December 18, 1873. ] 



JOUENAIi OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTXAGE GAEDENEK. 



iS5 



Kttle bulb, umbellate, with from two to three white starry 

 flowers tipped with green and rosy outside ; leaves filiform 

 and spiral. The flowers open iu succession, and last a long 

 while. Strumaria, Hessea, and Imhofia are allied genera. 

 These names are to be found every now and then iu the nursery- 

 men's catalogues. One of the smaller Serines, undulata or 

 flexuDsa, however, does duty for them in their absence, and 

 comes regularly to hand when any of them are ordered. — 

 E. Tbevoe C1.ABKE. 



EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Would yon be good enough to print the enclosed note 

 which 1 have received from my namesake, though no relation, 

 at Leeds? It may have the effect of causing his excellent 

 suggestions to be acted upon iu other parts of the country. 

 Mr. Thomas Wilson when sanctioning his note being printed 

 added, "I take iu two gardening papers. It was from letters 

 and leading articles in them that I became aware of what was 

 in agitation for the formation of a real horticultural society. 

 I cannot think that if the attention of the public is called to 

 the question, there can be any difficulty in finding five or sis 

 thousand subscribers of a guinea each, to support a society 

 whose sole object shall be the promotion of horticulture in all 

 its branches." A lady Fellow writes me, " I feel it is a dis- 

 grace that wealthy England, full of people priding themselves 

 on their parks, arboretums, and gardens with acres of glass, 

 cannot support a Eoyal Horticultural Society, and nobly. I, 

 myself, know several of such like, who do not belong to it, and 

 when I have expressed surprise, say they do not care for it, 

 quite indifferent." We have hopes of many lady subscribers 

 to the renovated Society; the garden is their province. Is 

 there in Nature a, more beautiful object than a fair woman with 

 taste arranging her garden, or showing the flowers she has 

 carefully watched over? Even the thought just now is refresh- 

 ing, as it takes back to a time when horticulture was carried on 

 without squabbling. 



I believe the reason why "wealthy England" does not 

 join the Eoyal Horticultural Society is, that it looks upon it 

 as a part of South Kensington, and not a horticultural society 

 representing the whole nation. As even wealthy England likes 

 paying a guinea better than two or four guineas and an ad- 

 mission fee, we may hope for some of it joining, as another of 

 our most eminent horticulturists, the Kev. Harpur Crewe, has 

 to-day shown in one of your contemporaries. He says, " Most 

 cordially do I sympathise with the remarks of Mr. Ellaoombe, 

 and Mr. Elwes, on the proposals with respect to the re- 

 organisation of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, and most 

 thoroughly glad shall I be to become a member if they are 

 carried out. I have repeatedly been solicited to allow my name 

 to be proposed as a Fellow, but have always refused, because 

 I could see no corresponding advantage," &c. I have only to 

 add that competent horticulturists in London, are engaged in 

 the work of reconstruction, and that in proportion to the 

 degree in which the country continues to make its voice heard, 

 will their task be easy or difficult. 



I shall be happy for the present to receive communications, 

 and to see that any likely suggestions are considered by the 

 proper authorities ; but having alieady much correspondence, 

 any answer must probably be in print. It will be understood 

 that any communication may be printed, unless the oontrary 

 is stated. — Geobos F. Wilson. 



" 3, Bilary Place, Leeds. Sfh Dec, 1873. 



" Sir, — As one who would be glad to see a purely horticultural 

 society worthy of England formed in London, I shall be happy 

 to become a subscriber to your proposed scheme, and to canvass 

 others in this neighbourhood to join it. I think if local com- 

 mittees were formed there would be no difficulty in getting a 

 sufficient number of persons to join, who, though they might 

 not, on account of their distance from London, be able person- 

 ally to attend the meetings of the Society, would bs glad to 

 assist in establishing a real central Society of horticulture. May 

 I Bu^cest, if the movement goes forward, the formation of local 

 committees to canvass for sabscribera ? — Yours faithfully, 



" G. F. Wilaon, Esq." (Signed) " Thomas Wilson. 



I read the oii'cular I felt convinced that the persons who signed 

 after the first three intended only to support the sixth para- 

 graph — I'.c, the general proposition that it would be better for 

 both parties if the connei^tion between the Royal Horticultural 

 Society and the Commissioners of 1851 should cease. The 

 Council denies the assertions of the circular, the Horticultural 

 Defence Committee ignores it, the Horticultural Club knows it 

 not. Dr. Denny repudiates it, Mr. Turner is sorry he signed it, 

 and Mr. George Wilson believes in it. Who, then, wrote it? 

 Mr. George Wilson forgets to inform your readers that the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society has spent over .-£80,000 upon the 

 gai'dens. This at 5 per cent, represents a rental of £1000 per 

 annum ; or, taking the value of the lease of thirty-one years 

 and allowing for the £15,000 debentures for which the Com- 

 missioners would be responsible, it would, according to the usual 

 mode of computation, represent a rental of nearly £0000 per 

 annum. To this must be added the sum of £500 per annum 

 which the Eoyal Horticultural Society is bound to pay to the 

 Commissioners. 



The pubho always understood that the Commissioners of 

 1851 were established for the improvement of science (horti- 

 cultural included) and art, and not for building speculations ; 

 but Mr. Wilson may be right. If the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society is moved from South Kensington on the strength of Mr. 

 Wilson's argument, how wiU it fare with the Eoyal Botanic and 

 Zoological, and other learned Societies? As a four-guinea 

 Fellow who for more than six years resided entirely in the 

 country, I would point out to those who support the one-guinea 

 fellowship that many country Fellows will naturally take ad- 

 vantage of the change and pay one guinea instead of two, as 

 at present. The proposed power of voting by proxy woiHd be 

 not only inconsistent with the present Charter, but might, and 

 probably would, be used to render the Council of the Eoyal 

 Horticultural Society a self-elected body. For that reason 

 the horticulturists should most strongly oppose it. — A Life 

 Fellow, E.H.S. 



Ton must permit me to reply to Mr. Wilson's letter in your 

 Journal of the 11th inst., recording my repudiation of the 

 appeal contained in the circular issued by Mr. Wilson, and 

 Sir Daniel Cooper. Mr. Wilson states, " that he thought I 

 read through the circular before signing it," ignoring the fact 

 of my distinctly stating at the meeting on the 3rd December, 

 that I did not do so. Mr. Wilson further says, " that I most 

 certainly signed it with the utmost willingness," which is per- 

 fectly correct, for when requested by Mr. Veitch to sign it, who 

 iu reply to my questions, informed me that its purport was 

 simply an appeal to the Fellows to express their opinions upon 

 the desirableness of the Society giving up the lease of the South 

 Kensington gardens to Her Majesty's Commissioners, provided 

 they would take upon themselves the Society's debenture debt, 

 and come to satisfactory arrangements with us for holding our 

 Shows and Committee Meetings there, as well as an assurance 

 from Mr. Veitph (who as Honorary Secretary to the Defence 

 Committee, I considered its organ), that the circular had been 

 discussed and^pproved of by the Defence Committee — I did 

 upon the good faith of all this most wilUngly sign it. But to 

 my surprise when I read in print the text of the circular in 

 question, I found it to contain in addition to that which I un- 

 derstood it simply embodied, several statements which appeared 

 to mo to reflect upon the present Council, statements, too, that 

 if not directly false, certaiuly implied by insinuation what was 

 palpably incorrect, for the present Council cannot be answer- 

 able for a state of things therein pourtrayod, due to acts of 

 former Councils, of which Mr. Wilson was a member. Mr. 

 Wilson's kind consideration for Mr. Turner being in the same 

 penitent state of mind as myself, should have been extended 

 to Mr. Cutbush, and others, also, who have expressed their 

 regret at having been induced to sign it. Mr. Wilson, more- 

 over, suggests as the reason for my withdrawal, " that I 

 appear to have changed my mind." I beg to assure Mr. Wilson 

 that such is not the case, I am still of opinion that if some 

 such arrangement could be come to with Her Majesty's Com- 

 missioners as was intimated to me by Mr. Veitch, it would ba 

 most desirable. — John Dennv, Stoke Ncwinrjlon, 



Is justice to those Fellows of the Eoyal Horticultural So- 

 ciety who have been obliged to search out for themselves the „ ^r, a xTT^Tr'^vT tttc! 

 inaccuracies in Sir D. Cooper's circular, Mr. George Wilson THA.JUb GRANDU'ULiUS. 

 should make known the name of the person who is responsible Me. Thomas Meeiian exhibited a flower of Bletia Tanker- 

 lor that specimen of " special pleading." By special pleading | villiffi (Phajus granlifolius of some authors), in which the 

 we usually understand suppresains! that which is true, and 1 dorsal sepal, or, as some autljors contend, petal, had united 

 suggesting that which is false. From the first moment that , with the column, and had be.-n much retarded iu its develop- 



