THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— July 8, 1850. 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
I Weather near London in 1855. 
D 
M 
D 
w 
JULY 8-14, 1856. 
Rain in 
Inches. 
Sun 
Sun 
Moon 
Mocn’s 
Clock 
Day of 
Barometer. 
Thermo. Wind. 
Rises. 
Sets. 
R. & S. 
Age. 
bf. Sun. 
Year, 
3 
To 
: Hesperia Linea. 
30.025—29.867 
79-55 
S.E. 
55 a 3 
15 a 8 
11 
3 
6 
4 
6 
190 
9 
W 
Egeria Craboniformis. 
29775-29.599 
| 80 — 59 
E. 
14 
56 
14 
11 
12 
7 
4 
5 
191 
10 
To 
Egeria Culiciformis. 
29.008—29.585 
1 82—59 
S.W. 
48 
57 
13 
ll 
23 
3 
5 
4 
192 
11 
F 
Egeria Formiciformis. 
29.541—29.516 
71—55 
N. 
1.07 
58 
12 
11 
36 
9 
5 
12 
193 
12 
S 
Zeuzera CEsculi. 
29.840—29747 
1 81—52 
N.W. 
— 
5 
12 
11 
51 
10 
5 
iy 
194 
13 
Son 
8 Sunday after Trinity. 
29 . 959 - 29.931 
79-55 
S.W 
— 
IV 
11 
morn. 
11 
5 
26 
195 
14 
M 
Gastropacha quercifolia. 
29.858—29.822 
/6—53 
S.W. 
29 
1 
10 
0 
13 
12 
5 
33 
196 
Meteorology of the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations during the last twenty-eight years, the average highest and lowest tem¬ 
peratures of these days are 74.3°, and 51.4°, respectively. The greatest heat, 934°, occurred on the 14th, in 1647 ; and the lowest cold, 38° 
on the 10th, in 1851. During the period 11 6 days were fine, and on 80 rain fell. 
HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 
Special General Meeting, bold June 24, 1850. Present 
the following Fellows, viz. :— 
W. R. Baker, D. Beaton, J. .T. Blandy, H. G. Bohn, James 
! Browning, F. Cass, G. Cliarlwood, A. Chandler, Col. Chal- 
I loner, Rev. J. C. Clarke, J. Crawley, Gen. Sir A. Dalrymple, 
I Bart., Col. Ferguson, M.P., J. Gadesdcn, J. B. Glegg, A. 
I Glendinning, J. H. Good, S. H. Godson, W. L. Gower, James 
| Gray, Dr. Henderson, W. Hcrvey, E. Johnston, T. Kelsall, 
Right Hon. T. P. Kennedy, Sir H. Lambert, Bart., Chas. 
Leach, J. Lee, C. Loddiges, Professor Bindley, P. M‘Arthur, 
Robt. Osborn, Geo. Paul, John Philips, Alex. Rowland, 
Dr. Royle, W. Wilson Saunders, R. H. Solly, J. Spencer, 
J. M. Straclian, Jas. Veitch, juu., C. B. Warner, J. C. White- 
man, and John Wood. 
The following Report from the Council was read:— 
The wishes of the last Special General Meeting have 
been complied with. The subscription for raising the sum of 
A‘5000 for the purpose of trying the experiment of main¬ 
taining the Garden has been kept open till this day, and now 
amouuts to £3267 2s. This sum has been promised by 
200 out of the 750 Fellows of the Society', and by 29 
strangers, and is in almost all cases made conditional upon 
the whole sum of £5000 being provided. The Council had 
hoped that the readiness with which their appeal was at first 
responded to would be the forerunner of complete success, 
to secure which they put in action advertisements, circular 
letters, and personal applications. Since, however, the public 
has not sufficiently responded to the appeal that has been 
made, the time has now arrived when action must take the 
place of discussion, and the Society must decide upon its 
future course. 
It would undoubtedly be a grievous calamity if the 
Garden, which has now at the cost of so much money been 
brought to its present state of efficiency, were to be re¬ 
linquished ; and the present Council feel themselves bound 
to exhaust all other resources before they irrevocably consent 
to surrender the lease, and realise the property at Chiswick. 
While, therefore, they announce the failure of the attempt 
to secure the necessary funds by mere voluntary subscription, 
they must also add that it seems to them advisable to realise 
other property before dctenniniliy to break up the Garden; 
\ and they have therefore taken into consideration the pos¬ 
sibility of selling the lease of the house in which we are 
now assembled, and finding a place of business elsewhere. 
It is true that the proceeds of the sale.of the house must be 
applied to the discharge of the securities of the Corporation, 
unless some new arrangement can be made with those who 
hold such securities, and that little immediate relief would 
; be experienced by the measure; but, on the other hand, 
I the Council hope that if the Corporation debt were seriously 
| reduced, a part at least of the subscriptions already 
} announced would then be allowed to go to the maintenance 
of the Garden, although the condition under which they 
were obtained shall not have been fulfilled, and that such 
further sum as may he required might be raised by the 
issue of Corporation bonds upon the security of the Garden 
and the remaining corporate property. 
It is true that by the sale of the house in Regent Street 
little improvement may be effected in the income of the 
Society, the annual cost of new premises being equal to the 
balance of interest payable for the debt secured by the 
house itself. The Council, however, think that under any 
circumstances something may he gained by the exchange 
They also observe that Government lias assigned apart¬ 
ments at the public charge in Burlington House to the 
Linntean and Chemical Societies, as well as to the Royal 
Society, which removes from Somerset House, thus recog¬ 
nising the claims of other chartered scientific bodies to 
similar accommodation. Under these circumstances they 
cannot but entertain a hope that an association which lias 
exhausted itself in work's of the greatest social value, by 
encouraging improvements in the all-important arts of cul¬ 
tivation, the introduction of new fruits, new esculents, and 
new ornamental plants, will have its claims favourably re- 
i ceived by Her Majesty’s Government, and they trust that an 
application which they have preferred for rooms in Somerset 
House or elsewhere will be successful. The difficulties of 
the Society would bo much diminished if this most de¬ 
sirable object could be attained, for the interest now paid 
upon our fixed debt would then become available for carry¬ 
ing out the purposes of the Society. 
The Council, however, feel as strongly as any one the in¬ 
dispensable necessity of augmenting the fixed income of the 
Society; in the absence of which all plans for securing the 
permanence of the institution must he at least precarious, if 
not abortive. It is not to be doubted that the present rate of 
subscription is too high ; and the Council entirely agree with 
those who urge the necessity of a considerable reduction in 
the annual subscription. If practicable, £i 2s. would be 
better than T3 3s., as £■} 3s. would be than £4 4s., the 
latter sum being still paid by those only who desire to retain 
privileges commensurate with such an amount. It is thought 
that many will desire to continue that subscription, that 
others will consent to split their present four guineas into 
two, and, should further arrangements he earned out, the 
Council will be prepared to propose some of the methods 
suggested for effecting this reduction of subscription with as 
little immediate detriment as possible. They trust that 
eventually the change will have been found extremely bene¬ 
ficial; but this can only be the result of time. When, ! 
however, it is seen that the action of the Society continues I 
in vigour, that its means are steadily applied to the advance- J 
ment of horticulture, and that all which is wanted to increase 
its utility is increased funds, the Council confidently believe 
that friends enough of gardening are to be found in this 
great country to provide amply the means required for such 
important purposes as those within the scope of the Society. 
In whatever changes may be effected the Council would in 
j no degree curtail the existing privileges of Fellows; on the 
| contrary, they would desire to extend them by rendering the 
library more attractive, and by giving the Garden the most 
scientific and practical character attainable. 
Many observe that the Society has become too much an 
association for the purposes of Exhibition, and that objects 
of display have absorbed means that would have been better 
applied to practical horticulture. In this view the present 
Council in some measure concur; but it must he remembered 
that the urgent pecuniary necessities of the Society first 
caused the system of exhibiting to he established, and that 
such necessities have never ceased to exist; and even now 
it is the belief of many gentlemen that the exhibition of 
plants must be the mainstay of the Society. The im¬ 
portance of Exhibitions is incontestable, for they afford the 
readiest means of displaying progress; but it becomes daily 
more doubtful whether exhibitions such as those at Chis¬ 
wick have been, will continue to be desirable in connection 
Nq. CCCCVL Vol. XVI- 
