ecxvi PROCEEDINGS OP THE ROYAL fiORTlCULTuRAL SOCIETY. 



Improvement Societies in union, and may lead to the evolution of new 

 ideas. And may I say just a word in favour of Mutual Improvement 

 Societies? Everyone seems able to help to improve others, and my 

 early experience of such societies at my native city of Hull — where, as 

 Mayor, I opened the first Chrysanthemum Show and where I was for 

 many years Chairman of the Botanic Gardens — convinced me of their 

 great value in the training oi young men, and I was proud to preside 

 at their Jubilee Meeting at Hull in ]907. 



The Challenge Cup offered at to-day's Show, for the second time, 

 for Apples and Pears shown by Affdiated Societies, has been won by 

 the East Anglian Society, while the Colchester Gardeners' Association 

 secured the second prize. The Cup has been won with very few entries, 

 only four exhibits having been staged, as compared with thirteen last 

 year. The entries ought to be on the ascending, not on the descending, 

 scale, and I can only hope that the reduction in numbers is due to 

 some exceptional cause. — perhaps the bad season — and does not indicate 

 any decline of interest. I urge you to make more entries next year, 

 though, if it should again so happen that there are but few, the greater 

 the chance for those entering of gaining the Cup. 



Sir Albert Eollit then spoke on the first subject on the Agenda, viz. 

 the International Horticultural Exhibition to be held in the grounds 

 of Chelsea Hospital from May 22 to 30, 1912 — in all, eight clear 

 working days. It had been hoped that the Honorary Secretary of the 

 Exhibition — Mr. Edward White, of 7 Victoria Street, Westminster — 

 would be present to speak on this subject, but illness prevented his 

 attendance. 



The Chairman added that the most favourable site offered in London 

 had been procured, after considerable search. The Chelsea Hospital 

 gardens and grounds were not as large as could have been desired, 

 but there were about 16 J acres, and the site had much, in arrangement 

 and planting, to commend it. It was there that the great Naval 

 Exhibition was held some years ago, and the place is almost perfectly 

 adapted to the object now proposed, namely, a Great Flower Show. 

 The organization was already rapidly advancing. It should, however, 

 be fully understood that the Exhibition was not being directly organized 

 by the E.H.S., but by a separate body of gentlemen, who had 

 taken this National, or rather International, project in hand. But, 

 although the Exhibition was thus quite detached, both in organization 

 and responsibility, from the Eoyal Horticultural Society, the Council 

 had taken care to arrange that special facilities for admission should be 

 available for all its Affiliated Societies, full particulars of which would 

 be published in due course. Such an International Exhibition had not 

 been held since 1866, and the many recent similar movements and 

 international courtesies on the Continent and in the United States of 

 America seemed to point out plainly that the time had arrived when 

 England should make some return for the hospitalities exercised abroad. 

 Whatever else might be said of her, England was foremost in the 



