110 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 11, 1886. 
fora beautiful collection of Primula fl >w;rs and p’ant' representing the 
clio’ce Swinl-.y varieties, b >th single and double. Fron the S >eiety's 
girlen cmie a group of Primula raalvi crisp', a variety with s'ngle white 
11 >ws's aui curled f>'ia;e. Mr. J. Jamas, Woodside, Furnham, sent two 
Oinerarii', ver/ due vari ties, richly col wed ; and Mr. Woolford, gardener 
t > H. Palm t. E<q., E ist Th rrpe, Raading, hid so ne fine crimson Primu'as 
named Mr-. Pal ner. 
Mr. T. S. Ware, HPe Farm, Tott nlaam, was adjudged a silver Banks'an 
medal f rr an interesting group of ba-dy p ants, compriung Cycla neas, Inses, 
Galauthu, and Crocuses C/c am ms Coum album, rosetim Atkinsi, 
pjrpureum and album were w 11 represented by specimens in pant about 
9 inches in dia neter. Iris reticulita aid its variety K'elagei were v ry 
attractive. C-ocus lmperati and the variety lo.igiflora were good, the latter 
deeper rosy crimson in c >1 rur. The charming white Narcissus monophvllus 
was excellent. Messrs. Birr <fc Sin, Cov nt Garden, showed a sm ill collec¬ 
tion o; Helle ior s, varieties of orientilis, abchasious and guttatus anl 
colchicus, dark and light, the la’ter with da ,- k spits. A few Cyclamens of 
the C. iberic im, C. C >u n, aud C. Atkinsi were also staged with two grand 
pans of Galanthns E wesi, the flowers viry large and b'autiful. Messrs. 
Collins Brothers ife Gabriel, 39, Waterloo R >al, London,S.E., had a beautiful 
collection of Narcissi, comprising twenty-four varieties of the most diverse 
form and size. They had been g own in pots in a frame, and were as fresh 
as could be wished. O wing to their earliness they attracted much atten¬ 
tion. Some of the best va i»ties were Princeps,creamy sepals, yel ow tube; 
moscliitus. white ; bic/o' Horsfieldi, white sepals, yellow tube ; obvalla is, 
golden yellow, beautiful form; incomparabilis plenus, double orange and 
white; triandrus, a charming diminutive cr'amy y el low flower; Corbularia 
citrina, Graeisi, and a’ba, three pretty varieties of Hoop Petticoat Narciss ; 
pallida p seeox. one of the earliest of all tbe D.iifolils; maxiui is, very large 
and bright golden y dlow, A few Larheualias and Gaiauthus Eiweai served 
to brigaten the col'ection, for which a silver Banksian medal was 
awarded. 
Mr. C. Turner, Slough, was awarded a bronze Banksian medal for a 
group of strongly grown white Oyc'amens, the flowers of which were very 
large aud of g-eat grpjs anc •• A si nilar award was adjudg'd to Messrs. 
Heithifc Son, Caelt onha n, f or a group of Odontoglossu n fioezii and. the 
variety alba, exc.e'lingly well grown plants, bearing Bevsral spikes each. 
Soms plants of a species of Fious we e also sent by Messrs. H :ath, the 
leaves elliotical and dark green. A silver Banksian medal was awarded 
to the St. George’s Nursery Company for a large and handso ne group of 
Cyciamsns, exceedingly well-grown plants, most varied in colour, rich, deli¬ 
cate, and pu e white. 
FLINTS CERTIFICATED. 
Cattleya TriancB Schroderianu (Ballantine).—A magnificent Orchid, one 
of tie grandest Cattleyas yet obtained. Sepals aud petals faintly tinged 
with pink, the petals 3.i inches in diameter, the lip 2} across, brilliant 
crimso l with a yello w throat. The plant shown had twenty-one flowers. 
GMleyi Triaioe Ernes'A (R. J. Mnsures, Esq.) —A lovely variety, the 
sepals narrow, blush-tinted ; the petals broader, similar in colour, hut tipped 
with crimson ; the lip of a most intensely rich crimson at the upper half, 
wh't' or blush towards the base. 
Iris reticulita cyanea (W are).—This chiefly differs in the flowers being 
smaller than Iris reticulata, with more blue colouring. 
Primula floribunda (Ware).—A charming little Primula. The flowers 
bright yellow, small, in umbels about C inch.s high. Ye-y pretty and fret- 
flowering. 
Gaiauthus Elioesi (Barr & Son, and T. S. Ware).—A beautiful Snowdrop, 
one of the best in cultivatim. Tne inner divisions of the perianth are white, 
green at the base, and green streaks on the inner surface ; the outer divisions 
are white, large, oval, and sp eading sometimes as much as 1 inch in 
diameter. 
Arump ihestinum (Heath & Son).—A curious species, with leaves some¬ 
what like the common Arum ; th: spatla; about 7 inches long, dark maroon, 
and the spid ; x about the same length, quite black. This is the plant which 
has gained the title of the “ Crimson Calla ” in the United States. 
THE LITE MR, JOHN ROBSON. 
I REG-ret to see in the Jourml an account of the death of my friend 
Mr. John Robson, and can testify to the accuracy of the well-merited 
eulogium therein passed upon him. I hive had the pleasure of his friend¬ 
ship for the past twenty years, and in my opinion it would be difficult to 
fiii a more genial or kindhearted man, and one who was more beloved 
anl reapedsd by all acqnaiuted with him. It was in connection with the 
Maidstone Gardeners’Society where I aud many others best knew his 
worth. It was mainly through his administrative ability and wise counsel, 
ns well as co-operating with su'h well-known men as Mr. Davis at the 
cemetery, who is not inaptly termei the father of the' Society; Mr. 
Bradley, late of Preston Hall ; the late Mr. Tkomrs Frost, nurseryman ; 
Mr. Harrison, seedsman, and others that the Society has been raised to 
one of the best and one of the most useful in the country. It was a 
pleasure to be present at a meeting when he was chairman and hear him 
u if old his practice and ideas in such a lucid manner of whatever subject 
was brought before him for discussion. He was particularly happy when 
it was a young gardener who sought his advice, and if he cou’d not then 
devote tbe time to fully go into the matter and send him home happy, that 
man might be confident of a communication by letter giving him the 
best advice in his power. He was a well learned man in all matters con- 
nec ed with gardening, especially in the designing for ground work, also 
his sound and true judgment of the effect of different landscapes, the 
effect aud influence of different soils on the growth of timber trees, the 
geological formation of the earth in different parti of tbe country and its 
influence on vegetation, were hi s favourite topics of conversation; and 
he has more than once rem irked to me that he hoped to live long enough 
to see young gardeners take more interest in ground work, a knowledge 
of which he found young men as a rule lamentably deficient. H's pre- 
dicti >n was that such knowledge would bring ah rat more stability and a 
better understanding between employer and employe*. He was a man of 
noble mind and thought, and always upheld his profession in a true and 
manly way, aud one whose example many would do well to imitate.— 
T. Record. 
The announcement of the death of this gentleman in last week’s 
Journal would be read with great regret by many friends besides myself. 
It has been mv privilege to know him as a most kind friend, and part of 
the time—1872 to 1875—as a master. In the ten years following that 
t'me in pursuit of knowledge and experience I moved to various parts 
of the country, and had several masters, but never afterwards did I meet 
with his equal. He was kind and encouraging to young men under him, 
anl watchful of their interests afterwards. His store of knowledge was 
very great, and was a 1 ways at the service of his humbler brethren, and 
e-pe nally his young men ; indeed nothing seemed to give him so much- 
pleasure as helping others by advice and information. 
Moet of the readers of our Journal will remember bis contributions to 
its pages up to the time he was laid aside by illness, and was obliged to 
resign his situation in consequence. His articles were always so full of 
sound instruction and common sense, because written from practice and 
personal experience. At that time the gardens at L ; n on were especially 
noted for their fine collection of hardy plants, flowering trees, and shrubs, 
in which he took great interest, and also in the splendid collection of 
Conifer®, which are still to be seen. He also to >k espec’al interest in the 
fo matioa and management of the Maidstone Gardeners’ Mutual Improve¬ 
ment Association, and acted as Chairman of its meetings for a long period. 
Many are the useful and practical lessons he taught the members, and in 
th s sense his place at the meetings has never since been filled. The 
rue nbers showed their appreciation of his services by presenting him 
with the handsome gold watch and chain alluded to in your last issue. 
L iter on he also very largely assisted in the management of the Broughton 
and Linton Society, which was formed on mu;k the same plan as the 
parent aDd larger one at Maidstone. 
A man of such experience and ability was certain to make many 
friends, and what is more, he Dever lost them afterwards, but was very 
much esteemed by all classes in the neighbourhood, which was con¬ 
clusively shown by the splendid testimonial presented to him on resigning 
his arduous charge at Linton, also referred to in your last number. His 
was a useful and well-spent life, in which every opportunity was seized 
of doing good to others—a kind husband, a good father, and a firm and 
faithful friend, he set an example for us all to follow.— W. H. Divers,. 
Ketton Hall. 
UNITED HORTICULTURAL BENEFIT AND PROVIDENT 
SOCIETY. 
The annual meeting of this excellent and flourishing Institution,, 
which has been established twenty years, was held on Monday evening 
last in the Society’s room at the Caledonian Hotel, Strand, London, 
Mr. Richard Dean, one of the honorary members, presiding. The Chair¬ 
man, in opening the proceedings, adverted in appropriate terms to the 
great usefulness of the Society, testified to the admirable manner in 
which it is conducted, and expressed his strong conviction that if the 
advantages offered were fully appreciated by gardeners that the accession 
of members, great as it has been during the past few years, would be still 
greater. In that expression of opinion we join. It should be stated that 
no pecuniary interest whatsoever is derived by the directorate, the only 
subsidy granted being the balance that there may happen to be in favour 
of the Society in the management fund, and this is granted to the 
Secretary as a small recognition of his valuable services, the amount this 
year being £5 7s. 9d. When it is considered that every one of the 
169 members is provided with a separate balance sheet annually, showing 
the exact amount that is banked to his credit, apart from the ordinary 
routine of book-keeping under the three separate heads—Benefit Fund, 
Benevolent Fund, and Sick Fund—it will be conceded that it is quite 
incommensurate with the services rendered as estimated on a strict com¬ 
mercial basis. Mr. McElroy, in fact, works not for gain, his chief reward, 
as he stated in his modest response to the enthusiastic vote of thanks 
accorded, being the luxury of being able to grant relief in sickness, and 
to minister to tbe pressing needs of the widows and fatherless in the time 
of sorrow that they may be called to endure. According to the rules of 
the Society he is entitled to a more adequate recompense, but this is 
waived in the interests of the members. 
Although the constitution of the Society has been previously described 
in these columns, its main features may fittingly be recapitulated as 
reminders to old and as information worthy of the attention of new 
reaiers. Th : s cannot be more concisely given than in a few citations 
from the rules. First we observe that— 
“ In this Society there are no entrance fees or fines for non-payment of 
subscription. Rule 14 especially should be noticed. 
‘‘No fund is provided for funeral money, as every member provides for 
this event by investing Ms own capital at interest. See Rule 16. 
“ Attention is particularly called to the Benevolent Fund. See Rule 18. 
This rule should be carefully read in order to appreciate the many benefits 
to be derived.” 
From the table of contributions and benefits we find that for insuring 
10s. 61. per week for twenty-six weeks members pay to the Sick and 
Deposit Fund 2s. annually, to the Benevolent Fund 2s. annually, and to 
the Management Fund 2s. 6d. annually. For insuring 16s, weekly the 
payments are 3s., 2s., and 2s. 63. respectively. 
