THE FLOWER SHOW.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XVII, Issue 5646, 26 November 1886, Page 2

THE FLOWER SHOW.

[he exhibition of flowers, fruit, and vegetables, took place yesterday in the Academy if Music, and despite one or two tiifling jitches, inseparable perhaps from in occasion of this kind, the eshibi ;ion was upon the whole satisfactory This is the more creditable to the'ladiei vho undertook the work, when we feee| in mind the prevailing depression renderei It the reverse of certain the where-with ill of carrying out the exhibition wouk 30 forthcoming, and it was only atthi last moment, and aflor the most strenuoui jfforts had been put forward, that tin [hing was finally decided npon. Thi prizes got together were exhibited in tin iiall, and if anything were necessary t< prove, the efforts referred to must havi been untiring, the number and variety o: irticles so placed, supplied the want. Thf ball itealf was appropriately decorated fern tree branches being the chief orna mentations employed. The exhibit! were arranged on side-tables placed agains Lhe walls with a section in the centre, thi whole being so adjusted as to afford ampli space for visitors moving about in makinj llitur inspections. In pursuance of thi printed programme the exhibition lis olosod at noon, by which time all tin available space was occupied, and tin general prospects for the show were other wise most satisfactory, In choice flowers representing almost every hue and variety the display was grand, and proved at i glance that, in ao far as the beautiful ii nature is concerned, the district was no behind hand in its uctivo appreciations Fruit and vegetables'were not quite a fally represented,; still they exhibited i creditable, state of development, some o these growths being of really prodigiou oize. The judges appointed for theoc casidn were Messrs E T. Wildman, anr Mr Chas. H. Hill; both gentlemen wel known as taking active interest in horti cultural pursuits. In consequence of th< unexpected number of exhibits, they wen thrown rather out of their reckoning, am instead of the work being got through ii about an hour, it was found that, to do i efficiently, upwards of two hours wer< necessary. A consequence of this wa that, instead of the show being throwi open to the public at 2.30 p.m as adver tisid, it was not available for an hour an< a-half later. Th» list of exhibits, whicl was well considered, both with regard t< the capabilities of the district, and thi Heason of the year was, as we have dread; said, fully represented. Indeed, ther! was not a solitary class for which entrie were not made, and in only one or two in stances did the awards fail, itj'consequenc of the number of entries not being suffi cient to cover the number of entries no being sufficient to cover the number oi prices. Flowers, ag we have ilready said were shown in great abundance, The; numbered no fewer than 28 classes in tin programme, comprising all the differen varieties, fromtho " bridal bouquet" to th collection of native bush plants, Pro minent amongst the display of flowers, wai a floral design representing a crown, sur mounted with a oloth of gold roses, an< which., iqside had three appropriate emblems—t!je rose, the shamrock, and thi thistle. It' wan. a most artistic piece n handicraft; Miss Jessy Aitken being tin maker and (exhibitor. It was greatly ad mired, and throughout the whole of tin proceedings, attracted a considerable shari of notice. Besides a choipe collection o: lowers, the ipjority of the bouquets wen .emarkablv. we'll pqt together, exhibitinj jjrery great profioienoy, both as respect

taste and design, In the class known as hand-bouquets, the blooding of colors was very noticeable, and table-bouquets were conspicuous for ussortment. Children's hand-bonquets were rather too good for the occasion; the expressed opinion of tho judges being that (hey must have been selected and put up, by children of rather an advanced age. Cut pansies was an exhibit badly arranged. There were too many of ihe one colour, but in other respects they were fairly good. Fucnhits made a very poor show. Not only wore they poor in themselves, but their arrange ment was bad, .so much so, that tho judges refused to make any reward, Carnations also made a poor exhibit, a circumstance, no doubt due to the fact tlmt, the prosont is too early in the season for them. Verbenas was likewise a poor collection. This is tho more to be regretted, as they are known to be grown to good advantage, and if grown, could only have been made to exhibit, it is well known, a very much better show would have been got Pelagoniums, geraniums, and roses were a'l very poor as regards vaiiety. The season has been greatly against kind, so that although poor exhibits, they were not disappointing. In snapdragons the collection was good, but it was badly arranged, being far too much massed together into a lump. Of double stocks, there was no collection worthy of the name, the whole exhibit being pronounced unworthy of a prize. Sweet William ma.le a good display, but was badly arranged, and in many cases it was found that sprigs wera tied together, so as to resemble the one truss. Ixins made but a poor show, and in gladiolus only two exhibits were placed. In lilies there were only two kinds shown, both being placed by the one exhibitor Cut ferns, considering the quantity to bo got with a very little trouble, made but a very meagure appearance. Growing ferns were a decided improvement on the others. Of late, great taste has been shown ia the gettiug up of this particular class of fern, and to tint we are no doubt indebted for the improved appearance of the plants placed ou view. Cactus were only shown in three varieties; one large plant, to which first prize was givou, being remarkably good, and the other two passable. Cottage window plants were a complete failure, unless, indeed, a pot of musk placen on the table conld be designated by that name. Pot plants were also very poor. Indeed, it is known that they do not exist in the district. Bouquets of native flowers were passable, but with a very little trouble they could have been had in much greater variety. Their get-, up was also bad ; the compilation being very loose. With one or two exceptions, nothing very striking was exhibited in vegetables, Potatoes were not by any means first rate, and both peas and broadbeans formed but poor exhibits, Of the latter, however, those shown were very 1 large, in fact, some of them were monster growths. In cauliflowers, there were only two entiies shown by a Chinaman, being a remarkable fine production, both is regards size and quality. In carrots there wore two or three very fair table sorts. Onions, however, were a prime exhibit, Both as regards size and quality they were excellant, and communded a large share of notice. In fruits we had a lot of rhubarb, which, however, could not be said to have reached the standard of former years, either in length or size. Goosberries were far ahead of anything ever seen in the district before. Of oranges, there were two exhibits, which certainly does not reflect much credit as growers, who are sufficiently numerous to have justified a much larger collection. In cherries, there was only one exhibit, a sure indication of tho havoc caused by the small bird nuiß- - is resultir.g in the growers of this fruit becoming very fcurce indeed. What there were exhibited of strawberries was very good. The bad weather caused this fruit to be rather backward. Had the show been a week or so later, the variety of exhibits would have been greater. A few lemons of very good quality were shown. A mistake made by some of the exhibitors yesterday was in the sending in of citrons and shaddocks. Somo very fine loquats were shown, as likewise a quantity of very well prepared butter, for whioh awards were readily granted,

AWAKDS: Hand Bouquet—l, Mrs J. A. Miller; 2, Mrs Coad; 3, Miss tilwell, Bridal Bouquet—l, Mrs MoAndrew; 2, no name; 3. Miss Stilwell, Children's Hand Bouquet-1, Miss Mabel Dunlop; 2, Miss Agnes Robinson; 3, Miss Esther Aitkeu. Floral Design—l, Jessie Aitken, Table Bouquet-l, Mrs Mackay; 2. Miss Hall; 3, Miss Harrison x Basket of Flowers-1, Mrs J. Read ; 2, Mrs Von Bernewits, Dish of Flowers -1, Mrs Von Bernewitz; 2, Mrs Day ; 3, Mrs Von Rotter. Cut Pansies-l, Master Percy Smith; 2, Mrs MoAndrew; 3, Mrs Sprague, Carnations (6 varieties)—l, Mrs MoAndrew. only award. Verbenas-1, Mrs MoAndrew; 2, Mrs J. Coutts, Pelargoniums (6 varieties) - 1, Mrs J. Couttsj 2,Mrs Sprague; 3, Mrs Moorcraft. Geraniums (12 wieties)-l, Mrs MeAndrew; 2, Miss Norries; 3, Miss Elsie Ashby. Roses (12 varieties)—l, Mr Stilwell; 2, Mr Manton, Roses (6 varieties)-1, Miss J. Aitken; 2, Mrs MoAndrew; 3, Mr L, J, Bagnall. Snapdragons—l, Mrs Coad; 2, Mr M. Hodge; 3, Mr Stillwell, Double Stocks—l, Miss Mena Serers { 2, no naino. Sweet Williams—l, Mrs Sprague; 2, Mrs Findlay; 3, Mrs McAndrew. Ixiffis—l, Mrs Sprague; 2, ;3, Mr Lillies—l, No name ;2, Mrs Floyd; 3, Mrs Hal). Collection of Cut Ferns—l, No name; 2 Mi?s Eliza Murdoch. Growing Ferns—l, Mr Scott; 2, Miss Gordon. Cactus—l, Miss Ashby; 2, Mr Stilwell; 3, Miss Moororaft. Variety Pot Plants—l, Miss Stilwell; 2, Miss Stilwell. Bouquet of Native Flowers—l, Master R. MoAndrew; 2, Master Jones; 3, Mrs J. Lang. Potatoes (not less than G pounds)-!, Mr Flett; 2i Mr Flett; 3, Potatoes (Pink ejes)-l, Mr Le Mauquais; Cabbages (2) —1, Mr Inperaon; 2, Mr Eg. gin ton, Peas («ot less than 41bs)-l, John Chinaman ; 2, Mr Harris; 3, Mrs Ward. Broad Beans (not less than Gibs) —1, Mrs Aubrey; 2, Master A, Rayner; 3, Mrs Roberts.

Cauliflowers (2)— l, John Chinaman; 2, Mr Harris, Turnips (G iu a bunoh) -1, Mr P, Bggington; 2, John Chinaman. Carrots (6 in a bunoh)—l, John Chinaman; 2, Mr fl. Brown; 3, Mr Ingerson, Onions (G in a bunoh)—Mastor 6, Coria; J, Mr P. Anderson ; a, Master E. Miller, Rhubarb (6 sticks) —1, Mr R. Johnson; 2, Mrs Sppasue; 3, Mr W. Johrjson, Cherries (Up)—l, Mrs A, Driver. The only exhibit. Strawberries (2)— l, Mr Billing ; 2, Miss E, Brown. Geoseberries (2)— l, Mrs Kerniok; 2, Mrs Hammerton; 3, Mrs 11, Driver.'

Oranges (not less than 6)-l, Mr W 11, Smith; 2, J, Jenkins", White Strawberries—l, Mrs Pitkethley; 2, Mr J. Jeukin. Lmnus (not leas than 6)— l, Miss Norriop. Loquats (21bs)-1, Mr R S. West; 2, Mr T. Mnorcraft; 3, Master A Bray. Cucumbers (2)— l, Mr Stilwdl: 2, Mr Stilwell. Collection ot Vegetables—l, John Chinaman ; 2, Mr Eggingtou. Butter—l, Mrs Dunlop; 2, Miss Wright; 8, Mrs Maxwell; 4, Mr R, N. Smith. The attendance of the public was very largo, more especially in the evening, when the hall was completely thronged. The exhibi s, barring those retained by their owners, were put up to auction, and for a time a brisk trade in that line was carried on. Mr R. R. McGregor, with two assistants, did the work appertaining to the knights of the hammer. The proceedings were also enlivened by Mr Hunter's string band. The total amount realised was £3413s 9d, of which £27 5s 6dJ were the takings at the door for admission; £6 8s 9d was realised from the auction sales, and 19s 6d from the refreshment stall.