August 5, 1905. 
THE QARDBNINQ WORLD. 
029 
• Society + Doings. * 
The Editor will be -pleased to receive particulars of the Fixtures, Meetings, Lectures, &c., of Horticultural Societies. Secretaries 
or Members willing to send us brief notes of general interest are invited to forward name and address to the Editor, who will 
gladly send supply of stamped addressed contributors’ slips. 
No Reports of Shows. 
In face of the scores of reports which con¬ 
tinue to reach us by every post, we have come 
to the conclusion that it is hopeless to attempt 
to reproduce even the gist of these in the 
space which we have been able to allocate to 
society news. A notice of a show condensed 
into the space of a few lines is uninteresting 
and practically valueless, and cannot include 
all even of the really salient facts. Therefore, 
we have decided that the only solution of the 
difficulty is to refrain altogether from noticing 
show's in the sense of attempting to report 
them. It wonld be unfair to describe some and 
not others, and so, to avoid being invidious, the 
only course is to notice none. Particulars of 
society doings we shall welcome as heretofore, 
and shall do our best to utilise all that our 
correspondents may be good enough to- send 
us. But, again, we must beg them to be brief. 
Horticultural Club. 
About seventy members and friends visited 
the Wisley Gardens on Thursday in last 
.week, and spent an enjoyable) hour in this 
Surrey woodland. The party were conveyed 
by special saloon carriages to Weybridge, 
where brakes were in readiness for the drive¬ 
to Wisley. After an inspection of the Royal 
Horticultural Society’s garden lunch was 
served at the Hut Hotel. The drive was re¬ 
sumed through beautiful lanes to Chertsey, 
where a launch was waiting to continue the 
journey to Kingston. Here brakes were again 
in readiness to take the party, at the kind 
invitation of Mr. James Walker, to his charm¬ 
ing garden on Ham Common. The magnifi¬ 
cent fruit-houses were inspected, and de¬ 
lightful hour spent in the grounds, where re¬ 
freshments were provided. There were several 
guests, among them Mr. Arderne, from South 
Africa. 
Flower Show Preparation, 
At a recent meeting of that go-ahead body, 
the Wake-field Paxton Society, there was a 
lively discussion on the cpiestion of how 
flowers should be grown and prepared for show 
purposes. Mr. John Twigge denounced the 
immorality of doctoring flowers for exhibition. 
Blooms that had been pulled, twisted, and 
turned in every conceivable way were certain 
to deceive many people, because by such 
manipulation even the less valuable flowers 
could be made to make a good show. Mr. 
W. H. Yere was of opinion that unless a 
flower was such before manipulation, no 
amount of manipulation could alter it. In 
cases, however, where flowers could be slightly 
improved by manipulation, the exhibitor, he 
thought, should be at liberty to try his skill. 
Mr. Tunnicliffe was opposed to manipulation, 
and declared that, had they a little more 
common honesty in these matters, shows 
would hold together much better than they 
had done, because then the poor working men 
would have an equal chance of competing with 
others. Mr. Parkin related how he once got 
possession of such a magnificent specimen*of 
a Rose that he was determined to take a 
photograph of it, but he was afterwards 
amazed to find that it had been worked on a 
perfect network o-f wire-. 
T. H. Mountain, Sec. 
No Show at Dudley. 
It is matter for regret that the Dudley 
Horticultural Society do not see their way 
to hold a show this year. The society, we 
understand, is still kept in being by certain 
financial responsibilities, but whether it will 
be rehabilitated and resume its career of use¬ 
fulness by another year remains to- be seen. 
The shows held by the society have been suc¬ 
cessful in every sense save the financial one, 
and the committee, with the experience they 
have gained, should now be able to gauge the 
capabilities of the district. A correspondent 
says that, held contemporaneously with the 
Dudley Horse Show, the exhibition was 
WORDS OF COMMENDATION 
For the “Gardening World.” 
§Ni- 
’ 
“ The new issue of the paper is a 
wonder at the price.”—Mr. W. 
Ellis Groves, Secretary Bristol and 
District Gardeners’ M. I. Assoc. 
“ It is greatly appreciated.”—Mr. \V. 
Challender, Secretary Greenstreet 
and District Gardeners’ and Cot¬ 
tagers’ Society. 
“ I think it is highly interesting, and 
should be well supported.”—Mr. 
Alfred Hossack, Hon. Secretary 
Wimbledon and District Royal 
Horticultural and Cottage Garden 
Society. 
“ I consider The Gardening World 
an excellent paper.”—Mr.W. Shave, 
Secretary Bournemouth and Dis¬ 
trict Gardeners’ M. I. Assoc. 
-— - '* 
arranged on a scale out of proportion to the 
possible patronage. He suggests that in 
future the show should be held on a date 
different from that of the horse show. It has 
been proposed that it should be held on the 
Monday and Tuesday of Tipton Wake week, 
which ancient holiday remains fixed in the 
affections of the people of Dudley and Tip- 
ton, and which takes place at the zenith of 
the local horticultural season. We commend 
these suggestions to those who may be inclined 
to move in the matter, and revive and place 
on a sound basis an institution which no self- 
respecting district ought nowadays to lack. 
The Moral Value of Floriculture. 
On the 19th ult. Dr. G. F. Smith read a 
clever essay before the members of the 
Sheffield Chrysanthemum Society on “ Flower 
Culture and its Effect on Character.” The 
essayist traced in an interesting fashion the 
great moral value derived, and explained how 
the growing and tending of flow r ers developed 
the finer traits in a man’s character, such as 
patience and perseverance, and took away all 
his artificiality. 
M H. WlLLFORr, Sec 
The B.G.A. 
The newly-elected Executive Council of the 
British Gardeners’ Association held their first 
meeting on July 21st. The Secretary reported 
that since June 1st twenty-seven new mem¬ 
bers had joined, bringing the total up to 559. 
Donations amounting to £11 17s. had been 
received. The council decided to make ar¬ 
rangements for a conference of members and 
others interested, to take place in October, 
during the great autumn fruit show of the 
R.H.S. To this conference branches of the 
B.G.A. will be invited to send delegates. The 
council hope before long to make arrangements 
for monthly meetings to take place in or near 
the R.H.S. hall at Westminster concurrently 
with the meetings of the R.H.S. On the 
motion of Mr. Winter, seconded by Air. Wat¬ 
son, Air. J. AYeathers was unanimously 
elected hon. secretary of the association. All 
communications affecting the B.G.A. should 
therefore in future be addressed to Air. J. 
Weathers, Talbot Villa, Isleworth, Aliddlesex. 
The members of the Executive Council are 
Mr. W. Watson (chairman), Mr. T. C. 
Chandler, Air. G. H. Clack, Air. AY. E. Close, 
AH. C. H. Curtis, Air. AY. Dallimore, Air. G. 
Gordon, Air. J. Lawson, Air. R. Hooper Pear¬ 
son, Air. AA r . Taylor, Mr. T. Winter, and 
Mr. J. Weathers, Hon. Sec. 
Wimbledon and District F„.H.S. 
Air. P. Alortimer, president of the AA'imble- 
don and District Royal Horticultural Society, 
who occupied the chair at the luncheon on 
show day, said he perceived with some regret 
the show was in an ordinary field, and not in 
the prettier surroundings of a gentleman's 
house and grounds. This, as he suggested, 
was doubtless owing to the roundabouts, 
swings, etc., and not to the show itself. 
These popular adjuncts unquestionably help 
to swell the attendance at horticultural shows, 
but they have to be set against the important 
advantage, and the great attraction to many 
people, of picturesque situation and surround¬ 
ings. 
Alfred Hossack, Hoa. Sec. 
A Welcome Revival. 
For four seasons the show of the Hook and 
Southboro-ugh Cottage Garden Allotment 
Society was allowed to lapse, but a revival of 
enthusiasm last year led to its resuscitation, 
and this year's show, in the opinion of those 
best qualified to judge, held its own with any 
which have preceded it, even if it did not 
eclipse them in point of -merit. AYe trust that 
other horticultural societies which have sus¬ 
pended operations will be fired with the 
ambition to re-enter the lists of live societies. 
The prospects of success were never more 
hopeful. 
