February 12, 1891. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
18S 
The Benefit Fund shows that the receipts, includinor the balance for 
last year of £3478 18s. llAd., were £4328 12 j. l^d. The expenditure 
under the same head, including sick pay to thirty-two members, was 
£106, leaving a balance of £4222 43. 9d. 
The Benevolent Fund gives a total under the head Receipts of 
£1566 6s. 5d., including balance in hand from last year of £ 1416 14 4 . 104 i. 
The expenditure was only £5 33. 6d. for a sewing machine given to the 
widow of the late William Back, the balance being £1561 29. lid. 
The Management Fund receipts were £132 2s. 6|1., the balance from 
last year being £21 133. 14d. The exp.-nditure was £103 13s. OJ., 
leaving a balance of £28 Oj.'Ofi. 
The Treasurer’s account shows a balance for last year of 
£134 15s. 1141.. subscriptions of benefit members £621 Os. 01., arrears 
of 1880 £0 15s. Od., and of honorary members £50 17s,, with other 
items amounting to £1036 8s. 6^d. The expenditure included purchase 
of £700 stock, 2J per cent. Consols for £680 16s. 3 1., payments to sick 
members £64 7s. 2d,, to Management Fund £34 10s. 6^1., annual 
dinner expenses £48 13s. 1141., and other items, leaving a balance of 
£75 lOs. 7d. 
Mr. James H. Veitch then rose to propose the adoption of the report 
and balance-sheet, and made a capital speech concerning the work and 
after a member had ceased paying his subscription for a certain periocb 
the interest on his deposit was no longer placed to his account, but 
transferred to the Benevolent F'und. Jlr. Hudson had proposed the 
application of this interest to the Manasement Fund. It was adopted 
and has considerably increased the working power of the Society. In 
regard to the number of members the results were similarly satisfactory,. 
for in 1880 there were only eighty-three on the books, now they were 
rapidly approaching 400, and seventy-four had been elected during the 
past year. The honorary members had similarly increased from seven 
in 1880 to sixty at the present time, with four life members ; and the 
Messrs. Rothschild had not only contributed liberally to the funds but 
had consented to become patrons of the Society. The Chairman next 
pointed out the great and important differences between the United 
Horticultural and ordinary benefit societies. First, the member never 
loses his deposit, even though he ceases paying ; and secondly, the 
interest on his deposit will in time reduce the amount of his subscrip¬ 
tions to a very small sum, or, indeed, extinguish it entirely. It had 
been suggested that under certain restrictions it might be desirable to 
institute a higher scale of contributions—namely, 4s. per month, but 
before that were adopted several details would require consideration,., 
though it might be desirable in some respects. He concluded by 
Fig. 26.-ficus STIPULATA, FRUITING AND BARREN BRANCHES. 
advance of the Society. No one, he said, could doubt from the reports 
they had just heard read that the Society was in an extremely satis¬ 
factory condition, and that it offered great advantages to the members. 
But he added that as Mr. J. Wright, who held the post of Chairman 
last year, gave so exhaustive a summary of the details connected with 
the work and scope of the Society, it was not necessary to dwell upon 
this at any length. There were a few points upon which he would like 
to make remarks, and these referred more particularly to the progress 
effected within the past eleven years. With regard to the Benefit Fund, 
it would be noticed that the balance had increased from about £1000 
to over £4000. It offered advantages over ordinary benefit societies, 
inasmuch as the money not disbursed in sickness accumulated with 
interest, each member’s account being kept separate. One had died 
during the year, his amount of £25 being paid to his widow. The 
Benevolent P’und was largely made up of donations secured at the 
annual dinner, and was of great utility to members, as after they 
reached the age of seventy years a sum could be voted to them 
from this fund ; also, after a member had been in receipt of sick pay 
for tw’elve months a further sum could be voted for assistance. In 
the case of any member dying, too, in necessitous circumstances, 
the widow could be helped from this fund, and they had an example 
of this in the past year, when a sewing machine was presented 
to the widow of one of their late members. A great advance 
had also been made in this fund, as in 1880 the balance was 
just over £700; this year it was over £1500. The Management 
Fund was the weakest part of the Society’s accounts, but that has been 
much improved by a suggestion of the Treasurer’s. It was the rule that 
recommending that all gardeners should give the advantages of the 
Society close consideration, as it was excellent and sound in a 1 its 
respects, and moved that the report and balance-sheet be adopted, 
printed, and circulated. This was duly seconded, and carriedk 
unanimously. 
The next business was the election of four members of the Com¬ 
mittee, with one to take the place of Mr. Chard, who has resigned, and 
only five being nominated the following were duly elected : Messrs. 
G. W. Cummins, Lewis Castle, W. Foreman, C. W. Knowles and 
H. Peerless. Mr. W. Collins was unanimously re-elected Secretary, 
and Mr. J. Hudson Treasurer. Votes of thanks were accorded to the 
Committee, the Auditors, the Horticultural Press, and the Chairman,, 
the latter’s response bringing the proceedings to a conclusion. 
FICUS STIPULATA FRUITING. 
We have received from Algiers a specimen of what is usually known 
as Ficus repens, but which is really F. stipulata, bearing well-developed 
fruits and leaves quite different from the ordinary barren type. It 
comes from Rocher, the original home of the Japanese Chrysanthemum. 
Gloire de Rocher, figured in this Journal last November, and has been 
forwarded to us by Mr. Charles Gibson of Morden Park Gardens. The 
appended illustration (fig. 26) fairly represents its chief characters, but 
was prepared by Mr. Burbidge frjm a plant that fruited in Ireland 
about ten years ago. In the specimen submitted to us the fruits and 
leaves were rather larger than those depicted, and the plant is said ta 
