THE OARDENINO WORLD. 647 
Society + Doings. ® 
The Editor will he 'pleased to receive particulars of the Fixtures t Meetings t Lectures , cfec., 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. 
August 12, 1905. 
W 
Records Broken. 
This has been an extraordinary summer for 
horticultural shows. From reports which 
have poured in upon us, records have appa¬ 
rently been broken north, south, east, and 
west The years 1902 and 1903 proved a 
veritable debacle to undertakings of this 
character, and flower shows were on every 
hand disastrous speculations. But the pre¬ 
sent remarkable summer, with its absence of 
pluvial misfortune and with its protracted 
sunshine, has immensely heartened the exe¬ 
cutives of horticultural organisations all over 
the country, and in many instances has 
enabled them to wipe off harassing deficits 
and in more than one instance has saved 
societies from collapse. The entries have in¬ 
creased at hundreds of shows ; with few ex¬ 
ceptions the exhibits have been of a very high 
level of excellence, affording the judges un¬ 
commonly hard tasks, and the crowds attend¬ 
ing the shows have in the aggregate certainly 
never been exceeded. It has been, and still 
is, a glorious summer, and has incalculably 
benefited horticultural societies and given 
an immense impetus to the spread of garden¬ 
ing everywhere. 
Sixpence for Swearing. 
The history of former floral and horticul¬ 
tural societies in Felton, Northumberland, is 
curious. The first of these, it appears, was 
^formed in 1832. The rules provided that the 
annual subscription for all classes of exhi¬ 
bitors should be 2s. per annum. Members 
exhibiting flowers at the annual Auricula 
show which had not been in their possession 
for three months were liable to a fine of 
10s. 6d. Members showing Auriculas with 
fewer than five, or Tulips with more than six, 
petals were liable to a fine of 3s., whilst for 
clipping the petals of any kind of flowers the 
fine was 2s. 6d. The fine to be imposed upon 
exhibitors expressing themselves dissatisfied 
with the judge’s decision was 2s. ; that upon 
any members refusing to act as steward, trea¬ 
surer, or secretary Is. ; whilst that upon 
those who caused any disturbance, insulted 
any of the officers or members, refusing to go 
to their seats when requested, using abusive 
language, or guilty of swearing during the 
meetings was fixed at 6d. 
Wallasey Amateur Gardeners’ Association. 
The judge’s awards in the two garden com¬ 
petitions were announced at the last monthly 
meeting of the above association, as follows : 
—-Mr. Summet won the Silver Challenge 
Bowl given by the society for the third year 
in succession, with 27 points out of a "pos¬ 
sible 30, the bowl thus becoming his pro¬ 
perty. The president’s (Mr. 'Charles Pear¬ 
son) prizes were awarded as follows:—Mr. 
Jowett, 21 points ; Mr. Villar, 19 ; Mr. 
Boughey, 14 ; and Mr. Clowthet, 8. The 
gardens are visited in July and September. 
Shirley F. Whitehouse, Sec. 
Exhibitions of Colonial Fruits, &c. 
The Council of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, on the suggestion from the official 
representatives of several of our colonies, 
have decided to hold four further exhibitions 
of colonial fruits and vegetable products, 
lasting two days each, on December 5th and 
6th, 1905, and March 22nd and 23rd, June 
6th and 7th, and December 4th and 5th, 1906. 
The object in fixing these dates is to suit as 
far as possible the season which is most likely 
to find the produce of Canada, British 
Columbia, and the West Indies; of India 
and the Cape ; and of Australia, Tasmania, 
and New Zealand, in the greatest perfection 
in London. Opportunity is afforded for each 
colony to make collective exhibits in addition 
to the exhibits of individual firms. 
The Agents-General and otheT authorities 
are most kindly rendering every assistance, 
and we trust that both growers and shippers 
will do their best to send in exhibits worthy 
of our colonies, and to show what can be pro¬ 
duced for the home markets. No entrance 
fee or charge for space is made, and tabling 
is also provided free of expense. If desired, 
any produce may be consigned direct to the 
society, and it will be stored in the cellars 
at Vincent Square and staged by the society’s 
officials, but the secretary cannot undertake 
to repack and return any exhibits. 
Medals and other prizes are offered by the 
Council in each of the many classes, which in¬ 
clude Apples, Pears, Pineapples, Mangos, 
Grapes, Oranges, Limes, and other citrous 
fruits, Peaches and Nectarines, Plums, 
Melons, Tomatos, Nuts, Yams, and various 
tubers, and other colonial fruits and vege¬ 
tables! 
A Joint Excursion. 
The members of the Dundee H.S. joined 
wnu those of the Broughty Ferry H.S. in 
their first outing for the season, on the 13th 
ult., an enjoyable excursion being made to 
the gardens of Drummond Castle, near Crieff, 
the Scottish seat of the Earl of Ancaster. 
The flower gardens here are considered to be 
unequalled in many respects among the 
gar-dens of Britain, and when seen from the 
terraced rock on which the castle is built, 
or, better still, from the castle tower, the 
sight is one not soon to be forgotten. 
Although the first ideas of the designer of the 
gardens have been adhered to and some new 
shrubs and trees added from time to time, 
still we feel that a better effect would have 
been produced by a more liberal addition of 
the choicer varieties of ornamental trees and 
shrubs, especially conifera, the choicer sorts 
of these being almost conspicuously absent. 
The flower gardens are very fine, and reflect 
great credit on Air. John Robb, the head 
gardener. He also showed ability in the pro¬ 
duction of fruits and vegetables. Before 
leaving the gardens Air. Cairns expressed the 
indebtedness of the company to Air. Robb for 
his kindness and guidance round the gardens, 
and called for a vote of thanks, which was 
heartily responded to. 
James Bethel. 
Sweet Pea Enthusiasts. 
The Doncaster and District Gardeners’ and 
Amateur Gardeners’ Alutual Improvement 
Society had a special show of Sweet Peas at 
the Wellington Hotel on the evening of the 
20th July. The president (Rev. F. S. 
Jannings) occupied the chair, and was sup¬ 
ported by Vice-president Councillor P. Stir¬ 
ling and Councillor W. H. Alanwaring. 
Alessrs. Sutton and Sons, Reading, offered 
special prizes for professionals ; and Alessrs. 
Eckford (the Sweet Pea specialists) special 
prizes for amateurs. A further special prize 
was given by Air. Walters, a member of the 
society, for the best six vases of Sweet Peas, 
amateur or professional. Competition w-as 
very keen, over 100 vases being exhibited. 
Awards were : —Professional—six vases of 
Sweet Peas : 1st, Air. Tann ; 2nd, Air. Gray ; 
3rd, Air. Gaythorpe. Amateurs : 1st, Air. 
AViles ; 2nd, Mr. King ; 3rd, Air. Trippett. 
Air. Walters’ prize was won by Mr. Gray. 
Air. Leeson, of Doncaster, gave a short paper 
on the Sweet Pea, dealing with the cultiva¬ 
tion and improvement of the flower, and a 
discussion followed. 
Chris. Leeson, Ses. 
Carnegie Encourages Horticulture. 
Convinced that the love and cultivation of 
flowers are a potent agent in the provision of 
sweetness and light—two words which 
embrace the whole gamut of man’s desire to 
benefit his fellow men—whose introduction 
into the lives of the toiling masses of his 
native city is so much desired by Air. Car¬ 
negie, the Carnegie Trust are giving their 
utmost support to floral exhibitions. A sum¬ 
mer Rose and Pansy show, which was in¬ 
augurated at Dunfermline last year, has been 
continued this year. Since its inauguration 
its scope has been widened and its influence 
strengthened. Encouraged by the pheno¬ 
menal success of last year’s exhibition, the 
Trust agreed to become affiliated to the 
N.R. S., in order that their show might have a 
distinctly national character. Principally 
through the efforts of Air. John Hynd has this 
desideratum been attained, and it is due 
mainly to his influence and work that the 
show is what it is. The pxize money lias been 
raised to £200, and four National Rose 
Society’s medals are offered for competition, 
with the result that this year’s display lias 
been greatly improved. Air. W. Robertson, 
who presided at this year’s opening function, 
said their show was ahead of any show held 
in Scotland. He had heard it stated that day 
that, as Shrewsbury was to England in 
matters horticultural, so Dumfermline was to 
be to Scotland. 
Highgate Horticultural Society. 
The Highgate Horticultural Society, we are 
glad to notice, continues to increase in mem¬ 
bership, and the 1904 season was closed with 
a small balance on the right side. Good 
work has been done in inducing cottagers to 
naturally embellish the outside of their dwell¬ 
ings, and, on the occasion of the society's 
July show, the judges had again to remark "on 
the great amount of time and labour that the 
competitors had apparently spent, seeing the 
exceedingly bright results, which made the 
task of the examiners, who visit the gardens 
