54 
FL0I1AL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Choose an open situation ; plant, if the 
ground be good, eighteen inehes apart in the 
rows, and the rows eighteen inches from each 
other. If the ground be not very strong and 
good, eighteen inches from row to row, and 
twelve inches in the row, will be room enough. 
Hyatt's British Queen requires all the room 
we have mentioned. Keen's Seedling is the 
most useful, perhaps, of all Strawberries, for 
forcing or growing in the open ground. Elton 
is a fine berry, and of good flesh and flavour ; 
and Fisher's Princess Alice Maude is, like the 
Swainstone Seedling, good for early work. 
Strawberries succeed best in strong rich loam, 
but do not require dung in half the quantity 
that people imagine. Vegetable mould is 
acceptable to them, and a fresh turned-up 
pasture will beat almost anything for bringing 
a good crop. 
Pruning is one of those essential operations 
that should have never gone over to this time ; 
but if it have been neglected up to this, not 
an hour must be lost. Gooseberries and 
Currants should be gone over carefully, and 
all the little weakly wood be cut out ; leave 
about three shoots on a main branch of Cur- 
rant, and the end shoot leave on also ; but cut 
out old branches where they are too thick, 
and cross each other. Cut in Gooseber- 
ries pretty sharp, and thin out the wood, to 
give air and sun. Vines, Wall-fruit trees, 
Pears, Apples, Plums, &c, both standard and 
dwarf, ought to have been completed long 
ere this. 
Grafting. — Prepare for grafting by get- 
ting shoots or cuttings of whatever new or 
good things you require ; and when you have 
got them, bury them nearly in the ground, 
the larger end downwards. It will keep them 
until they are wanted, in very good order. It is 
worth looking round your trees, to see whether 
there are any you would like to change the 
fruit of by means of grafting. 
Planting, like pruning, should have been 
done long since ; but if there be any sorts of 
Apple, Pear, Plum, Peach, Nectarine, Cherry, 
or other deciduous tree, that you require to add 
to your collection, lose not a day in procuring 
it. See to the taking of it up yourself ; better 
pay an extra sum to get all the root removed 
unbroken, than to have it damaged. Have 
your holes ready made for the reception of 
your trees, and by care and attention you may 
save even the bearing, if there be any bearing 
buds. All you need do is to cut away any 
really useless branches, and shorten any strag- 
gling ones ; because, by losing a little of the 
head, you may prevent the tree suffering at 
all from its moving, although this month is 
later than we should move them from choice. 
At the same time, being desirous of adding to 
one's collection of fruit, we should not hesitate 
to procure all we wanted, and do the best we 
could with them all ; taking especial care to 
reduce the heads, if the roots get damaged. 
FLORAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
THEIR CONSTITUTION. 
A NEW form of society has been of late pro- 
posed and discussed among limited circles, and 
the singularity of its constitution gives rise 
to various speculations. It is founded on a 
notion not bad in itself, provided time and 
space could be got rid of; but, as we think, 
singularly contrasted with all the ordinary 
rules for the government of such institutions. 
Before we object to any of the points, or sug- 
gest alterations, we must give an outline of 
the plan, as it has been promulgated. It has 
been suggested that a central society shall be 
established in London, for the purpose of 
holding a series of exhibitions upon a grand 
and effective scale ; that all the members to 
this society shall contribute one shilling per 
month, or twelve shillings per annum ; that 
seven shillings and sixpence of this shall go 
towards prizes, and four shillings and sixpence 
towards the expense of printing and an annual 
dinner. These contributions, aided by the 
trade, would, it is presumed, provide prizes 
upon such a scale as would encourage ama- 
teurs to exhibit in large numbers, instead of 
(as now in most cases) merely as many as can 
have prizes. It is proposed, however, that the 
members of this society shall be classed in 
circles ; that is, all within a five-mile circle 
should form the home class, while all beyond 
that should form another, or outer class. The 
object of this is explained to be, that of mak- 
ing all those who grow within the smoke of 
London show together, and not among those 
who have fine pure air, and plenty of it, which 
is rational enough. But this central society 
was proposed to receive into a sort of union, 
local societies formed on the same principles, 
and the members of which may hold their 
meetings at home, as it were, and have their 
annual dinner at home, if they please, but, for 
the sake of the strength which centralization 
gives in the award of prizes, they should show 
with the central society ; of which, in fact, 
they would become members. For this pur- 
pose the secretaries would enter the names of 
the members of branch or local societies at 
the central society; and pay the seven shillings 
and sixpence as the share of each member 
towards the fund for prizes, entitling them to 
exhibit at the grand annual show. Connected, 
however, with this object, it was proposed that 
local pink societies, ranunculus societies, and 
piccotee and carnation societies, should be 
placed in the same position, and shows be held 
for every flower; so that there might, according 
