ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. 



V 



the Council desire to remind the Fellows that such a low rate of 

 Fellowship can only be self-supporting if it draws into the 

 Society a very large number (far larger than at present exists) of 

 additional Fellows. The Council, therefore, venture to express 

 the hope that every Fellow of the Society will make an endeavour 

 to obtain at least one new Fellow during the present year. A 

 statement of the privileges of Fellows and of the aims and 

 objects of the Society will be found in the Society's Arrange- 

 ments for 1893, page 5. 



The following table will show the Society's progress in 

 regard to numerical strength during the past year : — 



Deaths in 1892. 



Life Fellows ... 27 

 4 Guineas 2 



2 18 37 16 0 1 „ 291 ...305 11 0 



1 „ 25 



72 



Resignations 



4 Guineas 2 



2 37 



£ 



s. 



d. 



0 



0 



0 



8 



8 



0 



... 37 



16 



0 



26 



5 



0 



£72 



9 



0 



£ 



s. 



d. 



8 



8 



0 



.. 77 



14 



0 



,. 77 



14 



0 



£163 



16 



0 



£236 



5 



0 



Fellows Elected 1892. 



£ s. d. 



4 Guineas 8 ... 33 12 0 



2 „ 75 ...157 10 0 



Associates 4 ... 2 2 0 



Affiliated Societies 13 ... 15 15 0 



391 £514 10 0 



Deduct loss 236 5 0 



Net increase in income £278 5 0 



New Fellows, &c 391 



113 £163 16 0 | Deduct resignations and deaths 185 



Total loss 185 £236 5 0 ' Numerical increase 206 



The most noticeable feature in last year's work, besides the 

 Begonia Conference and the issue of the Conifer Volume, has 

 been the promulgation of a scheme for the examination of 

 students and others in the Principles and Practice of Horticul- 

 ture, and a scheme is on foot for providing scholarships, whereby 

 the most promising students may be enabled to pursue their 

 studies in connection with the Society's Gardens at Chiswick or 

 elsewhere. The first Examination was held in the early part of 

 the year at the request of the Surrey County Council, when 72 

 candidates presented themselves, with the result that 12 passed 

 to the satisfaction of the Examiners in the higher grade, and 

 17 in the lower grade. A second Examination will be held in 

 May of this year, when it is proposed to extend it to candidates 

 in all parts of England. 



In round numbers, £1,700 has been expended at Chiswick 

 this year on the general work, and repairs and keeping up of the 

 Gardens. A further sum of about £386 has been laid out in 

 special repairs, viz., in the thorough repainting and repair of 

 the Great Vinery both inside and out, and in furnishing a new 

 boiler, &c. The receipts from the Gardens by sale of surplus 

 produce amount to £573, making the net cost of the Gardens 

 £1,514. 



