500 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
THE DUTY OF COMMITTEES. 
There is nothing upon which the success 
of Horticultural Science so much depends, as 
on the management of Societies established 
for its promotion. Nor is there any one thing 
so detrimental to it as the mismanagement 
of these establishments. It would be invidious 
and perhaps unwise to mention the names of 
any which have been open to objections ; and 
more particularly as so many deserve reproach, 
that it' we named those only which we know 
to be bad, we should omit many equally de- 
serving censure, simply because we do not 
know them. It would be well, therefore, if 
the Horticultural Societies all over the country 
would take as meant for themselves all that 
applies to their own particular cases. We 
must first make ourselves understood with 
regard to our ideas of the intentions with 
which these establishments were founded, and 
are supported; and this may be done in a few 
words. They are intended to promote the ad- 
vancement of horticultural science, and this 
brings us to the means by which they profess 
to accomplish their objects. They have to 
excite the emulation of gardeners and their 
employers, and also of amateurs who are 
neither the one nor the other. This they have 
attempted by public exhibitions, at which cul- 
tivators, professional and otherwise, are in- 
vited to show their best productions, for 
prizes, and at which the public may be gra- 
tified by witnessing the most beautiful subjects 
grown in the highest perfection. Now it 
requires no great penetration to see that the 
following ought to be something like the main 
points to be looked to for carrying out these 
objects. 
First, — To throw open all prizes to those 
subjects that should attract the greatest num- 
ber of competitors. 
Secondly, — To take care that the subjects 
themselves should for the most part be such 
as will most gratify the public. 
Thirdly, — To appoint for judges, persons 
whose character as censors should be above all 
suspicion, and advertize them to the world. 
Fourthly, — To announce publicly, and in 
good time, the rules or standards by which 
those judges are to estimate the merit of the 
different productions submitted. To do all 
this as it should be done, there must be some- 
thing like attention to the following details. 
With regard to the means by which the 
greatest number of competitors can be at- 
tracted, it must be obvious that one must be 
the number of prizes given in each class; and 
to do justice in this way there must be no 
frivolous distinction in classes. Let us, for ex- 
ample, take any one flower, say Roses, or 
Dahlias, or Carnations, or Picotees, or Pinks, 
or Ranunculuses — no matter which ; there 
ought not to be less than a dozen varieties 
exhibited by each ; and there should be cer- 
tainly not less than ten prizes. Most who 
excel, either from their mode of cultivation 
or the quantity they grow, may probably time 
after time take the first three or four prizes ; 
but there would then be six or seven more to 
be taken by the younger aspirants to horti- 
cultural honours, a great number of whom — 
who would never compete for the three or 
four, because there could be no chance for 
them — would gladly avail themselves of the 
opportunity of showing when there were ten ; 
and there would thus be ten successful exhi- 
bitors to exult in the prizes they had taken, 
instead of three or four, as is too often the case; 
besides which, the public would be gratified 
with many more stands of flowers : whereas, 
when there were but few prizes, and these all, 
as it were, bespoke, the numerous showers, 
who know they cannot successfully compete 
with the three or four best growers, would 
naturally, and in many places do abstain from 
showing altogether ; and the consequence is, 
that having no excitement, they do not culti- 
vate with half the enthusiasm. To make this 
feature still more complete, there should be a 
very gradual descent from one prize to 
another — say a tenth part difference. If the 
first prize be five pounds, the second ought 
to be ten shillings less, and the third ten 
shillings less than the second, the fourth ten 
shillings less than the third, and so on to the 
last, which would only be ten shillings. If 
the first prize were one pound, the second 
should be eighteen shillings, the third sixteen, 
the fourth fourteen, and so on ; the smallest 
being two shillings. The great advantage of 
this mode of dividing money given for prizes 
is, that there cannot be so much injustice done 
when the merits of flowers, on summing, are 
very nearly balanced ; for every body who has 
been a strict observer of exhibitions will ad- 
mit, that it is often very difficult to decide 
which is the better of two stands, and that it 
is a grievous disappointment to a shower when 
he sees that even a single point throws him out 
of all the benefit, and makes the difference 
between his winning twenty, or ten, or five 
pounds, and winning nothing. We can say 
conscientiously, that it has been a source of 
great vexation to us and other judges to be 
obliged to put flowers first when the second 
were all but as good; yet the difference between 
the first and second has been as ten pounds, 
and four or five pounds, and two; all of which 
vexation to judges, and mortification to ex- 
hibitors, would be avoided if it were only a 
difference of ten per cent. We cannot, then, 
too strongly insist upon the propriety, and for 
the sake of the science we might say, necessity, 
