December 28, 1876. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



551 



arrangement, the touches of the warmer colours being ex- 

 tremely slight. Camellias, Roses, Bouvardias, Azaleas, and 

 Tillies were the prevailing flowers for bouquets and " button- 

 holes." 



Fruit r was not as a whole superior. The best Grapes were 

 Lady Downe's in the window of Messrs. Webber ; there were 

 also fairly good Muscats. The general bulk of the Grapes on 

 sale was, however, inferior. Pines were of average quality, 

 in perhaps under-average numbers. Pears and Apples were 

 moderately good — Lady Apples from Amerioa being extremely 

 high-ooloured, and shone as bright as if " 'iled." It was not 

 an aristocratic market, but the produce was such as to suit 

 the average Londoners at their annual feast. 



EOTAL HORTICULTDBAL SOCIETY. 



The following address has been issued by the Council to the 

 Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society : — 



Before the commencement of a new year the Council are 

 desirous to make the Fellows of the Society acquainted with the 

 actual position of their affairs. 



On the 2nd August last, at a public meeting of the Fellows, 

 the following resolution was oarried : — 



" This meeting approves of the policy of the Council in endeavouring to 

 effect a separation of interests between Her Majesty's Commissioners and 

 the Royal Horticultural Society upon equitable terms with the Debenture- 

 holders and Life Fellows, and requests the Council to urge an early settlement 

 with Her Majesty's Commissioners." 



The Council being advised that this separation could only 

 take place with the concurrence of the Debenture-holders, 

 placed themselves in communication with a duly appointed 

 Committee of that body, and with Her Majesty's Commissioners. 



On the 27th October the Council received from the Secretary 

 to the Commissioners a copy of a resolution passed at their last 

 meeting : — 



" That the Special Committee of Inquiry should be authorised to conolude 

 an arrangement with the Royal Horticultural Society for a termination'of 

 the lease of the Horticultural Gardens on the footing of a payment to the 

 Society for the Debenture-holders of the present value, calculated at 8£ per 

 cent, of the sum which may become payable by the Commissioners to the 

 Society in 1892 — namely, half the debenture debt, with power for the Special 

 Inquiry Committee to make an arrangement as to the^ goods of the Society 

 should they se"e fit." 



This resolution was forwarded to the Committee of Debenture- 

 holders on the 2nd November. 



A meeting of the Debenture-holders was held on the 23rd, and 

 the following resolution was passed : — 



" That this meeting declines to authorise the surrender of the lease of the 

 Gardens to the Commissioners on the terms mentioned in the letter of the 

 Society of the 2nd November, 1876, and the meeting will not authorise a 

 surrender of the lease unless provision be made for the payment of the 

 debenture debt in full, by reasonable instalments with the interest in the 

 meantime, and that a copy of thiB resolution be forwarded to the Society." 



In these circumstances no course appears open to the Council 

 but to continue their tenancy of the South Kensington Gardens. 



In the absence of subscriptions sufficient to maintain these 

 Gardens in proper repair, they would gladly have surrendered 

 them had they been in a position to do so, and have devoted 

 themselves to the promotion of the objects of the Society in its 

 strictly scientific character. 



But this separation being for the present impracticable, it will 

 be the duty of the Counoil to apply such funds as they may 

 receive in accordance with their Charter. 



The Scientific, Fruit, and Floral Committees will conduct 

 their operations as hitherto, scientific experiments will be con- 

 tinued at Chiswick, the fortnightly meetings at South Kensing- 

 ton will be held as before, one great show at least will be held 

 in London, and arrangements will be made for holding annual 

 provincial shows in some populous centre. 



The maintenance of the Gardens at South Kensington in 

 their previous condition must depend upon the desire of the 

 inhabitants of that neighbourhood, as expressed by their sub- 

 scriptions. 



The Council have already announced that these subscriptions 

 not only fall far short of the sum (£10,000), on the collection of 

 which at the end of three years from December, 1875, the con- 

 tinuance of their lease of the South Kensington Gardens will 

 depend, but are at present insufficient to maintain those Gardens 

 in a befitting state. 



Should the annual subscriptions continue inadequate for this 

 purpose during the next two years, the Council can only look 

 forward to the termination of their lease by the action of the 

 Commissioners. 



In the meantime the Council will spare no effort to prevent 

 this unfortunate termination of a scheme launched under such 

 high hopes and promising auspioes. 



The Council having reason to believe that the table of pay- 

 ments and privileges in force in and before 1872 is generally 

 considered as more acceptable than that now in force, have 



determined to revert to it, with this additional concession, that 

 the two-guinea Fellows will have the privilege of one trans- 

 ferable ticket ;* and in order to facilitate an increase of members, 

 the rule as to the payment of entrance fees will be suspended 

 during the year 1877. 



It is also proposed, subject to the sanction of a general meet- 

 ing, to admit members of the Society upon the payment of one 

 guinea annually ; such members to have all personal privileges 

 of Fellows except that of voting at the meetings of the Society. 



For the convenience of the FellowB the new table of payments 

 and privileges is appended. 



SUMMARY OF THE PRIVILEGES OF FELLOWS FOB THE TEAK 1877. 



Privileges of a Fellow paying Four Guineas a-year. 



1. Entitled to two yearly tickets, both of which are transfer- 

 able, and which give the bearer personal admission every day, 

 and to all Shows, Fetes, Conversazioni, and Promenades, both 

 at Chiswick and South Kensington. (When the Fellow exercises 

 his or her privilege of entering the Gardens, one of these tickets 

 must be used by him or her.) N.B. — The Garden at Chiswick 

 is closed on Sunday, and the Garden at South KensiDgton is 

 open from 2 p.m. 



2. The right of introducing two friends with the bearer of each 

 ticket on every day of the week. (Show and special days ex- 

 cepted.) 



3. The power of admitting daily (Sundays excepted) eight 

 friends by written order to the Garden at Chiswick. 



4. To visit the shows at an earlier hour than the general public. 



5. To purchase for £2, 2s. each, transferable tickets, which 

 confer on their bearers all the privileges of personal admission 

 and of introducing friends that the Fellows themselves could 

 exercise. 



6. To receive forty orders giving free admission to promenades 

 and on all days exoepting show days and special days. 



7. The right of purchasing, previous to the day of the shows 

 or promenades, tickets at reduced prices. 



8. A share of such seeds, plants, and cuttings of Vines and 

 fruit trees as the Society may have in sufficient numbers for dis- 

 tribution by ballot or otherwise. 



9. To purchase the flowers, fruit, &c, grown at Chiswick 

 which may not be required for the use of the Committees. 



10. To receive a copy of the publications of the Society. 



11. The right of voting at all meetings. 



12. The right (on giving notice in writing) of being relieved 

 from the yearly payments while resident abroad. 



13. Free admission to the reading room and Lindley library. 



14. The wives or husbands of deceased Fellows, upon being 

 themselves elected FelloWB, are exempted from the admission 

 fee. 



Privileges of a Fellow faying Two Guineas a-year. 



15. Entitled to one yearly ticket, transferable, admitting the 

 bearer every day, and to all Shows, Fetes, Conversazioni, and 

 Promenades, both at Chiswick and South Kensington, and the 

 bearer with two friends on all ordinary days. 



16. Entitled to half the privileges mentioned in Nos. 3, 6, and 8. 



17. The same as Nos. 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. 



The Society has no debts ; its Debentures are a charge on its 

 surplus income only, and being incorporated by Royal Charter, 

 the Fellows incur no personal liability beyond the payments of 

 their annual subscriptions. 



GARDENING REMINISCENCES OF THE PAST 

 FIFTY YEARS. 

 The end of one year and the beginning of another would 

 seem a becoming time to take a retrospect of the past; I will, 

 therefore, avail myself of the license usually granted to those 

 of mature years, and will endeavour to call to memory some- 

 thing of matters relating to the calling at a time when garden- 

 ing periodicals were unknown and the number of standard 

 works bearing on the craft were also limited, but which, I may 

 add, were mostly highly respected by many admirers. Our 

 north-country brethren had their Nicoll and subsequently a 

 McPhail, while those of the south had their Abercrombie and 

 Forsyth ; and the " Botanical Dictionary " of Miller was one 

 of the standard works often referred to as unique in its way, 

 while Borne works of lesser account represented all that was 

 thought prudent to publish on the culture of flowers. It 

 is right here to say that the age was one of exclusiveness, as 

 there was assumed a sort of secreey in the art of cultivating 

 certain plants which it was thought improper to make too 

 generally known. Modes of growing Auriculas, Pinks, Tulips, 

 Ranunculuses, &c, were pretended to be kept as profound 



* The recent agreement with the Commissioners will, however, prevent the 

 fresh creation of any life privileges. 



