ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9131, 13 August 1888, Page 6

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

CAMELLIA SHOW.

The annual camellia show under the auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society was held in the Newmarket Public Hall on Saturday, and although it was only the first of a series

f three shows to be held this season under he management of the Society, it was in lany respects the most successful ever held a the neighbourhood of Auckland, more esiecially in the exhibits themselves, many of t-hich were remarkable for their excellence, nd the excellent manner in which all the letails were attended to reflects great credit n the Committee of Management—Messrs. S. Hesketh (chairman), C. S. McDonald, W. .lclndoe. Gillespie, W. Goldie, J. Bull, and ithers, who aided in carrying out the arrangements, whilst Mr. W. Rattray, the honorary eeretary of the society, and Mr. Alexander ken, the treasurer, v. re simply indefati;able in the performance of their duties both iefore and inning the show. Some idea of he energy with which the committee worked nay be gathered from the fact that the moneary donations collected in sums ranging from I 11 '2s to '2s 6d amounted to £15 .'is (id, besides : number of special prizes, of which the folowing is a list :—Mr. Hogg, a pair of vases ; dr. Clarke, a teapot ; Mr. Kent, a cake ; dr. Heldt, a pair of vases ; McNeill and Co., in of biscuits; Porter and Co., a spade; a riend, a cake; Mr. Kilgour, roast of beef ; dr. Maxwell, a bottle of scent ; and Hamnond and Co., half a ton of coal. Mr Henningvay contributed calico for the tables, and dr. Bishop did the required lettering, so that vith the encouragement thus extended to hem the committee could look forward with :onfidence to a financial success, provided he attendance of the general public was at dl commensurate with the merits of the exhibition. The staging consisted of a long ;entre table and a side table extending the all length of the hall, two end tables nside the entrance, and the hall stage was ilso utilised for the display chiefly of extra exhibits. The greater portion of the stage ;pace was, of course, occupied by the floral lisplays and pot plants, but on the southern ;able there was a really splendid display of rait and vegetables, and this feature, of :ourse, attracted a great deal of attention. The whole of the exhibits were effectually itaged in good time, and then the judges - Messrs. T. Bullen, B. Dawson, and W. Vlcliidoe—proceeded to their duties, accompanied by Messrs. Gillespie and Stimpson, :lass stewards ; and, on the whole, although ;heir duties were by no means light, and the lifficulty of judging between the respective nerits of the exhibits was in many cases treat, their awards appeared to give general action. In the flower section, Mr. W. F. Buckland ,vas one of the largest and most successful >xhibitors of camellias, of which he certainly lad a splendid variety, and he carried on irst prizes in the two largest exhibits, and dso took the champion prize for the best A-hite camellia in the show, with a splendid Bonomiana; and for the best red camellia, Mr. A. McDonald, who was also a .arge exhibitor, took the championship with a splendid Matholiana. Amongst the special exhibits of camellias were some 3ne seedling camellias, forwarded by Mr. Lippiatt, of Otahuhu, and although they were not entered for competition, the judges Mid stewards awarded ' them a special first2lass prize. These seedlings, which are known is Lippiatt's Perfection, are splendidly formed, and of a rich dark red colour. As usual, Miss Speight was in evidence with bouquets, obtaining first prizes for a bridal bouquet, and a bouquet of everlastings, the latter being a very attractive feature. Mr. W. Goldie, for the" Domain Board, exhibited some splendid cyclamens, the white species being especially excellent; and he also had some very fine specimens of proteaa, the only disadvantage being that they were not setoff with foliage. .Sir. Goldie also exhibited seven varieties of helicrisiums, of which the yellow was very distinct, and good for this season of the year. The cinerarias exhibited by Mr. MoKaig (Mr. Barstow'a gardener), were very good as regards foliage, but hardly had bloom enough. They will, however, be in good order for the city exhibition on Saturday next. The primulas exhibited by Mr. E. Jones, gardener to the Hon. E. Mitchelson, were very good, especially the dark ones. Mr. Forrest had also two good exhibits ; and Mr. McKaig's were fairly good, but not equal in excellence to the others. There were some splendid huge bunches of violets, and the first prize was awarded to Miss Mary McDonald. The principal feature of the flower show was the collection of cut flowers. There were five exhibits ; but the chief coinpetition was between the exhibits placed by Mr. F. Forrest (gardener to Mr. Murdoch) and Mr. Craig (gardener to Mr. G. B. Owen. and it was only after a lengthened inspection that the judges awarded the first prize to the former and the second prize to the latter. In the vegetable classes, there were some really fine samples of potatoes, a plate of splendid kidneys grown by Mr. W. Mclndoe taking the chief honours. The exhibits of parsnips and turnips were remarkable as growths. A somewhat novel feature in the vegetable exhibition was three samples of corn grown by Mr. X. M. Lewis. There were two splendid cobs of the ordinary yellow corn, one of a dark red character, and two others, splendid growths, quite black. These, which are named the Florida Negro corn, attracted a great deal of attention as curiosities, but on close inspection it was seen that the cobs were perfectly regular in formation, and the grains are of unusually large size. A feature of the fruit exhibits was a show of 19 varieties of apples, exhibited by Mr. T. T. Roberts, of Onehunga. They were not named, as Mr. Roberts has only recently taken over the orchard, but they were all perfectly sound and good for apparently the next six months. Mr. Roberts had also some tine Lisbon lemons on view ; and Mr. Knight, Mr. Hesketh's gardener, had a most attractive collection of the citrus family of all sizes. Mr. McKaig, Mr. Barstow's gardener, had also two fine plates of guaras, which were much admired. Amongst the articles sent for exhibition, but not for competition, was a box of pot plants, from Messrs. D. Hay and Sen, which were to be sold for the benefit of the Society. Mr. Craig, Mr. Owen's gardener, also exhibited a very rare variety of orchid, the white flower of which was in bloom ; and there was a number of other exhibits in the various classes of vegetables and fruit, which were well worthy of attention. The following is the prize list : — Camellias.—Best 36 Camellias (distinct varieties): W. K. Buckland, Ist prize. One exhibit. Rest 24 Camellias (distinct varieties): Mr. W. F. Buckland, Ist prizo ; Mr. Craig (gardener to Mr. G. B. Owen), 2nd; Mr. Knight (gardener to Mr. K. Hesketh), -ird. Four exhibits. Best 12 Camellias (distinct varieties): Mr. J. McKaig (gardener to Mr. R. C. Barstow), Ist prize; Mr. A. McDonald, '.'.ml ; Mr. W. P. Buckland, 3rd. Seven exhibits. Best 6 Camellias (distinct varieties): Mr. W. V. Buckland, Ist prize; Mr. A. McDonald, 2nd. Ten exhibits. Best White Camellia: Mr. W. F. Buckland, Ist prize. Five exhibits. Best Red Camellia : Mr. A. McDonald, Ist prize. Five exhibits. Best collection of Cyclamen (6 in truss): Mr. W. < loldio, for Auckland Domain Board, Ist prize. One exhibit. Best 4 Cinerarias in pots: Mr. J. McKaig (gardener to Mr. R. C. Barstow). Ist prize. One exhibit. Best 4 primulas in pots : Mr. E. Jones (gardener to the Hon. E. Mitchelson), Ist prize ; Mr. J. McKaig, 2nd. Two exhibits. Best Bouquet Everlasting Flowers: Miss Speight, Ist prize. One exhibit. Best Bridal Bouquet: Miss Speight, Ist prize ; Miss F. McDonald, 2nd. Two exhibits. Best Bridal Bouquet: Mr. Knight (gardener to Mr. K. Hesketh), Ist prize. One exhibit. Fruit.—Best collection of Apples: Mr. T. T. Roberts, Onehunja, Ist prize. One exhibit. Best collection of Citrus Family : Mr. Knight (gardener to Mr. K. Hesketh), Ist prize. One exhibit. Best 12 Lisbon Lemons : Mr. T. T. Roberts, Ist prizo. Two exhibits. Best 12 Oranges: Mr. Wm. Kemp, Onehunga, Ist prize. Two exhibits. Best 50 Guavas : Mr. T. McKaig (gardener to Mr. R. C. Barstow), Ist prize. Two exhibits. Cut Flowers.—Best collection of Cut Flowers : Mr. F. F. Forrest, Ist prize ; Mr. Craig (gardener to Mr. O. B. Owen), 2nd. Five exhibits. Best Buttonhole Bounuet: Miss F. McDonald, Ist prize. Five exhibits. Best Violet Bouquet : Miss McDonald, Ist prize. Five exhibits. VEGETABLES.— Best collection of Vegetables: Mr. McKaig, Ist prize. One exhibit. Best collection of New Potatoes: Mr. J). Mclndoe, Ist prize. Two exhibits. The show was formally opened to the public at. one o'clock, by Mr. W. Morgan, Mayor of Newmarket, who in a short speech said it afforded him great pleasure to be present at the opening at Newmarket of the Royal Horticultural Society's Show. When he looked round and saw the beautiful exhibits, it afforded proof, if further proof were necessary, of the fruitfulness of their soil. They had heard in England that New Zealand was a land of flowers, and that vegetation ran riot, and what they now saw before them confirmed this. Without going into particulars he might, however, say that the oranges and the apples for keeping purposes deserved to be specially mentioned. Great credit was due to the exhibitors and the committee of management for the excellence of the present show. He assured them as an old resident of the district, and representing the borough of Newmarket, he felt justly proud of this display, and hoped it would be followed by many similar ones, as they tended to bring people together In closer and more friendly relations. On behalf of himself and the committee he tendered thanks to those who had so generously contributed prizes, and he had now great pleasure in declaring the show open. (Cheers.) There was a very large attendance of the general public, especially during the afternoon and evening, when the Newmarket brass band was present, and played a number of selections outside and inside the hall. At the close of the show the prizes were paid to the successful competitors, and the greater number of the exhibits were sold by Mr. A. Aitkeu for the benefit of the society.