128 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
Banquet at Guildhall. —On the even¬ 
ing of the opening day of the Exhibition a 
grand banquet took place at the Guildhall, at 
which the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor pre¬ 
sided. Upwards of 550 were present, and 
amongst them were Viscount Powerscourt; 
Sir Broke Middleton, Bart.; Right Hon. R. 
C. Nisbet Hamilton; M. A. De Candolle, of 
Geneva ; Professor Koch, of Berlin ; Professor 
Reichenbach, of Hamburgh; Professor Cas- 
pary, of Konigsberg; Professor Morren, of 
Liege; M. Schulz Bipontinus, of Deides- 
heim; M. Meissner, of Basle; M. Weddel, 
of Poitiers; M. Van Houtte, of Ghent; M. 
A. Ver3chaffelt, of Ghent; M. Linden, of 
Brussels; Sir Wentworth Dilke, M.P.; Dr. 
Hogg, Dr. Maxwell Masters, Mr. Kelk, M.P.; 
Mr. J. Clutton, Mr. Sheriff Gibbons, Mr. 
Alderman Besley, Mr. Pender, Mr. E. A. 
Bowring, C.B.; Mr. Micholls, Mr. Samuel 
Morley, Mr. George Godwin, E.R.S.; Mr. 
J. J. Blandy, Mr. W. IL. Dixon; Mr. G. 
W. Johnson ; Mr. T. Moore; Messrs. Veitch, 
Lee, Standish, Bull, Williams, Paul, Waterer, 
Low, Wendland, Fortune, and Captain 
Walker. After the usual loyal toasts had 
been given and enthusiastically received, 
Sir C. Wentworth Dilke, Bart., M.P., pro¬ 
posed the health of the foreign visitors and 
the President of the Botanical Congress, and 
Professor De Candolle, in responding, re¬ 
turned thanks in his own name and that of 
the other foreign visitors, for the kindly wel¬ 
come which they had received both in public 
and private, and regretted that the disturbed 
state of affairs on the Continent had pre¬ 
vented many gentlemen from abroad, who 
would otherwise have been present, quitting 
their homes. He then congratulated 'his 
hearers on the prosperous state of the 
sciences, and particularly that of horticul¬ 
ture, of which the International Horticul¬ 
tural Exhibition of this year furnished a 
proof; and he expressed a hope that similar 
gatherings would be instituted in the east 
and south of Europe. The Right Hon. R. C. 
Nisbet Hamilton, Dr. Hogg, and the Lord 
Mayor having also spoken, and some other 
toasts having been given, the company broke 
up. 
Dinner at St. Martin’s Hall. —This 
took place on Thursday, the 24th of May, 
when upwards of five hundred horticultur¬ 
ists and their friends sat down to dinner. 
Lord Henry Gordon Lennox, M.P., pre¬ 
sided, and among those present were Sir C. 
Wentworth Dilke, Bart., Sir W. Stirling, 
the Rev. Joshua Dix, Rev. S. R. Hole, Dr. 
Hogg, Dr. Moore, Mr. G. F. Wilson, Mr. T. 
Moore, Mr. W. Paul, Mr. J. Lee, Mr. J. G. 
Veitch, Mr. C. Turner, Mr. A. Dickson, of 
Chester, and M. Van Geert. The Chairman, 
in proposing the toast of the evening—“ Suc¬ 
cess to the Horticultural Exhibition and the 
Botanical Congress,” made an excellent 
speech, which was listened to with much 
attention; and Mr. W. Paul, Rev. J. Dix, 
Sir C. W. Dilke, and others also spoke, but 
space will not admit of further details here. 
Dejeuner at Messrs. Veitch’s. —Before 
commencing the formal business of the Con¬ 
gress on Wednesday, the foreign botanists and 
gardeners were invited by Messrs. Veitch to 
a magnificent dejeuner at the Royal Exotic 
Nurseries, Chelsea. The foreign guests were 
met by a distinguished company of their 
English confreres, and the occasion was one 
of much interest. Among the principal visitors 
were—Professor Lecoq; Professor Triand, of 
Paris; Professor Koch, of Berlin; Professor 
Morren, of Liege; Dr. Reichenbach, of Ham¬ 
burg ; M. Bardlet, Paris; M. Vilmorin, Paris ; 
M. Pepin, delegated by the French Govern¬ 
ment; M.Sello,Potsdam; M. Nisson, Naples; 
Baron Osjq Antwerp; M. Linden, Brussels; 
M. Van den Hecke; M. Willink, Amsterdam ; 
M. Krelage, Haarlem ; Viscount Forceville; 
Sir Wentworth Dilke, Bart.; Sir D. Cooper, 
Bart. ; Rev. Joshua Dix ; Rev. Mr. Berkeley; 
J. McNab, Esq., Edinburgh; Dr. Moore, 
Dublin ; Dr. Hogg; Dr. Masters ; G. Eyles, 
Esq.; J. Liddell, Esq., &c. Mr. Veitch, senior, 
presided. The visitors inspected Messrs. 
Veitch’s valuable collection of plants, the 
most notable of which, however, were beino 1 
exhibited at the Show. The whole occasion 
was marked by the most cordial feeling, and 
was a matter of much gratification to those 
present. Each guest, on leaving, entered his 
signature in a book, and received from Mr. 
Veitch his carte-de-visite as a souvenir. 
Botanical Congress.—Two meetings of 
the Congress were held at the South Ken¬ 
sington Museum, the first on Wednesday, the 
23rd, on the evening of which day a brilliant 
conversazione was also held; and the second 
on the following Thursday. Several interest¬ 
ing papers were read, of which we hope to 
gi v e some account hereafter. On the opening 
day (Wednesday), Professor De Candolle 
delivered the following inaugural address :— 
In order to derive the full advantage from 
a meeting of so many lovers of science, horti¬ 
culturists and botanists, brought together from 
all parts of Europe, it is necessary that the 
common object for which they have met should 
be perfectly understood. 
It devolves on me, who am called upon to 
preside (an honour of which I feel myself un¬ 
worthy), to point out the bond which unites 
us, and of which, perhaps, you have at pre¬ 
sent but a vague, and, so to speak, an intuitive 
perception. 
In my opinion, we are not here merely as 
amateurs to satisfy our curiosity. The proof 
of which is, we are here assembled to listen 
to discussions, instead of wandering about 
the fairy-like garden of the Exhibition. Evi¬ 
dently we seek something more than a mere 
show, and that something is, in my opinion, 
