CCviii PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



perform the opening ceremony, was received by Lord Balfour of Burleigh, 

 K.T., supported by Sir Albert Rollit, D.L., and other members of the 

 Council, together with Sir Henry Davson, Kt., Deputy Chairman of the 

 West India Committee, Sir Daniel Morris, K.C.M.G., late Imperial 

 Commissioner "West Indies Agricultural Department, the Hen. Forster 

 M. Alleyene of Barbados, the Hon. J. H. Turner, Agent-General for 

 British Columbia, J. Howard, Esq., Agent-General for Nova Scotia, and 

 W. Liney Griffith, Esq., Secretary to the High Commissioner for Canada. 



Lord Balfour, in asking Lord Strathcona to declare the Show open, 

 said : Lord Strathcona, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am here as a substitute 

 for the President of the Royal Horticultural Society, Sir Trevor Lawrence. 

 He intended to be here, but is kept away by a rather serious sore throat, 

 else he would certainly have fulfilled his engagement ; because, in common 

 with all the other members of the Council of our Society, he takes a very 

 warm and genuine interest in the series of enterprises in pursuance of 

 which we are met here to-day. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the twelfth 

 Show of Colonial fruit which our Society has held under its own auspices 

 and organized by itself. The first was held so long ago as 1904, and this, 

 as I have said, is the twelfth in succession. We have large entries from 

 British Columbia, from Ontario, from Nova Scotia, from the West Indies 

 including for the first time the Leeward Islands, from New Zealand, from 

 New South Wales, and from Western Australia. It promises to be the 

 largest of all the Colonial Shows which have been held by the Society. 

 Our greatest sister nation, the Dominion, is largely represented here, 

 but we are not exclusively Canadian in our interests ; we are, and aim to 

 be, really Imperial in the best sense of the term. I am sure we could not 

 have secured the presence among us to-day of one who more nobly repre- 

 sents the Imperial idea than our guest, Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, 

 who is to open the Show. He is, in truth, one of the grand old men of the 

 Empire ; and it s no little source of pride to me to think that in a humble 

 way I am his fellow-countryman from Scotland. But if we are proud 

 of him in Scotland, they are proud of him in Canada as well. Now, as 

 I have said, the object of these Shows is Imperial in the true sense of the 

 term. We wish to stimulate the production of the best fruit ; we wish to 

 afford information to the growers as to the best means of placing it on 

 the market ; and we wish to inform home consumers where they can get 

 the best article that our fellow-subjects all over the world can produce. 

 So far I venture to say that the results have been encouraging. Every 

 year sees a general advance on its predecessor — in quality, in packing, in 

 suitability for the market ; and many letters have been received from our 

 friends across the seas, in acknowledgment of the efforts we are making 

 on their behalf. Now I come to a word for the Society itself. In this 

 matter the Society, as a society, has little to gain except credit. We 

 not only make no money out of it, but, if you will believe me, we do 

 not aim at so doing. We are fully a.vare that we must make a loss. But 

 I venture to say we do that cheerfully ; we do it because we think it our 

 duty ; we do it because we are kindly supported by friends at home. 

 And may I say that if we show our good will towards the interest of our 

 friends across the sea, it remains for those friends, or their friends' friends 

 at home, to do what they can to show their appreciation of our efforts, to 



