TARANAKI HORTICULTURE

Taranaki Daily News, 10 August 1934, Page 3

TARANAKI HORTICULTURE

MEETING OF ASSOCIATION HELD. ALLOCATION OF CHAMPIONSHIPS. The annual meeting of the Taranaki Horticultural Association was held at Stratford last night. There were present Messrs. F. R. Pepperell (chairman), I. J. Bridger and A. T. Johnson (Eltham), A. E. Linn and H. D. Hughes (secretary, Normanby), Mesdames E. H. Young, H. C. Johnson, A. O. Hugo and Mr. W. Pettigrew (Stratford), the Rev. J. M. Blight, C. Surrey (Inglewood Methodist), Mrs. M. A. Evans, Mr. W. E. Henderson (Inglewood Presbyterian), L. # D. Brown and W. Stephens (Norfolk Road). A financial statement presented by the secretary showed that the association had concluded its year’s work with a credit balance of £3 15s lOd, after £lO had been paid out for cups. Correspondence was received from all affiliated societies applying for spring show dates, and the following fixtures were confirmed: September 12-13, Whiteley Methodist (New Plymouth); September 19, Normanby; September 20, St. Andrews’ (Inglewood); September 22, Stratford; September 26, Eltham. Summer show dates were: November 20, Okaiawa; November 27, Hawera; January 9, Normanby; January 31, Inglewood Methodist; February, 26 and 27, Stratford; March 1, Norfolk Road; Marhh 2, Normanby. The Chrysanthemum Club at New Plymouth was a failure, wrote Mr. A. S. Hunter, Fitzroy, New Plymouth, but that was the fault chiefly, he thought, of the growers, who professed interest and did not attend meetings or gatherings. “It was most apparent,” he continued, “from the schedules and the conduct of the two recent chrysanthemum shows held at New Plymouth that affiliation to some parent body which would give uniformity of schedules, uniformity of conditions and some universal standard of judging was urgently required. Many other details could also be standardised so that growers would know from year to year what was to come, and where the culture was leading. I have stressed these points on many occasions, and despite opposition and opinion to the contrary and failure to gain ground at New Plymouth last season I am firmly convinced that only by means of a strong Taranaki body to which all shows, clubs and societies are linked can we progress in horticulture in Taranaki.” The question whether each championship should be allotted permanently to a certain show, or to a different show each year was discussed at length. Mr. I.' J. Bridger opposed the principle of the championships “going round”; each district concentrated on certain sections, he said, and it . was no good allotting a championship to a district that did not cater for its particular class. The chairman suggested that the allotments made should depend on the. applications received each year. It was not the policy of the association, he said, to force a championship on a district that did not want it. His opinion met with the general approval of the meeting. It was decided that the association should have control of open and amateur championships, and that the show that was. allocated to the open should also be allocated to the amateur, where both were available.

The following championships were allotted for the coming season: Gladioli, Inglewood Methodist; dahlias, Normanby; daffodils, Eltham; sweet peas, Hawera Methodist; roses, Okaiawa; decorative, Stratford. Tire following officers were elected: President, Mr. H. C. Johnson; vice-presi-dents, Mrs. E. H. Young and Mr. W. E. Henderson; executive, Messrs. A. E. Linn, I. J. Bridger, the Rev. J. M. Blight; secretary and treasurer, Mr. H. D. Hughes; auditor, Mrs. Black.