THE EOYAL INTEENATIONAL HORTICULTUEAL EXHIBITION, 1912. 519 



anxiety of the Directors with regard to finances should be reduced to 

 vanishing point. 



This is not to say that guarantees and subscriptions are no longer 

 earnestly invited. They are still wanted — and may be confidently 

 expected in view of the substantial privileges which are offered in 

 return. - A subscriber is in effect the prudent person who buys a ticket 

 or tickets beforehand at a cheap rate and at the same time is entitled 

 to 'the happy feeling that he is becoming the patron of a most worthy 

 cause. This would of course be an ungracious way of describing the 

 liberality of many donations, among which may be mentioned that of 

 your own great Society, to the amount of £1000, with a further 

 guarantee of £4000. From all appearances there is little need to 

 worry about the guarantee. 



It is worth noting that £1000 represents an average contribution of 

 about Is. 6d. for each Fellow of the Society. In return for this, the 

 reduction of the charge to Fellows is 25 per cent, to 50 per cent, on 

 the first day which may be looked upon as a subscriber's day, and of 

 50 per cent, on all days other than shilling days; that is to say, in 

 return for the Is. 6d. a head, an average value of £1 7s. in tickets is 

 given, thus showing a gain of £1 5s. 6d. a head, calculated on the 

 whole number of Fellows, who, I think, may congratulate their 

 Council on having achieved another of those strokes of business which 

 do so much to popularize the Society. 



The published lists of guarantees and subscriptions on November 21, 

 1911, are approximately £16,000 and £4000 respectively. 



The Directors have recognized the desirability of encouraging the 

 attendance of professional gardeners and have, therefore, reduced the 

 charges of entry very considerably to this class of visitor. 



The Directors have been assisted immensely in all of their work of 

 organization by the systematically kept records of the 1866 Exhibition 

 and the balance sheet has also been a continual source of reference. 

 We find that the expenses of that Exhibition amounted to something 

 over £12,000 the final profit being about £3500. This substantial sum 

 was exhausted in making a donation to the Gardeners' Royal Benevo- 

 lent Institution and in the purchase of the valuable Lindley Library, 

 which is such, a cherished possession of the Royal Horticultural 

 j Society. 



I Needless to say, the expenses of 1912 must be considerably 

 ' greater. 



: Putting aside other considerations, tliis would be easily understood 

 i by examining the respective Schedules for 1866 and 1912. 

 j In order that I might have an authoritative statement on this 

 I subject, I asked Mr. Harey J. Yeitch (who, as is well known, is the 

 I only surviving member of the Committee of the 1866 Exhibition) to 

 I be so kind as to supply me with a few notes in his capacity of 

 f Chairman of the Schedule Oommitee for 1912. 



Mr. Veitch says it is not easy to compare the two Schedules. 



There were 220 classes in 1866, against 428 in 1912. Exhibitions 



