UNKNOWN

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2607, 28 March 1889, Page 3

UNKNOWN

TllK Cambridge nueting of tli's \Vail:ate Horticultural Society, or ratln.r too trinnnial chow which is heal at that town in connection' with the society, is and gone, ami it. ts niilllf> i to know dial il has resulted in what wo may term u financial success, i.e., that it will pay its way mid add a small credit balance in the funds of the society, and in thuse degeneiato times anything that can pay its way may weil be termed saiist.xtory. I'hat tin- lesult has been arrived at. is duo to toe elforts of a few —a very fe»v—..f ti.o iii'-iilk..* of the local committee : and, as v.t believe in giving honour to wiiom honour isiiiie, wo state » few facts in Cwi-u.u».i.inn ni.h Ukj Management, S" that. tho public tn.iy i-now whom they have tu than!; for tao < x ihtion. First and toiein. st we must mention Mr Tims. Wells anil Mi U. \\. l>yu-, thu chairman and secieiary, re ot ti Q local cuiiiinit.ief, fur if it ",,il not been 1 r their untiring efforts, we belies >h: «h >w would not ham been he!d, as the> w.-irti reallv the two who ran the *\h«»lo concern almost up tothotimoof the opening. Yv e are well aware that theio are a i u nber oi people in Cambridge who cuv.i at any scheme or thing that Mr Weil* undeitikea for the benefit. ot the township; uuf; we think that even they will aumit time a Horticultural tihow is cj culatud to do a great good, as it not only fosters a frendl r emulative spirit among the inhabitants una shows what our land is capable of producing* but also acta as one of 'he cheapest and be>t ,advort:semeuts that it is possible to obtain. What better in ducement could you oiler an xVuckiaud man wlio had made a cumietmey—we w <uld tliero were more of them—and wjshtd to retire to the country for the remainder of his days to settle amongst us, then by taking him round a show and Jetting him view the luscious fruit that \\ aikato produces in such abundance V We beliov© our climate is necoud to lii-'i.'O, and il wo can only induce the wealthy Aucklancers to pay us a visit, we tent sine will pretQi our bracing air and cool nights to i ne huiniu enervating atmosphere ot Auckland, so, it the Cambridge show was visited by any inhabitants of the city, we do not despair of good resulting from it. The following facts will illustrate the difficulties with which Messrs Wells and Dyer had to c intend The first committee meeting v-as held on November iSih, when seventeen attended. At this meeting Air WelN said that at the previous show held in Cambridge he had had the lion's share of the work to do, and entreated the members to render him assistance on the present occasion ; which some of them promised to do. The nes«meeting wa« called tor 12th December, but only Messrs Well-s Uyor, and 1. \V. Hicks being present, it was adj"Urue.d untd the 14th, when, by dint of w„omus | er-onal canvass nine were got t aether, most, ot whom resided mi the t<>wn. i' rom that time forward until the .-how actually opened, the only ones present at the meetings were the chair.nan, secretary and Messrs .J. Sharp and J. Forrest. Several attended and helped to erect the manjuee and put the Hall in proper torm, but the zn<ist intricate part of the. business was left, as we have shown, almost entirely to Met srs Wells and JDyer, ami ii. is to thern that the praise is due. Not only did Mr Wells work hard lor nothing, but he was actually a loser, for on the day the show opened he was sn busy assisting others that he ommittd tu dust, his own exhibits, and someone in pacing a pot piant over his dessert apples, let sumo earth fall upon them. After the prizes had been awarded, the judges pointed out the-e apples to Mr Wells, and said they would have given them the second prize but for the fact that they thought "the man who was such a dirty sweep as to leave them in that condition oid nut deserve it." Needless to say, Mr Wells did not reveal who the " dirty sweep'' Wan. It is lamentable to notice the apathy di-played by the farmers in Waikato ; very few sent anything to the show, and indeed the inhabi tints of the town were very li l tie lutter. The fruit, onions, and honey eould haidh be surpassed, but with the exception of these and a few phenomenal siiti-fl >weis, pumpkins, etc., th' ie was nothing '1' it was particularly worthy of inn.lion. The fl .ra: department was not ne irly as <_'(>■ ni as we expected to have s-en, ami, in tact, was almost a failure. H"w is h that in Waikato, with our lowly elim t;', we cannot "row a few fuschias or u r ' iauiuius that would boar comparison whh the exhibits at a cottagers' show in the Old Cmri'rv, arid yet such is an uu'i-u'ltod f:u: f ; tor we very much doubt if ■> single plant thit vva- i\\hibited tit the Cambridge slmw would Inue even been noticed at a village show in England, and tliero they would have to be grown in windows, while here nearly every house lias a verandah on which such plants can be grown to perfection, ot course pro viding they receive (.he requisite amount of shade and attention as to watering, etc. These remarks apply equally as much to the ferns exhibited ; and here again we may remark that at any country show in England you would actually see a better lot of Now Zealand ferns than those that were exhibited at Cambridge last week ; and then the poor exhibitors would have to purchase them from a nurseryman or at a stall in the nearest market town, while here a journey of a few miles to the bush will furnish an abundance of varieties, soma of them very beautiful. Why is this? Hither the people are too neglectful and do not pay sufficient attention to them, or they are grossly ignorant of the treatment that this lovely class of plants requires. We once saw a number of T.d"a Superb >, < r as it is vulgarly called the Prince of Wale, feather fern, that had been chopped oif with a tomahawk, and had not a root to them, and yet they were expected to grow when planted in common garden soil in a dirty kerosene tin j and only last week we heard a Cambridge lady saying that she intended sending to Auckland for some of those lovely baskets of ferns that conio from the the Bay of .Islands. When 'we suggested that she should pay Mauogakawa a visit and get them herself, she seemed greatly astonished, and we are afraid, scarcely believed us when \\e assured her that she would find precisely similar varieties either on that range or on the I'r.kekura one. Ignorance, of the treatment the plants require, is, we are afraid, the reason why the floral department of the show was so meagre, and we would stumgly recouiiiiiod those intending to compete at fu-

ture meeting* to invest, in one of tho many excellent book-" upon horticulture that are now pubii-had at a very cheap rato. The fafiimrs' departments of tho show weio b;v!ly HiU'd ; tho bread, butter and cheesn that, w.iv. exhibited were ffond, but there was very 1 itt,lh of it;

and the number of grain exhibits worn a disgrace to the district. We do no', wonder at co-operation not, Hucnoediiiit aoioug the farmers of Waikato when then? are only about half-a-dozen men to be f"tino among them who have pluck emm-'h l" send a few grains of corn to .a .shmv. When the secretary asked one of the Pukekura farmers to becomo a member of the society he refused. Baying he did not believe that such societies did the country any good. We felt sorry for that man, and thought he must be very shortsighted ; but what can we say when nearly the whole farming community, with u fow exceptions, boycott the horticultural show of the district? Shame on yon farmers of Waikato! Oftnnot you see that by helping the soc ety you would be advertising ytir own ware*, and although at the present there are plenty of individual* who are anxious to sell your poods on commission, yet, the day may noc ucfar distant when even the reputation :rf being a prize-taker at it local show will cany a certain amount of weight with it, and perhaps bring enhanced prices. We trust that another year more prominence will bo given to tho cider and wine classes, as they should, in time, become an important, industry in Waikato. Preserved fruits should likewise receive better attention, and should, we think, be divided into two classes, viz., one for cooked fruits in heavy nynp, and the other for bottled fruits, which are not cooked. Wo would also urge up m local committees the necessity for having some description of music during thee.ening, as it adds greatly to the enjoyment of the risitors. If the exhibits of apples continue to increaso in tho same ratio that they have dona during tho last year or two, we think the name of the society will have to be altered to Pomological instead of Horticultural. Great credit is duo to those who superintended the erection of the marquee, etc., and special mention should be madu ot the yeoman service rendered by Ivlr James Forrest, who worked like a Trojan.