July 1«, 189L J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
39 
A number of plants of the new Achimenes Rosy Queen must have 
impressed the charm of this variety on all visitors. It is distinct 
from all others of the genus, tloriferous, chastely effective, and 
destined to find its way into all gardens in which Achimenes can 
Be grown. 
In the grounds all kinds of half-hardy annuals are on trial, but 
time is needed for their development. Seedling Verbenas, however, 
forced themselves on attention by their extraordinary vigour 
and fine trusses of flowers. Though planted 2 feet apart in rows 
3 feet asunder they were fast covering the space by their luxuriant 
stems. The plants were raised from seed in February, and were 
being grown in blocks of separate colours, such as scarlet, white, 
purple, and others. It was surprising to see how “ true ” they had 
come to the parentage ; they are, however, most attractive in 
mixture and afford any number of sweet flowers for cutting. 
Seeing how easily the plants can be grown from seed Verbenas 
must come back to our gardens. Carnations from seed were 
affording a bountiful supply of beautiful flowers. 
A new annual (Nemesia) was flowering that appeared quite 
distinct. The plants were about a foot high, with a Dianthus-like 
habit of growth, and producing trusses of orange red flowers about 
half an inch across, the colour reminding somewhat of the old 
Diplacus glutinosus, but varying in different plants. This 
Nemesia promises to be an acquisition to summer flowers, readily 
obtained from seed. But in view of a journey ahead this call on 
the way must close, however great the temptation to linger in the 
trial grounds and pick up hints worth having from the attendant 
'experts.—F enn’s Pupil. 
THE GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVOLENT 
INSTITUTION. 
We have pleasure in giving a full report of the principal speeches 
that were delivered on the occasion of the fifty-second anniversary 
Festival of this Institution, held on Wednesday evening, 8th inst., 
in the Hotel M^tropole, the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M.P., 
presiding, supported by Lord Stanley of Alderley, Sir J. T. D. Llewelyn, 
Bart., the Revs. Canon Cromwell and W. Wilks, with Messrs. Harry 
J. Veitcb, H. J. Adams, and N. Sherwood; Messrs. Douglas, Cannell, 
Ingram, Munro, and Willard presided at the side tables ; the attendance 
numbered 170 ; the decorations were tasteful, and dessert excellent. 
The toast list was commendably short, and the opinion appeared 
unanimous that a more enjoyable evening had never been spent at any 
previous gathering of the same nature. The Chairman received a great 
ovation, and his speech was anticipated with considerable interest. It 
was a graceful and elegant rather than a powerful oration, was listened 
to with the closest interest, and met with the utmost approval and 
the warmest applause. Mr. Veitch spoke admirably, and, indeed, all 
the speakers acquitted themselves well, though they all felt and 
admitted the overwhelming influence of the Chairman and his highly 
finished method of delivery. 
The Chairman, in proposing the first toast, spoke as follows:— 
My Lord and Gentlemen, I have the pleasure of proposing the health 
of Her Majesty the Queen, their Royal Highnesses the Prince aud 
Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family. I am quite 
sure that it is altogether needless for me to stimulate your loyalty on 
the present occasion ; but I may remind you that the Queen and the 
Prince of Wales are patrons of this Institution, that the Duke of 
Connaught took the chair at one of your previous festivals, and that 
many members of the Royal Family are generous donors to the funds of 
the Institution. The Royal Family have always taken a discriminating 
interest in horticulture, and have always shown a generous consideration 
for those who have pursued it in their service, and hence, I think, their 
names will be fitly commemorated in succeeding generations by the 
flowers and fruits with which they will always be associated. 
The SECRETARY (Mr. George J. Ingram) announced that letters had 
been received from the following gentlemen expressing regret at their 
inability to attend :—Lord Ribblesdale, the Earl of Derby, the Earl of 
Carnarvon, the Lord Mayor, Baron Schroder, Sir Trevor Lawrence, 
M.P., Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, and Mr. Brymer, M.P. 
The Chairman then said : My Lord and Gentlemen, I have now 
the pleasure of proposing (< Continued Success and Prosperity to the 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution.” (Cheers.) Three years ago 
I was honoured with an invitation to be present at a similar ga’hering ; 
but, to my very great regret, at the last moment I was prevented by 
indisposition from putting in an appearance, and I confess I am thankful 
to the Committee for having now given me an opportunity of performing 
what I regard as at once a privilege and a duty. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, 
I suppose we may differ greatly upon many questions, but I think I may 
at least assume that we are all united in our interest in, and our love of, 
horticulture. Under these circumstances I do not need to make any 
defence of our favourite pursuit. It has provided rest for, and brought 
happiness to, many of the greatest and wisest in the land. Statesmen 
have found recreation in it, philosophers have commended it, doctors 
have prescribed it, lawyers have advocated it, and poets have sung its 
praises. The great Lord Bacon, who devoted one of his Essays to the 
subject, said, “ The cultivation of flowers is the purest of human pleasures, 
and a great refreshment to the spirit of man ; ” and he did not think it 
at all beneath his dignity to leave behind him the most careful instruc¬ 
tions as to the formation and planting of a perfect garden. But I 
venture to say that one of the greatest recommendations of our hobby 
in this democratic age is, that it is capable of affording delight to rich 
and poor alike, and that it can with the greatest ease be accommodated 
to the income of the millionaire and to the scanty pittance of the 
humblest labourer. Another statesman, Sir William Temple, has 
written very truly that gardening is at once the pleasure of the 
greatest and the care of the meanest, and a cottage garden is 
capable of affording as much delight to its owner as the finest con¬ 
servatory attached to the lordliest mansion. A new variety of the 
Pansy or the Auricula, reared by the careful skill and the tender 
cire of a village amateur, is to him probably a source of as much 
pride and self-glorification as can be to another the most costly 
exotic or the scarcest Orchid that ever was imported. I claim, there¬ 
fore, for all that concerns the cultivation of flowers that it satisfies 
that love of natural beauty which is inherent in almost every human 
breast, that it cultivates our intelligence and powers of observation, 
and at the same time provides variety and excitement by the constant 
novelty wh : ch resu ts from the attention we give to it. And while it 
does all these good things it is, I believe, the most unselfish of 
pleasures ; for it is enjoyed the most in the largest company, and, 
unlike some other amusements to which the race is prone, ours inspires 
no evil passions, inflicts no pain, and causes injury to no man, either in 
his character, in his health, or in his estate. (Cheers.) 
Gentlemen, under these circumstances, it must be a matter of con¬ 
gratulation to all of us that gardening in all its branches is daily 
increasing in popular favour and attention. Never, I think, before has 
the use of flowers as decorations been so lavishly and extensively 
employed. Flowers may be said to accompany us from our cradle to 
our grave. They adorn our houses, they grace our banquets, and, I may 
be allowed in passing to thank those who have provided so generously 
for the delectation of our eyes and for the gratification of our palates in 
the fruit and flowers shown on these tables. Flowers, I say, adorn our 
houses, they grace our tables, they add a new charm to female loveliness, 
and they do something to relieve the repulsive ugliness of masculine 
apparel (laughter). The interest which is felt in our pursuit is shown 
by the crowds which attend our great horticultural shows ; and we see 
that thereby our principal growers are stimulated to new efforts. Each 
favourite flower in turn is taken in hand and improved and developed, 
while the uttermost corners of the globe are ransacked to find new 
beauties and new varieties. And in connection with all this enterprise 
there is a romantic side to horticulture which perhaps has hardly 
received the attention that it deserves. You all remember how last year 
the whole world felt a common interest in the recital of the difficulties 
which had been undergone in the adventurous progress of that little 
band which penetrated the dark forests of Africa in search of and to 
relieve Emin Pasha ; but I venture to say that there are scores of modest 
explorers whose names are unknown except to a few who undergo 
difficulties as great and encounter dangers as serious as those which 
were happily overcome by Stanley and his followers, animated oniy 
by a love of natural science an I a spirit of enterprise. Tne history 
of many flowers is a record of persistent and courageous achieve¬ 
ments, carried out in face of extraordinary difficulties and labour, 
and unfortunately it is a record which has been made memorable by 
great sacrifices, by loss of health, and in some cases by ioss of life. 
Horticulture, gentlemen, has its heroes and its victims as well as war, 
and it behoves U3 to bear their names in respectful and admiring 
remembrance. And it is not only adven urers who are always seeking 
“ fresh fields and pastures new ” who are deserving of our sympathy 
and gratitude. I have already quoted Sir William Temple. In another 
place he says very truly that in the growth of flowers success is wholly 
of the gardener, and I think you will admit that Without the constant 
care, intelligence, and industry of those who are primarily responsible 
the most lavish expenditure and the most perfect apparatus would be of 
little avail to secure a satisfactory result. How, then, shall we repay 
our debt to those who in this respect have ministered to the pleasure 
and interest of our lives? (Hear, hear.) The profession of a gardener 
is a very interesting one, but at the same time I think we must allow 
that it is not too highly paid. The prizes are few, and the condiciors 
of the life are such that it is hardly possible even for those who are 
most thrifty and most industrious in the profession to make adequate 
provision for all the eventualities of life. I have sometimes thought 
that perhaps the most pathetic position in which a man can be placed 
is when one who has spent a long life in honourable industry finds 
himself as age approaches with diminished capacities, and with ever 
declining resources, face to face with a future which has no bright 
spot, a future which offers to him only the prospect of the poor house 
as a refuge for his old age. Recent inquiries have convinced me that 
this unfortunately is the condition of a large proportion of our working 
class population, and I have thought that the time is come when it is 
urgent that the state Bhould intervene to remove what seems to me a 
blot and a scandal upon our civilisation (cheers). But in the mean¬ 
time worn out veterans in our industrial warfare have their only hope 
in the operations of such a Society as that for which I plead to-night. 
I commend to your generous support the principles of this Institu¬ 
tion. Its object is the relief of the aged and distressed. The subjects 
of its bounty must have passed the age of sixty years, and must have 
spent twenty years of their life at least in a responsible position. 
Preference is giveQ, as it ought to be given, to those who have 
endeavoured to help themselves, and these who have been for a consider¬ 
able time contributors to this Institution, and relief is given in the best 
