GERALDINE FLORAL, HORTICULTURAL & INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2060, 17 June 1890, Page 3

GERALDINE FLORAL, HORTICULTURAL & INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY.

The first ©f a series of monthly meetings to be held by the above society took place on Friday evening last. Owing to the Oddfellows; Hall being engaged by the Salvatienists for that evening, the meeting was held in the ante-room of the Masonic Hall. There was a fair attendance. Mr J. Williams, vice-president of the society, occupied the chair. The business for the evening was the reading of a paper by Mr J. Pye, nurseryman, G-eraldine, on " Apple Culture."

Mr Pye commenced his paper by briefly referring to the excellent results achieved in England and elsewhere by Floral and Horticultural Societies in the improvement of fruit, flowers, and vegetables. He also pointed out the stimulus the Geraldine Society had proved to the gardeners and cottagers of Greraldine. He considered the reading of papers at their meetings on subjects connected with gardening and fruit growing would do a deal of good, and expressed his willingness to give every information in his power to those who wished to obtain it. If they could only get one person to take a keener interest in his cottage garden, and grow fruit, vegetables, and flowers, instead of spending his spare time walking the streets or in even more questionable ways, they were doing a good work. He strongly urged such societies to offer prizes for garden produce grown by boys, Such prizes would serve to develop a love of gardening m the young. He spoke of how his own love of gardening had been first developed by his having been given by his father a piece of land of his own to cultivate. He also thought the reading of a paper on the properties of each kind of manure and the sort of manure different soils required would be of great advantage. Mr Pye stated that he had spent 24 years of his life in Devonshire, one of the greatest apple-growing counties of the Old Country, and had been 16 years fruitgrowing in the Greraldine district. He further stated that he had a number of new apples just come into bearing this year, and had carefully put away some of each kiad with a label on each apple, so as to be able to test their keeping and other qualities. He would lay the results of the experiment before the society at some future date. He would also like to hear a paper on the various blights with which New Zealand fruitgrowers are pestered, He considered there was a good future before the New Zealand fruitgrower by exporting fruit to England, Canada, and elsewhere, as they had the opportunity of reaching those markets when fruit was scarcest. Mr Pye then went on to speak of the best position of a site for an orchard, the preliminary work to be done, the way of ploughing, subs®iling and draining, the planting of the trees, and the distances they should be apart. The choice of trees was the next item spoken of, and some valuable hints as to the shape and quality of the tree, and especially as to its roots, were given. The class of holes to be dug, and the manner of planting the trees were explained in detail. With regard to sowing down an orchard he recommended the sowing of clover, but cocksfoot grass should by all means be kept out of an orchard, as it robbed the groud and did a deal of harm to the trees. Mulching was also dealt with. The selection of the best kind of trees was spoken of, and a number of the best sorts and those least liable to blight mentioned. He also gave a list of trees which his experience had taught him were best suited to the Q-eraldine district. Mr Pye concluded by expressing bis firm conviction that the reading of papers on subjects connected with gardening would prove of great advantage to the members of the society, as they had done in similar societies elsewhere. In reply to a question Mr Pye said he proposed to deal with the question of pruning in a future paper. In fact, he thought each department of apple culture would furnish the material for an interesting paper. At the conclusion of the paper Mr-' Pye answered a number of questions put to him by Dr Pish, Messrs Gr. H. Patrick, A. White, and others, each of whom expressed the pleasure experienced in listening to the paper and the information they had derived therefrom. Mr Pye was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his excellent paper. It was arranged that at the next meeting Mr A. Fisher, the secretary, should read a paper on growing roses. The meeting then terminated.