FLOWER SHOW DODGES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2299, 31 December 1891, Page 4

FLOWER SHOW DODGES.

An English paper says: The ' present writer has been secretary to a Floral and Horticultural Soetety for some twelve years, and is consequently' in a position to speak confidently' upon the matter. An exposure of some, of the tricks an d artifices 'employed'by dishonest competitors may not be without interest te the general reader and to- lovers of flower shows in particular. It may be asserted freely that, with rare exceptions, there is dodgery at every flower show; it is doubtful if. at any other show dog, cattle, bird, agricultural,, is one-tenth . as much. - Ask any official connected with a,horticultural society and in a position, to know, aud he will 1 corroborate' the statement. Competition under false pretences is the commonest form of dishonesty. Competitors are restricted to the plants, vegetables, etc., grown by themselves, and either sheir own property or, in the case of gentlemen's gardeners, that of their employers; but, ,for the sake of the insignificant prizes which are usually offered in country districts, and the fictitious honour of seeing their names in print as, the winners in certain classes, gardeners, both " practical " and "amateur," do not scruple to show the garden produce of other people. This is carried on to such an extent in some places that I have known an amateur, who was in a position in _ life to be above the necessity of turning a " dishonest penny "in this way arrange with a practical gardner to send him a whole cartload of plants, cut flowers, fruit, etc., the night before the show, all to be duly exhibited next day as the laudable results of his own individual labor and skill.

I remember visiting a number of gardens in an official capacity just before one of our shows. In one we found that, not anticipating the visit, the owner had left some choice carrots and leeks lying under some bushes, intending, doubtless, to have them put in earth till the day of the show in order to keep them fresh. They had evidently been procured elsewhere. In another garden the onions were plainly newly planted, but very fine full-grown onions all the same, -and the gentleman who accompanied me simply took them by their stems and began pulling. them up, remarking,' " Man, John, you've been very late in planting these onions!' .Another competitor, who was entered for black currants'had not a single bush in his garden, and still another entered for • rOses, was in the same predicament. When challenged to explain matters, . they fell back upon a " mistake in entering,'*' although in the latter case. when, asked if he was in fojv roses, he answered he was, not expecting we should ask to see the bushes they were to come from.

I doubt if there is any exaggeration in the statement that, at country shows * particularly, one fo'urt hofth e a rtiel es fi shown are under such false pretences as described.

Another class relates to deception as to appearance. This is necessarily a small one, as the'judges are usually men selected for their skill and experience, and not easily hoodwinked. Yet I have known a competitor take a prize for " one head of parsley in pot," who was afterwards discovered to have skilfully set in no less than thirteen heads for the one; and another, who took a prize for wha t appeared to be a beautiful dwarf variety of cockscombs, but was found out the next day, when the plants, notwithstanding liberal watering, began to show unaccountable signs of ' decay. Curiosity led one of the officials to pull up one and look at root, when it was discovered that the " dwarf" appearance, which is such a desideratum in cockscombs, had been .obtained at the expense of the life of theplants themselves, as they were only i the heads with short stalks stuck into \ turnips concealed in the pot. i| Dyed grasses and " everlastings " sare frequently palmed off. as natural, and very few competitors showing the latter take the trouble to grow them, nnyseedmen being ready to supply them">,either loose or made up into bouquets, in which form they are usually Shown. An " everlasting" bouquet may be purchased for Bs, or less, which deserves the name for more reasons than one, as I have seen a specimen bpnght for that amount do ■ duty at four shows, and win a prize at each, as the competitor's own growth. It might have gone the round of a dozen shows as easily, as successfully, and as dishonestly. P A third class of fraud belongs to methods of production. It is astonishing how much gardeners may do to assist nature. I knew one who could not get his plums to ripen quick enough, so he plucked them from the tree, carefully covered' them, and put them in a mildly-heated which did the trick. He got the prize for them as "hardy'.' fruit. The same thing is done in another form, when fruit and plants, supposed to be grown in the open air, are put under glass, and thus assisted to to a prize. The practice in one foThrafc, or another, is a common one, and produces results Avhich the best judges \ are usually unable to distinguish from jhe genuine outcome of natural

itiraate perhaps, yet smackofojje

blooms intended for competitions on certain dates, shades each with an umbrella. His rose garden is anything but a charming sight with its hundred or two tiny umbrellas of various colors all over it. He grows beautiful roses, but has no pleasure in them except as possible prize-winners. A TEXAS TRAGEDY. From an English 7 paper we get the following particulars of an awful tragedy in Texas. Mr John Lowe, the husband of the murdered lady and father of the murdered children, is brother to Mr W. H. Lowe, Tinwald :

While a well-known planter of this place says a telegram from Atlanta (Texas), John Lowe, was absent from his home on Saturday evening last, a negro named Lee Lewis. who had been in the employ of Mr Lowe, went to his house, armed with a shotgun, and demanded of Mrs Lowe that she should give him all the money she had. The lady refused, whereupon Lewis riddled her with buckshot. As this did not cause death, Lewis took Lowe's Winchester rifle from the wall and shot her through the heart. The fiend then picked up her body and threw it into a well at the back of the house. Returning, Lewis found the two-year-old baby of the murdered woman crying, whereupon he took it out of its cradle and threw it into the well upon its mother, the fall instantly killing the infant. Lowe's little boy then began to cry and call for help, and the negro procured an axe for the purpose of killing him. The boy ran to the well andjumped into it, injuring himself internally, though he lived loug enough-to tell the story of the murders. The assassin, seeing the boy stirring in the bottom of the well, threw down an iron pot and several large stones, with the intention of finishing him. Lowe returned home late on Saturday night, and, not finding his family gave the alarm, and the search was begun. Not until daylight on Sunday morning, howpver, were the bodies discovered. The little boy was found to be alive, though mortally hurt, and being revived, he old his father that Lee Lewis had. murdered his mother and baby sister. A search party was instantly formed, and Lewis was tracked to Kildare, thirteen miles from Atlanta, where he was captured. The sheriff took charge of the prisoner, and prevented the volunteer searchers from lynching him on the spot. The citizens met at midnight, however, and resolved to take vengeance. At two o'clock on Monday morning a body of armed men went to the gaol and forcibly compelling the gaolers to give up the key of the murderer's cell. Taking him out the lynchers coriveyed ln'm to Lowe's house, the scene of his murders, wher,e he confessed,, his crime. It was the unanimous opinion that hanging was too good for the murderer, and it was resolved to burn Lewis", at a ( stake. More than 1000 persons were present at the lynching, including a large number of negroes, who helped to gather the wood for the execution. A tall stake was driven into the ground, and the wood was piled up four feet round it. Lewis was bound to the stake, and the dry wood fired. Lewis begged for mercy, but the crowd only replied with curses. As the flames mounted, sight of the murderer was lost in the fire and smoke. His body was reduced to ashes.