cxlvi PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



were distributed under the aegis of the British Section of the French 

 Red Cross. In addition, Belgium received £5,500 for the manufacture 

 of paillassons, while Serbia and Roumania were given great assistance. 



Finance. 



Sir Harry Veitch reported on finance. He said that the total 

 collected was upwards of £43,000, of which £21,000 was raised during 

 the past fifteen months. All the money was being disbursed 

 with the exception of a sum that they were keeping in hand to replace 

 trees which for some reason or other had not grown. Out of 50,000 

 trees there were bound to be some failures. 



Gratitude. 



Perhaps the real story of the success of the Fund was contained 

 in a letter from one of the distributors in France, who wrote : — 



Vitry-en-Artois. 

 March 24, 1920. 



Dear Mrs. Henshaw, 



"Will you please excuse pencil, but I am really writing to you in bed at night. 

 I feel that I must let you know at once what a happy day we have had with 

 the trees. 



Twelve lorries reached us yesterday evening, too late to get them all un- 

 loaded. They lined up on the road outside and one or two of the drivers 

 kept watch all night. You can imagine what a sensation they caused in 

 this devastated place. We slept all the drivers here on mattresses on the floor, 

 but they had their evening meal outside in one of the cafes. 



We were all early astir this morning. The unloading was commenced shortly 

 after 7 a.m. and the trees piled up in our garden. We were fortunate in having 

 such a nice open space to put them in, because some of them are huge, especially 

 in length — splendid five-year-old trees. Before the unloading was finished the 

 distribution had begun, and long before midday three of our largest villages — 

 Brebieres, Beache, and Corbehun — had received their trees. I took the pre- 

 caution of letting the Maires know last night that the trees had arrived and that 

 we should be out with them soon after 8 o'clock — so the people were all ready 

 to 'receive them, each one with a bon (or rather, a representative from each 

 family) which they gave up as they received their tree. Miss Lofts did Beache, 

 Miss Robertson Brebieres, and Mrs. Winston Corbehun. 



Meanwhile the unloading of the remaining lorries went on here. I had 

 managed to get some men from one of the labour camps to help, and it was all 

 finished and the lorries ready to leave soon after 10 o'clock. We gave all the 

 men large bowls of caji an lait and biscuits, and some tinned meat and cigarettes 

 to take away with them — also a pipe all round as a souvenir ; and they went 

 away so pleased and satisfied. Their chief thanked me very much for the 

 hospitality they had received, so I think that was all right. 



This afternoon we had a great fete, for Vitry itself, and each family received 

 its garden tools, seeds and tree — also one sheet each and two tins of food. 



As soon as the lorries had gone, we started to prepare, everyone available 

 taking part. All our goods were arranged outside — the tinned stuffs on a table 

 at the right of the store-room door, the sheets and seeds on a table on the left — 

 then the trees and the tools displayed in a corner opposite. Then we put up 

 a barricade of rope from the gate, right up the middle of the court to the 

 beginning of the garden, so that the people were obliged to pass in and out 

 in order. Then we put our flags up — British, French, and Canadian — and the 

 place looked quite gay and festive. I sent a note round to the Maire asking 

 him if he would kindly send round the town crier announcing our distribu- 

 tion, and by the time we had our lunch here the people were waiting at the 

 gate. 



At 1.30 the show commenced, and everyone was at her post. Miss Miller 

 and Miss Ogle were gate-keepers and controlled the crowd. They were simply 



