February 15, 187"3. J 



JOUBNAL OP HOKTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



U3 



tion. He did not like making these remarks, but lie could not 

 helj) doing so m'hen he read in the Report this passage : — " The 

 Fellows will find that notw-ithstandiug the reduction of the esta- 

 Ithshment at Chiswick, its expenses have last year risen fi-oiu 

 tl335 8s. 7d. to i2U60 19s. lid. The explanation of this is the 

 large drafts made on the gai'den at Chiswick hy the establish- 

 ment at Soutli Kensington, rendered 'necessary by the Inter- 

 national Exhibition." Now, that had never been admitted 

 before. He thought his Grace the Duke of Devonshire was 

 entitled to their thanks for the manner iu which he had acted 

 with respect to the Chiswick property [hear, hear]. Another 

 observation he wished to make was with reference to the fact, that 

 while people paid Is. Gd. each to go into the Exhibition, those 

 who wentround by the Gardens the same day and hour had to pay 

 2s. Gd. He hoped that state of things was or would be cor- 

 rected [hear, hear], and he felt satisfied if the £2400 rent paid 

 to Her Majesty's Commissioners of 1851, and other pajTnents 

 and monies were taken into account, it would be found that the 

 Society was not under those great obligations to the Commis- 

 sioners which it was probably thought they were. 'When they 

 found that only i£'388 13s. had been given for the rent of the two 

 arcades, the meeting would have the whole case of the Exhibi- 

 tion before them ; and he could only say he thought the Com- 

 missioners might act more liberally than they did [hear, hear]. 

 He hoped a fair explanation would be given on the points to 

 which he had called attention. It was as a matter of justice, 

 which was due to the other Fellows who had not an opportunity 

 of criticising the Report, that his observations had been made ; 

 and he hoped, if they had any weight with the Council, that the 

 subject matter of them would be gone into as soon as possible 

 [hear, hear]. 



The Ch.ubman, replying to the remarks of the several speakers, 

 said his friend who seconded the adoption of the Report sug- 

 gested that gi'eater facilities as to the acquisition of tickets to 

 the gardens should be given. That was a matter entu'ely for the 

 Fellows themselves [hear]. Of course the great object the 

 Council, and, indeed, all connected with the Society, had in 

 view, was to keep the gardens as quiet as possible on Sundays 

 [hear, hear] . Increased facilities for admission would, of course, 

 bring more people to visit the gardens than might be altogether 

 agreeable [hear]. He should put it to the meeting whether 

 they would vote for or against this suggestion for increased 

 facilities for admission to the gardens. 



Mr. Godson. — You must have a special meeting for that 

 purpose. 



Professor Tknnant. — At present it is merely a suggestion 

 thrown out, and not a dii-ect motion. 



A Fellow. — The Botanic Society, at the Regent's Park, 

 entertained a similar suggestion without calling a special 

 meeting. 



The CiLAiRMAN said the question was really one wliich involved 

 that of increased privileges. Mr. Wooster had spoken of the loss 

 of the large tent, but he might remark it had one disadvantage 

 — it was like a white elephant, very expensive — and it was on 

 gi-ound which the Society had to give up at six mouths' notice. 

 Mr. Godson suggested that His Koyal Highness Prince Ai-thur 

 shoidd be elected on the Council by acclamation, and he (the 

 Chairman) had much pleasure in putting that motion to the 

 meeting. 



Mr. Godson seconded the motion, which was carried amid 

 cheers. 



The Ch-URM-AN observed that Mr. Godson had made some re- 

 marks as to Mr. Lowe being removed fi-om the Council. That 

 was a matter which did not, by any means, rest with the Council. 

 A bye-law existed which pi-ovided that two members of the 

 Cormcil should go out every year by reason of non-attendance, 

 the object being to keep new blood in the Council. Mr. Lowe, 

 on the present occasion, was one of those who went out for non- 

 attendance, and only on account of non-attendance. Mr. Godson 

 also spoke of the i'2400 rent paid the Commissioners, without 

 deduction of income tax. In reply to that observation he might 

 say i2400 was the sum fixed for rent without the question of 

 income tax being at all entertained. 



Mr. Godson. — The Act of ParUament makes it imperative 

 that the income tax should be allowed, and I am surprised that 

 the Treasurer does not know that as well as his ABC [laughter] . 



The Ch.ixril\n. — This f 2400 was paid for rent, but will you 

 please remember we owe five or six years' rent which we have 

 not paid ? [hear, hear.] 



The motion for the adoption of the Report was then put and 

 carried unanimously. 



Mr. EicHAKDs (Assistant Secretaiy) said the votes were unani- 

 mous in favom' of the election of the officers named by the 

 Council, and with respect to the new Coimcilnien, there was one 

 dissentient. The following is the list of oflicers elected : — 

 President, His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, K.G. ; Treasurer, 

 Mr. John Glutton ; Secretary, Major-GeneralH.Y.D. Scott, C.B. ; 

 Expenses Committeemen, Mr. John Glutton, Mr. W. Wilson 

 Saunders, F.E.S.; Mi-. Sigismimd Riicker, F.L.S. Auditors, Mr. 

 James Nicholson, Mr. John Gibson, Mr. Eobei-t Hudson, F.R.S. 



The names of vacating members of Council were Major R. 

 Trevor Clarke, Rev. Joshua Dix (deceased), Mr. B. J. Lowe, 

 F.R.S. The names of FeUows recommended by the Council to 

 fill the above-mentioned or<linary vacancies were H.R.H. the 

 Prince Artliui-, Mr. Arthm- Grote, F.L.S., and Mr. Andrew 

 Mun-ay, F.L.S. 



Ml'. Feenvhough said he had heard many complaints respect- 

 ing the annoyance caused by childi-en at the musical promenades,, 

 and by the fact that the servant girls took for themselves the 

 very best places to be had [hear, hear]. Perambulators and 

 hoops were undoubtedly a nuisance when music was being 

 played, and probably the Council might adopt some remedy 

 for it. 



Mr. WoosTEE suggested that ten-a cotta medallions of the 

 most eminent botanists should be placed in the niches of the 

 arcades. On the capitals, too, he should suggest that floricul- 

 tural groups should be placed — a suggestion which had been 

 carried out at Oxford. 



General Scott thought it would be a mistake to put the busts 

 of distinguished botanists on the walls referred to. He had 

 heard various opinions as to the Oxford capitals, but there was 

 an old saying, "Beggars must not be choosers." The Society 

 had not paid for the capitals, and it would be difiicult to get 

 sculptors equal to the task proposed. It should be remembered 

 that the Commissioners had gone to the expense of maldng all 

 the improvements round the gardens ; and that they were not 

 done by the Society at all. There was plenty of space for busts^ 

 even busts of full size. 



The Ch-UEMan said, with reference to the remarks of Mr. 

 Femyhough, the Council would do the best they could to reduce 

 or abate the annoyance complained of, but it would be a difficult 

 position to be placed between the Council and the mothers 

 [laughter] . 



General Scott had considerable sympathy in this subject with 

 the fathers and mothers of the children, for he had a large 

 family himself ; but he should think a change, having for its 

 object that there should be only one child admitted per ticket 

 instead of two, would meet the difficulty. That was a subject 

 on which he thought the meeting shoiild express an opinion, 

 because it was upon matters Uke these the Council wanted their 

 hands strengthened [hear, hear]. Then as to the Sunday ad- 

 missions, the Council would try to do what they could ; and 

 upon this question also the meeting ought to express its. 

 oiDinion. 



Mr. Blenkins beUeved they were all delighted to see the 

 childi-en in the gardens when they were well-behaved ; but he 

 thought that on show days, or music-promenade days, certain 

 instructions ought to be given to the attendants to have the 

 annoyance caused by the children abated [hear, heai-]. At the 

 same time, there could be no doubt that there could be no better 

 place in which to have the tastes of children cultivated than in 

 these gardens [hear, hear]. 



A Fellow asked whether the trellis division in the gardens 

 was about to be removed, as many of the FeUows veiy much 

 objected to it, because they coidd not get to that part of the 

 gardens without running the gauntlet of the weather. 



The Chaibm-an said it was not intended to remove the trellis- 

 work. 



After a vote of thanks to the Chairman the proceedings came 

 to a close. 



Repoet of the Councll to the Annu.al General Meeting. 



1. The CouncU, in their last year's Report, expressed a confi- 

 dent expectation that the International Exhibition, then about to 

 be opened under the direction of Her Majesty's Commissioners, 

 would tend gi-eatly to the advantage of the Society. Theu' an- 

 ticipation has been fully reaUsed, and they have the gi-atiflca- 

 tion of announcing to the FeUows that the Society has partici- 

 pated largely in its success. Not only has it profited by the 

 Exhibition being made accessible to them and their famihes on 

 especiaUy favourable terms, but the result of the aiTangement 

 entered into with -the Commissioners (by which, in considera- 

 tion of the temporary use of the Arcades and other facilities 

 given by the Society, it should receive a payment by way of a 

 royalty of Id. for every visitor to the Exhibition), has been to 

 place to their credit a sum of £.5030 Os. lid. 



2. -It was not to be expected, nor did the Coimcil ever antici- 

 IJate, that so important an operation could be carried thi'ough, 

 and so large an increase to their income for the year be acquired, 

 without some reduction of certain soui'ces of income on which 

 the Society had been accustomed to rely. The amount of such 

 reduction, however, has been smaU, as wiU be seen by a com- 

 parison of the different items of receipt and expenditui'e in last 

 year's statement of accounts, with that which accompanies thia 

 Report. 



3. On turning to the side showing the receipts, it wiU be found 

 that the sum received this year for annual subscriptions shows 

 no material difference ; the amount received this year being 

 £7115 17s., as against £7177 last year. The number of FeUows 

 continues nearly the same. The items where the receipts have 



