112 



JOUBNAIi OP HOBTICDLTUBB AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



[ February 15, 1377. 



aooording to the quantity requirsd ; pot all the shoots which 

 in dividing the clnmp have good fibrous roots, and which 

 esDecially shall have a head, or branches likely to make one. 

 P Tue these to a foot long, or as much as is enough for the 

 shrub to be sufiiciently strong, and not too large, when in the 

 following year it is to be placed in the forcing house. The 

 subsequent pruning is to be regulated so as to form a hand- 

 some head to the plant. The plants are to be placed in a cold 

 house or pit during the winter; afterwards they are to be 

 plunged in the open ground, and attended to by shading and 

 watering them, in order to secure good heads. At the end of 

 August when they shall have finished growing select all those 

 that are well set with blossom buds, and which it is intended 

 to force; put them in a shaded place and suspend watering 

 them so as to ripen the wood, and when the soil in the pot is 

 quite dry and the wood has begun to shrivel, then is the time 

 to begin forcing. 



Place the pots on the floor in a corner of a stove or under 

 the stages where they will be completely shaded, water them 

 abundantly, and be careful to keep up the heat at not leas than 

 70' to HO' to insure success. Those who specially cultivate 

 this plant do so by thousands. Many nurserymen grow them 

 to supply amateurs, and we think that those who wish to have 

 these magnificent shrubs in fiower a year earlier would do well 

 to purchase them ; they will then see in what state they are, 

 and that will be a guide it they wish to experiment for them- 

 selves in the following years. 



As to the shoots which are not sufficiently rooted to fit them 

 for potting, they should be planted out and grown-on for use 

 the next year.— (Lc Moniteur d'llorticaltcur.) 



KOYAL HOETICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 



Febboaey ISth. 



The Annual General Meeting of this Society was held last 

 Tuesday in the Conucil-room, South Kt- neiugtou. Lord Aberdare, 

 the President, in the chair. The members of Council present 

 were Lord Alfred S. Churchijl, Dr. Denny, Mr. Henrv Webb 

 (Treasurer), Dr. Hogg (Secretary), Mr. Haughton, Mr. Kellook, 

 Major Mason, and Mr. Campion. Amongst tbe general body of 

 Fellows were Mr. Ed^ar Bowring, C.B., Mr. Guedalla, Mr. G. F. 

 Wilson, Mr. G. T. Saul, Mr. Shirley flibberd, Mr. Godson, sen., 

 Mr. Da Castro, Mr. David Wooster, Mr. John Fraser, Mr. P. 

 Liggins, Mr. H. Veitch, Mr. Maurice Young, Dr. Masters, Mr. H. 

 J. Elwes, Mr. B. S. Williams, Mr. Arthur Grote, Mr. John Lee, 

 Mr. Tweedy, Mr. Bateman, &o. 



Mr. DxcK (Assistant Secretary) read the minutes of former 

 meetings, which were approved, and signed by the Pru.sideat. 



Messrs. H. Veitch and J. Lee were apj)niiit.ed scrutiueers for 

 the ballot of members of Cuuucil and ollieers of the Society. 

 The Eeport of the Council having been taken as r(;ad, 



The President said: Ladies and Gentlemen — Those who re- 

 member their Horace will recollect how a thouaaod lines were 

 spoken by a poet standing upon one foot, and as the President 

 of this Society I ought not to shrink from making to you a few 

 observations in the same uufortunale position [alluding to the 

 effects of his late accident]. You will all have read with satis- 

 faction a statement in the Keport of the actual work done 

 towards the advancement of the science of horliculture. I 

 draw special notice to that because the Council, like the rest of 

 the Fellows, have read the disparaging remarks which have 

 appeared from time to time as to the proceedings of this Society. 

 Undoubtedly the unfortunate circumstances which have been 

 the subject of so much conversation in this room have had to 

 some extent a prejudicial effect upon the position of the Society. 

 It is undoubtedly tiue a large portion of the funds, which might 

 have been devoted to the advancement of horticultural science, 

 have necessarily been applied to the maintenance of these gar- 

 dens at South KeuBiugton. It is true that the Journal of the 

 proceedings of the Society, which all who are fond of horticul- 

 ture have read with the greatest possible interest, has been dis- 

 continued; and there is no question that the conuection of the 

 Society with tlie South Kensington Gardtr^us under the modern 

 phase which it has unfortunately taken during the last two or 

 three years has been prejudicial to the interests of the Society. 

 This subject has been made one of unjust comment on the con- 

 sequences of that union. It is not for me to defend it. It was 

 proposed many years ago and advised by the late Prince Consort 

 on the one hand, and by Dr. Lindley and other most earnest 

 supporters of the Society on the other. There was a hope that 

 the effect of this union would be to popularise science to a very 

 great extent, and I cannot say that in my opinion those antici- 

 pations have been realised [hear, hear]. I doubt whether they 

 were realised at the time when the Society wau most prosperous, 

 because I think what prosperity meant was a large number of 

 subscriptions from South Kensington and the enjuyment of the 

 pleasures and advantages of these gardens [hear, hear]. But 



when you bear in mind the fact that yon obtain 47,000 plants 

 a-year from Chiswick for these gardens, you must not conclude 

 that the reputation of the Society must be gone in a scientific 

 point of view ; but we must all feel that, having entered into 

 this union, it was impossible lightly or easily to withdraw from 

 it. In the first place it was absolutely necessary for us, as men 

 of honour and principle, to do our utmost to give effect to the 

 intentions of those who brought about this union. Even sup- 

 posing there had been a failure of the object in view, there was 

 still a sense of honour to be felt towards those who had advanced 

 large sums of money in the hope of the concern or the union 

 beluga prosperous one [applause]. There were some persons 

 who advanced nearly the sum of i'.50,000 ou debentures, and 

 there were also life-ticket- holders who paid down their money 

 and whose claims could not be repudiated. It was thus the 

 duty of those who had in their hands the management of the 

 Society to do, while there was a vestige of hope left, their best 

 for the general welfare of the Society, and to secure the interest 

 coming due to the debenture-holders and to the lile-ticket- 

 holders. Well, you are all aware of the result of all this. We 

 are now under a special lease for three years, during which time 

 we cannot be extinguished. At the end of these three years, in 

 the event of the annual sum of XIO.OOO not being raised, Her 

 Majesty's Commissioners will be in a position to extinguish the 

 Society. 



Mr. W. H.vuoHTON.— It the amount of one only be not £10,000. 



The Pkesident. — Well, we must show we have obtained sub- 

 scriptions to the amount of l'lo,00U. All we received from all 

 sources last year was £5800, and you can judge for yourselves 

 the amount of effort that must be made to secure the sum 

 which is now required. It may be thought that the attempted 

 absorption of the gardens by Her Majesty's Commissioners may 

 lead to increased efforts so as to enable the Council to carry out 

 their desire to promote the real objects of the Society both at 

 Chiswick and South Kensington. If not, you will see that it is 

 utterly impossible for the Society to continue in it? present 

 position. How can we remain as tenants bound to pay i''2.500 

 a-vear which we cannot pay ? When we have a burden of 

 £2000 a-year, which ought to be paid to the debenture-holders, 

 what use is it for us to remain here, when during the last year 

 we were unable to keep up the gardens in a proper condition, 

 when we had to cut down all our expenses and close all the 

 entrances to the gardens but one ? I think you will feel with 

 me and the Council, that is not a befitting position for this 

 Society to be placed in [hear, hear]. It is not right or proper 

 that this Society should be constantly exposed to the charge that 

 it is endeavouring to maintain a position it cannot maintain. If 

 a mau finds himself over-spending himself , it is his duty to make 

 his income and his expenditure balance, and to give up every 

 source of unnecessary expenditure. It is equally the duty of 

 this Society to endeavour to square its expenditure and receipts 

 by abstaining from trying to support and keep up gardens like 

 these for which an adequate income is not provided [hear, 

 hear]. I have stated here on former occasions, and I am glad 

 to state it again, that having, by the assistance of the Com- 

 missioners, taken the Society from a state of debt and bank- 

 ruptcy, I think it my duty to endeavour to keep the Society 

 from incurring further debt. During the next two years we 

 shall not, I am sorry to say, be able to keep the present gardens 

 up to their former condition. We shall, I am sorry to say, be 

 obliged to refrain from many things we would like to do for the 

 extension of horticulture, but I think our great object during the 

 next two years should be that the Society should not suffer in 

 credit by entering into pecnuiary liabilities it cannot discharge 

 [hear]. I wish you to understand that only for Her Majesty's 

 Commissioners we should be involved in very heavy debt. The 

 sum of t'oDUO advanced by Mr. Freake has been spent in discharg- 

 ing our debts, and you will agree with me that it is our duty to pre- 

 vent the Society from again running into liabilities they have not 

 the prospect of discharging or of getting any assistance towards 

 diachargiug from the Commissioners. My view of the question is j 

 thi8,thatunlesa the public generally, and especially in this neigh- ' 

 bourhood, exert themselves to put us in a position to raise the ] 

 annual sum of £10,()U0, it is impossible for us to meet our ordi-l 

 nary obligations ; and I then think that the union between South | 

 Kensington and Chiswick ought to be discontinued at the end I 

 of three years. That is a fair notice, which ought to be clearly I 

 understood. I am glad to find the Keport of the Council iii| 

 it.s concluding sentence puts their position in clear language. 

 With these observations I bog to move the adoption of the Re- \ 

 port [chetrs]. 



Mr. Shirley HiiutERn wished to call attention to the balance- 

 sheet. They should have had in their hands that day a fuller 

 statement of accounts than that they hart been furnished with. 

 The balanCB-sbi'et did not include the £511111) received as a loan 

 from Mr. Freako, and they had no account with re-ipect to a 

 sum of tlHOU. He should like to ask the Treasurer how it was 

 that he had put in the hands of the Fellows such a statement 

 of accounts as rendered it almost impossible for thi'm to pro- 

 ceed with the busiueas 'I Some years ago it wai determined to 



