254 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 17, 1887. 
as something between pale apricot and primrose. 
Winter-flowering Begonias were represented by B. Jolm 
Heal, B. Adonis, and B. Winter Gem, all three being 
distinct forms between the tuberous-rooted, summer¬ 
flowering, and B. Socotrana, a winter-flowering species. 
Winter Gem partakes of the habit of the latter, and 
has large orbicular leaves, and nearly all confined to 
the base of the stem, which are of a beautiful green 
colour, and of great substance; the flowers are of 
medium size, and rich rosy scarlet. It was accorded a 
vote of thanks. Messrs. H. Cannell & Sons, Swanley, 
Kent, exhibited a rich crimson variety of Chinese 
Primula, named King of the Primulas, also Bridesmaid, 
which was certificated, and a rosy lilac, white-edged 
variety; all of which were of great substance. A bright . 
Lobelia was that named Swanley Blue. A vote of 
thanks was accorded for a group of cut spikes of 
seedling Cannas, exhibiting yellow, crimson, orange- 
crimson, scarlet, orange-scarlet, scarlet edged, yellow, 
and other varieties spotted with orange or splashed 
with crimson. 
Mr. H. B. May, Dyson’s Lane Nurseries, Upper 
Edmonton, exhibited a group of Ferns, consisting of 
Adiantum scutum, and a number of its varieties, 
including a fine new form named A. Regime, with very 
broad pinnules, and which was certificated. He also 
showed a Croton named Etna, with beautiful red or 
crimson-veined foliage, being yellow in those parts when 
young. Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, 
Tottenham, exhibited a group of hardy flowers which 
had been forced ; these included Iris Histrio, with 
various shades of indigo-blue, spotted or marked with 
white and yellow. He had also three forms of 
Christmas Roses, namely, Helleborus angustifolius, H. 
caucasicus and Madame Fourcade, all with large white 
flowers. A stand of Chinese Primula blooms showing 
intense carmine, slate blue, white, rose, flesh and 
crimson colours, was exhibited by Messrs. J. James & 
Sod, Woodside Nursery, Farnliam Royal, Slough; they 
also showed a basket of plants of Empress, a white 
variety, and Crimson King, a richly coloured flower. 
They were accorded a vote of thanks for the exhibit. 
Mr. A. J. Guilbert, gardener to Miss Mansell, Queen’s 
Road, Guernsey, exhibited Chrysanthemum, Guernsey 
Hero, a yellow sport obtained from Mrs. Charles Care} 7 , 
which is white. 
At a meeting of the Fruit Committee, Victor Diirfeld, 
Ohernhau, Guernsey, was awarded a Bronze Banksian 
Medal for a set of models of Apples and Pears, which 
were highly coloured, well finished, and appeared very 
natural. A quantity of tubers as well as a plant of 
Stachys affinis, exhibited by Mr. A. G. Hookin, 
gardener to Sir Henry Thompson, Hurstside, West 
Moulsey, were highly commended as a new’vegetable. A 
quantity of an Apple named Newton Wonder, probably 
a seedling between Blenheim Orange and Wellington, 
was exhibited by Messrs. J. R. Pearson & Sons, Chilwell, 
Notts. Three dishes of Apples, including Nelson’s 
Masterpiece, were shown by Mr. Nelson, Catcliffe, 
Eathenham. Mr. A. Miller, The Gardens, Rood 
Ashton Park, Trowbridge, had a dish of Apples named 
Rood Ashton Seedling. 
A special general meeting of the Fellows of 
the above society was held on Tuesday afternoon, 
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, M.P., in the chair, 
for the purpose of receiving a report from the 
council, and to consider the statements and proposals 
contained therein. The chairman, in opening the 
proceedings, explained that a question had been raised 
as to the strict legality of that meeting ; but that need 
not give rise to any difficulty in carrying any resolutions 
which might be passed, as the council would call a 
special general meeting subsequently to give legal 
validity to any resolutions. He then went on to say 
that in pursuance of the resolutions come to by the 
society to make the best efforts they could to secure such 
a site as was pointed out by those resolutions, it had 
been found that any site offering any advantages would 
he so extremely costly that it would practically preclude 
the society, in its present pecuniary position, from 
going to such an expense. Several sites had been 
examined ; but, having regard to the great cost, the 
council thought they could not recommend the society 
to embark on any of them. The result was that they 
were left in a position to some extent unfavourable. 
Personally he entirely agreed with the remarks made 
in the Times that morning. He did not think the 
Commissioners of the 1851 Exhibition had dealt either 
generously or liberally with the society. When 
it was considered that the society had expended 
close upon £100,000 in beautifying the gardens and in 
building arcades, &c., the whole of which had been 
practically swept away by the action of the Commis¬ 
sioners, he thought it certainly not too much to say 
that they had not been dealt with with very great 
liberality. Sir Lyon Playfair—there was no disguising 
the fact—whose was the principal voice in directing the 
operations of the Commissioners of 1851, had never 
viewed the society very favourably ; and Sir Lyon 
Playfair had himself told him that the Commissioners 
felt it necessary to make an income out of the Gardens 
for their own purposes. As they were aware, Her 
Majesty the Queen had expressed a desire that the 
society should remain in South Kensington, and the 
council had felt, to a certain extent, hound by the 
expression of Her Majesty. He did not think the 
Commissioners had felt equally bound ; and, at all 
events, the only proposal which had emanated from the 
Commissioners had been one that the society should 
pay them a rental of £1,000 a year for the use of what 
remained of the Gardens, after the requirements of the 
Imperial Institute had been attended to. The council 
calculated that it would involve the society in an 
expenditure of at least £2,000 a year, and inasmuch as 
that was more than the total income of the society, they 
did not see their way to entertain any such proposals. 
It was the unanimous opinion of the council—because 
several gentlemen who held opposite views had either 
sent in their resignations or were proposing to do so— 
that the connection of the society with South Ken¬ 
sington had been one gravely disadvantageous to the 
former. The question was, what were they to do ? The 
view of the council was that they should devote their 
attention to the maintenance of the Chiswick Gardens, 
and the conduct of plant, fruit, and vegetable trials 
there, and the immediate engagement of such premises in 
a convenient and central position as might suffice for office 
requirements, the safe housing of the Lindley Library, 
meetings of the society’s committees, and its fortnightly 
shows, to the maintenance of which they attached great 
importance. He might mention that the society had 
been in possession of Chiswick Gardens for sixty-five 
years, the results of which would be thrown away if 
they ceased to occupy the Gardens. It was impossible 
to get similar accommodation anywhere else for the 
purpose -which those Gardens had secured for so many 
years, and, he confessed, it could not be but absolutely 
destructive to the society and to any hope of future 
utility were anything to happen to Chiswick Gardens. 
The Gardens would not cost more than £1,500 a year, 
and that was less than they had been costing. He was 
very glad to see that "whatever might happen to the 
society the Scientific Committee had no intention of 
being dissolved, and he understood that the Fruit and 
Floral Committees were animated by a like intention 
of continuous vigorous existence. These two circum¬ 
stances were very gratifying. 
In regard to the past, the work of the society ought 
not to be forgotten, and one could scarcely go a day’s 
walk or ride into any part of the kingdom without 
seeing evidence of the past activity of the society in the 
beautiful introductious by Douglas, by Fortune, and 
many others, and it ought not to be forgotten that it 
was in no small degree owing to the fact that the 
society sent Fortune to China that he was engaged by 
the East India Company for the prupose of introducing 
Tea into India. Indian Tea will next year be imported 
in larger quantities than China Tea, for the first time 
in the history of the kingdom. Another point was 
whether the .publication of the work done by the society 
might not be dealt with in a more systematic and 
satisfactory way. Something in the way of more 
detailed reports might be drawn up and periodically 
published. With regard to the financial position of 
the society, at the end of the year they would probably 
he as they foresaw in June last, viz., they should be in 
debt about £1,000. Speaking for himself, he was not 
alarmed at the sum, as in past years tfie society had 
been more heavily in debt. On one occasion it was in 
debt £17,000, and. on another £10,000. The fault had 
been, if they might gather wisdom without criticising 
the past, that when they had had a term of prosperity 
they immediately said the whole savings must be spent. 
When they had spent the whole of the money they 
used to get into debt as rapidly as possible again. 
There would be an end of this sort of thing if the 
society were to devote itself strictly to the advance¬ 
ment of practical and scientific horticulture, and they 
would not then be catering for the fashionable world, 
of which, he thought, they might entertain a legitimate 
contempt. That fashionable world changed from day 
to day, and what it loved one day it hated the next. 
If they put their trust in the fashionable world they 
would he depending on a broken teed. The chairman 
then spoke about the charter, and mentioned that he 
had received a letter from the society’s solicitors, and 
it appeared one of the most difficult things in the world, 
having once had the advantage of being under a charter, 
to get rid of it. He was sorry to say it was very much 
like the old man of the sea who got round Sinbad’s 
neck. [The letter, which the chairman read, stated 
that it would take from four to six months at least to 
obtain a new charter, and the cost would be about £200. 
In the case of opposition the expenses would be con¬ 
siderably increased. The letter concluded, “On the 
whole, therefore, it seems that obtaining a new charter 
is the only feasible mode of reconstructing the society. ”] 
The chairman went on to remark that as far as the 
council was concerned, they were perfectly prepared to 
resign their position in view of enabling the Fellows to 
take what course they considered advisable. He might 
add that to carry on the society the council, Gr any 
modification of it, should have sufficient funds, and it 
had been estimated that £3,000 a year was not at all 
too much to ask in view of the great work which had 
been done by that ancient society. He was quite sure 
that the society had not flourished and had not done 
as good work latterly, owing to the fact that it had 
been at the beck and call of the Commissioners of the 
1851 Exhibition. With regard to the debt of the 
society, had it not been for the loss on the Liverpool 
Exhibition the accounts would about balance. He 
thought there would be no difficulty in point of time 
of getting premises immediately for the purposes of the 
society, in order that the fortnightly shows might still be 
carried on, supposing that they got encouragement from 
the Fellows in that direction. He had received 
promises of donations amounting to about £900 towards 
establishing the society in its new home, and he had 
also received encouraging promises of healthy support 
from numerous firms connected with horticultural 
work, while others were anxious to know more of what 
was proposed to he done before they decided whether 
they would be able to help the society. 
Replying to some questions, the chairman said that a 
strong feeling had been expressed about the desirability 
of increasing the numbers of the council. So far as the 
council were concerned, they were most willing that 
that should be done, but that could only be done under 
a supplementary charter and not under the existing 
one, because the latter distinctly stated that the council 
should consist of fifteen members. 
Mr. A. II. Smee asked if every member of the society 
was not jointly and severally liable for the debts of the 
society. Dr. Hogg replied that there was no personal 
liability. Mr. Smee said that he would be willing to 
subscribe towards obtaining a new charter, and he 
moved that steps be taken in that direction. Major 
Lendy thought there would he no difficulty in raising 
the necessary funds for this purpose, and seconded the 
motion. 
Mr. Shirley Hibbard urged that the present council 
should not be allowed to go after their experience of 1872. 
He did not attribute motives, but he vished to come to 
business. He considered that a great deal more might 
he done at Chis-wick than had been the case in the past, 
and the unnamed rubbish which had been grown there 
should give way to things of sterling value, and 
Chiswick should be a place of final proof only. Every 
person sending to Chiswick should be charged, thereby 
making an honest income for the society. Mr. Pearson 
said it appeared necessary that a new charter should be 
obtained, and they should take steps to form a new 
committee, partly of the members of the council and 
partly of the general Fellows, to draw up the draft of a 
new charter. Mr. J. J. Watts seconded the motion. 
Mr. Haughton thought the society could he governed 
very well under its existing charter. The minority on 
the council, of which minority he was one, looked upon 
the question as a financial one. Funds should be 
obtained, and these could not be obtained from the 
purely scientific class of the community. The society 
had once a subscription income of £10,000 ; in 1S74 it 
was £8,000, and in three years it was reduced by half 
by the taking away of privileges of the Fellows of the 
society. If the horticultural world meant to have a 
purely scientific society they must put their hands into 
their pockets. That was the plain issue between the 
two sections, and unless the pure horticulturists were 
prepared to supply the money it was useless discussing 
the question. The society must go forward on one of 
those two lines or fall between them. 
The chairman pointed out that when the council 
were catering for the fashionable Fellows enough 
money was not taken at the doors to pay for the bands, 
therefore Mr. Haughton was labouring under a delu¬ 
sion. Anything more hopeless than endeavouring ro 
get money out of the South Kensington people for the 
Horticultural Societynever entered into the mindof man. 
Mr. H. J. Veitch said he should like to pay a tribute 
to the memory of the late Mr. George Eyles, a pupil of 
Sir Joseph Paxton, and an old officer of the society. He 
was sure that the majority of those present agreed to 
cordially thank Sir Trevor Lawrence and the other 
members of the council who had conducted the affairs 
of the society under all difficulties. They, however, 
wanted to see the council enlarged if the society were 
to go on. They should also have a paid secretary, who 
would he called upon to devote the whole of his time 
and knowledge to the society. If they could have com¬ 
mittees for various purposes, and were to act more on 
the lines of the Royal Agricultural Society there was 
still a future before them. It was no use endeavouring 
to get the society to work under rules made in 1S09, 
and unless there was a remodelling, he did not think 
they would have any future. The Rev. W. Wilks con¬ 
sidered that fifteen members of council were quite 
sufficient, and that “too many cooks would spoil the 
broth.” All that was needed was that the council 
should alter its rules and regulations to suit the popular 
and democratic sympathies of the present day. Pro¬ 
fessor M. Foster thought that some reconstitution of 
the council should take place in order that its members 
might be in closer touch with the Fellows. 
Mr. Thiselton Dyer said they wanted something 
more than money, and that was a horticultural policy; 
and he did not think they could look for assistance 
