Station Gardens in New Zealand.

But progress has proceeded apace in this as in many other matters in this rapidly growing country—now no longer a Colony but a well settled and dignified Dominion. There are flag-stations still surrounded by native vegetation, but at the officered stations this has been replaced by introduced grass and garden flowers around the homes of the stationmaster and his assistants. More recently the landing platforms and the public ground immediately around them have received attention, and the station garden proper is now to be seen in many parts of the country. The first of these were probably started by officers for their own pleasure and enjoyment, but it was not long before they attracted the notice and approval of passengers travelling by train, and they have more recently received official recognition and commendation from the railway authorities. A brief notice of some of the station gardens was given in the issue of this magazine for June, 1928, and it will be pleasing to those who are acquainted with the North British Railway lines to learn that the only part where the encouragement of station gardens is organised on a substantial scale is Otago. There the Otago Women's Club has set in motion a big scheme for station beautifying, and the staff throughout the district has readily responded. Cups and prizes have been offered and keenly competed for, the ladies themselves doing the judging. It page 36 is recorded that one of the finest features about these contests is that all members of the staff become interested in the gardening work, and the resulting display of flowers and shrubs is really a station garden and not the work of a single individual.