COUNTRY LIFE
A Very Royal Show
In the annals of the show of the Royal Agricultural Society, v‘hich is to celebrate its centenary in the Great Deer Park at Windsor, the greatest successes, from a financial point of view, have been in places remotest from London, notably in Newcastle and Cardiff. London has a bad reputation in regard to husbandry. Much the greatest disaster in the annals was the attempt to give the Royal Show a permanent home at Park Royal. Will London restore its reputation by going to Windsor on July 4th and the following days? Though, of course, the Show matters most, the Royal in these days is compact of side-shows that carry a general appeal. The newest of these has great social and historical interest. It illustrates on a very extensive scale what is being done in the schools, especially the elementary schools, for imparting a rural bias. The schools are actually and in fact producing craftsmen, almost of the old pattern. The rather dull and stupid attempts made in the past to encourage what was called Nature study have given place to something much more real and concrete. Love of country pursuits is imparted not by way of dico- tyledons or xerophytic adaptations, but by the touch of the fingers, both in the school garden and the school workshop. The most striking illustration ever put forth of the advance of this form of instruction will be seen at the Royal. As for gardens, the Flower Show will be at least on the scale of Chelsea or Southport or Shrewsbury. If the best stock in the world have no attractions for Londoners, flowers certainly have.
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