THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



457 



tection against the winds." Perhaps ; but 

 in our humble opinion, the cost of keeping 

 these numerous immense hedges in good 

 form, would pay for all the injury from the 

 wind and leave a handsome margin in the 

 bank. 



The prettiest of the hedges we thought 

 was the Hornbeam, presenting as it did such 

 a pretty light green color, and bearing the 

 shears wonderfully well. 



For ornament certainly give us these beau- 

 tiful English hedges — nothing could be a 

 greater decoration to the country roads and 

 lanes ; but it is the number of thern that sur- 

 prises us and leads us to wonder if our Brit- 

 ish friends are, after all, only " playing at 

 farming " when they divide up their farms 

 into such tiny divisions, with hedges so nu- 

 merous. 





Scene at a Show of the Society in 



Fig 2673. 



1849, at Chiswick 



THE EOYAL HOETICULTUEAL SOCIETY 



IN view of our reference to the Temple 

 show, of the Royal Horticultural So- 

 ciety, of London, the following ex- 

 tracts from a history of that society, which 

 recently appeared in the Journal of Horti- 

 culture, may not be out of place: 



The present period is an interesting one 

 in the history of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society. It is a period of great prosperity 

 and of wonderful activity. The society's 

 influence is visibly penetrating the provin- 

 ces and parishes of the three sister king- 



