April St, 1890. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
343 
the public benefit, and the money ought to be forthcoming before the 
end of the year ; for what, he ask^, is a loan of £-10,000 among so 
many f 
Mr. Sherwood said they could not too fully make known the real 
nature of the scheme. When he mentioned it to a friend he was offered 
a gift of £5, but when he explained it was not a gift that he sought, 
but a loan, his friend at once put down his name for £50. 
The proceedings were animated throughout, the speakers frequently 
applauded, the resolution passed unanimously, and a Committee, com¬ 
posed mainly of provincial nurserymen and seedsmen, appointed to 
carry it out. The nomination of the Committee was proposed by Mr. 
JI. Williams, and seconded by Mr. J. Cheal. 
the late Dr. Homer, F.R.S., of Hull, also an ardent florist. He 
practised there for many years as a physician, and rose to high emi¬ 
nence in his profession, but always found time from his arduous 
duties to cultivate the Tulip, Auricula, Pink, Carnation, Ranun¬ 
culus, &c., to lecture on botany, and write interesting articles for the 
gardening papers and m.agazines. The Rev. F. D. Horner was born 
in the same year as myself, 1837, but a few months earlier, on the 
day of the C.irnation Show. In his early years, when a mere boy, 
he used to attend the flower shows with his father, and he has told 
us that Tulips and Auriculas took the place of the usual playthings 
Fig. 50.—■’HE REV. F. D. HORNER. 
THE REV. F. D. HORNER. 
I^We have great pleasure in publishing the portrait, from a recent 
photograph, of this earnest, genial, and successful florist. He may be 
fairly regarded as the premier raiser and cultivator of Auriculas, and 
the moment seems opportune for the representation. The following 
appropriate references by Mr. Horner’s friend and fellow-worker in the 
cause of floriculture will be acceptable to our readers.] 
The Rev. F. D. Homer, whose portrait is published in the present 
Qumber, is well fitted to be a leader of floriculture. He is a son of 
of boys of his age, and he cannot remember the time when he had 
not some share in aiding his father to cultivate the floral treasures 
of that notable garden in Hull. Dr. Horner had also in his garden 
a choice collection of Cacti, Echinocacti, and other curious succulent 
plants ; and thus there grew in the mind of our friend, with the love 
of Auriculas and Tulips, a longing to cultivate the quaint and curious 
productions of Nature. The time came for Mr. Horner to leave the 
home of his early years. He held various curacies in Yorkshire, and 
also for a short time in Liverpool, but never at any time losing his 
