

^^r" 



'1 



THE GARDENERS* CHRONICLE. 



[February 10, 1912. 



cntifi'; matter, and sent to the** only of the Fellows 

 who would like to subscribe an additional £\ la. a year 

 for the purpose. A communication wa* therefore *♦ to 

 all the Fellow.-, of the Society setting forth the- j \ osal, 

 but as fewer than 60 favourable repl were re • i out of 

 12,000 1 • ws, ■ Ooun ave dc to allow the pr 



posal to stand r it least fox the present. 



Special shows in vjvi. 



Several special • -dint »3 are to be held in 1912. That 

 for forced Spring Bui ; fixed for March 5 and 6. On 

 il 16 and 1 a Daffodil Show will be- held; and the 

 Vegetable and the Fruit Shows on September 

 O I er 10 and 11 respect '"ly. A two days 

 Oi Is will also be I «-M on November 5 and 6, 



to <LiBonstrate t- tutamn-bl ming \* Ue 



of these beautiful and interesting plants. 



24, and 



tow of 



in order 



of many 



International Horti- ltiral Exhibition, 



May -30, 1912. 



Most of the Fellows of the Society will have already 

 heard that an Association has been formed to organise an 

 International Flower Show in London next spring, as the 

 outcome of a suggestion made by the Council in their 

 Report for the year 1*J09, that such a courtesy on the part 

 of Great Britain wa> due (or indeed overdue) to the < ti- 

 nt and to America for the many similar hospitalities 

 which foreign »untriee hie so frequently oileied to 

 Bi itish horticulturists. 



It must be f' y understood and constantly borne in 



mind that our Society is not organising this exhibition. 



nor are we in any way responsible for anything connected 

 • lerewith. All responsibility rests with the Directors, as 

 in every other legularly constituted Limited Liability 

 Company. Fellows are, therefore, asked to recognise the 

 Exhibition as being absolutely distinct from the Society, 

 being, in fact, in ent ly separate an 1 independent 

 organisation. The Cou il have, howe\er, welcomed the 



gosal that such an International Exhibition should be 

 eld, and will render the Association every reasonable 

 assistance in its power. 



The Association, recognising the importance of st ring 

 the great weight of horticultural interest vested in the 

 Society, approached the Coi il with a view to establish- 

 ing a suitable friendly working arrangement between the 

 two bodies, and— 



(a) The Royal Horticultural Society has agreed:— 



1. To contribute CI, 000 towards the expense of pro- 

 moting the International Exhibition; and 



2 To guarantee a fuither sum of I 000 

 contingency of there being an ultimate 

 Exhibition. 



against the 



t3 on the 



(b) Tht Directors of the International Exhibition Asso- 

 ciation have agreed:— 



1. To give to all Fellows of the Society certain special 

 aid definite privileges over the General Public In 

 Tegard to the pui ase of tickets for the Exhibi- 

 tion; and 



2 To allow all such tickets purchased by Fellows of 

 the Society to be transferable. 



A statement of the reduction on the charge for admission 

 to be made to l < Hows having been so recently issued in 

 the last Journal, it need not be repeated here. ISte 

 Uardeners Chronicle, vol. 1., p. 310.) 



The Use of F.R.H.S. 



Oases of mis-use of the letters F.R.H.S. having recently 

 been brought to the notice of the Council, a legal opinion 

 nas been obtained with a view to restricting their use in 

 the future One Fellow, in particular, having negle od to 

 pay his annual i iption for a series of years a special 



Resolution of Um Fellows assembled in General Meeting 

 on November '21 declared his rights and privileges as a 

 Fellow forfe.ted, under Bye-law 34, and he thereupon ceased 

 to be a Fellow, and consequently forfeited also his right 

 to append to his name the letters F.R.H.S. 



TRESENTS. 



Many gifts have been made to the Society during the 

 year. Baron Bruno Schroder's munificent gift to the 

 Library has already been mentioned; as have also the 

 plants from Sir Frank Crisp, dr. Bowles, and Mr. Mar- 

 shall. 220 books for the Library have been received 

 under the bequest of the late Mr. Gumbleton ; 150 volumes 

 from the late Colonel Beddome's library, presented by his 

 widow; a collection of dried specimens of British plants 

 from Miss F. M. Hudson; a fine old steel engraving of 

 Linnaeus from Mr. Christ er J. Sandberg: an original 

 autograph engraving of William McNab. of 1 Unburgh. 

 from Mr. Chas. Ross. V MIL, and two Silver Cups, one 

 from Mr. A. L. Wigan as an annual prize for Roses at 

 the mer Show, the other for Alpines, presented by 



Mr. Reginald Fairer. The Council take this opportunity 

 of expressing their cordial thanks to the donors. 



Victoria Medal op Honour. 



The year was almost spent, and the Council were re 

 jc Ing in not having any vacancy to report in the ranks 

 of the Victoria Medal of Honour, when almost simul- 

 taneously it 1 ame necessary to record the loss of two 

 of the most prominent of the recipients of this distinc 

 tion. Sir Joseph D. Hooker, O.M., G.C.S.I., C.B., F.R.S. 

 the foremost of English botanists 

 passed away in December after an 

 useful and active scientific work, 

 deceased by only a few days by Mr. 

 the greatest practical gardeners 



country, and one who for many years has worked whole- 

 heartedly on the Council of the Society and on Committees, 

 end as a judge and an examiner. Sir Joseph Hooker had 

 for more than half a century been chairman of our 

 Scientific Committee, and only four years ago, writing to 

 the President to thank him for the Society's congratula- 

 tions on his 90th birthday, he said:—" It has been a source 

 of great regret to me that I am obliged to abandon all 

 hope of attending the Society's meetings. As a botanist, I 

 have thereby lost much, for the Roval Horticultural Societ 

 has contributed moTe to botanical science as represented 

 by collections, publications, and experimental research, 

 than any other establishment in Europe." The President 

 and Council desire to put on record the verv high esteem 

 in which they have always held both of these Victoria 

 medallists, the one so distinguished in Science, the other 

 in the practical work of the application of Science. 



Obituary. 



Among many otheT friends whose names will no longer 

 be seen on our list are the Right Hon. Sir Chas. Dilke. 

 Bart., a Director of the Gardeners' Chronicle,; Colonel 

 R. H. Beddome, a past Member of the Council; the 

 Dowager Duchess of Wellington; Earl Spencer, K.G.; The 

 Earl of Onslow, G.C.M.G. : The Earl of Cranbrook; 

 Colonel Arthur Collins, C.B.. M.V.O. ; Sir William 

 Grantham, K.C., to whom the Societv owes much in con- 

 nection with the Temple Show; Sir Francis Galton, F.R.S. ■ 

 Sir John Aird. Bart.; Sir William Fairer; Lady Joicey; 

 "Messrs. C. Foster. Geo. Hobdav. and James Walker— M^n 



in the 19th century— 

 unusually long life of 

 Sir Joseph was pre- 

 Jamcs Douglas, one of 

 and florists of this 



bere of the Society's Committees; and Messrs, G. R. M. 

 Murray, F.R.S., late Keeper of Botany, British Museum, 

 Henry Bonn, W E. Gumbleton, John Robson, H. 1 



larks, A. W. \V<eks. and L. A. de (iraaf (of I^iden). 

 Their lass to tin Society is much regretted, but their in- 

 fluence will long remain in the Society's active life. 



Annual Progress. 



The following table will show the Society's progress in 

 regard to numerical strength during the past year:— 



Less by Dl:ath IN 1911. 



£ s. d. 



Hon. 1 Hows 3 .. 



Life „ 25 .. 



4 Guineas 1 .. 4 4 



2 „ Ci .. 134 8 



1 „ 78 .. 81 18 



171 £2i0 10 



Loss by Resignation, &c. 



£ s. d. 



4 Guineas .. 



2 „ 177 .. 371 14 



1 „ 374 .. 392 14 



Associates 30 .. 15 15 



Aililiated Societies „ « .. 17 .. 17 17 



598 £798 



Total loss 7C9 £1,018 10 



Fellows Elected in 1911. 



£ s. d. 



Hon. Fellows 7 .. 



4 Guineas 9 .. 37 16 



2 ,. 702 .. 1,474 4 



1 „ 735 .. 771 15 



Associates 50 .. 26 5 



Affiliated Societies 43 ., 45 3 



Commutations .... — ..19 



= £4'J3 Is. Od. 



1,565 £2,355 3 



Deduct loss .. .. 1,018 10 



Net increase in income .. .. £1,336 13 



New Fellow- Ac 1,565 



Death and Resignations 769 



Numerical increase 796 



Total on December 31. 1910 .. .. 12,043 



Total on December 31, 1911 - .. 12,839 



Committees, &c. 



The Society owes a constantly recurring debt to the Mem- 

 bers of the standing and special committees, chairmen, judges, 

 writers of papers for the Journal, compilers of extracts, 

 reviewers, lecturers, and the several examiners, who, during 

 the past twelve months have done so much to contribute 

 to the Society's usefulness, and to help maintain its high 

 standing among the practical and scientific institutions 

 of the world. 



The Council also acknowledge their obligations to the 

 Press for their invaluable assistance in reporting upon, and 

 calling attention to, the work of the Society. 



By Order of the Council. 



W. VVilks, Secretary. 

 Royal Horticultural Society, 



Vincent Square. Westminster, S.W. 

 January 1, 1912. 



NATIONAL CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



February 5. — The annual general meeting of 

 the members of the National Chrysanthemum 

 Society was held on Monday last at Carr's 

 Restaurant, Strand. Mr. Thomas Bevan occu- 

 pied the Chair, in the absence of the President, 

 Sir Albert Rollit, who was indisposed, and the 

 attendance numbered about 30. The business in- 

 cluded the adoption of the Report for 1911 and 

 the election of officers for the ensuing year. 



At a 



it was 



thanks 

 grossed 

 annual 



EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT. 



meeting of the Committee held on November 20, 

 resolved that an expression of the Committee's 

 on behalf of the members should be suitably en- 

 and formally presented to the President at the 

 dinner on November 29. The actual terms of the 



resolution were as follow : — 



" That the Executive Committee, on behalf of the 

 members, desires to place on record its sincere apprecia- 

 tion of the very valuable services rendered to the Society 

 by Sir Albert K. Rollit, LL.D., D.C.L., since his appoint- 

 ment as President of the Society in February, 1008. 



" The Committee particularly appreciates the President's 

 special personal efforts towards increasing the member- 

 ship of the Society, being certain that, in addition to the 

 direct results of the President's action, a distinct advan- 

 tage has accrued to the Society from the publicity given 

 to the Society's name and work." 



This resolution was handsomely engrossed in black and gold 

 on vellum in book form and bound in royal blue morocco, 

 and duly presented to the President at the annual dinner 

 by the Chairman of the Executive Committee, Mr. Thomas 

 Bevan. 



Two shows were held as usual at the Crvstal Palace on 

 October 4 and 5 and November 1. 2 and 3. The early exhibi- 

 tion showed marked traces of the prolonged drought The 

 competition was consequently not keen, and the quality 

 of tbe flowers was hardly up to the usual standard. At 

 the November show the same influences were telt in a 

 smaller degree. Here again the entries in the competitive 

 classes were not so good as in the previous two or three 

 years, although the quality of the blooms staged com- 

 pared very favourably with previous exhibitions. 



For the third year in succession the Committee arranged 

 a conference, which was held at Carr's Restaurant on 

 December 4, when the following papers were read :— 

 t< ^nryean them urns for Market," by Mr. F. W. Ladds : 



Soil Preparation and Some Chemical Foods," bv Mr. 

 P. A. Cragg. The audience numbered over 100 enthusiastic 

 growers, and each paper was followed bv an animated dis- 

 cussion. A full report of the proceedings at ths con- 

 ference will be issued in a publication to be called the 

 I Transaction* of the National Chrysanthemum Society 

 which is referred to more fully in a later paragraph. 



The 



have aga 



deliberations of the Floral Committee during 1911 

 jam formed a very important branch of the Society's 



twenty-seven new varieties were considered by the Com- 

 mittee, and the following awards were made:— 38 First-clan 

 Certificates, 33 Commendations, and 1 Award for Colour. 



The sections to which First-class Certificates have bee 

 awarded during the past five years are set forth in the 

 follo-ving table, which is an interesting commentary on 

 the yearly variations in the novelties raised : — 



1937. 1903. 1909. 1910. 1911. 



Japanese ...... 5 23 8 19 8 



Japanese Incurved ..4 — — — ■— 



Inclined .. .- ..3 3 3 2 2 



Singles 9 13 7 12 21 



Decorative 11 8 8 20 7 



Semi-double Decorative .. — — — i_I" 



Total .... 32 47 26 54 38 



In the Committee's last Report mention was made of the 

 fart that the Floral Committee were taking into con- 

 sideration the whole question of classification with a view 

 to rev g the list of sections. The Sub-Committee which 

 has been cnarged with the duty of bringing up a full report 

 on the matter have not yet finished their labours. The 

 exceptional difficulties of the task only became apparent 

 when the matter came to be considered in detail, but the 

 Floral Committee hope to complete their deliberations and 

 make a report to the members in time for the 1912 season. 



The medals cf this Society which were offered to the 

 Committed of the International Exhibition (as referred to 

 in our last Report) have been accepted, and a class appears 

 in the schedule for 12 bunches of Chrysanthemums. 



Having regard to the nature of the class, your Committee 

 have made further representations to the secretary of the 

 Exhibition, and he has agreed to allocate space for non- 

 competitive exhibits of Chrysanthemums. It is proposed 

 to oiler t3 the Committee of the International Exhibitions 

 the small gold medal, silver-gilt medal and large silver 

 medal of this Soo.ety, to be awarded in connection with 

 these non-competitive exhibits. 



It was particularly noticed that these types of Chrysan- 

 themums were not repiesented at the show as worthily 

 as might be desired. At a subsequent meeting of the Com- 

 mittee special attention was drawn to this matter, and it 

 was suggested that steps should be taken to arrest the 

 apparent decline in these sections. The matter was very 

 fully discussed, and eventually a recommendation was made 

 to the Schedule Committee that they should take this 

 question into careful consideration, with a view to offering 

 in the 1912 schedule special prizes for seedling plants to 

 be exhibited in 1913 of Pompons, Anemone Pompons and 

 Anemone Chrysanthemums. That recommendation will be 

 carried into effect by the Schedule Committee. 



The finances of the Society still continue in a very healthy 

 condition. The accounts show that theie were no ordina-y 

 liabilities on December 31 last, whilst the assets amounted 



to £126 15s. 7d. -> 



During the year, 22 Fellows and 51 ordinary members 

 have been added to the Society's roll, and three horti- 

 cultural societies have been admitted to affiliation. t 



In May last the Committee published a work entitled 1M 

 Culture and Exhibition of Large Chrysanthemum Blooms 

 (and Special Reports J, which contained a full report of the 

 proceedings at the 1910 Conference, together with other 

 information. This publication met with instantaneous suc- 

 cess, and the copies available for sale were quickly ex- 

 ham-ted. The Publications Committee decided to set aside 

 a certain number of copies to be presented to new members 

 only, and these are all that are now in stock. . 



Early in the year the Committee were enabled by toe 

 kindness of Mr. R. Ballantine to obtain complete sets of 

 the Society's schedules and other publications since iff", 

 and these have now been bound in suitable style and form 



valuable addition to the Society's historical lecords. 



Your Committee have taken into special consideration 

 the form in which the Society's publications should do 

 issued in the future, and it has been decided that for jsju 

 and subsequent years the Schedule shall contain onlv toe 

 list of members and affiliated societies, the list of classes 

 at the Society's shows, and such other matter as may 

 have direct relation to our exhibitions. A separate booi 

 will be published each yeaT, to be called the Transaction* 

 of the National Chrysanthemum Society. The volume or 

 transactions to be issued in May next will include, inter 

 alia, the following :— Full verbatim report of the 1911 con- 

 ference; special descriptive record of the November. l»u. 

 show; annual report and accounts for year 1911; list ox 

 awards of the Floral Committee; audit of November, ian, 

 show; report of Flora Committee outings; and such otner 

 matter as the Publications Committee may decide to De 

 of permanent value. . .. 



An agreement has been signed with the Receiver of jne 

 Crystal Palace for the holding of two shows during H". 

 on October 2 and 3 and October 29, 30 and 31. The date 

 of the large show is slightly earlier than the Cpmnutwe 

 would desire, but it has been necessitated by the fact tna*. 

 at the date when the agreement was signed, the R^ €1 ^ 

 of the Crystal Palace had only been granted permission ay 

 the Court to make agreements for shows up to the en a m 

 October, 1912. Under these circumstances your Commiuw 

 arc making special arrangements for the holding or 

 supplementary exhibition at Essex Hall, on November ^ 



It has already been decided to hold the Society's * n **£ 

 conference at Essex Hall, on Wednesday, November -v- 

 the same date as that fixed for the supplementary exnioi- 

 tion and meeting of the Floral Committee. ■ 



The balance-sheet shows total receipts amount- 

 ing to £532 7s. 10d., including balance at bank, 

 £50 8s. 8d. ; annual subscriptions. £156 10s . 7d. ; 

 received of the Crystal Palace, £150 ; and affilia- 

 tion fees. £46 14s. 6d. There is a balance on tne 

 year's working of £45 Is. 2d., and a surplus ot 

 assets over liabilities of £101 12s. 7d. 



The adoption of the report and balance-sheet 

 was moved by the Chairman and seconded o} 

 Mr. Green, who said that the Society w«J 

 now getting into smooth water again. 1" € 

 report was adopted. Sir Albert Rollit- was re- 

 elected president amidst applause. Mr. J oil 

 Green was re-appointed treasurer, Mr. Thomas 

 Bevan chairman, Mr. E. F. Hawes vice-chairman, 

 Mr. C. Harman Payne foreign corresponding 

 secretary, and Mr. R. A. Witty general secre- 

 tary. The auditors were also appointed. l ne 

 following gentlemen were elected to fill yj? can * 

 cies on the committee :— Messrs. F. J- Toms* 

 W. A. CulL J. MnK*rrhar. Geo. L. Caselton, 



