DUNEDIN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18677, 5 October 1922, Page 8

DUNEDIN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

INTERPROVINCIAL NARCISSI CONTEST. WON BY CANTERBURY. NARROW VICTORY BY 5 POINTS. The intcrprovineial competition in narcissi between Otago and Canterbury for tho Otago Daily Times Cup was tho outstanding feature of interest at the Dunedin Horticultural Society’s Spring Show yesterday. This contest was to have been instituted last year, but it fell through -owing to the fast that tho Canterbury blooms, which it had been intended to Bend forward to Dunedin, were so severely affected by a dry nor’-wester that they wore -entirely put out of court for competitive purposes. The competition is for 50 varieties of daffodils, three blooms of each, and the cup, a handsome silver trophy valued at lOgns, is to be held for 12 months by the society winning it, and to become tlio absolute property of tho society winning it twice in succession or three times at intervals. Mr C. S. Longuet. of Invercargill, who had judged the open classes in narcissi on tho' previous day, was the adjudicator. The Otago collection, which was set up by Messrs E. A. Hamel and J. Johnston, consisted of a selection of the choicest blooms from the winning exhibits in the show, but some trouble was experienced in tho choosing of the flowers owing to a lack of eoloitr.' The Canterbury collection was staged by Alessrs J. G. S. Holmes and A. G. Bull, who, together with Mr G. C. Baimielburg. of St. Albans, supplied the blooms. Tho system adopted by the judge, who took nearly an hour over his liisk, was to allow a maximum of 6 points per vase, or a total of 390 points, and ,to allow 7 points in the ease of any specially choice blooms. The result of his adjudica.tion was as follows; Canterbury ... ... ... ... 297 Otago ’... 292 Both collections provided- a magnificent Bisplay of daffodils, and the competition attracted an unusual amount of interest not only from narcissi growers but from tho public generally. Tho Canterbury blooms were unloaded from the train in perfect condition, having travc-lledi well, and they arrived wonderfully bright and fresh in con. dition. They evidently won by reason of their rich colour, the season in Canterbury this year having apparently been one to gladden tho heart of lovers of this class of flower. Nevertheless tho contest was a very close one, and the fact that the Otago collection scored only fire points fewer than Canterbury out of a total of 300 shows a very small margin of difference in point of quality. From every point of view the contest was highly successful, and without exaggeration it can bo described as the feature of this year’s show. The interest which it aroused was most gratifying, ami rio. doubt the Otago growers will make a strenuous effort next year to send a collection of blooms to the Christchurch, show that will successfully challenge the right of the Canterbury Society to retain the trophy. Tho winning collection was specially strong in the Barrii, Ineomparabilis, and Poeticus varieties. Notable among the Giant Loedsiis was tho seedling General Haig, raised by Air Batimolburg, of St. 'Albans, which attracted much attention and admiration, and was considered by many competent authorities the best Leedsii in admiration. Aliss Gladys Knight was another remarkably fin© Giant Leedsii and General Birdwood, a Poeticus, with a bright red eye, was also much fancied. Probably the best Poeticus seedling on the stand was No. 481, a flower of wonderfully fine form and substance, raised by Mr Baumelburg. Among tho best of the others the following may he mentioned ; —Miehaelangolo (Incomparabilis), Red Macaw (Barrii), Horace (Poeticus), Jaspar (Barrii), Potentate (Giant Leedsii), Htppogriff (a. yellow Incompnra.biUi), and Artois, a double Ineomparabilis pale yellow in colour. The features of the Otago collection were the yellow, white, and bi-colour trumpets and the Lcodsiis, The outstanding blooms may-be enumerated as follows:—White Emperor (a white Trumpet),-Colonel Dry,den (Giant Leedsii). Silver Dawn (Giant Leedsii). King Harold (a yellow Trumpet). -Calehas (a Triandrus hybrid), Air; Robert Sydenham (considered ono of the finest ■white Trumpets ever grown, hero). Woodnymph (Leedsii), Dosoris (a bright redcupped Barrii). and Vestal Virgin' (a. bioolottr Trumpet). Among, the growers represented in the collection were Dr Sutherland, 11. T. Trevena, G. J. Errington, T. 11. Clark, J. Fleming, A. Millar, H. L. Gill, T. Aloir, A. J M’Kinlay, G. H. Brownlee, and T. J. Grant.

SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT PRESENTATION OF THE GUP THE PLEASURE OF GARDENING. When the show was opened in the evening tho president (Sir George Fenwick), accompanied by the members of the committee, the judges, and the Mayor (Mr J. S; Douglas) ascended the stage and made a formal presentation of the cup to the representatives of the Canterbury Society. In doing so, Sic George Fenwick departed from tho usual custom of the society by delivering a presidential address, in tho course of which h© briefly reviewed tlie show, congratulated the prize-winners, and dealt interestingly with some of the higher ■aspects of horticulture and the delights of gardening. . .. , The custom of delivering presidential addresses was. he stated, new to Dunedin, but ho understood that it prevailed in some of fho other centres. In this_ respect the Wellington Society was particularly fortunate,' for, located in the capital city of the dominion, it had the advantage of being able to secure the presence of a Minister of the .Crown —sometimes indeed of his Excellency the Governor-General-—lo lend eclat to the proceedings by making a short congratulatory address. Failing (ho attendance of cither his Excellency or one of his Ministers, the committee of the Dunedin Society had considered that it should not let this year’s Spring Show, with its wealth of magnificent flowers, pass by without acknowledging, through its president. .■the''success that had followed tho persevering and skilful work of nrofessional and amateur gardeners in preparing for (lie show. And it had further considered (hot the president’s remarks might, outside and beyend this well deserved recognition of assiduous and intelligent work, deal very briefly with some aspects of what was very fittingly considered one of the finest, most healtffgiving, and most satisfying recreations in which men and women could indulge. lie regretted that he was not more competent to deal with the wonderful part plants and flowers performed in (he great realm cf Nature, but so far as time had allowed he had been looking into horticultural matters, and ho had been very much struck by the enormous amount of interest that was being taken in horticulture all over tho world. And there was no question that gardening, with its gracious associations, was one of (he finest pleasures in the world, and that it was a great delight to know that by one’s own efforts and intelligence one was producing such glorious results as they saw before them that evening. Gould anything ho finer than the flowers they had been privileged to inspect tdiiring the last two days? Ho thought he •was justified in saying that this was probably the finest spring show ever held by the society: he had been present at a number of shows, and he did not remember ever seeing anything so fine.—(Applause.) It was an inspiration to old and young alike to see what could be done by Nature combined with the skill of man in affording such gratification to our higher senses as the glorious 'display of flowers before them afforded—the result of an infinite of patience and skill on tho part of the growers. When a society could produce such results it was surely worthy of all tho heln and encouragement that could be given it. Continuing Sir George stated! that two days ago a short editorial had appeared in one of the local newspapers in which the love of gardening was discussed from the standpoint of the philosophers and poets. The writer. gave the information that 400 years had passed since Francis Bacon adjudged gardening to bo the purest of human pleasures and the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man. How truly could those words bo applied to-day to tile thousand? of men and women who had implanted in them Hie love of flowors and whoso work in their gardens was a pure delight! And bow many thousands more had the satisfaction of knowing that they were successful- growers of the kindly fruits of the earth which ministered to man’s health and pleasure! How wo all learned to love tho thousand an( j o ne forms of trees and shrubs and croqttinm the flowers of the

garden and the field, that intensified the enjoyment of life in town as in country 1 And was it after all, so far-fetched a theory that the plant life of the earth was endowed with something closely allied to the attributes of man? lie had read not long ago a little booklet by Mr - J. Crosby Smith, of Invercargill, in which the, writer demonstrated his belief that plants were sentient things, gifted with the feelings of the'higher orders of creation, and to some extent with the reasoning power of man. It was a belief hold by many thinking people, and ho might quote that profound philosopher Maurice Maeterlinck as holding the doctrine that plants had , their feelings just ns men had. In tho newspaper article to which he had made reference there is a quotation from Maeterlinck which strikingly portrayed that belief. And then* were many quotations from the poet? that showed how profoundly Nature in her prodigal display of leaf and branchand flower had affected them, how tho tallest'trees and the tiniest flowers, "whisper heart to heart.” Ho would ask them to bear with him foa* a tew moments while he presented to them the poet Wordsworth’s charming verses on the _ daffodil—written 120 years ago—verses which had such an applicability to their fascinating SpringShow that it would bo a. pity were they not to carry away with them some of their influence'and their fragrance. Passing on from these reflections of poets and philosophers Sir George-stated that the Dunedin Horticultural Society had reason to express its warmest thanks to (base who were responsible for the great, display of splendid flowers by which they wore surrounded and also to all those who had taken part in making the Spring Show of 1922 a memorable one. He expressed tho special thanks of tho committee to those exhibitors from Lawrence and Christchurch, who, at considerable trouble and expense had entered for some of the more important competitions, and its congratulations to them on their success. —(Applause.) It was an especial pleasure to him to congratulate them oil their splendid exhibits.

at. 1 ho felt quite sure that the local competitors they had beaten not only did not grudge them their success, but (hat they heartily congratulated them on their respective victories Such a display was an incentive to still further efforts to retain tho excellence in, exhibits that, had been attained and if possible to produce an oven more striking result next year In conclusion, Sir George said it was now his pleasurable duty and privilege to welcome the Christchurch exhibitors who had brought down such a magnificent collection of flowers, and to congratulate them as the first winners of the intorprovincial competition for tho silver cup presented by the Otago Daily Times and Witness Company. He now handed that cun to the Christchurch representatives, and expressed the hope that as keen a competition for its possession would be witnessed as we had seen on the present occasion.—(Loud applause.) Mr J. G. S. Holmes, in replying on bo half of the Canterbury Association, said it was very gratifying to the members of hip society to bo present that evening to accept the cup. They were not unduly elated over their success, but at the same time they thought the judge had been very impartial and that he had given everyone a fair and square deal.—(Applause.) Ho hoped that next year the Dunedin Society would come forward and endeavour to wrest the cup from them. He congratulated the Dunedin Society on its fine exhibition of blooms, and thanked tho committee for the kindness and courtesy which had been extended to the Christchurch representatives. He also thanked the Otago Daily Times Company for presenting the cup, and ex pressed tho belief that the contest that day would bo tho forerunner of many keen competitions between the daffodil growers of the two provinces. In the future Auckland and Wellington might perhaps be induced to take part, and (hey would then have some exceedingly interesting contests Mr Holmes concluded bv calling for three cheers for the donors of the'cup, a request that was heartily responded to. GENERAL. Mr J. Fleming (Alornington) submitted to the Certifying Committee some white ami yellow violas which he had on exhibition. and in each case a first-class certificate was awarded tho grower. In size and colour both kinds were very fine indeed. It was not possible to ascertain the door receipts last evening, but the secretary (Air A. D. Miller) slated- that the attendance on both days was larger than last year. At the close of the show the blooms were sold by auction.