HORTICULTURAL TRADES

Evening Star, Issue 21935, 23 January 1935, Page 6

HORTICULTURAL TRADES

ASSOCIATION’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE THIS MORNING'S SESSION There was a fairly large attendance of delegates at the twenty-eighth annual meeting and conference of the Now Zealand Horticultural Trades Association, opened in the Y.M.C.A. this morning. Mr H. Bennett presided. The Chairman extended a warm welcome to the delegates, and hoped that they would have a very happy and successful conference. He wished specially to welcome a new member in the person of Mrs Lovell, of Hawera, and Mr J. H. Campbell, director of the Horticultural Division of the Department of Agriculture.

Mr T. D. Lennie was appointed minute secretary for the conference. The roll-call was then taken, about thirty members responding. The Chairman ‘ announced that a valued member of the association, Mr W. V. Kingshecr, of Palmerston North, was unable to be present at the conference owing to ill-health, and it was decided to send a telegram to him expressing the hope that he would have a speedy recovery. It was also decided to send a telegram to Mr W. Edgington, of Christchurch, another member unable to attend owing to indisposition. The Chairman extended a welcome to Mr E. A. Stcans, of Invercargill, a life member of the association. PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. In his address to members, the President said: “I wish to thank members in all parts of New Zealand for their loyal support during the past year, whether given personally, as in the instance of the organising work in connection with our own council and the larger efforts in connection with preparing for the great national flower show and conferences, or in the case of the wider support given to the association in its efforts to assist and develop the collective interests of the industry. To my two vice-presidents I also wish to tender a word of praise. I congratulate our secretary, our treasurer, and the Finance Committee on the results achieved. In this connection I wish to pay a tribute to Mr W. V. Kingsbeer for his painstaking efforts under the difficult circumstances of continued ill-health. We are pleased to feel that at this time our trade, in keeping with the dominion generally, is on the up grade.” The Chairman felt that praise was duo to the loyal members in those centres which had stood by the association in its earlier days, and he could not forget the work done at Wellington for so many years by Mr T. Waugh, who had always been ready to _ assist the association when it required help. He was pleased to say that the association had established most cordial relationships with the Minister of Customs, the Minister of Agriculture, and the officers of that department, from Mr <k A. Campbell down, and on occasion they had found the assistance of the Department of Agriculture to be exceptionally valuable. He concluded by wishing the members a happy and prosperous New Year. It was freely admitted that this year’s National Show was the best ever staged in New Zealand, remarked Mr T. Waugh, who congratulated the president on the able manner in which he had filled his office. REPORTS. The executive’s report and the treasurer’s report were adopted after short discussion. The chairman mentioned that it had been suggested that the National Show should be held this year at Auckland, but when Dunedin’s claim had been put forward the Auckland delegates had immediately withdrawn their application. This showed the good feeling that existed in horticultural circles between the North Island and the South Island. District council reports were presented from all over the dominion, and were adopted without discussion. LANDSCAPE GARDENING. On behalf of the Dominion Landscape Gardening Committee, Mr J. N. M‘Leod reported that business for the year just passed had been about_ up to the average of the two previous years. Quite a number of small jobs had been done, *but contracts of any size had been few and far between. The building subsidy granted by the Unemployment Board helped to some extent to induce people to build. Prices even for small jobs had suffered since the depression. 'A great many gardeners preferred to do the work now for daily wages rather than by contract. Mr Buxton said that they had more hope for the future than for some time past. It had been noticed that many people receiving good incomes had taken advantage of unemployed labour, and this action was detrimental to the interests of the trade. However, the prospects were much brighter for the future. The report was adopted, PRESIDENT RE-ELECTED. Mr H. Bennett (Dunedin), the president of the association, was unanimously re-elected, to office for a further year. Mr Lawson Burrows, Gore, was reelected vice-president for a further term, and Mr Arthur W. Just was elected vice-president for the North Island. BANKS LECTURE. “ At the instance of the chairman of the Institute of Horticulture (Mr J. Campbell), the conference has been approached to withhold the paper to have been delivered by Mr Thomas Waugh until next year, when it will be utilised as the 1936 annual Banks lecture,” said the chairman, who remarked that Mr Waugh’s paper, entitled ‘ The Early History of the Royal Horticultural Society,’ was a very fine effort. The action of Mr Campbell was endorsed, and Mr Waugh was warmly congratulated on his gaining such a signal honour. EXTENSION OF SHOW. The suggestion that the National Show be extended for a further day in view of the large attendances and the fact that many members would not find time to view it properly, was made by Mr Charles Rhodes, the secretary of the show, who waited on the conference. The President said that in his opinion such a step would be fully justified, and he formally moved as follows; —“That it is the opinion of this conference that the show be extended for another day.”

A member remarked that if a decision were reached to that effect the social arrangements—an important adjunct of tho National Week—would have to be sacrificed. He hoped that such a motion would not be placed before the show committee. Another factor against tho proposal was that exhibitors who had made arrangements to leave Dunedin on Thursday would now have to wait till Friday. Mr N. M‘Leod said that when an extension had been decided upon in the

case of a National Show at Christchurch it had not proved a success. Members complained that the business of the conference militated against their seeing the show. The motion was withdrawn, and to give members an opportunity to see the exhibition the conference was adjourned for a period this afternoon. REMITS. The following remits were discussed and dealt with; — “ That the Labour Department be asked to make it necessary that all seeds, plants, cut flowers, etc., covered under the Shops and Offices Act be excluded from sight during extended hours of fruiterers.” (Dunedin). —Carried. “ That the conference views with approval the regulations for florists’ certificates, and requests the Institute of Horticulture to take early steps to bring the regulations and examinations into active operation.”—Carried. “ That in view of the large number of horticultural students and those desiring to take horticultural courses who are unable, owing to distance, to attend regular classes, the Institute of Horticulture_ approach the Department of Education with a view to a correspondence course being established.”—Carried.

At this stage the luncheon adjournment was taken.