162 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



all the members of the committees for this opportunity of 

 meeting. Nothing could have furnished a clearer proof of the 

 hold that Chiswick has upon the minds of horticulturists. 

 The traditions of the past are indeed glorious. Think of the 

 multitude of plants introduced by Douglas, Hartweg, and 

 other collectors, grown, described, illustrated and distributed 

 from these gardens. Think of the work of Lindley, crystal- 

 lised and enshrined, so far as gardening is concerned, in his 

 "Theory of Horticulture," which had its origin here in these 

 gardens. Eecall the careful and accurate labours of Eobert 

 Thomson in the department not only of pomology but of 

 meteorology. Let us not overlook the labours of Gordon among 

 conifers, nor bury in oblivion the earlier labours of Sabine, of 

 Bentham, and many others recorded in our Transactions and 

 Proceedings. 



Coming to more recent times, we may surely advert with 

 satisfaction to the various " conferences," many of which have 

 been held within these gardens. Speaking generally it may be 

 asserted, without fear of contradiction, that by no other means has 

 so much and such trustworthy information on the particular 

 subjects concerned been brought together and put at the disposal 

 of the public as by these meetings and exhibitions. As a few 

 illustrations take the Apple conference, the Eose conference, 

 the Chrysanthemum conference, the Conifer conference, and 

 others. Fortunately the records of these meetings are given 

 in our Journal, but writers and speakers seem now and then 

 to ignore them, and require to be reminded of their great value 

 as store-houses of facts. Does it not even seem as if the 

 Council under-estimated the exceeding value of these meetings ? 

 It cannot really be so, of course, but the fact remains that 

 the conferences have of late been abandoned and one reason 

 for visiting Chiswick thus annulled. If this abolition be due 

 to the fact that financially these meetings were not success- 

 ful, it may be urged that such meetings should not be judged 

 according to an immediate financial standard. The results are 

 to be looked for in the advancement of horticulture and the 

 increased reputation of the Society. Surely such objects as 

 these " will pay " in the long run if not immediately. There is 

 no need or desire to disparage the ordinary flower-shows ; they 

 have their value as outward and visible signs of skill, labour 



