532 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEK AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



[ December 16, 1875. 



plains of the Btatement made. I will say that these tickets have 

 been transferred from end to end, not of the West End, but of 

 London [cheeri-J. What is the case? It is this, that people 

 from all ends and sides of London get tickets, probably from the 

 servants of Kensington and Bromptoc [bear hear]. Now, with- 

 out entering into this matter more fully than perhaps would 

 be pleasant to those concerned, he conld honestly Eay that no 

 less than five families had been in the habit of using his very 

 own tickets. 



A Fellow..— Who is to blame ? [oheersj. 



Admiral Hornby.— Nobody, I submit, is to blame. Yon may 

 not know it — probably you do not — but I can tell you positively 

 that it is a constant arrangement that these tickets pass from 

 one end to the other end of a fashiouable neighbourhood. The 

 fashionable people are not ashamed to use them, and they do 

 use them. Now, there are plenty in this room who know I am 

 speaking the common perfect truth, when I dt^clare that many 

 ladies aud gentltraen living in the west end of London use the 

 gardens of the B^yal Horticultural Society without contribut- 

 ing one farthing towards thtir maintenance. I have no per- 

 sonal interest in this matter, but I have come upon this Council 

 at the request of the people of South Kensington, because they 

 thODght 1 might do good, and because they knew I wished well 

 to the Society [cheers]. I do say distinctly that these trans- 

 ferable tickets are abused [hear and cheers, and cries of " no "]. 

 Very well, some one says ** no." Well, I believe if the trans- 

 ferable power were taken away the Society would be saved 

 [loud cheers]. 



Along and uninteresting discuFsion, in which Mr. Bowen and 

 Mr. Shepperd took part, which was chiefly in favour of a 

 skating rink, took place, and then the practical part of the 

 bnsiness of the meeting was resumed. Sir Alfred Slade, Bart., 

 said he thought it right to ask the opinion of the meeting on 

 the propcsitions of the Council, but neither the honourable 

 baronet nor the noble lord (Bury), who was of his party, waited 

 for the conclusion of the proceedings. But this was the cafe, 

 notwithstanding Sir Alfred Slade before he left the room making 

 use of the following words :^"I do think it right to ask the 

 opinion of this meeting on the proposals of the Council." The 

 baronet generally took objection to the schemes of the Council, 

 and then Mr. Bateman spoke of the necessity of the Society 

 looking at the " extreme gravity " in which it was placed. In 

 concluBion of a lengthened speech which dealt with the general 

 details of the Stciely, Mr Bateman said he should move, " That 

 this meeting be adjourned ti give a sufficient and proper time 

 to the Council to reconsider their propositions " [loud cheers]. 



Mr. Stew.\ed seconded the motion. 



Mr. W. H. Jacob asked the meeting not to adopt the sugges- 

 tions of the Council, although he might say his tickets were 

 no use to himself or family. Indeed he had sent his tickets to 

 those who had children, that the latter might be sent to the 

 gardens. That he did not think was what the noble Chairman 

 called an " abuse " [cheers] . In conclusion he begged to move, 

 " That this meeting begs to ask the Council of the Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society to reconsider their suggestions to the Fel- 

 lows" [cheers]. 



Mr. CH.\itLEa Morgan seconded this motion or amendment, 

 and remarked that it was a shame the scheme of the Council did 

 not provide for families. 



The President. — The resolution to which you have moved an 

 amendment does provide for families. I mean the new regu- 

 lations proposed by the Council, which may be taken in the form 

 of a resolution. 



Mr. Little (member of Council) in a few well-chosen words 

 spoke of the absolute necessity of those who used the gardens 

 paying for them, and he added that if they took the population 

 of the noble houses around the gardens they would fiud that not 

 more than 10 per cent, were Fellows of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society [cries of "shame"]. But then there were great 

 numbers who used the gardens but never paid for them. Pro- 

 bably after the publication of the proceedings of this meeting 

 those ladies and gentlemen who had been enjoying the gardens 

 a long time at no expense might see the necessity of contribut- 

 ing sometbiog towards their maintenance [cheers], 



Mr. Knill paid he should neither vote for the resolution nor 

 the amendment. 



Mr. Shepperd hoped that like himself there were Fellows 

 willing to give up some of their privileges for the common 

 benefit of the Society. 



A Fellow — I am afraid not. 



Mr. Shepperd — I should be sorry to think that selfishness 

 was a characteristic of the Fellows of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society [cheers, and some laughter]. 



Mr. Caird recommended that the Council should reconsider 

 their scheme. 



After some conversational discussion 



Dr. Pinches moved " That the Council be requested to re- 

 consider the privileges for 187G." 



Mr. LiooiNs seconded the amendment, which, of course, was 

 Bubatantially a negative to the propositions of the Council. 



Mr, W, Haughton (Council) wished to say he was the sole dis- 

 sentient with the majority of the Council on the question of 

 transferable tickets. 



After a ehort discussion the amendment proposed by Dr. 

 Pinches (which was afterwards put a'! a substantive motion in 

 consequence of the proposal of a number of motions and amend- 

 ments to the same effect) was unanimously agreed to amid some 

 cheering. 



Lord Cardwei.l rose and said : — My Lord Aberdare, whatever 

 the conclusions at which we ultimately arrive may be, we know 

 that without harmony and support of authority we shall not be 

 able to get out of the difficulties of our financial position 

 [cheers], I think we are extremely fortunate in having you, 

 my Lord Aberdare, at the head of our proceedings [cheers]. 

 We have taken into consideration at great length a great number 

 of proposals, and that has led to the conclusion, which I under- 

 stand we have given, that the Council will reconsider and 

 resubmit them. Like many others I am one of those who took 

 a forty-guinea ticket, and I may say I think we ought in this 

 matter make considerable concessions, because ithas been clearly 

 shown that while these local admissions are in exibtence it tells 

 upon the accession of new subscribers ; and I think I need not 

 tell you that without a large accession of new subEciibers we 

 cannot get on. I am glad, my Lord Aberdare, that you and the 

 Council have accepted the motion ; and I hope, as I have no 

 doubt you will, reconsider the proposals in the interval between 

 this and the next meeting, and that you will be able to bring 

 forward proposals which the Fellows will be ready to accept. 

 I beg to ask of you, ladies and gentlemen, to give your cordial 

 thanks to the noble Chairman for his conduct in presiding at 

 this meeting to-day. 



The motion was carried with acclamation, and Lord Aberdare 

 having replied briefly, the protracted proceedings were brought 

 to a close. 



NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 



In reading Dr. Livingstone's "Last .Journals" we have 

 many times had regret forced upon us that he had no bo- 

 tanical knowledge, nor any supplies to aid the natives of in- 

 terior Africa in their gardening. Continually occur notices of 

 trees and plants without any information enabling us either to 

 identify them or to determine the natural orders to which 

 they belong. The chiefs, as well as all the people, delight in 

 cultivating the soil, and the cultivation is judicious. They 

 trench the soil, burn the weeds slowly by covering the heaps 

 with sods, and they spread the ashes over the surface ; they 

 irrigate their crops nntU the rainy season arrives. Peas, Beans, 

 Pumpkins, and other crops are mentioned, besides many fiuit 

 trees. Of these last is the Fig tree. It is, says Dr. Living- 

 stone, " always planted at villages. It is a sacred tree all over 

 Africa and India, and the tender roots which drop down to- 

 wards the ground are used as medicine — a universal medicine. 

 Can it be a tradition of its being like the Tree of Life, which 

 Archbishop Whateley conjectures may have been used in Para- 

 dise to render man immortal ?" In future African exploring 

 expeditions we hope a botanist and a gardener will be of the 

 party, and a good store of useful seeds be with them. 



We have received the schedule of the Great Exhi- 



niTiON OF HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS which IS to be held at 

 Brussels on the 30th of April, 1870, in celebration of the hun- 

 dredth anniversary of the Society de Flore of Brussels. It is 

 an unusually rich one, and besides coUecticns of plants and 

 groups it has special classes for no less than 104 distinct genera. 

 Besides the prizes of the schedule there are four special prizes 

 of honour. To the foreign exhibitor who, by Ibe richness and 

 merit of his collections, shall hare contributed most to the 

 splendour of the Exhibition — first prize, a large gold medal 

 offered by the King ; second prize, a gold medal offered by the 

 Comte de Plandre. To the Belgian exhibitor who, by the 

 richness and merit of his collections, shall have contributed 

 most to the splendour of the Exhibition — first prize, a large 

 gold medal offered by the Queen ; and second piize, a gold 

 medal offered by the Comtesse de Flandre. 



The Yoric Society of Ancient Florists held its annual 



meeting on the 7th inst., when arrangements were made for 

 the shows of the coming year. On the 9th the members held 

 their annual feast convened by a summons on which the 

 Hoyal arms have not the white horse of Hanover, which 

 indicates that its foundation was before the Georges. 



On the Gth inst. Mk. JIechi took a final leave of 



THE Farmers' Clur. After delivering a very sound lecture on 

 " The Treasures of the Air, the Soil, and the Subsoil," he 

 concluded by observing that having attained his seventy- 

 foarth year he considered his agricultural efforts concluded. 



