64 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY. 



[February. 



by these good models of public gardens and their 

 influence be felt far and wide." 



Going Round the World.— A good corres- 

 pondent is still wicked enough to tempt us to 

 envy. He says : " Since I saw you I have been 

 round the world. The flora of the East, rich as 

 it is, and novel to us much of it, does not com- 



pare with our own as a whole, — not even on the 

 foot-hills of the Himalayas, where I expected to 

 have found something remarkable indeed, from 

 what I had heard and read. The famous Banyan 

 tree near Calcutta, is indeed, worthy to be a tem- 

 ple of all the gods, if not indeed far too good for 

 any that I found enthroned about those parts." 



Horticultural Societies. 



EDITORIAL NOTES 



Academy of ISTatural Sciences of Phila- 

 delphia. — The annual election for officers the 

 last week in December, though usually a local 

 affair, had something of a national interest given 

 to it by the issue, on December 11th, of a por- 

 tion of the American Naturalist for January, with 

 an article signed by Prof. E. D. Cope, and which 

 was sent to leading members, with editorial ar- 

 ticles in the leading daily papers, in order to 

 elect a ticket made up by Mr. Cope and his 

 friends. Since the election, another article on 

 the Academy, to be published in the February 

 Naturalist, has been issued and circulated in ad- 

 vance. 



One would think, in common fairness, that if 

 the editors of the American Naturalist can find 

 so much room to criticize a report made by the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences, they would pub- 

 lish that report also, so that the public could 

 judge for themselves as to the merits of the case. 



We may tell the public in brief that Prof. Cope 

 proposed that thirteen professors in the diff'erent 

 departments of science should be compelled, as 

 a part of their duties, to take in hand as well the 

 financial and business management of the insti- 

 tution, — replacing twelve members of the Acad- 

 emy now elected (four annually) for six years 

 for that purpose. This was regarded as so un- 

 just to the members of the Academy, as well as 

 to the Professors themselves, that the proposi- 

 tion was unanimously voted down by the coun- 

 cils, and also unanimously by the very large meet- 

 ing, before which the council's report came. 



As already noted. Prof. Cope then thought to 

 carry his point by a ticket composed of gentle- 

 men whom he supposed might favor his views. 

 This ticket did not receive forty votes, while the 

 following received over one hundred and forty, 

 the figures varying a little in a few cases : Presi- 



I dent, Wm. S. W. Ruschenberger ; Vice-Presi- 

 dents, Wm. S. Vaux and Thomas Meehan : Re- 



I 

 cording Secretary and Librarian, Edward J. 



Nolan ; Corresponding Secretary, George H. 



Horn; Treasurer, Wm. C. Henszey ; Curators, 



Joseph Leidy, Wm. S. Vaux, Chas. F. Parker^ 



R. S. Kenderdine ; Councillors, Rev. H. C. 



: McCook, Edward Potts, I. C. Martindale, Theo. 



D. Rand. 



\ Notwithstanding this emphatic condemnation 

 of the plan. Prof. Cope, through the American 

 Naturalist, is trying to make the world believe 

 that something very dreadful has happened to 

 the Academy, and that its well-earned reputation 

 in the past is to end in ruin. 



As an illustration of the peculiar fitness of 

 some scientific men to attend to practical busi- 

 ness affairs, it will be fairly in place to note that 

 Prof. Cope has had his seat in the council de- 

 clared vacant by the Academy for a violation of 

 the rules, and another elected to it in his place. It 

 appeared that he had not even read the rules and 

 regulations of the institution he was governing ! 



We think the Academy has acted wisely in 

 letting scientific men attend to science, and giv- 

 ing up business to business men. 



Worcester County (Mass.) Horticultu- 

 ral Society. Schedule of Premiums for 1879. 

 — It is a pleasure to note that House Gardening 

 receives especial attention. There are over 

 twenty premiums off"ered for parlor plants of 

 various kinds. 



Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 

 — Hon. Francis B. Hayes has been elected Presi- 

 dent for the ensuing year. S3050 were appro- 

 priated for the premiums for the coming season. 



E. B.Buswell was elected Treasurer and Robert 

 Manning, Secretary. The first essay for the 

 discussional meeting was to be by Mr. Tailby, 

 on Cypripediums and Eucharis. 



