THE GARDENING WORLD. 593 
Society + Doings. ® 
The Editor will be pleased to receive particulars of the Fixtures, Meetings, Lectures, &cof 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. 
July 22. it)05. 
A New Sweet Pea Society, 
Following on an enthusiastic preliminary 
meeting the Benfieklside and District Sweet 
Pea Society has become an accomplished fact. 
The first business meeting took place on the 
1st inst., Mr. H. Surtees presiding. It was 
decided to have open classes and classes for 
amateurs. A show will be held at an early 
date. Mr. H. Surtees was elected chairman ; 
Mr. J. Oliver, vice-chairman; Mr. Edward 
Gailes, treasurer; and! Mr. Charles Tate, 
secretary. We hope the new society will 
meet with success. 
Essay Competition for Gardeners. 
The Wargrave and District Gardeners’ 
Association is one of the associations which 
finds it cannot run meetings during the 
months of June, July, and August. But it 
holds very successful gatherings during the 
other nine months of the year. The commit¬ 
tee are offering prizes for essays from 
head gardeners and nurserymen on “Hardy 
Flowering Shrubs,” and from assistant and 
single-handed gardeners on “ Some Garden¬ 
ing Subject.” Essay writing is undoubtedly 
good practice, but gardeners are not, as a 
rule, fond of using the pen, though the in¬ 
formation and suggestion which they could 
give would, of course, be valuable and 
thoroughly practical. 
H. Colf.by, Hon. Sec. 
A Sign of the Happy Home. 
In competition for the Secretary’s Medal 
some splendid Gloxinia blooms and fine speci¬ 
mens of Cattleya and Odontoglossum were ex¬ 
hibited at the last monthly meeting of the 
Sheffield Floral and Horticultural Society. 
The secretary read a paper on “ Some Phases 
of Life in Sheffield,” in which he illustrated 
from personal experience that the brightest 
and happiest homes were to be found where 
a garden or plants and flowers attracted most 
attention. The Countess Fitzwilliam, it was 
announced, had consented to open the annual 
show on August 19th. The secretary having 
suggested to the Lord Mayor and through the 
medium of the local Press that real flowers 
and plants should be employed for decorative 
purposes on the visit of the King and Queen 
to Sheffield, a resolution was jtassed express¬ 
ing appreciation and thanks of the society to 
the Royal Reception Committee that floral 
decorations had been adopted as a principal 
feature. 
W. LEWBNDON, F.B.H.S., Sec. 
Wimbledon’s Summer Show. 
Over 2,500 persons paid for admission last 
year to the summer show of the Wimbledon 
and District Royal Horticultural and Cottage 
Garden Society, and, judging from the ex¬ 
cellent schedule of prizes to be offered at the 
33rd annual exhibition of this society, which 
is beincr held on the 19th inst., only fine 
weather is needed in order to repeat the suc¬ 
cess of 1904. There are eighty-two classes, 
including twenty-six open to all comers (nur¬ 
serymen excepted), nine for single-handed 
gardeners, sixteen for amateurs, two for 
children (not cottagers’), twenty-seven for 
cottagers, and two for cottagers’ children. 
The prizes awarded amount to over £70. 
Athletic sports are held in connection with 
the show, and the popularity of this horti¬ 
cultural fixture is doubtless enhanced by this 
provision of an accessory attraction. The 
existence of the Wimbledon and District 
Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society, an 
off-shoot of the parent society, and which is 
now in its fifth session, may be held to be 
largely responsible for the prosperity of the 
older organisation. 
■Alfred Hosjach, Hon. Sec. 
r -\ 
OUR PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 
SPECIAL COMPETITION 
For Members of Local 
Horticultural Societies. 
Pkizes.— (1) Three guineas. 
(2) One guinea. 
(3) Ten shillings and sixpence. 
Open only to members of local Horticultural 
Societies. 
The above prizes are offered for the best article 
'or essay on the following subject:— 
“ How to extend the membership 
and usefulness of local Horticultural 
Societies.” 
The length of the essay should be about 1,000 
words, and it must be sent in before the end 
of August next. Mark envelopes in left-hand 
corner with the words “ Society Competition.” 
Helping Society Work. 
Neighbouring gentry—to use a rather vul¬ 
gar but, withal, useful word—can do much to 
encourage local horticultural organisations, 
more especially at this season of the year, when 
indoor meetings have little attraction, even 
for the most ardent gardening enthusiast. 
Those who own notable or beautiful gardens 
are doing a distinct service to horticulture by 
permitting members of such societies to visit 
them and share for a brief interval some of 
the pleasures of these expensive possessions. 
It is very gratifying to note that many 
wealthy ladies and gentlemen find a pleasure 
in thus throwing open their gardens for the 
delectation of those who otherwise would 
never have an opportunity of seeing high- 
class and costly gardening. Mr. G. A. Ham¬ 
mond, of Burgess Hill, Sussex, a noted grower 
of Roses, is one of these kindly-disposed gen¬ 
tlemen. One beautiful day recently he in¬ 
vited the members of the Burgess Hill Horti¬ 
cultural Mutual Improvement and Chrysan 
themum Society, together with their wives, 
to inspect his fine collection of Roses, and, 
needless to say, a very delightful afternoon 
was passed in wandering through the fine 
gardens, so admirably kept by Mr. E. Rut¬ 
land. Mr. Hammond put his visitors under 
a further obligation by generously providing 
tea and refreshments: In responding to a 
vote of thanks, he said “ I am exceedingly 
pleased to see you all nere, and hope you will 
all come again next year.” Other gentlemen 
of means might well emulate this capital 
example. 
F. Bcrxett, Hon. S?c. 
Lewis Horticulturist. 
Mr. J. W. James occupied the chair at the 
monthly meeting on the 8th inst. of the Lewis 
and District Chrysanthemum Society, when 
an interesting competition took place for 
Sweet Peas (an excellent display), cut Roses, 
Gooseberries, and Cos Lettuces. A splendid 
non-competitive exhibit of Sweet Peas was 
sent by Messrs. Kenward and Sons, florists, 
Lewis. 
E. H. Hallf.tt. Hon Sec. 
A Successful Show at Woking. 
A monthly meeting, at which a lecture is 
delivered, and at which there is an exhibition 
of flowers, fruit and vegetables is the feature 
of the Woking Horticultural Association. This 
association is in a very healthy condition, the 
meetings are well attended, and the exhibi¬ 
tions excite a great deal of useful emulation 
in horticultural pursuits. The summer show 
of the society was held on July 6th, in the 
beautiful grounds of Heatlierside, kindly lent 
by Mrs. Xeate, and was a very successful and 
crowded function. The number of exhibits 
was large, and the quality of a high standard. 
The Sweet Peas were notably fine, and for 
twelve bunches, distinct varieties, Mr. G. Car¬ 
penter took the First Prize and Silver Gilt 
Medal, offered by Mr. H. T. Jones, of Rye- 
croft Nurseries, Lewisham. Mr. S. Jackman 
won the first prize for nine distinct varieties of 
Sweet Peas, grown from seed obtained from 
Mr. Robert Sydenham, Tenby Street, Bir¬ 
mingham. The exhibits of Roses were very 
good, and particularly excellent were the 
baskets of plants and the hardy flowers. 
Messrs. Jackman and Sons, of Woking Nur¬ 
series, staged a much-admired non-competi¬ 
tive display of Roses and hardy flowers. Irre¬ 
proachable weather, a drawing-room concert, 
and instrumental music on the lawn, and the 
admirably arranged show of flowers, etc. com¬ 
bined to form a highly enjoyable occasion. 
The method adopted by this society is to 
award points or marks of merit to each ex¬ 
hibit. The maximum number of points to 
each exhibit cannot exceed twentv-six. and 
these are given for size. form, colour, etc. The 
great prize aimed for by exhibitors is the 
Holme-Sumner Challenge Bowl. This hand¬ 
some silver challenge bowl, at present held 
by Mrs. Orlando I aw. is awarded to the mem¬ 
ber gaining the highest aggregate number of 
points in the year. To become the absolute 
possessor of the bowl it must be won in two 
successive Years, or three years in- all. It 
was presented by Mr. Frank Holme-Sumner. 
the president of the society. 
A ItTHH’, SHEPHARD, Hon. Sec, 
