July, 1912.] 



41 



Horticulture, 



experienced market grower cut9 young 

 Roses only, and on the morning of the 

 day before the exhibition. Morning-cut 

 Roses have the early dew on them, and 

 this. stands them in good stead. Indeed, 

 it is not advisable to cut any flowers for 

 show purposes late in the day — they do 

 not keep nearly so fresh as those cut 

 soon after sunrise. 



In the matter of fruit-exhibiting, I 

 must say that there is considerable room 

 for improvement in nearly every case. 

 There are, however, let me hasten to 

 add, some very notable exceptions, In 

 selecting fruits for showing, only those 

 which are perfectly fresh should be 

 chosen, if anything rather under than 

 over-ripe. The individual fruits should 

 all be carefully selected ; judges often 

 look at single examples, and examine 

 them thoroughly. Colour should usually 

 take precedence over size ; flavour and 

 quality also are more important than 

 Brobdingnagian proportions. An in- 

 stance of this may be found in comparing 

 different varieties of Nectarines — a Pine- 

 apple Nectarine is preferable to a Lord 

 Napier, and a Royal George Peach to a 

 Sea Eagle. In grapes, colour is the most 

 important point so long as the branches 

 are up to exhibition standard. In dessert 

 Plums, again, colour always counts, 

 especially when coupled Avith a high 

 standard of quality. Again a well-netted 

 Melon will take a higher place than a 

 larger one without this characteristic. 



In every case, the greatest care should 

 be exercised when packing for transit. 

 Personally, I find it the best way to 

 pack in such a manner as to avoid the 

 necessity of unpacking again at the 

 exhibition. This can nearly always be 

 done in the case of Cherries, Straw- 

 berries, Peaches and Nectarines, especi- 

 ally the two first. They should be pack- 

 ed in shallow boxes, or round shallow 

 baskets ; and they can then be placed 

 as they are on the stand, thus saving 

 much time and tiouble. 



More care is needed in packing dessert 

 fruits than in the case of any other 

 exhibit. They are in the highest degree 

 perishable and fragile, and are frequent- 

 6 



ly completely spoilt by want of careful 

 handling. 



Many of the remarks I have made 

 upon the packing of fruit apply also 

 in the case of vegetables. I consider 

 that there is scope for far more effective 

 arrangement of vegetables than is usu- 

 ally seen, and given a fair amount of 

 space, they are better worth arranging 

 than fruits. Here, again, quality and 

 freshness should be sought for, rather 

 than mere size. Beans, especially, are 

 frequently much too large ; Cauliflowers 

 also, and nearly every kind of root vege- 

 table, are chosen too often for this 

 characteristic. Any vegetables which are 

 marked or marred in any way should be 

 rejected and colour should be made a 

 point of in every case. Root vegetables 

 should be cleaned before the show with a 

 brush not a stiff scrubbing-brush, which 

 will leave marks behind. The best kind, 

 in my opinion, is a "spoke " brush, such 

 as is used for cleaning carriages. Vege- 

 tables should be packed with quite as 

 much care as fruits, especially Cauli- 

 flowers, Cucumbers, and Vegetable Mar- 

 rows. Shallow baskets are much better 

 for exhibition than the ordinary garden 

 hamper, for in these the vegetables are 

 less prone to injury in handling. 



How to Stage Exhibits. 

 We now come to a matter of the very 

 greatest importance in exhibiting, which 

 can best be studied by close observation, 

 coupled with practical experience. It is 

 a good thing to note the method of a 

 successful exhibitor, and adopt them 

 where possible. There are many exhibi- 

 tors who bring their produce safely to 

 the show, but fail to stage their material 

 to the best advantage. It is a good plan 

 to settle beforehand the approximate 

 arrangement of plants, fruits and veget- 

 ables ; by this means an imposing effect 

 is more likely to be obtained than by 

 a haphazard, unpremeditated procedure. 

 It is also a good tning, if the show is to 

 be held at a short distance, to go to the 

 site some days beforehand, and obtain 

 a general idea of the space to be occu- 

 pied. If the exact position of the exhibit 

 is known, it is quite possible to arrange 



