April 26, 1888. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
333 
A S has been seen by the sketch report of the Ghent Quinquennial 
Exhibition last week, somewhat different methods are adopted 
in the conduct of shows in Belgium from those in operation in 
this country. Horticultural exhibitions are presumably held every 
year in the thrifty little kingdom on the eastern side of the North 
■Sea, but only once in five years is a great effort made to provide a 
-show on a gigantic scale and of international character. The 
■distinctive term, however, applies more forcibly to visitors who are 
invited to officiate as jurors than to exhibitors. It is true there 
are usually a few competitors from England, Holland, and France, 
but their exhibits bear no comparison in point of numbers with the 
representative horticulturists who share in granting the honours, 
and who receive such a warm and hospitable reception. It is not 
that the services of so many adjudicators are absolutely required 
■for apportioning the medals, for less than forty competent men 
would do the work as well as the 140 who were summoned. 
The chief object of the managers of the shows in question 
appears to be to gain the co-operation of men who will spread the 
fame of Belgian horticulture over all the world. It is not easy 
to conceive how any better plan could be organised for achieving 
the object than the one in operaton, and which experience has 
doubtlessly proved answers its purpose well. 
“ Do the Ghent Shows, which of necessity involve a heavy ex¬ 
penditure, pay ? ” asks the Secretary of a British horticultural 
Society. Without knowing anything whatever about the balance- 
sheet of the Society which organises the “ Quinquennials,” it may 
be suggested that if the Shows did not “ pay ” they would not be 
continued. But they have to be considered not as bringing grist to 
the mill of a Society, but as of far wider scope and significance— 
namely, attracting the attention of the world to the horticultural 
resources of the kingdom and expanding the great trade that is there 
established in plants. Horticulture is not so fully recognised as an 
industry in England as it is in Belgium, where official patronage is 
bestowed and effective aid rendered both by municipalities and the 
Government to the chief exhibitions. Grants are made by the 
State towards the promotion and extension of the industry 
in question, and also in the interests of agriculture, whereas in 
England whatever of advance may be made or improvements 
effected must be the result of individual enterprise. As an instance 
of State aid in the work of cultivation, any farmer in Belgium who 
is desirous of gaining information that may be of service to him 
has the right to summon to his assistance a Professor, or, as he is 
termed, an Agricultural Engineer, who is paid by the Government 
not only to initiate experiments on the land with chemical manures 
and various trial crops, hut the manures and seeds are provided free 
of all cost to the applicants. This is a step in advance of a very 
practical nature, and as the plan is being put into action the results 
can scarcely fail to be of substantial benefit to the community in 
increasing the productiveness of the soil. In that way the nation 
will be undoubtedly enriched by the outlay that is invested in the 
work. So, too, is it enriched by the disbursements made in the cause 
of horticulture, as in the case of the great exhibitions that are 
periodically held in Ghent, which is the chief seat of horticulture 
of the kingdom, two or three hundred nurseries being estab¬ 
lished in the city and suburbs. The great gatherings cannot 
he held without a large sum of money being brought into the 
country and left there, while the sales effected in the nurseries are 
No, 409.— VoL. XVI., Third Series 
very considerable. If not directly, then, not the less certainly, are 
the great shows profitable to the nation, and the outlay incuri-ed in 
providing medals and banquets is regarded as a safe and sound 
investment. 
As entertainers the Belgians are pre-eminent. There is of 
necessity and properly trade rivalry there as elsewhere, but when 
the time comes for dispensing hospitality and creating an impres¬ 
sion all join in the object, and appear to vie with each other in 
striving for the success they deserve so well, and which they do 
not fail to secure. So striking and even brilliant were the recep¬ 
tions accorded on the occasion in question, that one of the British 
representatives, and not the least enterprising and successful, was 
troubled amidst the joyousness, because he felt that no adequate 
return could be made in this country of a similar nature, at least 
at the present time, but he hoped the time Avould come when the 
Eoyal Horticultural Society would be in a position to take the lead 
in a gathering that would be worthy of the nation. 
It is to be noted that Belgian horticulturists possess besides the 
spirit of enterprise the virtue of patience. They have learned not 
only to labour, but to wait. Their policy is evidently to gain 
strength by an accumulation of resources. They do not make a 
number of small attempts and fail, but concentrate their energies 
on great efforts at wide intervals and command universal attention. 
State grants could not be obtained every year, as these are conse¬ 
quent on and governed by individual contributions. If the means 
at disposal were expended yearly the shows would be five times less 
in importance and not more than mediocre in character. In that 
case little would be heard of Belgian horticulture, for it would be 
essentially local instead of, as now, of world-wide celebrity. Great 
interest is manifested in Belgium in the Royal Horticultural 
Sociaty of England, and some of the experienced continental 
workers delicately suggest that perhaps the English Society 
attempts too much, dividing its resources unduly and depriving 
itself of power. Perhaps our friends over the water, who do things 
so well, are not far -wrong; anyway, that view of the position may 
be recorded, as it cannot possibly do harm if it does no good. 
The contributions to the Belgian horticultural societies are not 
high. A guinea constitutes membership, though special donations 
are given for special purposes. Moreover, the societies do not 
stand alone, but are in almost every case amalgamated with musical 
societies. When each of these, harmonic and horticultural organisa¬ 
tions, stood apart both were weak, but by association each became 
strong, or much stronger than before. Obviously it does not follow 
that a similar alliance is practicable in England, for it is probable 
that there are few, if any, harmonic societies corresponding with 
those established in the chief cities of the Continent ; still, the 
circumstance must be narrated in a passing allusion to Belgian work 
and ways. 
If we could emulate our friends in waiting and gathering 
strength, then unite our forces as they do, we could excel them 
in the magnitude and richness of our exhibitions, taking them in 
the aggregate, though in some of their productions they are in the 
ascendant; and we might then, as they do now, invite representa¬ 
tives of culture from various countries, and make London, for the 
time being, the centre of attraction in the horticultural world. 
We could, at least, give a hearty Engbsh welcome, and if it differed 
from that accorded in Ghent, would not, perhaps, on that account, be 
the less agreeable. One thing we could not very well do, since we 
have no State aid and State railways—gain a 50 per cent, reduction 
in fares for jurors travelling on the lines to and from the exhi¬ 
bition. That is a “ way ” they have in Belgium of showing 
courtesy to the friends who are officially invited to take part in 
great exhibitions like the Quinquennial at Ghent. . 
It is pleasant to observe not only continued, but evidently 
increased, prosperity in the horticultural industry of Belgium. 
The demand for plants of a decorative nature is greater than 
ever, and some kinds, notably Azaleas, Palms, and a few other 
No. 2065.— VoL. LXXVIII., Old Series. 
