February 14, 1889. J 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
131 
The management fund shows a similarly satisfactory state of things. 
The total receipts for the year amount to £83 6s. 4d., this sum added to 
•the balance in hand in January, 1888—namely, £19 7s. 9d., brings the 
total income to £102 14s. Id. The payments on the other side amount 
to £82 11s. 9d., leaving a balance of £20 2s. 4d. to carry forward. It is 
satisfactory to note that the receipts at the annual dinner amounted to 
£42 9s. 6d., and the expenditure to £35 13s. 3d. But who can venture 
to estimate the value of the publicity given to the objects and purposes 
of the Society through the medium of the copious reports of the dinner 
which appeared in the gardening papers ? 
The Treasurers balance sheet is a record of the most gratifying 
financial progress. It shows that the year’s income from all sources 
.amounts to £856 13s. 6d., including the balance in hand in February 
1888 of £91 Os. 7d. The expenditure amounts to £714 19s. lid., in¬ 
cluding the purchase of £528 10s. 8d. worth of stock in 2£ per cent, 
consols, at a cost, together with broker’s commission and stamps, of 
£525 6s. 2d., and the Treasurer is able to carry forward a balance of 
£141 13s. 7d. 
During the past year the Trustees drew out the entire sum of £4000 
invested in 3 per cent. Government consols, and re-invested it in stock 
of the Corporation of Nottingham on the security of the borough rates, 
which is as reliable as Government stock, and the change will gain an 
additional quarter per cent, interest. The action of the Trustees is highly 
praiseworthy, and is heartily approved by the members. 
Four new honorary members have been added since last year, and one 
new life subscriber of 10 guineas. 
The annual dinner proved a gratifying success, and the Chairman’s 
appeal on behalf of the Society resulted in a substantial gain. The 
hearty thanks of the members are due to Dr. Hogg, Chairman, and Mr. 
H. J. Veitch, Vice-Chairman, for their kindly sympathy and able 
advocacy of the claims of the Society, specially to Dr. Hogg and Mr. 
William Paul for their liberal donations to the management fund, to 
Mr. N. Sherwood for becoming a life member, and also to all who gave 
contributions of fruit and flowers to the dinner. 
The best thanks of the members are also due to the Trustees, the 
Treasurer, the Secretary, and Auditors for their continued valuable ser¬ 
vices to the Society. 
Mr. Collins next read the financial statement respecting the three 
funds, and Mr. Hudson read the Treasurer's account. The report and 
accounts were duly adopted, hearty votes of thanks were accorded to 
the officers, and a cheque for £20 was presented to Mr. Collins for his 
services as Secretary. The officers were re-elected, and Messrs. Scott, 
Cummins. Woods, E. G. Wheeler and Cotes were elected on the Com¬ 
mittee. It was decided to hold the annual dinner next October, and 
after some further business had been transacted the meeting concluded 
with a vote of thanks to the Chairman. 
GARDENERS’ EDUCATION AND THEIR SOCIAL 
POSITION. 
Mr. A. Bighter at pp. 4 and 5 of the Journal has taken a great deal 
of trouble in searching “ law books.” &c., to prove to the public that 
gardeners are menial servants. And for what purpose ? I believe fully 
'95 per cent, of the men dubbing themselves as gardeners and spoken of 
as such with a sense of importance by those who employ them are 
individually coachman, butler, and man-of-all-work combined, who 
know little about gardening. The useful men indicated, and against 
whom I have not a word to say, are of course “ menial ” servants ; but 
it will take a goo! deal of Mr. Bighter’s logic to convince me that the 
duly qualified gardener presiding over a good establishment is a “ menial ” 
servant, and only the equal of the stable-helper or scullery maid. 
In order to show your correspondent the class of men I allude to I 
refer him to a perusal of the lists of the Fruit and Floral Committees 
published in the Journal on page 65. There he will find the names of 
practical men who fairly represent the properly trained gardener. My 
experience of the social position of the resident land or estate stewards 
as compared with that of doctors and lawyers differs from Mr. Bighter’s. 
I have never known a doctor or a lawyer meet and treat the ordinary 
estate steward as an equal. They belong to different grades of society. 
Once more I say that there is no likelihood of a gardener, had he the 
means to do so, giving his son or sons a university education preparatory 
to making gardeners of them. I at the same time repeat my advice to 
young men to study during the winter evenings and whenever time 
permitted such subjects as are most likely to prove useful to them in 
the pursuit of their calling. Mr. Bighter, quoting from “ Chambers’ 
Information for the People,” where the land steward is classed as a menial, 
takes upon himself to say that the land stewards occupy a higher legal 
and social position now than they did at the time the article in question 
was written. How does he account for this ? He says the word 
“ gardener ” does not appear in this article. And then he goes on to say 
that he “ has no doubt that the remark is applied equally to him as to 
the butler, Ac.” How does he know this? Is it not just as likely that 
the social position of the gardener has increased correspondingly 1 He 
complains that I have not shown where he is illogical. I considered the 
■statement in his first letter on that subject, saying that “gardeners were 
only the equal of scullery maids in the social sca’e, and that the 
services of one were appreciated just as much as the other,” and his 
then asking “ Why should it be otherwise ?” as being both illogical and 
delusive. Gardeners can do a good deal to improve their social position 
by their own actions, and by being careful not to associate with people 
of questionable character. There is an old saying about a man being 
known by the “ company he keeps.”—H. W. W. 
CAMPANULA GRANDIFLORA PUMILA. 
The stately perennial which is variously known as Platycodon or 
Campanula grandiflora is a favourite occupant of many gardens, its 
FIG. 21.— CAMPANULA GRANDIFLORA PUMILA. 
large, open, deep blue flowers being produced most freely. This and 
some of its varieties reach the height of 2 or 3 feet, and therefore either 
require permanent corners and similar sites, or they must be placed 
behind other dwarf growing border plants. A variety possessing all the 
good qualities of the ordinary C. grandiflora, but with a considerably 
dwarfer habit, is that represented in the woodcut (fig. 21), C. grandi- 
fiora pumiia. This grows 9 to 12 inches high, producing flowers similar 
to the type in size and colour, and forms a beautiful specimen, as it soon 
