290 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPAN ION.— Jci.y 22, 1856 
one of the race is the finer it may be; but Sir William 
Middleton is by far the very best of that stamp for 
beds, pots, or boxes, and I shall keep that very plant 
of it from his Grace, and will recommend it to others 
as long as I have life left in me. It is only a cross¬ 
breeder who can rightly appreciate such a thing out of 
such a race, and as such, I am more proud of Sir 
William Middleton than of all the other seedlings I 
sent into the w r orld; but I did not send this into the 
world, and no one else has, up to the present hour; 
but it is high time the public should call for it, if only 
for the change. 
| There is a very beautiful-looking new Ivy-leaf among 
a splendid collection of bedding-plants, which were sent 
i to me from the Messrs. Henderson, of the Wellington 
! Road Nursery; it is called Etiole de Vaise, and is a severe 
cross, if I mistake not, between some variety of the old 
Coral stemmed Geranium and Lateripes roseum. I have 
not seen the flowers. Couch Bank Rival is the best 
scarlet for pots I have yet flowered; I had it from Mr. 
Low, of Clapton, along with others. If it will bed as 
I well as pot it will be a grand thing. I want its pedigree 
and history. 
In about three weeks I shall mention some kinds I 
want particularly, but I fear lest I break under the 
weight of the contributions before them. I have now 
more than enough of all kinds of Ivy-loafs, except Pelta- 
tum variegatum , and if it is in existence I hope some 
one will send it from somewhere. 
About the old White Ivy-leaf Geranium, I find, from 
my contributions, that a little explanation is necessary. 
There are two varieties of it; the oldest one has smaller 
flowers, and is the true Lateripes of L’Heritier. The 
large white-flowering variety was made a species of by 
Sweet, who named it Scutatum, and it may be some con¬ 
solation to one who wrote to me lately, saying that I took 
too much liberty with the compilers of the Encyclo¬ 
paedia of Plants, to know that the said compilers could not 
make out to what section of Geraniums the large white¬ 
flowering Ivy-leaf belonged ; and that Scutatum stands in 
all editions of the Encyclopaedia, and of the Hortus 
Britannicus, as a garden variety of doubtful origin ! 
The fact is, we wanted long since to place less confi¬ 
dence in our compiled books and chartered societies, and 
to betake ourselves to experimental gardening on our 
own account. To this we are come at last, however; 
and we must now bear in mind, that it is of more im¬ 
portance to arrive at the truth than to care for whose 
authority we may take liberties with. D. Beaton. 
THE GARDENERS’ BENEVOLENT 
INSTITUTION. 
The present seems a fit opportunity for offering a few 
thoughts on this well-meant, kind-hearted Institution. I 
could choose no better medium for doing so than the 
pages of a work, all the prominent contributors to which, 
so far as I am aware, are also contributors to this valua¬ 
ble Society. The time for doing so I believe to be ap¬ 
propriate for two reasons. First, the institution was 
never in a more flourishing condition than at the present 
moment; and, secondly, because I fear that unless a 
proper understanding be arrived at, instead of making 
rapid progression in the improvement of its finances, as 
it ought and deserves to do, its culminating point of 
prosperity will soon be reached, so far as subscriptions 
from practical gardeners are concerned. 
I arrive at this conclusion partly from the discussions 
and complaints that have lately appeared, but more par¬ 
ticularly from the answers I have received, and the very 
little sucoess I have nrfet with, when making extra efforts 
this season to enlist fresh recruits in the good cause. 
No evil has ever been cured, no misfortune averted, from ! 
resolutely refusing to consider the causes of either; but 
seemingly great evils have often been melted down to 
almost imperceptible atoms, aud serious misunderstand- j 
ings have been wholly removed, by a little friendly ex¬ 
planation, and a courteous discussion of diversified 
opinion. 
Whatever disappointments may have been felt, I do 
not suppose that any person is at all to blame. If there 
are faults at all, they are in the system and not in the 
administrators. No individual member cau be so pre¬ 
sumptuous as to expect that his opinion should be 
adopted by the Society ; he may expect that it will be 
treated with attention and candour, and in that he will 
not be disappointed. I shall deem it my duty to record 
the objections with which my appeals have been met, 
and leave it to the wisdom of our committee to judge 
whether any aud what changes may be necessary. 
The first and the most telling objection to subscribe 
was inability to do so. In some cases this was merely a 
pretence. It was evident that the objectors were in 
better circumstances than some who honourably sub¬ 
scribe at the expense of a little self-denial. It is noble 
to witness the rich contribute of their abundance; but 
the highest, the truest, the most valuable of all benevo¬ 
lence is that which is exercised by self-denial of luxury 
and comforts. Some gardeners give themselves the 
trouble of writing to solicit votes for a candidate, who 1 
ought first to have been in a position to give their own. i 
Still, it is too true that as a class we are unable to sub¬ 
scribe one guinea annually to a benevolence adminis¬ 
tered in London. The rearing and educating of their ; 
families, and sparing a little for local, religious, and bene- | 
volent purposes, and perhaps a small annual sum for in- j 
surauce, swallow up the whole of most gardeners’ limited I 
income. This drawback can only be neutralized by gar- i 
deners, as a class, being better paid. The importance of 
this being done was boldly enunciated by Sir Joseph 
Paxton at the annual festival; and my chief regret at 
not being present arises from not having heard those 
telling and burning sentences uttered. Few gardeners 
could read those words without feeling their hearts expand 
with delight, not so much that a brother of the spade 
had attained such deserved honours and distinction, as 
that the true greatness of the man in thus thinking of 
the interests of his former associates, over-topped them 
all. 
The second objection, with what consistency urged, 
I am unable to say, was based on the influence exer¬ 
cised by the nurserymen and gardeners about London, 
so that a proviticialist has no chance of succeeding as a 
candidate. This objection, if at all a true one, is evi¬ 
dently based on the principle, that it is more pleasant to 
know and see the object of our generosity than to send 
our subscription to be given to a stranger. I have little 
faith in the public benevolence that eschews the practice 
of the social and private charities ; but I have as little i 
faith in the practical benevolence of those who meet every ! 
claim with the old dogma that “Charity should begin at I 
home,” having long found that this sage utterance is ] 
generally associated with the fact, that charity had no I 
chance of beginning anywhere, being denied even a j 
peep beyond the hard shell of a mistaken selfishness. 
There is, no doubt, a pleasure in giving to a known de¬ 
serving object. Beyond this, all benevolence in the way 
of worldly means is better distributed by a society than 
bv individuals, as such a committee as that of the Bene- i 
volent Institution make inquiries more strict and ample i 
respecting candidates than any pri vate person would like j 
to do. Let us hope, therefore, that those who have the 
means will show full confidence in our London com- ' 
mittee. As to ultra London influence, I will, before I 
close, mention a mode by which it may be neutralized, 
if it exists. In the meantime, casting my eye over the 
