CHRYSANTHEMUMS

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20225, 1 May 1931, Page 8

CHRYSANTHEMUMS

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S SHOW. ! EXHIBITS IN ART GALLERY. ■ j The produce of the garden, from the |. daintiest buttonhole to a massive pumpkin, and from delicate autumn- foliage to a huge and magnificent chrysanthemum, filled the Art Gallery yesterday when the: Canterbury Horticultural Society 's annual chrysanthemum show was opened. There is a considerable increase in entries this year, the total, being 475, as against 373 last year. An outstanding feature of the Show | is the chrysanthemum exhibit by Sir R. Heaton Rhodes. This occupies a large stand in the main hall, and yesterday afternoon it was admired greatly by air visitors. J The judges expressed satisfaction with all exhibits. In the fruit section,, i particularly, the comment was extremely favourable. The exhibition was the best the Society had ever staged, and the quality very nearly approached the ! Otago standard. The winning . exhibit jof 12 varieties was faultless, and",acredit to any Show. It demonstrated that . Canterbury was , a suitable district for the raising of fruit for export. 1 The vegetables were well up to standard in variety and quality, and . the schoolboys' section was to beVery highly commended. The exhibition showed that they were j taking a much' keeiigr interest in the work than hitherto. - In the main section —chrysanthemums —there were some remarkably line blooms, the premier -Japanese reflexed bloom, Lady Talbot, being distinctly notable. The single blooms showed an advance in progress. They bore signs of higher cultivation and origin-, ality and some of the new blooms were superior .to the old ones. Lateness of the season,would account for a few of the blooms not being quite up to | standard. I President's Address. I The president, Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, in- declaring the Show open, said that at different times of the year the horticulturists met to pay homage to different flowers. "To-day," he said, "we pay homage >to the queen of the autumn." Particularly striking, said Sir Heaton, was the exhibit of fruit. The judge of the section had declared that it was the finest exhibition ever staged by the Society. In the vegetable classes the schoolboys had made a very creditable showing and, by encouraging them, the Society was strengthening its future. This year's Show was particularly good. Indeed it far outrivalled the Wellington Show, held a few days ago. The people in the north had had the misfortune of stormy weather, which had done a. great deal of damage to the flowers. It was very pleasing to see the fine exhibit from the patient's of the sanatorium. Their contribution was heartily welcomed by the Society, •which regarded it as its duty to encourage people who were a little unfortunate in matters of health to take an interest in the beauties of Nature. "Looking at these flowers we can afford to be a-little.optimistic," said Sir Heaton. "We can say that wo can grow fine blooms,, fine vegetables, and fine fruit. We can express the hope that our fortunes will change and that we will soon be able'to look towards the - future with a smile.". Th,e. speaker offered a- welcome, on behalf of the Society, to all old exhibitors and also to ;n'ew entrants, and congratulated thfi; chairman ofe committees (Mr O. W. ,B. Andersoh) and the secretary (Mr H, L. Dart on) on the success of the show; - .. The show will be open to-day from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. The judges were as follows:—Chrysanthemums, Mr G. T. Taylor; other flowers, Messrs F. A. Jones aiid M. J. Gilpin; vegetables, Messrs Jones and Gilpin; decorative section. Miss Cherry Smith; fruit, Mr C. G. Brooks.