HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 28, 18 September 1911, Page 6

HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

“Flowers won’t grow in Stratford!” How many times •we heard tuis mournful tab ten years ago. 'inis rasa conclusion .was,- uo doubt, come to by houßoiioiacrs who planted a few j aov.vfs only to have them blasted by ; c.iO . bleak - winds to which the- new i n my op in m all its nakedness. . That- a change lias taken place we all Jiuow, but only when u e icok at an old pnotograpli of part of the town uo u d realise one, great amount oi shelter w© have' now and now really bear.tifuf Stratford is by comparison co: an earlier polled. Tne same thing applies to the district all around, widen every season is upcoming ooau- ( afnl- to tna eye, ana mine Sheltered and comfoi-'taolc lor m&u ana beast.' I'j.e improved shelter* inis brought improved cultivation in the matter of both llowerg and vegetables, and a strong factor in the progress made iias‘ been tire-. Stratford Horticultural Society.. The shows, held by tins useful body have been well sapper ..30 hy • i,..j public, and have, stimulated a 1 healthy rivalry by .which a ntgu standard of excellence lias boon reached. itruib won’t grow in Stratford—at bast ,we are loci’to believe so by those who have tried, i think, -however, tala eoncliuiou may prove as uiireifablo as in its application to the Mowers. That a fanry large quirntay of fruit trees have" open planted in and around Stratford is true, but that tuey have received little or no cuifiivation l is also true, owing, no doubt, to the attention of tiro grower being occupied with the quicker returns drawn from other sources, i arn aware’ that ovon under, these conditions some fair samples oi fruit nuvo N bean grown, particularly in the district to the eastward. A few years ago a gentleman canto to* Now Zealand for xho purpose' of /lecturing on pomology m Duimitm. and during a visit to Stratiol cl.. in'. examined the soil here and gave .Ins opinion that if apples would not grow In Stratford the lault did not lio.m the ground. . A great deal of•-experimenting wilt pfobaoly have to be done to huci vanoties which will suit the soil and climate, but wheii this is accomplishec. f hope vet to cee fruit successfully and profitably grown in .stratiord. To return to Hewers-—ine present season of the year is\ the time of trie daffodil, 'ine modest violets are still v.dth us, but there is no medesuy m 'the yellow daffodils, who hold tnoir trumpets .with a bold grace well above . tno sniky foliage. ' To cti ike the right date ter an exfcibilion' of these I halos is a dnncult matten bat I think one Horticukmal Society has hit the mark by choosing Thursday host. Of cpip-ss, L.UC are such beauties as King Alllod and “Maximus” ’which have bloomed and faded, and, “Poeticus and other beautiful varieties’ scarcely opened vet, but for the general mass of Id 00m on the bulbs of moaeni «,© price, the date fixed will be d o and well caned. Besides thq competitive classes I hear several, large collections have been promised for exhibition only, and the snow' promises to present the steady improvement over former exhibitions so well maintained by the Society’s efforts.y .{■ The now Taifsh Hall is well Titled for the purposes of flower cxnrbicions, and will no doubt present a pretty sight next Thursday. ‘ ’. I uish. tha’’ Horticultural Society good weather and a . successful show.