CC1V PEOCEEDINGrS OF THE EOYAL HOKTICULTUEAL SOCIETY. 



the meetings more attractive by employing lantern-slides for lectures, that 

 the lecturers should be eminent men, and especially that some definite and 

 practical scientific knowledge should be imparted. He instanced a course 

 of lectures at which an average of eight only were present, but upon a 

 change of the subject to one of a scientific nature the average increased to 

 eighty. A further suggestion was to give young men minor posts in the 

 Society, as reporters and assistant librarians, &c, and so encourage their 

 interest. The Chairman said that perhaps the truest key to the question 

 was personal effort on the part of the Societies' committees, and of the 

 neighbouring head gardeners. If the meetings were made worth while 

 for a young man to spend his time at them, a word of special invitation 

 would unfailingly answer. 



The Croydon Society also introduced the subject of horticultural 

 education of the elder school-children and of those who had recently left 

 school. The Highgate delegates stated that their Society provided classes 

 for juveniles and distributed plants to them for raising and exhibition. 

 Last year out of 700 plants given away, 500 were subsequently shown. 

 Preston also undertakes a similar distribution, circulating 2,000 plants 

 annually ; and likewise Egham, where 4,000 pots of cuttings and 1,000 

 packets of seeds were distributed last year, of which 3,000 appeared at the 

 Show. Again, at Preston gardening lectures are given by the Society at 

 the various schools, with the sanction and approval of the educational 

 authority, and the Public Parks Committee provide the soil, pots, and 

 plants for the distribution — as a result of the Society's application. This 

 Society also sets apart special hours for the scholars' attendance, thus 

 enabling no less than 9,000 of them to pay a visit last year to the Show. 



GENERAL MEETING. 

 Octobee 26, 1909. 

 Sir Albeet Rollit, D.L., in the Chair. 



Fellows elected (31). — A. H. Abraham, A. Bilbrough, Hon. Mrs. Brand, 

 Miss M. Callaghan, A. H. Dence, E. E. Fen wick, Mrs. T. B. Franklin, 

 E. Heinekey, Wilfrid G. Hoare, W. H. Jenkins, F. W. Jones, Miss H. C. 

 Jones, A. E. Leatham, Assheton Leaver, Miss G. A. Looker, Mrs. F. 

 Mackinnon, A. Pardy, Mrs. C. Parker, Mrs. A. Ricardo, R. Ritchie, Mrs. 

 H. S. Rogers, Mrs. A. Ryley, Mrs. Salisbury, Mrs. G. Shelley, J. A. 

 Stoneham, Capt. H. V. Wingfield Stratford, Mrs. Vaughan-Johnson, Miss 

 Vernham, H. Whistler, Mrs. W. Wilson, Junr., G. E. Wyatt. 



Fellow resident abroad (1). — W. Patterson (India). 



Associates (4).— H. C. Arnold, Miss S. Bond, Miss I. Frost, Miss E. 

 Watts. 



A lecture on " Remarkable Instances of Plant Dispersion " was given 

 by the Rev. Prof. G. Henslow, M.A., V.M.H. (see p. 342). 



