HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS AND SCHEDULES. 505 



to the judges." In this dilemma, which ought not to occur, 

 and in the absence of evidence. of an exhibitor staging otherwise 

 than in the belief that he was within the terms and intentions 

 of the schedule, he should, in accordance with the custom of 

 English judicature, be given the benefit of the doubt and his 

 exhibit admitted. To convict him of doing wrong and rule his 

 products out of competition when he had no precise guidance 

 would be practically fining him for the shortcomings of others 

 for which he could not be in the least responsible. 



The Dkafting of Schedules. 



Though it is gratifying to observe that much greater care 

 appears to be exercised in the drafting of schedules than was 

 common a few years ago, not all of them are so clear as they 

 should be. Prior to a general summer show in which a 

 gentleman was closely interested he received a schedule which 

 he evidently regarded as somewhat of a puzzle. In substance 

 he described it as excellent, but in form very loose, for the 

 following reasons : — 



Under the general heading " Open to All " he found a class 

 " Open to Blankshire," and soliloquised thus : " One's first 

 thought is — Of course it is open to Blankshire if it is open to 

 all. But a second thought arises. Why, it means that only 

 Blankshire men may compete, and in that case the class in this 

 ' open to all ' section is really ' closed to all ' except exhibitors in 

 one county." 



This confusion was caused by the omission of the one word 

 " only." It wa£ inserted in some other classes as " open to 

 nurserymen only" and "open to Blankshire only," and the 

 terms were thus clear ; but there were several subsequent classes 

 governed by the large general heading " Open to All " that were 

 said to be simply " open to Blankshire," leading the gentleman 

 to conclude that the words last cited "were redundant and 

 unnecessary, because if ' open to all ' obviously the classes are 

 open to Blankshire as part of all, and open to other counties as 

 well." 



As a matter of fact it is believed that the several classes, with 

 the assumed " redundant and unnecessary " words attached, were 

 intended not to be open to any but Blankshire exhibitors. This 

 might be understood to be so locally ; but the point of the 



o 



