Vlii PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



expenditure the Society was incurring on Government Food Production work. 

 This enabled the Council to enlarge its efforts, and a Conference was held at 

 Wisley towards the end of September. The Society's Special Representatives 

 appointed by the Council to deliver lectures throughout the country during the 

 winter 191 7-1 8 were present at this Conference. Under the direction of Mr. 

 F. J. Chittenden, F.L.S., V.M.H., assisted by Mr. A. S. Gait of Leeds University 

 and Mr. C. Wakely of Chelmsford Technical Institute, a most profitable fort- 

 night was spent, during which the best methods of fruit and vegetable growing 

 were discussed, with a view of bringing about increased cultivation, and the 

 uniformity of the instruction to be given by all the Lecturers. These Lecturers 

 are now in great demand in nearly all the counties of England and Wales. 



The special thanks of the Society are due both to these Representative 

 Lecturers and also to the Members of the Panel — both of whom are doing such 

 excellent and patriotic work in increasing the Food Production of the country. 



5. Food Production Publications. — The Society's Food-Production Pam- 

 phlets and Leaflets have been of great help to the nation during the year. 

 The issue of 200,000 copies of the Pamphlets, 50,000 leaflets on " Fruit Bottling 

 for Cottagers," 50,000 leaflets on " Seed Saving and Autumn Sowing," and 25,000 

 copies of the Gardener's Diary are figures which speak for themselves. Since 

 the War broke out approximately 500,000 pamphlets, diaries, and leaflets con- 

 cerning food growing and preserving have been issued by the Society. 



Amongst the most generally useful publications of the year which the Society 

 has issued, is a little book by Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Banks on " Fruit and 

 Vegetable Bottling and Preserving," which has had an enormous sale, and the 

 thanks of the Council are due to Mr. Banks for placing the manuscript in their 

 hands for reproduction. Acknowledgment is also due to them for the long 

 series of excellent lectures and demonstrations on fruit bottling given at the 

 Society's fortnightly Meetings throughout the greater part of the past year. 



6. Provision 01 Seeds for 1918. — One of the best pieces of work done by 

 the Society's officers has been the research made by Mr. F. J. Chittenden, F.L.S., 

 V.M.H., of Wisley, together with Mr. W. Bean, V.M.H., of Kew, on the subject 

 of vegetable-seed provision for sowing in 191 8. As a part of the result of the 

 report they submitted to the Food Production Department, the Board of Agri- 

 culture issued a useful leaflet (Food Production Leaflet No. 8), on the subject 

 of " Economy in the Use of Vegetable Seeds." This leaflet may be obtained 

 on application to the Board of Agriculture. 



The Society also placed its Laboratory at Wisley at the disposal of the Food 

 Production Department for research work on the subject of potato diseases, 

 under the supervision of Dr. Home of the Wisley Staff, who is at present attached 

 to the Food Production Department for War Service. 



7. Representations made to the Government. — Throughout the year the 

 Council have been keenly alive to the interests of horticulture in every 

 direction, and representations have been made to Government Departments 

 on the following matters : — (a) potato prices ; (b) the provision of sugar for fruit 

 preserving ; (c) the release of tin plate for the making of fruit-preserving cans 

 and canning apparatus ; (d) the provision of further allotment land and security 

 of its tenure ; (e) the preservation of valuable garden stock ; {[) the exemption 

 of necessary expert fruit-growers from Military Service ; (g) the offer of help 

 in extending the cultivation of school gardens ; (h) the importation of bulbs ; 

 (•) the carriage of plants ; and (J) the need for speedy return of empties. 



8. Dutch Brown Beans. — Probably the most lasting piece of War Work 

 the Society has done is its introduction of the Dutch Brown Bean to British 

 gardens. Mrs. Labouchere most kindly sent the Society samples of this Bean 

 in 191 5, and they were grown in a few private gardens, and also at Wisley in 

 191 6. The trials proved so satisfactory, and the quality as a food bean so 

 superior to anything of the kind which we had previously grown, that the consent 

 of the Government was secured for a ton of the beans to be imported last spring. 

 They were widely distributed amongst the Fellows, and a certain quantity was 

 sown at Wisley, from the produce of which a large stock has been secured. These 

 will be distributed to the Fellows in March next, by the same organization, and 

 in exactly the same way as the surplus plants and seeds are always distributed, 

 an eighth of a pint of the bean being regarded as equivalent to each plant, so 



