MARCH. 
59 
touched upon in the report:—The number of 
Fellows of the Society has increased during 
the past year, and the amount of their sub¬ 
scriptions in a still greater ratio, owing to 
their desire to avail themselves of the addi¬ 
tional privileges attached to the four-guinea 
membership. Regret is then expressed at the 
loss which the Society has experienced by 
the decease of three men of such eminent 
horticultural attainments as Dr. Lindley, 
Sir William Hooker, and Sir Joseph Paxton; 
and the Council propose to secure the co¬ 
operation of Government, and of bodies pur¬ 
suing branches of science collateral with 
horticulture, in obtaining a life-sized group. 
Satisfaction is expressed at the improvement 
in the receipts from exhibitions; and the 
result, it is believed, tends to show that small 
and frequent exhibitions are more conducive 
to horticultural progress, and less likely to 
cause pecuniary loss, than the large exhibi¬ 
tions of past years. The Council, therefore, 
consider that there should be only one great 
general exhibition, and that that should be 
held in the end of May or beginning of June. 
The number of entrances to the gardens at 
Kensington have shown a considerable in¬ 
crease during the last year, being 231,599, as 
against 185,092 in 1864, and 115,521 in 1863. 
These numbers are exclusive of the admissions 
on the anniversary of the Prince Consort’s 
birthday, when, last year, more than 129,000 
persons entered the gardens. The Council, in 
reference to the Fruit and Floral Commit¬ 
tees, report that the meetings of these bodies 
have been numerous and well attended, that 
the subjects adjudicated on have been many 
and important, and that trials of be i ding 
plants and Peas have been carried out by 
them. The Tuesday meetings are next referred 
to, and it is stated that they do not compare 
unworthily with the old Regent Street meet¬ 
ings, either in the beauty of the objects 
exhibited or the numbers present, and steps 
are to be taken to make them better known 
to the Fellows. The Saturday shows and pro¬ 
menades have proved very attractive, and the 
attendance at the gardens on those days has 
been greatly increased in consequence; the 
average number of visitors on the Saturdays 
during the month of May, 1865, being 2000, 
whilst in the preceding year, before the insti¬ 
tution of the show and promenade, it was less 
than 400. The next point is that the produce 
of Chiswick has not yielded so great a return 
as was expected, owing to the failure of the 
Strawberry crop, and the general abundance of 
other fruits, and consequent low prices. The 
number of visitors to the Chiswick garden 
during the past year was 4675, of whom 
1003 were Fellows. 1530 packets of fruit- 
tree cuttings and 376,884 packets of flower 
and vegetable seeds have been distributed 
among the Fellows, and 6265 plants by ballot. 
The progress made in the completion and 
decoration of the structures in the garden at 
South Kensington is then adverted to; then 
the arrangements for the coming season, in 
which the Council have endeavoured to carry 
out the idea of uniting science and art. The 
Rev. M. J. Berkeley has been appointed 
botanical adviser to the Society, and with him 
have been united two practical horticulturists 
—Dr. Hogg and Mr. Moore, the one eminent 
in pomology, the other in floriculture, with 
the view of carrying to practical conclusions 
the ideas evolved by the experiments at 
Chiswick, through the labours of the Fruit 
and Floral Committees, and by the shows. 
The three gentlemen above-named are to 
supervise the operations, to conduct the ex¬ 
periments, and to watch on and report for the 
Society the Committee meetings and shows. 
Dr, Hogg and Mr. Moore are likewise to ex¬ 
amine candidates for certificates and diplomas 
in theoretical and practical gardening, and to 
advise on the instruction of young gardeners 
at Chiswick. By these arrangements the 
Council hope to effect two important objects— 
first, to spread a knowledge of what is being 
done both by the Society and by horticulturists 
generally, so that a system may be worked out 
by which the field of labour may be parti¬ 
tioned among horticulturists, and experiments 
be suggested to them; secondly, to procure 
the instruction, either at Chiswick or by in¬ 
ducements held out to successful competitors 
at the examinations, of as many as possible of 
the rising generation of gardeners in those 
processes and methods which are likely to 
lead to successful results. In some such 
manner only can a sufficient number of facts 
be brought together for arriving at safe 
generalisations on the effects of particular 
modes of treatment on vegetable life. The 
remainder of the report has reference to ar¬ 
rangements for admission; to those with the 
Committee of Management of the Inter- 
‘national Exhibition and Botanical Congress; 
to the erection of a spacious hall, capable of 
holding 6000 persons, which it is in contem¬ 
plation to erect on the vacant space between 
the conservatory and the Great Western Road; 
to Mr. Weir; and, lastly, to the special prizes 
offered by members, which are to be competed 
for on the 14th of June, and not on the occa¬ 
sion of the International, as erroneously stated 
in our last issue. A prize of ten guineas is 
also announced for the best essay on the growth 
of tropical fruits, a subject which is now en¬ 
gaging much attention. 
After the report had been read the Chair¬ 
man announced the result of the ballot—viz., 
that the Duke of Buccleuch had been elected 
President; G. F. Wilson, Esq., F.R.S., 
Treasurer; and Lieut.-Col. Scott, R.E., Se¬ 
cretary, for the ensuing year; that Viscount 
Sandon, the Right Hon. W. Cowper, M.P., 
and Sigismund Rucker, Esq., had been elected 
new members of Council, in the room of J. J. 
Blandy, Esq., J. Kelk, Esq., M.P., and Major 
Trevor Clarke, the retiring members in con- 
