REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 190 1. iii 



itself to give its most favourable consideration to any proposal which the 

 Council shall in due course lay before it." 



This was carried with three dissentients only in a large and crowded 

 meeting. 



Mr. Joseph Cheal moved, and Mr. James Douglas, V.M.H., seconded, 

 *' A hearty vote of thanks to the President for taking the Chair." 

 This was carried unanimously. 



REPORT OP THE COUNCIL 



FOR THE YEAR 1901. 



1. It is very gratifying to the Council to be able to record that in the 

 first year of the new century a larger number of new Fellows have joined 

 the Society than in any year since its first establishment in 1804. The 

 exact number of new Fellows elected this year has been 930, which, if 

 ■contrasted with the 1,108 who formed the whole number of the Society in 

 January 1888, of whom only 552 were subscribing Fellows, indicates the 

 •development which has taken place in the Society recently. The Council 

 hope that every one who has the Society's welfare at heart will continue to 

 •endeavour to promote it by enrolling new Fellows. 



2. The Council are confident that one feeling alike inspired every 

 Fellow of the Society on hearing of the death of Her Most Gracious 

 Majesty Queen Victoria, Patron of the Society — a feeling of thankfulness 

 for the long years she was spared to her people and of grief at her loss. 

 The Council sent, on behalf of the Society, a tribute of respect and devo- 

 tion to Her Majesty's funeral ; and an address to the King, to which a 

 reply was accorded by His Majesty's gracious command. Copies of these 

 documents will be found on pages ii and xiii of Vol. XXVI. of the Society's 

 Journal. The Council have great pleasure in announcing that Her 

 Majesty Queen Alexandra has been graciously pleased to accept the position 

 of Patron of the Society in the place of the late Queen Victoria. 



3. A corrected list of the Awards made by the Society to Plants, 

 Flowers, Fruits, Vegetables, &c, to the end of 1899 has been issued. It 

 has involved a great deal of labour and research, and the thanks of the 

 Society are due to those gentlemen who assisted in the work, especially to 

 those who prepared the section which deals with Orchids. The price of 

 the entire volume has been fixed at 5s. (or the Orchid section can be 

 obtained separately, interleaved, at 5s.), and the Council hope that many 

 Fallows will take advantage of the information it contains in order to meet 

 the unavoidably heavy expense incurred in its publication. 



4. During the past year the Council have carried through an appeal 

 against what they considered the unfair rating of Chiswick, and have 

 succeeded in reducing the assessment very considerably. Under the 

 head of ordinary expenditure at Chiswick £1,923 has been spent on the 

 general work and maintenance of the Gardens. The receipts by sale of 

 surplus produce amount to £347, making the net ordinary cost of the 

 Gardens £1,576. 



5. The Council wish to call attention again to the good work done at 

 "Chiswick under Mr. Wright's superintendence, not only in the Garden, but 



ill 



