REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 1912. 



V 



3. Wisley Rock Garden and Alpine House.— Tue planting of 

 the Rock Garden is proceeding as rapidly as possible, having regard 

 to the desirability of the plants used. It is exceedingly easy to cover 

 a rock garden in a few months with what may be called, more or less, 

 " floral weeds," but such plants will, in twelve months, smother 

 their smaller, slower- growing, and more valuable brethren, so that 

 to obtain a well-planted rock garden it is of all things necessary to 

 have patience, and hasten slowly. 



During the past year an Alpine Plant House has been erected 

 above the Rock Garden, chiefly for the purpose of growing those 

 rock plants to perfection which blossom too early to withstand our 

 wet winters and spring frosts. In this house Fellows will be able to 

 see such plants in flower from February onwards. 



4. Grapes at Wisley. — The policy of the Council has been to 

 pay attention chiefly to varieties of grapes which are both of good 

 flavour and are less known than those usually grown, quite irrespective 

 of the natural size of the berry, considering that a small berry of high 

 flavour is superior to a large one with little or none. With a view of 

 drawing public attention to these highly flavoured though smaller- 

 berried varieties, collections of them have been shown on several 

 occasions at Vincent Square, and in 191 1 a collection was sent to the 

 Great Show of the Royal Caledonian Society at Edinburgh, and a similar 

 collection was exhibited at Shrewsbury, in 1912, where they attracted 

 widespread attention and were awarded a special Gold medal. 



5. Nomenclature of Cape Pelargoniums. — The work of naming 

 and collating the many synonyms of the Cape or Scented-leaved 

 Pelargoniums sent to Wisley for that purpose has been carefully 

 pursued, the task having been entrusted to Mr. John Fraser, F.L.S., of 

 Kew. The list will appear as soon as possible in the Journal, but 

 it will be necessary to continue the work in 1913, and those having 

 collections are requested to send cuttings to Wisley in February, if 

 they have not already done so, that they may be grown for comparison 

 of both plant and name with those already examined, and their true 

 names established. 



6. Trials of Sundries. — During the past year a scheme for the 

 Trial of Horticultural Sundries has been initiated. The Trials will be 

 conducted at Wisley, and the articles sent adjudicated upon by a 

 special Committee, who will recommend suitable awards to the Council. 

 These awards will be bestowed at the Chelsea or Holland House 

 Shows following the conclusion of the Trial. The award cards can 

 then be displayed by the exhibitors with the articles referred to. 

 These special awards will remain good for ten years, after which time 

 the exhibitor will contract with the Council to cease advertising the 

 award, unless it shall have been subsequently granted for another 

 period of ten years. The ten years period has been established in 



