232 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March ?8, 
cula; if very light, Suckling Clover and Lotus coraiculatus minor, 
or even Yarrow if very sandy, and for shady places Poa nemoralis 
sempervirens. The chief thing is to procure clean fresh seeds and 
sow plenty of them. Parsimony in lawn-making is a certain verifi¬ 
cation of the adage, “ penny wise and pound foolish.” Three 
bushels of seed per acre is a proper quantity, but it is better to 
err on the side of too much rather than too little seed.—G. Abbey. 
royal horticultural society. 
THE NEW HALL—EXHIBITIONS. 
, ** scarcely necessary to say that this note has reference to the 
building hired by the Royal Horticultural Society for its committee 
meetings and shows during the ensuing summer. Mr. Smee says 
though the Ha'l may not be everything that could be wished, it is 
near the Army and Xavy Stores, which large numbers of people 
frequent. It is a much finer building than its name of Drill Hall 
implies. Many, if not the majority of volunteer drill halls, are 
cold, bare, comfortless-looking, if not repellant structures, with 
Ravelled floors, dirty walls, and corrugated iron roofs. The Hall 
in question is very different, and no objection can be taken to it in 
any of those respects. It is a well-finished imposing building, not 
devoid of architectural ornamentation—in fact as far as regards 
appearance it is not easy to see how any fault can be found 
with it. 
It ^ a very large and lofty building, with galleries round, the 
roof being partly of w’ood—boarded—and partly of glass, the 
former perhaps predominating. On a bright day there will be 
^ flower show, and the hall will probably not be 
‘ like a furnace ” in summer ; but on dull days it is questionable if 
the light will be all that could be desired ; and in winter the 
building, which is not heated, will be too cold for plants and 
visitors. 
It is not perhaps so large as the conservatory at South Ken¬ 
sington, yet there appears even more room in it for furnishing with 
exhibits, because a large amount of space is permanently occupied 
in the conservatory with Palms and other ornamental trees and 
plants. These have formed a splendid background to whatever 
may have been arranged on the tables in the wide central promenade. 
A show, therefore, in the hall cannot be made so attractive as in 
the conservatory, though wuth an adequate number of large plants 
Iho hall could, no doubt, be made to present a beautiful appearance ; 
and if cultivators, both trade and amateurs, were to unite, and put 
forth anything like their best efforts, an exhibition would be pro¬ 
duced W'orthy of the most exalted and extensive patronage that 
could be bestowed upon it. 
When a great revival was attempted in 1875 such firms and ex- 
hibitors as Messrs. Veitch, Williams, Bull, Turner, A. Paul & Son 
W. Paul, Lee, Osborne, Cutbush, Standish, Wills, Laing, Barr 
Morse, Wimsett, with many other florists and private gentlemen' 
joined in producing a show gratuitously, and that will not be soon 
forgotten by those who witnessed it. Death has been active since 
then, and time has wrought many changes, yet if the same disposi¬ 
tion exist now as then and united aetion be taken on the same lines 
a splendid exhibition would be the result, and one that ought to 
command wide attention. Will horticulturists, amateurs and 
professionals, join in friendly rivalry, as in the past ? If a showin.^ 
policy IS to be carried out it must be carried out on a broad base 
and liberal lines if the multitude is to be attracted and “ funds 
procured for the maintenance of the Chiswick Garden.” Unless 
greater exertions are made in the future than in the immediate past 
the so-called “ fortnightly shows ” M'ill be “ lost ” in the hall, the 
public cannot be impressed wuth the gatherings, and whatever of 
awakened interest may be created cannot perhaps be sustained. 
But something more than shows appears to be required to make 
shows profitable. When Royalty has vouchsafed its patronage on 
some past occasions there has been no lack of followers. The 
shows have been crowded ; but in the absence of some great 
personage they have been sparsely attended, and when prizes have 
been offered and the money paid there has been no profit, but the 
reverse, on the undertakings. Mr. Smee seems to base his calcula¬ 
tion of the Westminster Shows strengthening the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society financially on the fact of £50 being taken as gate 
money in Finsbury Circus for the exhibition of a “ few sickly 
plants grown in the City. But did not a Royal Princess distribute 
the prizes to the humble growers on that occasion ? and did not the 
people flock to see Her Royal Highness and the ceremony so graee- 
fully performed ? If that is so, and it was so on at least one 
occMion, the Finsbury result can be no criterion of the attendance 
at Westminster unless a member of the Royal Family attends there 
’ i it probability of that honour being conferred ? 
It not the Finsbury example is deprived of its force. 
Further, the promoters of the Finsbury Circus Show of sickly 
plants had a definite and to a very large extent charitable object in 
view—the encouragement of window gardening amongst the humble 
occupiers of dreary homes in the slums of the East End of London. 
This appealed directly to the sympathies of the kindly disposed 
who were willing and anxious to aid in the good work. The wonder 
is that under the circumstances not more than £50 was taken on the 
occasion. 
As evidence of the influence of an appeal for charitable pur¬ 
poses affecting the takings at a flower show, perhaps another 
example may be worth adducing, and one which comes nearer home 
to the Royal Horticultural Society. This, moreover, affords,, 
according to Mr. Smee’s line of argument, stronger evidence in 
favour of shows at Chiswick being profitable than does the Finsbury 
case as presaging an inflow of wealth at AVestminster. Since the 
sickly plant show was held in the east a healthy plant show was 
provided in the west. The district was then, and is now, much 
more sparsely populated than the other ; indeed, it is considered by 
some persons to be so “ far away ” that “ nobody will go.” The 
Show now in question was held in the Royal Horticultural Society’^s 
Garden at Chiswick. Its cost was far greater than the eastern 
affair, and at the least ten times more money was provided for 
prizes, yet after all costs had been met, and all prize money 
paid, nearer £100 than £50 was handed to one of the London 
hospitals. Admitting the full influence of charity in both cases, 
and remembering there was the enormous weight of Royalty to 
drav money in the east and not in the west, Mr. Smee, with his 
great reasoning power and terse method of expression, could have 
no great difficulty in showing by induction that exhibitions at 
Chiswick would prove a source of revenue to the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society. 
Considering all the circumstances of the case, and taking into 
account the teachings of past experience, the acting Committee (of 
which Mr. Smee is one of the most distinguished members, also !t 
member of the Council, and one of the few gentlemen, therefore, 
on whom rests a double responsibility), will perhaps see the desira¬ 
bility of endeavouring to secure the patronage of persons of high 
official or popular rank to the shows that are to be held. If the 
first could be opened by the Lord Mayor, or by some gentleman of 
eminence and horticultural sympathies, as Mr. J. Chamberlain, the 
attention of the inhabitants of the great metropolis would be 
directed to the Society and its work more effectually than in any 
other manner, and the public would at once find their way to the 
hall in which their presence is desired. Much more than the £200, 
as suggested by Mr. Smee, might then be expected to be taken at 
the Westminster shows during the year. And, it may be observed, 
that much more will have to be taken before any material sum in 
the form of “ gate money ” is disposable for the maintenance of 
the Chiswick garden. The cost of shows that will be of sufficient 
importance to insure a large attendance of visitors can scarcely be 
expected to fall short of £100 during the season, and as the rent of 
the hall is £100, Mr. Smee’s hoped-for takings are disposed of at 
once. If, however, an even balance, or nearly so, could be arrived 
at, and at the same time the shows should materially increase the 
number of Fellows, the hall would then not be a failure, but, on the 
contrary, the policy adopted would, as all hope, be a gratifying 
success. 
Turning to Chiswick, Mr. Smee believes it will be advisable to 
have a few meetings in the summer in the gardens there. Many 
persons will be delighted to find that is a tenet in the belief of so 
influential a representative of the government of the Society. 
Chiswick has been woefully neglected for a long time. It was 
practically abandoned during the years of the general exhibitions at 
South Kensington, commencing with the Fisheries, and until now. 
Is it not a matter of common report that the gardens were not even 
visited by the President and Council during the whole of that time 
and longer ? But a new spirit has arisen since the garden was seen 
to be in danger of slipping away ; and the country has only to be 
convinced that the Royal Horticultural Society is determined to 
pursue its true functions largely through the agency of Chiswick 
to receive the support of hundreds of persons who have held aloof 
through want of confidence, or in other words because they felt 
there was nothing to support. The Society must be something 
more than the shadow of ornamental personages—it must be the 
substance of real horticultural work to merit the support of the 
horticultural community. The portals are opened wider now, and 
what is more, the Council is taking the public into its confidence by 
making known the official decisions on questions as they arise. 
That step can scarcely fail to meet with general approval, and 
eventually to bring an accession of Fellows as soon as it is per¬ 
ceived that real and earnest action is pursued on lines in accordance 
with their professional instincts. There is no doubt that a great wave 
of reaction has set in, the sleeping spirit of horticulture is awakened 
and only financial power is needed to float the Society to prosperity. 
