352 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 22, 1891. 
morning, I got to Longworth in capital time, and was most hospitably 
and heartily receirel by Mr. Prince and his son. 
We commenced at once to look at the Roses, and were soon among 
acres of seedling Briars and tremendously long rows of dwarf Teas. 
My fiist impulse was to try and get an idea of the soil by the feeble aid 
of an umbrella. I need hardly say that after the baking the earth had 
lately had I did not obtain a very deep insight into its nature by this 
means, even when supplemented by Mr. Prince’s walking stick, but it 
seemed to be a deep rich loam (very deep he told me), with a little of 
-tie reddish tint common in those parts and further north. The rent 
was very high I was informed, much higher than I should have imagined 
possible for mere arable land so far from a station. The Roses were of 
■course showing a wealth of bloom ; but, alas ! I was too late to see them 
“ in character,” so much so that sometimes it puzzled all three of us to 
name a plant. But what a quantity of bloom I And how they “ waste 
.their sweetness on the desert air ! ” for, owing to his isolated position, 
Mr. Prince told me he was able to do very little indeed in the way of 
selling blooms, though, as to plants, he had quite a connection even in 
.Spain. Ah ! there is something like sunshine there. I should like to 
see some of his plants in Spain. They could not be less appreciated 
than they seemed to be at Longworth. There were lovely Roses in cart¬ 
loads. We picked a choice specimen, wore it or carried it for a minute 
or two, and then—really terrible !—threw it down to make room for 
another. A very beautiful bloom of Madame Chauvry was the first 
thus to attract attention. This is a strong growing, I suppose a Dijon, 
Tea, and it seems to me one of the most attractive of the race in colour, 
recalling the bright tints of some of the favourite buttonhole varieties. 
Monsieur Furtado, I found, making much better and bigger plants than 
I expected. I forget whether I have ever had it ; at all events I have 
been without it for some time. It is neat, but not big enough, and I was 
-surprised to hear it was still in demand. A whole row of Jean Ducher 
in full bloom was of simple pale yellow, hardly a sign of pink any¬ 
where, even on the overblown flowers. I have never seen it so lightly 
coloured, and should not have recognised it; but perhaps the bright hot 
weather of the previous days and the buds not being thinned had some¬ 
thing to do with it. Marquise de Yivens is a distinct sort, which was 
new to me. The “bright carmine” is a new colour in Teas, and it 
seemed likely to be pretty in the bud state, but of not sufficiently good 
quality for exhibition. Francisca Kruger was beautiful as usual, in 
the summer for show and in the autumn for lovely half-opened buds 
•this is a very favourite Rose with me. Madame de Watteville was 
making much better growth as a dwarf than I can get from it. I wanted 
•to see Madame Pierre Guillot, but forgot to ask for it. Mrs. James 
Wilson was doing well, as it does with me. A friend complains that he 
cannot distinguish it from Marie Van Houtte, but I find it quite distinct 
in colour and shape, and remarkably so in habit. Presently I was shown 
a new Tea Rose, of globular shape and (I am a shocking bad hand at 
describing colour) generally whitish with a rose centre. It was of course 
impossible to judge at that time of its capabilities, but I was much 
interested because Mr. Prince told me he was going to name it “ Miss 
Watson ; ” and I am sure all rosarians will agree that graceful recogni¬ 
tions like this, and the parallel case of Mr. George Paul calling a good 
new Rose after his foreman, Mr. Gater, are pleasing and acceptable to 
all lovers of Roses. 
I need hardly say that Souvenir de S. A. Prince was very much in 
evidence and covered with flowers. Few, if any, I think, will have 
found any deception in the favourable impression this sport from 
Souvenir d’un Ami created at first. I have not seen Mr. W. Paul’s The 
•Queen, but understand that it is admitted to be practically identical. A 
■dew days ago, in the last week of Sept°mber, I was searching for white 
Tea Roses for a wedding and a funeral, and all the largest and finest 
blooms I could find came from this variety. It seems to me to occupy 
the same position to Souvenir d’un Ami as The Bride does to Catherine 
Mermet—viz., as an improvement if anything upon the original. H.P. 
Roses are grown by Mr. Prince in considerable quantity, and principally 
on the seedling Briar. They seemed good plants, but were naturally 
showing but few blooms, and those even more out of character and 
•colour than the Tea Roses. 
After lunch we went to see the seedling stocks, visiting first a con¬ 
siderable area of fine strong plants which bad been budded, and then 
the newly raised ones. Here I was astonished, for I understood that the 
seed in this field had only been sowh a few months, yet the plants were 
apparently big enough to bud ; at all events I have budded smaller 
•ones. The seed is sown in rows, and the plants are then chopped out 
and singled like Turnips. It was a splendid crop, and wonderfully 
•uniform in size, strength, and health ; there was a general sprinkling of 
mildew both here and on the budded stocks. Seedlings always seem to 
me to be more liable to this than cuttings, but not enough to do any 
harm. We pulled a plant or two, and the roots had gone down 
cipitally. 
Scon afterwards we came to the standard Teas. These were very 
■fine, the leaves looking particularly healthy, and I confess I liked their 
appearance better than the dwarfs. But when we came to a low wall, 
there were some really famous plants of Tea9 to be seen. First, and 
above all, I was struck with Princess of Wales. In growth and size of 
bloom Mr. Prince had better specimens of this variety, both on the 
wall and in the open, than any I have seen elsewhere. He had then 
quite as fine examples of it on the wall as any I have had this year, and 
the growth was much stouter and stronger than with me. I kept a good 
look out for Comtesse de Nadaillac, for it is well known that Mr. 
Prince shows this Rose with a deeper yellow shade than anyone else 
can manage. I had heard theories mooted of their being budded on 
Banksiae, and other strange rumours, but I was assured that they were 
all unfounded ; and when I saw a shoot of it against the wall—well, 
quite long enough and thick enough to form a fashionable walking-cane 
—it seemed to me merely the case that the stock, the soil, and the treat¬ 
ment suited the variety uncommonly well. The seedling stock appeared 
to answer particularly well against the wall. Mr. Prince keeps but few 
cut-backs, but I saw some on the seedling stock, and very strong and 
healthy they looked. The plants of Marie Van Houtte were veritable 
bushes. I was surprised to see the union between stock and scion well 
above the ground, and was told that the distance of an inch was 
recrmmended. This, as Mr. Prince’s own advice, is well worth bearing 
in mind. 
On asking how they managed to cut and stage for exhibition so far 
from a station, it wa3 strange to hear that all blooms for show are cut by 
7 A.M. on the day preceding, and placed in water in a large cool barn. 
This may do very well for the Teas, which sometimes in wet weather 
are even the better for keeping, but seems hard upon the less enduring 
H.P.’s. 
I am sadly afraid that in my enthusiasm and anxiety not to mis3 
anything that was to be seen, I rather tired my kind host, who, as his 
friends know, is anything but strong since his accident, but I have to 
thank him for a most pleasant and interesting day, and also for a great 
box of splendid Roses, which excited much admiration at the house 
where I was staying.—W. R. Raillem. 
THE UNITED HORTICULTURAL BENEFIT AND 
PROVIDENT SOCIETY.—ANNUAL DINNER. 
The fifth anniversary dinner of the above-named excellent Society 
was held in the Cannon Street Hotel on Thursiay, October 15th last, 
when there was a large attendance of members and friends to support 
the Chairman, Harry J. Veitch, Esq., who had been called suddenly to 
undertake that office in consequence of the unavoidable absence of 
G. A. Dickson, E=q, of Chester, the appointed Chairman. It is needless 
to say that Mr. Veitch performed the task in an admirable manner, and 
entered as thoroughly into the spirit of this meeting as he invariably 
does at all such gatherings. 
The usual loyal toasts having been honoured, the Chairman proposed 
“ The United Horticultural Benefit and Provident Society,” and in his 
opening remarks referred to the strange fatality that had attended the 
Chairmen at this dinner. Last year Mr. E. R. Cutler occupied the chair, 
but he had since passed away, as also had Mr. Cavendish, who was then 
named as the Chairman for 1891. Mr. Dickson was unable to come 
owing to the serious illness of his mother, and several other gentlemen 
who had been approached were deterred by similar causes. Having 
been called to take the post at so short a notice he (Mr. Veitch) hoped 
they would excuse all shortcomings, but he was always glad to help in 
such matters, and would, therefore, willingly do his best for them. He 
then briefly traced the progress of the Society from its foundation in 
1865, and observed that for some years the Society was engaged in 
doing good work very quietly. In 1885, however, it was felt desirable 
to make the objects and scope of the Society more widely known, and a 
substantial help was rendered in this direction through the Horticul¬ 
tural Press. Since then it had made great progress. In 1883 there were 
only 100 members, in 1887 they had increased to 213 with twelve 
honorary members, while in 1891 the total is 410 with fifty-three 
honorary members, and during the past year sixty-nine benefit members 
have been elected, making the largest total in one year. It may be 
asked, What are the objects and advantages of the Society ? and this 
question could be answered by saying, That it is intended to provide 
assistance to gardeners in time of sickness and old age, that it is abso¬ 
lutely safe, is governed by very comprehensive rules, and offers many 
advantages over all other general benefit societies. Members could join 
between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, and become entitled to full 
benefits after twelve months. The payments are in two series—9d. per 
week to ensure 16s. per week in illness, and 6d. per week to ensure 
10s. 6i. in the same way, full benefit payments being made for twenty- 
six weeks, and after that a reduced rate for an equal period, and then 
urgent cases may be transferred to the benevolent fund. In addition 
to this 3s. and 2s. per year is paid to the benevolent fund and also a 
small annual payment to the management fund. Mr. Veitch then 
referred briefly to the amounts standing to the credit of members, and 
which at their decease had been paid to their widows. He also referred 
to the low rate of sickness, which compared most favourably with other 
societies, and cited from the letter of an actuary to this effect. He 
commented favourably upon the general management and the small 
expenses incurred, and concluded by urging all gardeners to give their 
cordial support to so excellent an institution, which would become 
still more useful as the numbers increased. Several donations were 
announced, including £10 from Mr. G. A. Dickson. 
Mr. Nathan Cole responded briefly on behalf of the Society, and 
Mr. Hudson then proposed the “ Honorary and Life Members and 
Visitors,” and pointed out the good service the honorary members 
rendered the Society, and stated he was glad to find they had the 
sympathy and suoport of so many influential friends, but he hoped 
they would secure the aid of many more. In ten years their members 
had increased from seven to fifty-three, and they could still advance. 
Mr. W. Furze and Mr. Jos. Cheal responded, both commending the 
Society as worthy of all support, and wishing it every success. 
