November 29, 186-1. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



425 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



of 



U'nth 



Day 

 of 



Week. 



NOV. 29— DEC. 5, 1864. 



Average Temperature ] 

 near London. 



Rain in 



last 

 37 years. 



Sun 



Rises. 



Sun 

 Sets. 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Moon 

 Sets. 



Moon's 

 Age. 



Clock 

 alter 

 Sun. 



Day of 

 Year. 









Day. 



Nie-ht. 



Mean. 



Davs. 



ro. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



m. h. 





m. s. 





29 



Tn 



John Rav born, 1628. 



47.S 



34 7 



41 2 



19 



44 af 7 



54af3 



33 7 



22 4 



® 



11 20 



334 



30 



W 



St. Andrew. 



48.0 



35.0 



41.5 



20 



45 7 



53 3 



36 8 



1G 5 



l 



10 58 



335 



1 



Th 



Plane leafless. 



48.4 



35.2 



418 



17 



47 7 



53 3 



27 9 



19 6 



2 



10 35 



336 







F 



All deciiuous trees leaaess. 



47.4 



312 



40. S 



16 



4S 7 



53 3 



12 10 



30 7 



3 



10 11 



337 



3 



S 



Dandelion flowers. 



47.0 



35.3 



41.1 



20 



49 7 



51 3 



49 10 



43 S 



4 



9 47 



338 



4 



Son 



2 Sunday in Advent. 



47.6 



35.7 



41 6 



17 



51 7 



51 3 



21 11 



59 9 







9 23 



339 



5 



M 



December Moth appears now. 



48.4 



34.7 



41.5 1 22 



52 7 



50 3 



40 11 



14 11 



6 



8 5S 



340 



From observations taken near London during the last thirtv-seven vears, the average dav temperature of 



the wee 1 



: in 47.S 



and its 



night 



temperature 



35. (P. The greatest heat was 62° 



)h the Is 



:, 1857 ; and the lowest co 



d, 14°, on the 30th, 1856'; 



and 5th, 



1844. The greate 



st fall 



of rain was 



0.56 inch. 

















THE DECAY of the EOYAL; HOETICULTTJEAL 

 SOCIETY. 



EEO fiddled whilst Eome 

 burned," and the mis- 

 managers of the Eoyal 

 Horticultural Society 

 are fiddling whilst it 

 is decaying. Were it 

 not capable of noble 

 results to a science so 

 associated with home 

 enjoyments and home 

 decoration we might 

 let them continue to 

 fiddle; but they are, 

 by their erring judgment and misdirected trifling, ruining 

 a Society capable of effecting too much substantial good 

 for us not once more to record a "warning, and to invite 

 all who think as we do — that the Society is worth pre- 

 serving — to rescue it from the peddling hands and Tartuife 

 heads that are now trifling whilst hastening its descent. 



We have before us the regulations for 1865, and no 

 more palpable evidence of fiddling incompetency was ever 

 sent forth. Some glaring mistakes which characterised 

 the proceedings of the current year have been avoided, 

 and some small good alterations have been resolved upon. 

 But there are quite as many small and great errors pro- 

 posed to be committed. Let us note upon some of them 

 in the order in which they occur. 



What can justify the expense of a dejeuner to the 

 Fellows, whilst the Society is so deeply in debt ? 



Why are so man3 r bands of music to be engaged ? 

 One on each occasion is quite sufficient. 



Why are there to be fortnightly meetings and weekly 

 shows ? Why not have them fortnightly, and simulta- 

 neously ? The supply of plants and the attendance of 

 competent judges of fruits and flowers would then be 

 quite sufficiently taxed. 



What is the gain to either the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society or to country Societies by these being allowed to 

 enter into union ? Will the funds of either be strength- 

 ened by the combination ? 



Why are the spring meetings fixed to be on the same 

 days as those of the Eoyal Botanic Society? Will this 

 in crea se the number of visitors ? 



Why is the one Great Show to be held on a Saturday ? 

 It is a day which was formerly chosen by the Eoyal 

 Botanic Society, and which they found so inconvenient 

 that they changed their great show days to Wednesday. 

 If it did not answer the purpose of the Eoyal Botanic to 

 hold their Shows on Saturday, we fail to see how it can 

 be advantageous to the Eoyal Horticultural Society to 

 do so. We believe Saturday to be an objectionable day 

 on two grounds. First, because, since the extension of 

 the railway system, and the facilities the various com- 

 panies afford for people to pass from Saturday to Mon- 

 day in the country, many take advantage of that privi- 

 No. 192.— Vol, m. New Semes. 



lege, and it is not one of the frequent flower shows that 

 will induce them to remain in town. And, secondly, it 

 is objectionable because it deprives the exhibitors and 

 their assistants of the rest and quiet of the following 

 day. It is late on Saturday night before they can repack 

 their plants and leave the place of exhibition. -Many of 

 them are travelling all night, and do not get home till 

 Sunday morning, and then they have to proceed to un- 

 pack and replace their collections. Or, those who object 

 to travel all night and to unload their plants on Sunday 

 morning, are compelled to remain in London at great ex- 

 pense and much inconvenience till the following Monday. 



We observe that the Pelargonium Show (including 

 Scarlet and Yariegated varieties, which are not in bloom 

 till July) , is to take place on the 3rd of June, when it is not 

 possible to exhibit the Scarlet and Variegated variefies, 

 and for which no provision is made at any subsequent 

 Shows in July when they are in their best condition. 

 Considering the fine effect produced by these at the 

 Exhibitions last year, and the great interest they created, 

 we regret that some provision is not made by which the 

 public may see these attractive flowers in their greatest 

 perfection. 



How is it there are no Eoses in pots included in any 

 of the spring Shows ? Last year the Azalea and Eose 

 Show was the most attractive of all the spring Exhibi- 

 tions, and in the programme for this year there are no 

 Eoses mentioned, except at the Great Show on the 1st 

 of July. 



Such are only a few of the fiddling changes and grave 

 mistakes to be perpetrated in 1865 ; but where is there 

 a single powerful effort apparent that might stay the 

 Society's decay ? 



That the Society is decaying needs no other proof than, 

 that exhibitors will not contribute to its shows ; that the 

 public refrain from attending them ; that all speak of 

 the Society with contempt ; and that its Fellows next 

 February, if the account is made up correctly, will be 

 found largely diminished. We say this because we know, 

 if the management is not changed, many very influential 

 Fellows who will either diminish their subscriptions or 

 cease subscribing entirely. 



JSTow why is this ? 



The displeasure caused by the undignified, because 

 illegal, retention of office by those members of the Council 

 who were irregularly elected, has spread wider and sunk 

 deeper than those gentlemen seem to appreciate. 



The neglect of the Chiswick Garden, unsurpassed 

 though it is by any ground near London in picturesque 

 beauty, and having no rival anywhere to its collection of 

 hardy fruit trees, and the degradation of such a garden 

 to be a mere nursery for plants to feed the South Ken- 

 sington anomaly, is a source of indignation and regret to 

 all who love gardening, and who hold the opinion, ignored 

 by the Managers, that a horticultural society should 

 promote horticulture rather than pantomimes. Selling 

 Grapes from the splendid vinery to the Fellows might 

 be justified ; but to sell them to any customer at the 

 wholesale market price, and to retail punnets of Straw- 

 No. 844.— Vol. XXXU., Old SEBiEa 



