HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS AND SCHEDULES. 



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HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS AND SCHEDULES. 

 WITH THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF 

 JUDGING. 



By Mr. John Weight, V.M.H. 

 [Read November 23, 1897.] 



Very reluctantly from one point of view, but most willingly from 

 another, I accepted the invitation of our Secretary to treat on 

 the subject that has been announced for this afternoon's 

 discourse, " Horticultural Exhibitions and Schedules." 



The reluctance arose from the pressure of routine duties, 

 which seem to leave scarcely any moments to spare for ex- 

 traneous work. As to the willingness, I hope I always have 

 been and always shall be willing, so long as I am able, 

 to impart the smallest modicum of information that may be 

 thought helpful in making smoother the progress of the art we 

 love. The Queen of all Arts it is to me — the oldest of them 

 all, yet ever new, the beneficent art of horticulture. 



What has it not done, this ancient and modern art in 

 which we rejoice to labour ? What has it not done in various 

 ways to supply the needs, to satisfy the minds, and brighten 

 the homes of people of every rank and class in our garden- 

 loving community? It has done far more than I can say, 

 and much — very much — through the agency of horticultural 

 exhibitions. 



I remember once being impressed with a letter written by the 

 late eminent American Ambassador to this country, Mr. Bayard ; 

 and as a few lines in that letter are appropriate to our subject, 

 I will cite them : "It is all important for national wealth and 

 development that men and women should not expect to enjoy 

 bread without the salt of industry. Nothing so stimulates 

 industry as a realising sense of competition — open, honest, and 

 above board. An old poetic phrase applied to strife was the 

 gaudium certaminis — the fierce joy of combat — and there is a 

 touch of it in the more peaceful rivalries of industrial skill 

 which lead men to admire and respect each other while con- 

 testing for supremacy." 



This is exactly true of the best managed horticultural shows 

 and the best class of exhibitors. 



