8 
THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The imbroglio that has taken place in the affairs of this 
Society seems to present some curious difficulties. The 
■jjersons who moved in the matter hardly know what use 
to make of their victory ; while horticulturists pure 
and simple, begin to see what we have all along felt, 
that neither from the Commissioners of 1851, nor from ] 
the party who led the onslaught, need they expect any | 
great deference to their wishes, the simple fact being j 
that things would have gone on as before had not those \ 
Fellows who live in the neighbourhood, and who care | 
nothing for horticulture, seen in the proposed liberal ^ 
arrangements for the frequenters of the Exhibition of 
1873 an infringement of what they considered their 
right of having the gardens as a nice private pro- 
menade for themselves and their children. The Society 
is too deeply involved with the Commissioners of 1851 
to be able to make any very independent stand. It 
cannot possibly exist without them, unless they agree 
to some liberal terms, by which the Society might be 
freed from its embarrassments, the Gardens handed 
over to the Commissioners, and a subsidy paid for the 
expense of the fortnightly meetings and the Shows gene- 
rally. The Council feeling that the vote of the last 
meeting was one of want of confidence, resigned in 
a body. It was then found that they had no power to ! 
do so, and some alterations in the bye-laws, to meet the i 
emergency, are proposed. Although we have long felt ! 
the want of a real appreciation of the true interests of i 
horticulture, yet we are thoroughly alive to the diffi- • 
culties with which they have to contend ; and we trust j 
that at this period of difficulty conciliatory feelings will ; 
prevail, so that the Society may emerge from the crisis 
established on a better basis, and that it will become 
more truly what it ought to be — the central body of 
practical and scientific horticulture in the world. 
MANLEY HALL. 
No lover of plants can have noticed the advertisements 
which have during the autumn and winter months ap- 
peared in the horticultural papers, announcing the dis- 
persion of this most valuable collection, without a deep 
feeling of regret, similar to that with which we see the 
scattering of some world-famed collection of pictures or 
books. Mr. Mendel has been for so long a time known 
as one of the most munificent patrons of horticulture, 
and his unrivalled collection has been so liberally thrown 
open to the public, that no subject has been amongst 
horticulturists more deeply lamented than the sale which 
is to take place next month. It was only last year that we 
ourselves were made acquainted with its treasuures, but 
being at Manchester on the occasion of the great Whit- 
suntide Exhibition, we took the opportunity, by the kind 
permission of the owner, to go through the vast range 
of houses in company with the able and intelligent gar- 
dener, Mr. Fetch, under whose care it was. As we went 
through house after house, through marvellous collections 
of Orchids, stove and greenhouse plants, through hardy 
and exotic ferneries, where nature had been most closely 
imitated, and then through ranges of fruit-houses, &c., 
we were fain to acknowledge that what a very eminent 
horticulturist had said to us before going there was 
true — “ Take the three largest places you have ever seen, 
and you can put them into Manley Hall.” And it was not 
merely size that marked it, but everything was well 
done : the plants were clean and healthy, and many of 
them of such dimensions as are not often seen. We 
shall w'atch with interest the account of the sale, of 
whose magnitude some notion may be formed from the 
fact that it will require a fortnight for its completion, 
and which will doubtless draw to it the most eminent 
cultivators both of the United Kingdom and the Conti- 
nent of Europe. 
REVIEW. 
T/ie Gladiolus: its History, Cultivation, and Exhibition , 
By the Rev. II. H. Dombuain, B.A. L. Reeve & Co. 
This little brochure — the first, we believe, of a series — 
from an experienced and jH’actical hand, will be a most 
acceptable boon to the growers and lovers of flowers, 
containing as it does in a small compass and at a small 
price just that precise information which we often long 
for but do not know where to find. Frequently might 
the failure and disappointment which too often follow 
the efforts of the grower, especially the amateur, be con- 
verted into success and gratification by a little know- 
ledge at the right time. This is just what is supplied as 
regards the Gladiolus in the manual before us. The first 
chapter gives a brief history of the plant as a cultivated 
flower, w'hich, as such, is comparatively modern. The 
second treats of culture, and contains minute and valu- 
able directions as to soil, planting, treatment, culture of 
offsets, raising seedlings, and harvesting the corms. The 
third gives useful hints for exhibiting. The fourth treats 
of disease, its causes and remedies. The fifth describes 
the character of a good Gladiolus; and the sixth fur- 
nishes hints for the choice of sorts, and concludes with 
three full lists; the first enumerating those suitable for 
exhibition ; the second, choice sorts for cultivation ; the 
third, cheap showy flowers for the border. — F. L. S. 
