138 



JOUKNAL OP HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



[ Februaij 13, 1873. 



Sir A. Sl.4X>e. — Yes [oh ! j . 



Mr. Glutton. — WeU, it is better to get half a loaf than no 

 tread. You will never be able to keep up CMswick without a 

 loss. 



Mr. BoHN.- — I -will explain that. 



Mr. Godson. — I deny it. 



The Eev. C. P. Peach wished to know whether the Meeting 

 would be pledged, by adopting the Report, to receive the letter 

 of the Commissioners, or whether the two things were not per- 

 fectly distinct? It was perfectly impossible to go through these 

 ten propositions and debate them properly. He should move 

 the adjournment of the debate in order to fix a time for taking 

 these ten propositions into consideration, and also for revising 

 the bye-laws, which had been put in decidedly contrary to the 

 charter of the Society. He simply wished to know whether 

 the acceptance of the Report tied them to accept the ten pro- 

 positions of the Royal Commissioners ? 



The Chaiuman had tried to make it quite clear that the Meet- 

 ing, in voting the Report, did not tie itself to accept the letter ; 

 even the Council themselves were not bound by it. 



Mr. PEAfH. — Then the adjournment of the Meeting can be 

 moved afterwards ? 



The CHArBM.iN. — You can move anything you please. 



Sir A. Slade remarked that in the Report it was stated, re- 

 specting the Exhibition, that the Council " were satisfied that 

 their policy was wise, and ought to be persisted in." Now, on 

 behalf of himself and Sir Charles Daubeney, he asked the 

 Meeting, in adopting the resolution, to express their opinion 

 that the pohcy of the Council was not wise, and ought not to be 

 persisted in [cheers]. 



Sir C. Daubeney. — I would ask you, my lord, whether there 

 will be an opportunity for us to consider this letter of the Com- 

 missioners before the propositions in it are finally agreed to ? 



The Chaikman said he shoiUd consult with his colleagues on 

 the subject. 



After a short consultation. 



The Chairman said he had told the Meeting that the Counci 

 had not made up their minds upon the Commissioners' letter, 

 and had they done so they would have given the Fellows an 

 opportunity of saying " aye " or " no" to it. Viewing it from 

 *his point, the matter being of an exceptional nature, the 

 Council thought it desirable and reasonable to call a special 

 , general meeting, to enable the Fellows to see whether they 



ould agi'ee with whatever conclusion the Council came to or not. 

 In the event of the Meeting disapproving whatever arrangement 

 the Council came to, the Council would resign in a body, and the 

 Meeting would call together another governing body in their 

 place. "When he said the Council acceded to this, it was very 

 important that the Meeting should accept the Report, considering 

 that the amendment which Sir A. Slade had proposed was really 

 and virtually agreed to by the Council in almost every one of the 

 particulars, except that as to restoring the permanent entrances 

 and exits, which were not the Council's to restore. Therefore, if 

 the Meeting met the Council in this way, and accepted its Re- 

 port, they might consider that no final agreement would be 

 made between the Council and the Commissioners without a 

 final general meeting [hear, hear]. He thought the Council 

 might appeal to the Meeting whether the former were not acting 

 in a spirit of conciliation, and were anxious to do everything they 

 could to meet the Fellows firmly on the subject [hear, hear]. 

 They would not have long to wait for the result, because the 

 whole thing must be settled with tha Commissioners within a 

 week or ten days, and therefore the special general meeting 

 will follow very quickly. 



Mr. PowNALL asked whether, that being so, it would not be 

 better to adjourn the Meeting until the Council had made up 

 their minds as to what arrangements they proposed to make 

 [hear, hear] ? He begged to move that the Meeting do adjourn 

 to that day fortnight. 



The CHAniMAN. — That is quite impossible, unless you wish to 

 shut the door after the steed is stolen, because our answer must 

 De given in a week. 



Mr. PowN.AiL. — Surely the Commissioners might not press the 

 Council under the circumstances to come to such a hasty deci- 

 sion without making the Fellows acquainted with it. 



Dr. Lyon Playf.air. — The Commissioners must issue their 

 season tickets, or the whole affair wiU be a financial failure, and 

 about a week's delay will imperil very much the arrangements, 

 and beyond a week it would be imj)ossible to make any arrange- 

 ments. 



After a short disciission the consideration of the Report was 

 adjourned to Tuesday next, the understanding being that the 

 Council would come to no agreement with the Commissioners 

 until the opinion of the Fellows was ascertained on the matter. 



The Rev. C. P. Peach called the attention of the Meeting to 

 the fact that at the last Meeting, when the bye-laws were 

 altered, five were put in at variance with the Charter. Accord- 

 ing to the paper they had got, they had a perfect right not to 

 accept, if they wished, the names of Lord Londesborough or 

 Lord A. ChurchUl, who, with all due respect, did not rejiresent 



practical horticulture, and who would not be of much use to the^ 

 Council. He should propose the names of Sir A. Slade and the 

 Rev. Reynolds Hole in place of their lordships [cheers] , and he- 

 should also move that the five bye-laws contrary to the Charter 

 be rescinded. 



The Chairman (Mr. Saunders upon the retirement from the 

 Meeting of Lord Lennox), said the Voting must be according to. 

 the bye-laws as they now stood. 



]\Ir. Peach. — But they were contrary to your Charter. 



The Chairman. — But they were made by the Council and_ 

 must stand. 



Mr. Peach. — You have no option under the present system. 



After a desultory conversation the Chairman ruled that the 

 ballot must proceed in the usual way. 



Mr. BoHN said if that was the case he advised the Fellows to- 

 vote for Mr. Williams and Mr. Hole. 



Mr. Atkinson said it was not right to propose a new mao 

 -without previous notice. 



The Rev. Reynolds Hole said he did not come there to add 

 to the accumulation of diihcxilties the Council were in, but hei 

 came with the desire of making that which appertained to his. 

 office — peace. He hoped he'had not forgotten the lesson he had 

 learned in one of the best of lesson-books — to be reverend to- 

 and obey his superiors, and therefore he thought this aristocratic 

 element was very desirable. But why should it be exclusive 

 of others? [hear, hear]. Why should there not be more elas- 

 ticity and comprehensiveness in the Council ? although he should 

 not draw a comparison between it and that Council of Ten pre- 

 sided over by Appius Claudius, the Tribune [laughter] . But 

 really the Council of the Horticultural Society did not represent 

 the Fellows of the Society or the gardeners [loud cheers]. It 

 was like a municipahty composed exclusively of mayors [laugh- 

 ter]. He would say nothing of " mare's-nests " [renewed laugh- 

 ter]. They wanted men who not solely sought to please the 

 promenading public, but who would please horticulturists, ani 

 promote true horticulture [hear, hear]. As to his taking Lord 

 Lennox's place, it was not to be thought of. 



The result of the ballot was then announced — viz., that Lord 

 Londesborough, Lord Alfred Spencer Churchill, and Major R. 

 Trevor Clarke were elected new members of the Council in place 

 of the Bishop of Winchester. James Bateman, Esq., F.R.S., and 

 G. F. Wilson, Esq., F.R.S., the voting being thirty-four for those 

 recommended by the Council, and eighteen against. 



The following -were elected ofiicers for the ensuing year : — 

 President, His Grace the Duke of Buocleuch, K.G. ; 'Treasurer^ 

 Mr. John Glutton ; Secretary, Major-General H. \'. D. Scott, C.B j 

 Expenses Committeemen, Mr. John Glutton, Mr. John Kelk, 

 Mr. W. Wilson Saunders, F.R.S. ; Auditors, Mr. James Nicholson,. 

 Mr. John Gibson, Mr. Robert Hudson, F.R.S. The Meeting was 

 then adjourned to Tuesday next the 18th inst. 



Report op the Chiswick Board of Direction. 



During the past season tlie work at Chiswick has been mainly 

 directed towards the perfecting of the arrangements attendant 

 on the alterations in the G:;rden in the previous year. It was 

 then reported that in consequence of timely, though not un- 

 usually copious rainfall, the valuable collection of fruit trees- 

 had been removed with scarcely any loss. The late gloomy an(i: 

 rainy season was peculiarly favourable to the complete estab- 

 lishment of the transplanted stock, the deficiency of fruit being: 

 highly conducive to the same end. 



Though there has been httle opportunity for what may be- 

 more strictly considered as scientific investigation, important 

 trials in a horticultural point of view have been carried on with; 

 respect to various objects of cultivation. Those on the different 

 varieties of Kales and Peas were made under unusually favour- 

 able conditions. Both were very carefully examined, the latter,, 

 including upwards of two hundred reputed varieties, by the 

 Fruit Committee, and the results in either case are recorled iu 

 the numbers of the Society's Journal recently published. In 

 order that no dissatisfaction might arise as to results, each- 

 sample was marked with a number, the name of the contribu- 

 tor being kept back ; and as the decisions were almost, if not 

 quite unanimous, they may be regarded as conclusive. To eleven 

 of the newest the Gemmittee awarded first-class certificates. 

 Amongst the most remarkable of the varieties in the trial were 

 a large number raised from crosses effected by Mr. Laiton, of 

 Stamford. 



The weather was not equally favourable to trials -with flowers, 

 a worse season for Pelargoniums being scarcely conceivable. 

 Four huudreil varieties of Zonal Pelargoniums were planted 

 out. The more deKcate varieties made no growth, and even the 

 coarser ones did not develope fully their respective merits. Of 

 Phloxes 200 varieties, and of Pentstemons luO varieties were 

 also grown in the flower-beds of the new trial ground, while of 

 Fuchsias IdO varieties were grown in pots. These last, indeed,, 

 were not subject to the continued rain, but they suffered like 

 the other occupants of the conservatories from the continued 

 absence of sunlight. The Flo'ral Committee held tliree meet- 

 ings at Chiswick for the examination of these collections, and 



