect of which is to gra- 

 duate more exactly the value of the prizes, and to diminish the 

 number of plants which an exhibitor is required to furnish. It 

 is expected that this will have the effect of yet more strongly 

 fixing the attention of gardeners upon the far greater importance 

 of finely cultivated than rare or numerous plants, and will still 

 further throw open the door to competition. 



The number of Visitors on these occasions was — 



May 9 . . . 4,858 

 June 13 . . . 13,421 

 July 11 . . . 6,083 



24,362 



which is 1,473 more than ever attended any three previous meet- 

 ings, and 506 more than in 1844, when there were four 

 meetings. 



The total number of tickets issued was 23,913. 



On the last of these occasions, His Grace the President again 

 opened the grounds at Chiswick House to the inspection of the 

 visitors to the Garden, a mark of kindness and consideration for 

 which the Society is extremely grateful. 



With the exception of medals, there has been upon the whole 

 a reduction in the cost of the Exhibitions, as will be seen by the 

 following comparison of the items of charge in 1845-6 and 

 1846-7:— 



m 2 



