HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Waikato Times, Volume 111, Issue 18625, 3 May 1932, Page 3

HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

ANNUAL MEETING. RETROSPECT AND PROSPECTS. The annual meeting- of the Hamiltton Horticultural Society will be held on Thursday evening- in Mr Crimp's rooms, when the following report will be submitted. Interest has been well sustained and it is a matter for gratitlcation that Hie standard of the shows is becoming higher each year. At the time of the Daffodil Show the Rev. W. W. Avery, of Auckland, and Mr C. W. Pierson, of Te Aroha, offered bulbs to the society for distribution at a nominal cost. These were enthusiastically taken up and the society arranged for a supply of collections of two dozen show varieties of daffodils on generous terms. A special class for this collection will be scheduled for. the spring show. As over 40 people took collections it is hoped that the entry will be a record. The society was able to arrange with the Rev. Avery to give a lecture on “daffodils and their cultivation.’’ This was attended by between 60 and 70. A lecture on “dahlias’ was given byMr Bateson, and Mr P. W. Hare dealt in an instructive manner with chrysanthemums and their cultivation. Thanks are due to these gentlemen. Daffodils and dahlias at the Spring and Autumn;■ Shows respectively are year by year occupying greater space and the novice classes are being more keenly contested. The Hamutana Cup was this year competed for on the basis of the aggregate points In the cut flower classes scored by exhibitors on either side of the river. This probably had the effect of strengthening the individual classes although it deprived the show of what has been a very fine exhibit when each side of the river has staged 24 vases of cut flowers. The exhibits staged by the Country Cup competitors have attained a very high standard.

It has been suggested that a “best kept garden” competiiton should be revived in Hamilton. This is a matter which might well be discussed. Your committee feels that it is the function of the society to do something more than merely arrange three or four shows in each year and that some provision should be made for lectures or discussions. The interests of those specialising or anxious to specialise in say, daffollils, dahlias, or chrysanthemums might be better served by the formation of small circles which could meet as required to discuss matters of interest. For the first time for a number of years the society held a chrysanthemum exhibition in April. The number of entries, particularly in the novice classes, afforded ample evidence of the interest being taken in chrysanthemum growing, and it is to be hoped that an annual show will be a definite fixture. An event of outstanding importance in the immediate future is the National Daffodil Society’s North Island Show which is to be held in conjunction with the society’s next Spring Show. Your committee placed in tho hands of a sub-committee consisting of Mrs Tudhope, and Messrs Hare, Hubbard and Hammond, the arrangements with regard to the show which is to be held in the Alexandra Hall on September 13 and 14. In addition to the open and amateur classes on the National Society's schedule there will be classes for the British Raisers’ Gold Challenge Cup, the Australian Raisers’ Cup, and the North Island Amateur Championship, and probably an Auckland Provincial Championship. It Js some years since a systematic canvass for new nie'mbers was made by the society with the result that the number of members lias dwindled to about 120. Your committee feels that the society is doing a useful work and that It is entitled to a fuller measure of support. It should be possible In a town the size of Hamilton, to have a membership of at least 400. It Is to lie hoped that those who have the interest of the Society at heart will assist the committee by endeavouring to secure the necessary number of now members.