JOURNAL OP HOETICULT17EE AND COTTAGE GAEBENEE. [ December 20, !S6i. 



in the last communication from " Eilix-fcejixsa " that she 

 had, in the hurry of composition, made a confused statement 

 about Polystichum nngulare and aculeatum ; yet the Editors 

 hesitated, and' finally refrained from altering what had come 

 from a master's hand. They have had a pat from a velveted 

 hand in consequence, accompanied by the following, to be 

 substituted for the eight lines of col. 1, p. 448, beginning at 

 the fourth line from the top : — 



"The Warwickshire lanes abound in P. aculeatum. It 

 may be found side by side in its varieties of lobatum and 

 lonchitidioides, but the latter is more rare. Polystichum 

 angiilare is also to be found. Aculeatum may be known 

 from angulare by the darker green of the fronds, by their 

 stiffer habit of growth, and by the prickly nature of the 

 pinnas. It is necessary to study both Perns together to be 

 able to decide with certainty at a glance which Pern is 

 before you."' 



EOTAL HOETICuLTuEAL SOCIETY. 



A special general meeting was held on Tuesday, the 13th, 

 to receive the report of the Council on the bye-laws. TV. 

 Wilson Saunders, Esq., was in the chair, besides whom there 

 ■was only one other member of Council present — namely, 

 Mr. Henry Cole, C.B. The attendance of Fellows was like- 

 wise very thin. 



The Ceaxbtiax said they were met together to consider 

 the bye-laws, which, at the last annual meeting, were not 

 considered satisfactory, and the Council at once took steps 

 for their revision. A Committee was appointed for the pur- 

 pose, and, their report having been adopted by the Council, 

 it was now submitted to the Fellows for approval. They 

 were much indebted to Mr. Thring and Mr. Bowring, who 

 had taken much trouble in the matter, and it was mainly 

 in consequence of their assistance that the Council were 

 in a position to recommend the report for adoption. 



As each member present at the meeting was furnished 

 with a copy of the amended bye-laws, they were taken as 

 read. 



Mr. Ckestek then said that, incautiously, he had been 

 involved in matters connected with the Society in the spring 

 of last year, and had proposed a resolution requesting the 

 Council to take steps to revise the bye-laws, and the Council 

 had recommended Mm to be placed on the Committee 

 appointed for that purpose. The position was not an 

 enviable one, and, though he undertook it, he thought it 

 would have been better if some one more conversant with 

 the law had been appointed ,- and he did not know how 

 the Committee could have accomplished the task without 

 the assistance of Mr. Thring. He would now proceed to 

 point out the chief differences between the new and old 

 bye-laws. He did not say the new ones were perfect, but 

 as much so as the Charter would allow of. In the new 

 bye-laws a very large discretion was given to the Council. 

 He would, however, recommend that body to take early- 

 steps for getting a new charter. By the new bye-laws can- 

 didates for admission as Pellows were only required to be 

 recommended by two instead of, as formerly, by three 

 Pellows, and these are not required to state whether they 

 know the candidate personally, by report, cr otherwise — 

 their simple recommendation to be enough. Purther, that 

 the certificate of recommendation shall be suspended in the 

 Council-room, be read at the next ordinary meeting, unless 

 the name of the candidate has been previously published in 

 the Journal of the Society, in which case the reading may 

 be dispensed with ; and that the election of the candidate 

 shall be put to the vote at the next meeting, unless the 

 Council sign a certificate recommending immediate election, 

 in which case the candidate may be elected at the same 

 meeting as that at which the certificate is 1 read. Voting to 

 be Dpen or by ballot ; in the former case a simple majority 

 to be sufficient, in the latter a majority of two-thirds. 



The next alteration of importance was with respect to the 

 subscriptions. Formerly no Fellow more than one year in 

 arrear was entitled to vote and exercise his other privileges ; 

 by the new bye-laws no Fellow whose subscription is in 

 arrear is to be allowed to exercise his rights and privileges. 

 Power is also given to the Pellows to remove any •. no of their 

 body by the v/iS ot a general meeting on four weeirs notice 

 being given, stating fully the grounds on which the proposal 



is made. The bye-law permitting the Council to re-admit a 

 Fellow who has resigned to be omitted. With respect to 

 honorary members, the number of which was formerly limited 

 to ten, the number in future to be unlimited. With regard to 

 the annual meeting, instead of being held at one o'clock, by 

 the ne^v bye-laws it is to be at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, 

 or at such other hour as the Council may decide; eleven 

 Fellows to form a quorum as heretofore, at an ordinary 

 general meeting seven. He, Mr. Chester, had some doubt 

 as to the legality of the rule admitting ladies to the right 

 of voting by proxy ; but he thought that, whoever he might 

 be, he would be a very bold man who attempted to deprive 

 the ladies of that privilege, and it was therefore continued 

 in the new bye-laws. By the old bye-laws the ordinary 

 method of voting was by show of hands, or calling the 

 roll, when demanded by any two Fellows present, and 

 in certain cases by ballot; whilst by the new bye-laws 

 when the voting was not by ballot, it was left to the 

 Chairman to determine the manner in which it should 

 be conducted. Power was given to the Council to admit 

 the public without payment on any number of week-days 

 not exceeding three in each year. A provision was also 

 now made for the admission of any horticultural societies 

 and their members into union with the Society, and partial 

 participation in its privileges. Section 74 was entirely new 

 — it related to the education of gardeners. Soon after the 

 recess a Committee had been appointed to take the subject 

 into consideration. Sir Joseph Paxton had attended, stated 

 his views, and given much assistance, and the result was 

 that a report was sent into the Council, and, though pub- 

 licity had not ~been given to the recommendations which it 

 contained, he (Mr. Chester) believed he might state that it 

 was under consideration. The new bye-law was as follows : — 

 "At the first meeting of the Council after the annual general meeting in 

 each year, the Council shall appoint a Committee to be called the ' Educa- 

 tion Comir/itlee,' whose duties shall be to advise the Co rr:cilwhat measures 

 they can take for improving the education of gardeners, and to assist the 

 Council in taking such measures as the Council may approve for that pur- 

 pose. One-half at least of the members of the Education Committee shall 

 he members cf the Council for the time being : and the Council at its discre- 

 tion may from lime to time appoint, remove, re-appoint, and vary the number 

 of the members of that Committee." 



Sections S2 and S4 provided that 



"Any member of the Conncil may resign his seat to the Council, but such 

 resignation shall not be deemed complete until it has been accepted by a re- 

 solution passed at the next ensuing annual gene r al meeting, and the accept- 

 ance o ; any such resignation shall not be entertained by such general meeting 

 ucless the member proposing to resign has signed a paper in the form 

 marked E in the Appendix, and has left it with the Secretary or Assistant 

 Secretary on or before the 1st of January preceding such annual meeting. 



" If any member of the Council dies, or becomes incapable from any cause 

 whatever iu the interval between any two annual meetings, the other 

 members of the Council may nil up the vacancy so created by the appoint- 

 ment of some other discreet Fellow, and any Fellow so appointed shall for 

 all purposes be deemed to occupy the position of the person to whose seat in 

 the Council he has been appointed." 



This was intended to prevent objeetions being raised to 

 the validity of elections, as was the case at the last annual 

 meeting, and, to prevent the possibility of doubt, notice of 

 resignations was required in a particular form. The question 

 which then arose was whether a resignation was to be taken 

 as one of the three vacancies, or as being in addition to 

 these. He himself thought the latter ought to have been 

 the way ; but this was only an instance of the difficulties 

 with which the Committee had to contend, in consequence 

 of the Charter and old bye-laws ; and had it not been for 

 the assistance of Mr. Thring they could have done nothing 

 with the mass of confusion which existed, but by his aid 

 they had succeeded in drawing up a clearer code of law to 

 govern the Society. It was also thought desirable to intro- 

 duce a bye-law to the effect that " no member of Council 

 shall, at any exhibition of the Society, receive any money 

 prize, medal, or pecuniary reward for any article belonging 

 to him, or to any firm of which he may be a member, or in 

 the profits of which he is interested." 



The Committee had likevrise*propo3ed some alterations in 

 the form of the balloting paper— [That the Council shall 

 cause to be prepared, on or before the loth of January in 

 each year, two balloting papers, one stating the vacancies 

 (distinguishing ordinary from extraordinary vacancies) cre- 

 ated or expected to be created in the Council, and required 

 to be filled up at the annual meeting ; the other containing 

 the names of such Fellows as the Council recommend to fill 

 the offices of President, Treasurer, Secretary, Expenses Com- 



