378 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Eebkuary 17. 
the house of Mr. Hatchard, in PiccadUly. This meeting 
was attended hy the Right Hon. Charles Greville, the 
Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Richard Anthony Salis¬ 
bury, Esq., W. T. Aiton, Esq., Mr. Eorsyth, and Mr. J. 
Dickson. Mr. Wedgewood presided, and the necessary 
resolutions were adopted. It was also agreed that each 
of these original members should have the privilege of 
recommending three persons as additional members. 
Who these were, was to be determined at another meet¬ 
ing on the 14th of the same month; and who were Mr. 
Wedgewood’s nominees appears from this letter to Mr. 
Forsyth, dated on the 9th. 
“ I shall be much obliged to you to name for me at the 
meeting on Wednesday next. Dr. Smith and James Vere, 
Esq. I expect a letter will be left for me at Mr. Hatchard’s, 
from Mr. Hawkins, to say whether he chooses to become a 
member of our society or not. Be so good as to open the 
letter, and if he chooses to become a member, add his name 
to the list. If he does not choose, and you have a fourth 
name, you may add it to my list.” 
Then came the always difficult question of nominating 
the officers, with all its usual attendants of jealousies, 
and conflicting struggles. The Secretaryship was espe¬ 
cially a subject for these petty influences; and one 
corner of the veil that was dropped over the mysteries is 
raised by the following letter. It is dated April 3rd, 
1804 
“ Since we last met I have been employed in the business 
of the Society, and have been talking about the election of 
a Secretary, and am sorry to say that I find so strong a 
prejudice against Dr. Anderson that I should adHse his 
friends not to propose him. As a member of the Society, he 
is thought a very proper one, but not as an officer. You 
will excuse my giving you this hint, but I tliink it more 
fiiendly to you than to let you name the Doctor as a candi¬ 
date, and then have these objections brought forward, and 
the Doctor be rejected. You will now be best able to judge 
how far you think it advisable to nominate Dr. Anderson as 
a candidate. 
“ There wifi, on the 11th, be laid before the Society the 
outline of the rules for the Society, who (the m.embers) 
amount to sixty-one in number. ■ I was at Angerstein’s on 
Friday last. There are no early grapes coming forward, for 
Stewart has been employed all winter rather as bailiff to 
the estate than as gardener. He is a determined enemy to 
grafting Vines. I wish to see a fair experiment made on 
that subject, and would myself enter into it if I had leisure 
to attend personally to it. He says you will have plenty of 
wood but no fruit. I say you would have improved fruit in 
plenty, as well as plenty of wood, but experiment must 
determine the fact.” 
Finally the Association was incorporated on the 17th 
of April, 1809, as The Horticultural Society of 
London. 
The Charter states the Society to be for the improve¬ 
ment of horticulture in all its branches, ornamental as well 
as useful, though the president, Mr. Knight, declares their 
attention to be chiefly confined to the latter. This exclusion 
I of all writings that relate to landscape gardening from their 
Transactions has been blamed by some persons, I think 
inconsiderately, for nothing new can be stated upon its 
general principles, and particular details can be of com¬ 
paratively little service, for the genius of every place, and 
the taste of every proprietor differs. 
Tlie original corporation of the Society consisted of 
George, Earl of Dartmouth; Edward, Earl Powis; Brown- 
low, Bishop of Winchester; John, Lord Selsey; Charles 
Greville, Esq.; Sir Joseph Banks, Bart.; W. T. Aiton; 
John Elliot; T. A. Knight; C. Miller; R. A. Salisbury; 
J. Trevelyan, Esqrs., and J. Dickson; T. Hoy; and W. 
Smith, Gardeners. 
'I’he Society has power to purchase lands, &c., and is 
liable to be sued, and able to sue; to have a common seal; 
an indefinite number of Fellows, the power of naming 
which was to be in any five of the above-named original | 
members before the first of May, 1809, but afterwards to be 
in the power of any seven or more Fellows. The Society is 
to have a council of fifteen Fellows, a President, Treasurer, : 
and Secretary. The first President to be the Earl of Dart- ' 
moutli; Charles Grevdlle, first Treasurer; E. A. Salisbury, i 
first Secretary. New ones to be elected annually. The ! 
president is every year to appoint four Vice-Presidents from ; 
among the members; three of the council to go out an- \ 
nually, and three other Fellows elected to their places. ! 
Vacancies in the council, itc., are to be filled up within two 
months. When bye-laws are made or altered, which must 
be at a general meeting, a majority at least of two-thirds of 
the Fellows present is required, and those present must 1 
amount to seven. 
COVENT GARDEN. 
There is a great deal of sameness pervading the market 
at this season of the year. Instead of the continual 
succession of variety which is always presented during 
the summer and autumn months, we see now, week after 
week, as it were the same old faces. We cannot expect 
there will be any great alteration in this respect for 
some time to come, and it is very evident that even tlie 
dealers themselves feel the difficulty of keeping up the 
interest which is requisite, for positions that are usually 
occupied with some choice home production, we find 
now set apart to Chestnuts, Oranges, and other such 
foreign introductions. The greatest display is produced 
by the Cut Flowers and Oranges, they make, in fact, a 
perfect glare, hut we see nothing of late Apples and 
Pears, unless it be a few Golden Knobs ; but there are a 
dozen or more other sorts we could mention which could 
be there just as easily. In Pears there are a few 
shrivelled Ke plus Meuris and Buerre de Eanee, with 
here and there a parcel of Easter Buerre ; but that is all. 
There has been a plentiful supply of all sorts of 
Vegetables during the week, and with little or no varia¬ 
tion in the prices. Savoys are still making from (id. to 
Is. per dozen. Brocoli, good-headed, 2s. to 2s. fid. per 
dozen ; but the small in bundles are from 2s. fid. to 3s. 
per dozen bundles. Greens, Is. to 2s. per dozen bunches. 
Brussels Sprouts, Is. to 23. per half-sieve. Carrots, 
2s. fid. to 3s. fid. per dozen bunches. Turnips, Is. to 
Is. fid. per dozen bunches. Onions, 2s. fid. to 3s. per 
bushel. Leeks, 2d. per bunch Siiinavh, Is. to 2s. per 
sieve. Lettuce, fid. to Is. fid. per score. Forced Aspa¬ 
ragus, 5s. to 7s. fid. per bundle. Sea-Kale, Is. fid. to 
2s. fid. per basket. Rhuharh, 9d. to Is. fid. per bundle. 
Good Potatoes still maintain high prices, particularly j 
Regents, which realise from F'C to £~ 10s. per ton. j 
Plants in pots and Cut Flowers are very plentiful and 
fine ; the former consist of Heaths, Camellias, Hyacinths, \ 
Polyanthus, Narcissus, and Tulips. Cut Flowers con ' 
sist chiefly of Camellias, Chinese Primroses, Geraniums, \ 
Cinerarias, Violets, Snowdrops, d-c. H. 
