April 5, 1894. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
257 
The Society and the Palace authorities are each (as it seems to 
me) making a liberal offer to those interested in fruit growing in 
this country, and if they are unwilling to accept it at the cost of 
£100 worth of subscriptions, gathered from all concerned, I fear 
it will be a long while before an offer of similar liberality will be 
made.—W. Wilks, Sec. E.H.S. 
As a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society who is such 
because a devoted admirer of scientific and practical horticulture, I 
have been greatly pained to read the intimation conveyed in your 
columns that the Council of the Society propose so far to depart 
from their proper functions as guardians of the honour and 
interests of horticulture as to ally the Society with a trading 
company in a purely speculative object, that of promoting a 
great fruit show, towards the expenses of which the Council bind 
themselves to furnish from the Society’s funds the sum of £100. 
Granted the sum is not large and the risks few, yet there remains 
the undoubted fact that the Royal Horticultural Society is playing 
down low with the money of the Fellows in the interests of a 
mere trading company, not so far as I can see in the interests of 
horticulture, but rather to endeavour to gain Jcudos with some of 
its trade and exhibitor supporters. 
What are the presumed objects of the Society ? They are to 
develop horticulture scientifically and practically in every legitimate 
way, as is done at the regular meetings of the Society, through its 
publications, which are excellent, and through the gardens at 
Chiswick, where at the present moment not £100 but £500 are 
badly needed for placing every department ia complete efficiency. 
How will the holding of a competitive Fruit Show help to either 
of these ends ? To that question I should like to have a reply. 
I am told that a great Fruit Exhibition at the Crystal Palace 
will help to promote that important branch of horticulture known 
as fruit culture. The Crystal Palace Company held such shows 
for many years, but I have yet to learn that any other result 
followed than that certain traders found these shows to be excellent 
advertisements, and that exhibitors, chiefly well-to-do gardeners, 
who think, so far as it presents itself to me, far more of the 
dollars than of horticulture, managed to pick up profitable prizes. 
Is it not really from this class has come the cry for the resusci¬ 
tation of the autumn fruit shows ? and do they not hope, should 
the Show take place, to get a good portion of the £300 prize 
money it is purposed to offer ? Where the carcases are there will 
be the vultures gathered together, and already do I hear the cries 
of the creatures resounding in my ears, perhaps metaphorically, 
as they quarrel and contend for the spoil. 
Very likely you will think I am somewhat strong in my 
language, but then I am a horticulturist pure and simple, a lover 
of what is good and beautiful in it. I am not influenced by any 
mercenary considerations ; and as a Fellow of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society I am such just because I am what I have described 
and no more. 
Look at the magnificent shows held in the Temple Gardens 
every year, some of the finest expositions of horticultural produce, 
especially florally, ever seen anywhere. There is no flavour of 
trading association there and no contentious grabbing for prize 
money. Nothing can, I think, be more honourable to all concerned 
in the creation of these fine shows than that it should all he done 
from pure love, and not for gain. Then there are our ordinary 
meetings ; look at the displays made at these of all sorts of pro¬ 
ducts, and where the ring of the prize dollar is not now heard. 
What but love for horticulture and wish to promote the welfare of 
the Society creates these ? Look even at the noble because purely 
gratuitous work done by the Committees of the Society. See how 
the members gather meeting after meeting to perform the useful 
and important functions they have undertaken at considerable 
personal cost without fee or reward, and almost without thanks. 
With so much of the great work of the Society so admirably per¬ 
formed without pecuniary consideration, why should the Council 
propose from out of the very moderate funds of the Society 
to take up the work of promoting a trade exhibition at the Crystal 
Palace which the Company has thought proper to drop, because 
as a trading speculation, on the part of the Company, it was a 
failure ? 
It is against any such improper diversion of the funds of the 
Royal Horticultural Society, to which, as a humble member, I 
contribute, as do many others that I enter this protest. I may, after 
all, be but as one crying in the wilderness. That is usually the lot 
of the prophet who has a soul above mercenary considerations. I 
can very well imagine that this protest will raise a chorus of 
opposition. £300 is, in these hard times for exhibitors, an 
attractive sum ; it is valuable prey. No doubt if the extra £100 
needed be furnished from outside the Society, the Show will be 
held ; but when it has been, and all is over, what will the Council 
have to show but that they sp3Lt £100 ia prizes for fruit at the 
Crystal Palace ? and that is all. As for any horticultural good 
resulting, that will be absolutely nil.—A F.R.H.S. 
[The view of the question as presented by our correspondent 
did not occur to us when penning the note on page 220. It is all 
the same a legitimate view, and he is entitled to present it, while 
Fellows of the Society who may entertain different opinions are 
equally entitled to express them. Perhaps the Society would not 
object if nurserymen were to collect £100 and exhibitors a similar 
amount, and in this way meet the objection ; but then again the 
showmen might object. We can only repeat that we sho°uld like 
to see a Fruit Show promoted by the Royal Horticultural Society, 
and held at the Crystal Palace in the autumn.] 
LAWN MOWERS, 
Amongst the inventions modern ingenuity has brought to the 
gardener’s aid, not any, I think, have so great a bearing on the 
labour department as the lawn mower. Very much a matter of 
fact is it with the rising generation who have not heard the 
musical sweep of the scythes wielded in the early morn by some 
half dozen mowers, led by an old skilled hand, step by step forming 
a diagonal line of march across “ the dew besprinkled lawn,” taking 
time by the forelock. “Mow brothers, mow ; the dew dies fast,” 
was the incentive to accomplish a certain feat before breakfast, 
when the scythes were hung up for the day. 
With some of the new pattern lawn mowers there appears but 
little, if any, room for further improvement either in the quality 
of the work or the ease and rapidity with which they perform it; 
the latter an important consideratiou for man or beast. For a man 
who furnishes the motive power for a hand machine during a day 
of ten hours continued for several days of the week, it is but 
justice and mercy to see that he is provided with all the benefits 
of modern improvements which tend to minimise the laborious 
duty, for unlike the scythe, the new order of things carries on the 
work through “ the heat and burden of the day.” And it is, too, 
to that man’s interest, not only to push his machine from morn till 
eve, hut by a little wholesome inquisitiveness make himself 
acquainted with the mechanism, and by so doing pay those little 
attentions to his fellow worker, to their mutual benefit. He who 
does this, and he who does not, means much either way to “ the 
gaffer.” It is not agreeable to have a man march up to you, 
propelling the implement reversed, saying, “ Gaffer, she won’t work 
no more, there’s something wrong inside. See how she squeaks, 
and I’m kilt a pushing her. She’s done, you’ll have to get a new 
one.” Nor does it add to your complacency to find the man in 
trouble has replenished his oil feeder from your Fir tree oil can, 
which I have experienced, and on one occasion had a strong 
suspicion that a tin of oak varnish had been doing the same duty. 
One feels reluctant, from obvious reasons, to glorify any special 
make or maker, motives of delicacy leading us to err on the right 
side. Nor will I say what extent of lawns we have to keep, for 
the simple reason that I do not know, but it is a matter of surprise 
to inquiring minds that two 16-inch machines are able to do it. 
On hills and slopes at the mountain foot, showing its toes in the 
granite cropping up, horse-power mowers are practically out of 
the question, which, with their weight proportionate to greater 
strength required, have the advantages of rolling and consolidating 
the level stretches of lawn to which they are best suited. Oft- 
times with these, the pilot, to save after trouble, is tempted to 
steer close—too close—to specimen trees, and not infrequently is 
evidence to be seen of this in scars which are not honourable ones. 
Taking thought of the amount of work done by lawn mowers 
generally, large or small, and the admirable manner in which they 
keep the lawn, “ all shaven and shorn ” when running smoothly in 
perfect order, any little attention to keep them so may be 
ungrudgingly given, for they require something more than the 
periodical oiling, supposing that to be properly done. Twice at 
least during the season they should be taken to pieces and cleaned, 
and when the work of the year is over and they are put to rest, 
let it not be “ out of sight and mind ” under a bush or in the 
corner of some damp shed. I find it a good plan to take them 
all apart, conscientiously removing all screws, whether appearing 
necessary at the time or not, and give the whole anatomy a hot 
bath with plenty of soda and softsoap in it, scrubbing each piece 
and thoroughly drying all. 
To a novice, the diagrams usually supplied with the machines 
render refixing tolerably easy, though care must be taken that 
nothing goes astray. All parts are essential ; needless to say that, 
I suppose, but I think of one occasion when the job was done by 
deputy, and well done too to outward appearance, only “ She 
wouldn’t work.” The reason given was, “ Well, I’m sartin sure 
there’s no more to go in, unless one o’ they little wheels went 
