110 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 10, 1893. 
and others interested in the Society, to exert themselves and obtain new 
Fellows. All who like fruit, plants,and flowers should become connected 
with this Society, which for nearly a century had done so much good. 
Sir Trevor Lawrence remarked that they were also indebted to Mr. 
John Weathers, the Assistant Secretary, who was most indefatigable, 
and always ready to do the work of the Society. He could also say the 
■same of the clerks. As regards Mr. Barron, they all knew the value of 
his services, and were well acquainted with the admirable manner in 
which he carried out his duties at Chiswick. It was also announced 
that complete arrangements had been made with the Directors of the 
Agricultural Hall, Islington, in reference to the Exhibition of horti¬ 
cultural appliances at the end of August. He thought that one of the 
greatest disadvantages in exhibitions of this kind—the testing of exhibits 
—had been overcome, and the Show was likely to be a success. 
During the meeting the scrutineers’ result of the ballot was 
announced, and it was to the effect that Sir John Llewelyn, Bart., the 
Hon. Walter Rothschild, and J. T. Bennett-Poe were elected members of 
the Council. The following officers, in addition to Rev. W. Wilks, 
Secretary, were also re-elected :—Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., President; 
Philip Crowley, Esq., Treasurer ; and Messrs. H. Turner, H. Williams, 
and A. H. Pearson, Auditors. 
Votes of thanks to the Chairman and Auditors concluded the 
proceedings. 
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 1892-93. 
The year 1892 has again been one of steady work and progress for 
our Society. 
Two Conferences have been held at Chiswick—viz., on Begonias and 
on Apricots and Plums. The attendance of Fellows and others at 
these Conferences, as also at the fortnightly lectures in the Drill Hall, 
has continued to be more encouraging than in previous years. Fellows 
would greatly assist the Council by making these meetings and lectures 
better known among the general public. 
Twenty-two fruit and floral meetings have been held in the Drill 
Hall, besides those held at Chiswick, and lectures have been delivered 
at nineteen of them. The number of awards has been as follows :— 
On the recommendation of the Floral Committee, 62 first-class certi¬ 
ficates against 33 in 1891, 156 awards of merit against 183, and 2 
botanical certificates. On the recommendation of the Orchid Committee, 
48 first-class certificates against 34 last year, 72 awards of merit against 
38, 29 botanical certificates against 10. On the recommendation of the 
Fruit and Vegetable Committee, 27 first-class certificates against 6, and 
18 awards of merit against 7 last year. 
The Society’s Great Show held (by the renewed kindness of the Trea¬ 
surer and Benchers) in the Inner Temple Gardens, was as great a success 
as ever, alike in the number of visitors, the quantity and quality of the 
exhibits, and the propitiousness of the elements. The best thanks of the 
Society are due to all who so kindly brought their plants for exhibition 
or otherwise contributed to the success of this Show. 
The Society’s general work of scientific experiment and investigation, 
and of the practical trial of various plants, has been going on steadily 
at Chiswick, under the superintendence of Mr. Barron. Trial has been 
made of 45 varieties of Tomatoes, 12 of Turnips, 79 of Runner Beans, 
66 of Beet, 79 of Vegetable Marrows, edible Gourds, and Pumpkins, and 
80 of Savoys and Cabbages. Eighty-nine new varieties of Potatoes, and 
104 new Peas^have been tested. In the floral department 200 varieties 
of Carnations and Picotees, and 50 of Pinks, 200 Dahlias, 80 Violas, 44 of 
Sweet Peas, 26 bedding Begonias, 324 Phloxes, 500 Pasonies, and 330 
Asters (Michaelmas Daisies) have been tried. The Phloxes, Paeonies, 
and Asters have each had the special attention of a Committee of 
experts both in regard to their proper nomenclature and their value as 
hardy border flowers. The reports of these Committees will, it is hoped, 
be ready for publication during the present year. 
Experiments have also been made with a fruit evaporator, kindly 
presented to the Gardens by Messrs. Mayfartb, and most satisfactory 
and encouraging results have been obtained in the drying of both 
Apples and Plums. 
The Journal of the Society has been continued so as to enable 
Fellows at a distance to enter more fully into and reap the benefits 
of the study and work of those more actively engaged at head¬ 
quarters. Tbe first part of vol.xv. was published early in the year, 
and the second and third parts (now ready for issue) were delayed owing 
to the pressure of work caused by the preparation of the Conifer volume. 
The Conifer Conference report, forming vol. xiv. of the Journal, is a 
work on the publication of which the Society may well be congratulated, 
and the thanks of all the Fellows are due to whose who have so kindly 
contributed to it, and also especially to those on whom the heavy work 
of editing the volume has fallen. 
The Council wish to repeat verbatim one paragraph of their last 
year’s report, which runs as follows ;— 
All these conferences and meetings, and especially the work and 
maintenance of the Chiswick Gardens and the publication of the Journal, 
have involved the Society in a very large outlay, and the Council take 
this opportunity of endeavouring to impress upon Fellows the absolute 
necessity there is for them all individually (as many as have the 
Society’s welfare at heart) to endeavour to secure new Fellows to the 
Society if its work is not only to be continued at its present standard, but 
still more so it the ever-opening and extended opportunities of useful¬ 
ness are to be embraced and accepted. The adoption of £1 Is. as one 
rate of subscription was, no doubt, a popular movement, but the Council 
desire to remind the Fellows that such a low rate of Fellowship can only 
be self-supporting if it draws into the Society a very large number (far 
larger than at present exists) of additional Fellows. The Council, 
therefore, venture to express the hope that every Fellow of the Society 
will make an endeavour to obtain at least one new Fellow during the 
present year. A statement of the privileges of Fellows and of the aims 
and objects of the Society will be found in the Society’s arrangements 
for 1893, page 5. 
The following table will show the Society’s progress in regard to 
numerical strength during the past jear ;—■ 
deaths in 1892. 
Fellows Elected 1892. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
£ s, 
d. 
Life Fellows 
. . 
.. 27 _ 
. 0 
0 
0 
4 Gtuineas. 8 .. 
0 
4 guineas .. 
.. 2 . 
8 
8 
0 
2 „ . 75 .. 
... 157 10 
0 
2 ,, 
.. 18 . 
. 37 
16 
u 
1 " . 291 .. 
... 305 11 
0 
1 „ 
. - 25 .... 
. 26 
5 
0 
Associates. 4 ^ 
... 22 
0 
1.5 1.5 
0 
72 
£72 
9 
0 
— 
391 
£514 10 
0 
Deduct loss . 
.... 236 5 
0 
Eesigna’iions. 
Net Increase in Income ,. 
. £278 5 
0 
£ 
s. 
d. 
— 
4 guineas .. 
. 8 
8 
0 
— 
2 
14 
0 
1 
.. 74 . 
. 77 
14 
0 
391 
Deduct Resignations 
113 
£163 
16 
U 
Deaths . 
*“‘^1 185 
TOr.4LLoSS . 
185 
£236 
5 
0 
Numerical Increase 
206 
The most noticeable feature in last year’s work, b sides the Begonia 
Conference and the issue of the Conifer volume, has been the promulga¬ 
tion of a scheme for the examinitioa of students and others in the 
principles and practice of horticulture, and a scheme is on foot for 
providing scholarships, whereby the most promising students may be 
enabled to pursue their studies in connection with the Society’s Gardens 
at Chiswick or elsewhere. The fi st examinatioa was held in the early 
part of the year at the request of the Surrey County Council, when 
seventy-two candidates presented themselves, with the result that 
twelve passed to the satisfaction of the examiners in the higher grade, 
and seventeen in the lower grade. A second examination will be held 
in May of this year, when it is propasei to extend it to candidates in all 
parts of England. 
In round numbers £1700 ha^ been expended at Chiswick this year 
on the general work, and repairs and keeping up of the Gardens. A 
further sum of about £386 has been laid out in special repairs—viz., 
in the thorough repainting and repair of the great vinery both inside 
and out, and in furnishing a new boiler, &c. The receipts from the 
Gardens by sale of surplus produce amount to £573, making the net 
cost of the Gardens £1514. 
In conjunction with the Lindley Library Trustees, the Society’s 
library has received considerable attention. All serial publications 
have been kept up to date, a large number of valuable volumes have 
been bound, and the following new books, amongst others, added to the 
library—viz.:— 
“ Schweizerisches Pflanzen-Idiotikon.” 
“ Synopsis Muscorum europaeorum.” 
“ Synopsis Filicum.” 
“ The Uses of Plants.” 
“ The Narcissus, its History and Culture.” 
“ The Silva of North America.” 
“ The British Moss Flora.” 
“ Stein’s Orchideenbuch.” 
“ Indische Heil und Nutzpflanzen.” 
“ La Taille des Arbres fruitiers,” and many others. 
The best thanks of the Society are due to all those who, either 
at home or abroad, have so kindly and liberally presented books to the 
Library or plants or seeds to the Gardens. A list of the donors has 
been prepared, and will be found in the Society’s Journal, vol. xv., 
parts 2 and 3, 1893. The Council also wish to express, in their own 
name and in that of all Fellows of the Society, their great indebtedness 
to all who have so kindly contributed, either by the exhibition of plants, 
fruits, flowers, or vegetables, or by the reading of papers, to the success 
of the conferences and fortnightly meetings. 
The papers read at these meetings, most of which have been already 
published in the Journal, are as follows :— 
“ Winter Vegetables,” Mr. W. Iggulden. 
Plants for House Decoration, Mr. John Wills. 
“ The Cultivation of Melons,” Mr. C. Ross. 
“ Daffodils,” The Rev. G. P. Haydon, M.A. 
“ The English Florists’ Tulip,” the Rev. F. D. Horner. 
“ Bulbous Irises,’' Professor Michael Foster, F.R.8. 
“ Hardy Climbers and Creepers,” Mr. W. C. Leach. 
“ Summer Pruning and Training of Fruit Trees,” Mr. A. Young. 
“ The Management of Trees in Parks and Gardens,” Mr. 
W. T. Thiselton Dyer, C.M.G., &c. 
“ Orchids for a Cool House,” the Rev. E. Handley, M.A. 
“ Insect-eating Plants,” Mr. A. J. Manda. 
“ Fuchsias,” Mr. Geo. Fry. 
“ Root-Pruning,” Mr. Geo. Bunyard. 
“ Variation of some Hardy Plants under Cultivation,” the 
Rev. C. Wolley Dod, M.A. 
“ Michaelmas Daisies,” Mr. D. Dewar. 
“ Cycads,” Mr. W. Carruthers, F.R.d. 
“ Fruit Trees in Pots,” Rev. W. Wilks, M.A. 
“ Zonal Pelargoniums for Winter Fowering,” Mr. C. Pearson. 
Jan. 
12 
Mar. 
8 
22 
April 
12 
M 
19 
May 
3 
if 
17 
June 
7 
If 
21 
July 
12 
>t 
26 
Aug. 
9 
Sept. 
6 
f) 
20 
Oct. 
4 
jj 
18 
Nov. 
1 
ft 
15 
