May, 1910.] 



434 



Miscellaneous. 



Potato :— 



The origin of the potato. Nature 17. 

 12. 1908, p. 205. 



Varieties of Potatoes grown in the 

 Central Provinces. Dept. of Agr. 

 C. P. by G. Evans. 



Psophocarpus : — 



Note sur le haricot de Birmanie. 

 Bull. Jard. Col. 7. 1907, p. 429. 



A FLORAL PARADE FOR COLOMBO. 



By J. C. Willis.* 



In a land that is fond of " Tamashas," 

 in which flowers are fairly easily and 

 plentifully to be obtained, and in which 

 motors and other vehicles are abundant, 

 there is a good deal to be said in favour 

 of holding a "Floral Parade" such as 

 that which was held in Honolulu on 

 February 21, 1908. An account taken 

 from the "Hawaiian Star" is subjoined, 

 as well as a list of prizes. 



Writing to Mr. L. G. Blackman, Editor 

 of the Haivaiian Forester and Agricul- 

 turist, to whom I am much indebted for 

 his kindness in sending me papers about 

 it, I received a book of pictures showing 

 the prize cars, &c, which were one mass 

 of flowers, as well as the procession 

 leaving the State House. 



Mr. Blackman in a letter says : — 



"With regard to the chief desiderata 

 to make such an undertaking successful 

 I would recommend the following : 



Its occurrence upon a public holiday. 



Appointment of a small energetic com- 

 mittee of organisation with small sub- 

 committees for the various departments. 



Prizes for each class of competing en- 

 trants. 



A general rendezvous on day of event 

 for the judges to examine, and to allow 

 the contestants to be arranged properly 

 for the parade. For this latter purpose, 

 names of contestants should be required 

 a few days before, and places reserved 

 for each in the line of march. A good 

 plan is to stake out, or mark with white- 

 wash on the roadway, an allotted place 

 for each entrant to take position before 

 the parade is set in motion. 



A grand parade of the contestants, 

 with finally a distribution of prizes. 



Paper flowers should be either barred 

 or placed in a class by themselves." 



Such a parade should be a very success- 

 ful event in Colombo, held say in Janu- 



* Written early in 1909. 



ary, and should add to the attractions 

 of the town during the town season, and 

 encourage the keeping up of good 

 gardens. We would suggest that every 

 kind of vehicle have a class. 



The Great Floral Parade. 



Citizens of Honolulu are enthusiastic 

 in comment on their 1908 Floral Parade. 

 As it wended its way through the streets 

 this morning the crowds didn't seem to 

 know which part to cheer the most, and 

 after it was over the general verdict 

 was that it was " the best yet," and that 

 it was an exhibition to be very proud 

 of. The weather was perfect, and a full, 

 clear sun brought out the full brilliancy 

 of the splendid colourings of the parade. 



The start was quite prompt at 10 

 o'clock, and there was little interruption 

 after the first head of the parade moved. 

 Some difficulty was caused by street cars, 

 which did not stop the schedule service, 

 and especially they interrupted the 

 picturesque pa-u riders in their gallop 

 along King Street. The spectacle, on its 

 own scale, was declared to compare well 

 with Mardi Gras or any other event of 

 the sort to be seen, and the pleasure 

 of the public was expressed on every 

 hand. Floral beauty, feminine beauty 

 and the picturesque and the comic ele- 

 ments were all in the line, and the 

 happy result will add to public interest 

 and enthusiasm for the next parade. 



The streets along which the parade 

 passed were lined by large crowds, who 

 cheered the various striking floats* as 

 they passed, 



Punahou College grounds were crowd- 

 ed long before the parade arrived, and 

 a handsome sum must have been realized 

 as an entrance fee of 25 cents was 

 charged. 



The judges of the various divisions 

 had places roped off for them on the 

 Ewa terrace of Bishop Hall, and about 

 this the crowd assembled in a dense 

 throng. The police kept the drive in 

 front of the judges' stand clear, how- 

 ever, and the parade reviewed slowly 

 before this. 



After the winners had been announced 

 by the judges, these returned over the 

 course in review, and as they passed 

 they were photographed by Bonine with 

 his moviug picture outfit. The sun was 

 shining brightly the while, and condi- 

 tions presaged an unusually successful 

 set of films. 



The Oahu College pageant, which at- 

 tracted a great deal of attention, was 



