56 



Annals of horticulture. 



about half the space. All the remaining space of the south 

 pavilion was devoted to wines and brandies, with a flavor of 

 mineral water, and as these are not horticultural objects they 

 will not be further discussed in this volume. The north pavil- 

 ion was used below for seeds, implements, and commercially 

 preserved fruits, and also the few vegetable exhibits. The 

 second floor was devoted to canned goods, nuts, charts of gar- 

 den designs, and a few prunes and raisins. 



A gallery in the dome afforded a broad floor space for the 

 display of miscellaneous exhibits, particularly herbaria, charts, 

 photographs, and an interesting collection of Japanese pots and 

 models of fruits and vegetables. The officers of administration 

 of the Department were in the second story communicating 

 with this dome gallery. 



The Awards System. — The awards system and the pro- 

 hibition to make photographs within the grounds, were the 

 two features of the great Fair which seemed to receive most 

 criticism and censure. But while the photograph embargo was 

 generally conceded to have been unjust, the system of making 

 the judgments and awards was probably correct, if not ideal, in 

 itself, but its operation was attended with so many abuses that 

 the findings will be distrusted in some cases. The plan of mak- 

 ing awards was the one-judge system, which has become familiar 

 to most Americans within the last few years. The Board of 

 Judges was designed to be divided into twelve or thirteen com- 

 mittees, upon the basis of the classification of the main features 

 of the Fair itself. These committees comprised a varying 

 number of "competent experts," who were assigned to certain 

 lines of exhibits, one member, alone, to report upon each exhibit. 

 The finding of this individual was presented to the committee, 

 which, in turn, submitted the report to the Executive Commit- 

 tee on Awards,* which was the organic head of the entire 

 scheme. While the original judgment, therefore, rested upon 

 the opinion of a single person, the final endorsement was made 

 by a full Committee, to which, of course, any exhibitor could 

 appeal, through the Executive Committee. Those who are 

 familiar with the single-judge system, when properly inaugu- 

 rated, know that it is expeditious, and that the judge, knowing 

 that the entire responsibility falls upon himself, is exceedingly 

 cautious in making his decisions. Unfortunately, the foreign 

 exhibitors were not familiar with the system, and they objected 

 to it from the first; and the controversy, coupled with bad 



*Executive Committee on Awards : John Boyd Thacher, Chairman, 

 Albany, N". Y. ; W. J. Sewell, New Jersey; A. T. Britton, District Colum- 

 bia; A. B. Andrews, North Carolina; B. B. Smalley, Ex-Offlcio Member, 

 Burlington, YU 



