208 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE 
dangers  following  if  we  delay.  .  So  far  the  crops  are  fulfilling  their 
promise,  the  stocks  stand' thickly  together,  and  as  binders  make 
all  sheaves  alike,  that  is  good  evidence  of  heavy  crops.  Both 
Wheat  and  Barley  are  heavy  in  the  sheaf,  and  quite  satisfactory 
as  to  quality.  We  were  fortunate  to  miss  the  heaviest  of  the 
June  rains,  and  are  now  reaping  the  benefit  from  that  immunity. 
On  congratulating  a  neighbour  on  his  possessing  an  exception¬ 
ally  fine  piece^of  Wheat,  he  informed  us  with  a  shake  of  the  head 
that  the  crop  Vas  full  of  bunt,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the 
seed  was  properly  dressed.  The  dressing  used  was  one  with  a 
fancy  name,  “  anti-something  or  other,”  but  it  was  evidently 
quite  ineffectual.  How  long  will  it  take  to  convince  farmers  that 
the  Safest  and  most  effectual  dressing  is  powdered  blue  vitriol, 
and  that  fancy  mixtures  are  often  only  adulterated  and  expensive 
forms  of  the  same  article  with  the  strength  reduced  below  the 
point  of  efficiency. 
We  are  still  able  to  keep  a  couple  of  skerries  working  amongst 
the  Turnips,  which  would  have  been  impos.sible  before  the  advent 
of  string  binders.  The  real  stress  of  harvest  work  does  not  com¬ 
mence  now  until  the  time  of  stacking.  As  we  have  little  laid 
corn  there  are  no  men  occupied  in  mowing  this  year,  except 
in  the  always  nec9.?isary  opening  out. 
The  Clover  fog  has  been  a  little  too  strong  for  the  lambs,  w'hich 
have  scoured  a  little,  and  we  have  removed  them  to  old  pasture, 
where  they  are  receiving  Cabbage  ad.  lib.  We  shall  fold  them 
on  the  remains  of  the  Cabbage  at  once.  The  Kale  is  nearly  ready 
for  stocking,  so  it  will  be  ready  to  follow  the  Cabbage  up  with. 
The  red  Clover  will  now  be  stocked  with  ewes  until  we  have  some 
Barley  stubbles  cleared  for  them.  Those  who  want  early  lambs 
must  put  the  ram  with  the  ewes  at  once,  so  that  the  lambing 
may  commence  by  the  end  of  January.  Put  the  ewes  in  a  good 
pasturCj  and  give  them  an  allowance  of  old  Barley,  say  ^Ib  per 
head  per  day. 
Strong  pigs  are  still  making  fair  prices,  but  suckers  are  very 
cheap;  we  saw  some  very  good  ones  at  14s.  per  head.  Hens  are 
beginning  to  moult,  and  eggs  are  diminishing  in  numbers;  price, 
thirteen  for  one  shilling. 
- - - 
R.A.S.  and  Park  Royal. 
To  the  President  and  Council  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  of  England. 
Gentlemen,— As  a  member,  and  one  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  agriculture,  I  deeply  deplore  the  failure  of  the  recent  show. 
My  personal  experience  is  probably  that  of  many.  I  went  to 
London  to  attend  the  show  on  the  opening  day  (Tuesday),  leaving 
Birmingham  by  an  early  train,  arriving  on  the  show  ground  soon 
after  ten  o’clock.  The  stand  allotted  to  my  firm  (who  have  been 
exhibitors  for  many  years)  was  practically  unapproachable  for 
mud,  and  a  sleeper  road  in  the  centre  of  the  avenue  conveyed 
those  few  people  who  came  along,  and  who  were  able  to  get  by  if 
there  were  no  carts  or  waggons  in  the  way.  I  understand  even 
when  the  ground  had  dried  passers-by  kept  to  the  sleeper  road 
lOyd^  from  ihe  stands,  and  the  rules  forbid  representatives  to 
solidrt  away  from  their  stands.  It  took  me  until  one  o’clock 
before  I  could  get  any  official  on  the  spot,  and  when  at  last  an 
attempt  was  made  to  effect  some  improvement,  an  object  lesson 
was  afforded  of  the  way  in  which  the  money  of  the  members 
of  the  society  is  woefully  squandered.  After  two  o’clock  a  dozen 
or  so  navvies  were  brought  on  the  scene,  many  of  them  much 
the  worse  for  drink,  and  were  left  standing  about  for  some  time, 
some  with  shovels,  some  without,  but  apparently  not  knowing 
what  they  were  to  do.  Shortly  after  a  cart  appeared,  followed 
by  a  second  one,  and  the  spectacle  was  observed  of  some  twenty 
navvies  crowded  round  one  cart,  evidently  enjoying  the  fun 
of  pretending  to  work.  This  sort  of  thing  went  on  till  nearly 
four  o’clock,  when  I  left  the  show  ground  in  disgust,  the  whole 
of  my  time  and  expense  in  going  to  the  show  having  been 
thrown  away. 
Many  contributed  to  the  fund  to  assist  the  council  of  the 
society  in  purchasing  a»d  equipping  a  permanent  site,  whilst 
doubting  the  wisdom  of  going  so  near  London ;  but  it  was  ex¬ 
pected  that,  however  unsuitable  the  geographical  position,  the 
council  would  choose  a  site  in  every  sense  favourable.  It  is 
self-evident  that  part  of  the  site  is  flat,  low,  and  in  case  of  bad 
weather  likely  to  be  a  veritable  bog,  with  the  disadvantage  of 
being  comparatively  inaccessible.  Whoever  were  responsible  for 
the  selection  of  such  a  position  have  loaded  the  Royal  Agricul¬ 
tural  Society  with  a  “white  elephant”  so  far  as  its  becoming 
a  successful  agricultural  show  site.  The  news  of  the  unfavour¬ 
able  position  and  prospects  of  the  show  travelled  far  and  wide 
long  before  the  date  fixed  for  the  show  ;  and  when,  within  a 
reasonable  period  of  the  date  for  holding  the  show  the  general 
public  learnt  that  the  ground  was  in  a  most  unsuitable  condi¬ 
tion,  the  death  blow  was  sounded  so  far  as  the  success  of  the 
show  was  concerned.  In  order  to  convince  you  that  outsiders 
could  see  the  ri.sk  bad  weather  would  involve,  my  brother,  who 
vi.sited  the  ground  before  any  shedding  was  put  up,  ordered  a 
AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  August  27,  1903, 
floor,  which  has. cost  £7.,, to  bie  laid. at  our  stand  to  meet.com, 
tingencies.  Never,  in  the  whole  course  of  our  attendance  at 
shows  before,  has  a  floor  been  laid  at  our  stand.  This  speaks 
for  itself.  - . 
The  griei'ance  as  to  the  site  was  small  as  compared  with  the 
negligence  displayed  to  the  many  exhibitors  of  implements, 
medicines,  condiments,  &c.  A  very  strong  word  might  be 
applied  to  the  action  of  the  .society  in  receiving  thousands  of ' 
pounds,  and  then  allotting  space  in  such  impas.sable  or  out-of-the- 
way  places  as  to  be  practically  valueles.s.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  unless  exhibitors  like  ourselves  receive  fair  treatment  many 
will  decline  to  exhibit,  or  take  less  space.  It  would  appear  to  a 
large  majority  who  are  not  in  touch  with  the  action  of  your 
council  that  the  show  ground  has  been  arranged  without  any 
regard  to  the  feelings  or  desires  of  would-be  exhibitors,  and  with 
all  due  respect  to  their  judgment,  I  am  strongly  of  opinion 
that  they  should  have  consulted  a  number  of  representative 
firms  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  showing  for  some  years  as 
to  their  views  on  the  best  methods  of  placing  the  shedding.  Not 
only  so,  but  even  the  want  of  arrangement  in  the  avenues  was 
most  striking. 
The  exhibitors  who  occupied  the  various  sheddings  paid 
thousands  of  pounds  in  fees  and  outlay  in  fitting  up  their 
respective  stands  and  ecfuipping  their  staff.  No  consideration 
whatever  appears  to  have  entered  into  the  council’s  mind  as  to 
the  absolute  throwing  away  of  all  this  expenditure,  although 
it  must  have  been  well  within  their  knowledge  when  they  re¬ 
ceived  the  entrance  fees,  or  at  any  rate  at  a  period  long  prior  to 
the  opening  of  the  show,  that  this  expenditure  w’ould  be  abso¬ 
lutely  thrown  away,  and  the  various  exhibitors  should  have  been 
advised,  with  the  option  of  having  their  monies  returned. 
Granted  the  state  of  the  ground  and  weather  being  everything 
to  be  desired,  the  positions  allotted  to  many  in  the  implement 
yard  were  far  inferior  to  others.  Consequently,  why  should  the 
pro  rata  charges  for  space  be  the  same  ?  I  am  now  referring  to 
the  special  shedding.  Much  ground  that  could  have  been 
utilised  for  the  show  was  wasted,  and  much  ground  that  was 
utilised  was  absolutely  worthless.  For  instance,  a  vast  stretch 
of  ground,  high  and  comparatively  dry,  facing  the  west  entrance, 
remained  unutilised ;  also  another  large  tract  on  the  left  of  this, 
and  further  open  space  facing  the  east  entrance.  The  disgraceful 
condition  of  the  approaches  to  the  stand  occupied  by  my  firm 
was  bad  enough,  btit  some  in  the  smaller  avenues  were  abso¬ 
lutely  desert  places  to  the  visitors  to  the  show,  as  no  one  would 
venture  along  them.  Why  was  it  that  some  large  refreshment 
booths  and  wine  and  spirit  stands  were  placed  in  the  very  best 
positions,  when  they  could  have  equally  as  well  accommodated 
the  public  in  some  remoter  portion  of  the  ground  ? 
The  treatment  accorded  to  some  of  the  old  exhibitors  in 
comparison  with  that  accorded  to  exhibitors  who  have  but 
recently  come  into  existence-  (and  I  am  not  sure  if  some  were  not 
at  the  show  for  the  first  time)  was  striking,  and  no  considera¬ 
tion  appears  to  have  been  given  to  such  exhibitors  who  were 
prepared  to  take  up  a  larger  amount  of  space  than  hitherto,  and 
to  spend  a  considerable  sum  of  money  in  making  their  stands 
tasteful  and  pleasing  to  the  eye.  What  inducement  is  there  for 
exhibitors  to  make  expensive  and  effective  fronts  if  they  are  to 
be  banished  into  obscure  positions?  Certain  firms,  whose  names 
could  be  mentioned,  have  year  after  year  been  accommodated 
with  prominent  front  positions,  and  it  would  be  interesting  to 
know  why  the  same  rate  is  charged  for  front  positions  as  for 
back  and  side.  To  sum  up  the  whole  matter,  the  want  of 
success  of  the  show  is  due  partly  to  its  unsuitability ;  and,  so 
far  as  exhibitors  who  attend  for  the  purposes  of  business  are 
concerned,  mainly  due  to  the  want  of  practical  knowledge  of 
those  who  have  had  to  deal  with  the  planning  out  of  the  show 
ground. 
The  vei'y  unsatisfactory  impression  already  made  on  the  ex¬ 
hibitors,  visitors,  and  representatives,  will  not  add  to  the 
better  chance  of  success  another  year.  All  those  representa¬ 
tives  attending  stands  badly  placed,  &c.,  will,  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  conversation  with  their  clients,  in  all  part^s  of  the 
country,  still  further  prejudice  the  society  and  Park  Royal. 
This  point  may  not  have  occurred  to  your  society,  but  you  must 
not,  forget  that  many  exhibitors  have  most,  of  their  staff  repre¬ 
sentatives  at  each  Royal  Show,  and  they  are  drawn  from  all 
the  districts  in  England,  so  that  after  a  show  like  the  Royal  they 
do  not  hide  their  light  under  a  busliel,  and  th.eir  opinion  is  fully 
expressed. 
It  is  evident  if  the  Royal  Show  is  to  maintain  its  position, 
and  not  to  retrograde,  it  ii^  desirable  that  the  council  should 
consist  of  men  of  sufficient  ability  to  contend  with  the  evils  that 
I  hav'e  pointed  out.  I  am  willing  to  make  every  allowance  for 
the  difficult  position  the  society  was  placed  in,  bub  as  the 
disaster  was  predicted  months  ago,  there  was  ample  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  the  society  to  have  known  whether  or  not  any 
arrangements  could  be  carried  out  to  malie  the.  show  ground 
.suitable. — I  am,  gentlemen,  your  obedient  servant,  Lawrence  C. 
Tipper,  Veterinary  Chemical  Works,  Balsall  Heath,  Biimiing- 
ham,  July  30,  1903. 
