JOURNAL 



OF THE 



Royal HoraouLTUML Society. 



Vol. XXXVII. 1912. 

 Part III. 



SOME DIFFICULTIES IN FLOWEE-SHOW SCHEDULES. 



[Being a Paper read by the Eev. W. Wilks, M.A., Secretary of the R.H.S., 

 at the AfiEiliated Societies' Annual Conference held on October 11, 1911.] 



I VENTUEE to think there is no more fertile ground for error and 

 misunderstanding, and consequent friction, than is provided by the 

 wording of many of our Flower- Show Schedules. Speaking with 

 more than a quarter of a century of practical experience in framing 

 and interpreting Schedules, I am profoundly impressed by the 

 subtleties and limitations of language to express clearly and accurately 

 the meaning intended by the Schedule-maker with absolute exactness 

 — and yet of all things a Schedule should be exact. The very nature 

 of the subjects involved — both floral and individual — render the task 

 most difS-cult. Flowers, fruits, and vegetables, all three, are so full 

 of variations and complexities of nature and definition, that only wide 

 experience, intimate knowledge of garden life, and a thorough under- 

 standing of the genius of the English language, can enable anyone 

 to frame a Schedule successfully. As to the individual element in 

 the difficulty, there are some who, on the issue of an Act of Parliament, 

 a County Bye-law, or a Flower-Show Schedule, at once set to work 

 to discover its discrepancies and loopholes, and to nianipulate them 

 to their own advantage. Here, therefore, I would give my first 

 advice. "When a Schedule-maker has drawn up his Schedule, attack 

 it actively from a quibbler's point of view, and get two or three com- 

 ; petent friends to do so also ; or if there is a Show Committee, then 

 each of its members should revise it, for when once issued, they are 

 both collectively and individually responsible for its smooth working. 

 ' By this means many doubtful points, or points capable of diverse 

 interpretation, and inexact definitions are sure to be discovered, and 

 can be rectified, which would otherwise remain undetected, until 

 misunderstanding and heart-burnings arise on the Show day itself. 



VOL. XXXVII. K K 



