February 21, 1891. 
THE GAKDENING WORLD. 
393 
THE NATIONAL DAHLIA 
SOCIETY. 
It was the turn of the supporters of the Dahlia to come 
together in annual meeting, at the Horticultural Club, 
on Tuesday, the 10th inst. There was a very limited 
attendance, probably because the bulk of the subscribers 
reside in the country, and no notice of the meeting 
appears to have been given to the gardening papers. 
However, a “World” man, always on the alert to pick 
up information that should be made public, heard of 
the engagement and put in an appearance, and is able 
to report the proceedings of what otherwise would have 
been a “hole-and-corner” meeting. Mr. E. Mawley 
presided over a scant attendance, but all were business 
men, earnest devotees of the Dahlia —Messrs. J. Cheal, 
T. J. Saltmarsh, H. Turner, W. H. Williams, the 
veteran John Walker, J. Tranter, S. Mortimer, J. T. 
amounting to £4 or £5, some of which had been 
received. 
In reference to the exhibition at the Crystal Palace, 
Mr. Girdlestone stated that it was not so large as some 
which had preceded it, owing to the frost of a few 
dyys previously having kept several small growers from 
competing, but the quality of the bloom was good 
throughout. The number of members was about the 
same as last year, and though some had retired, others 
had taken their places. They had lost two valuable 
and influential supporters in Mr. James McIntosh and 
Mr. Shirley HibberJ, also in Mr. William Holmes. 
Mr. W. Hapthorpe. Cambridge, and Mr. A. Rawlings 
had resigned their seats on the committee ; the former 
through want of time, and the latter through some 
dissatisfaction with the mode in which the society’s 
business was conducted. The report—or rather the 
Cypripedium Harejsianum. 
The first artificially produced hybrid Cypripedium ever raised; 
West, primus of the amateur growers of this noble 
flower. Dr. Masters, one of the vice-presidents of the 
Dahlia Society, was also present. 
The hon. secretary, Mr. T. W. Girdlestone, presented 
an oral report, premising it by stating that he had 
little to say beyond giving a report of the Crystal 
Palace Show. His main duty was to present a financial 
statement, which showed the society to be in a satisfac¬ 
tory position, as the total income, including a balance 
of £23 Or. 4 d. at the beginning of the year 1890, 
amounted to £163 6s. 10 d., which sum comprised 
subscriptions £85 14s., and the sum of £50, an 
annual grant from the Crystal Palace Company. 
Prizes were paid amounting to £118 17s., and this with 
some incidental expenses brought the expenditure up 
to over £130, leaving a balance of £32 18s. 7 d. to be 
carried forward. This was regarded as a delightful 
state of things, and it is evident that Mr. Girdlestone 
had kept the expenses down to the lowest amount. It 
was also stated that there were arrears of subscriptions 
skeleton of one—and the financial statement were 
adopted, it being understood that the hon. sec. would 
clothe the skeleton in becoming flesh of phrase, and 
publish it in the usual manner. It was agreed that 
the minimum subscription should be for the future 5s. 
annually. A letter from Mr. A. Rawlings, complaining 
of certain matters affecting the management of the 
society, was referred to the chairman to reply to. 
The Rev. Charles Fellowes was re-elected president ; 
Dr. Hog®, Dr. Masters, and Messrs. W. H. Cullingford, 
H. Glasscock and W. Keith vice-presidents, Mr. 
George Gordon being added in the place of the late 
Mr. Shirley Hibberd. Messrs. Ocock, Such, Mortimer, 
Humphries, Seale, and Anstiss were added to the 
committee, the re-elected members being Messrs. 
J. Burrell, H. Cannell, J. Cheal, J. Douglas, G. Gilbert, 
J. Ilenshaw, G. Paul, T. J. Saltmarsh, J. Tranter, 
H. Turner, J. Walker, T. S. Ware, J. T. West, and 
W. H. Williams. Mr. T. W. Girdlestone was re-elected 
hon. secretary and treasurer, and he was authorised to 
obtain such clerical assistance as he might require. 
Four new members were elected, including the 
“ World” man, and a desire being expressed that the 
latter should go on the comjnittee, he declined on the 
grounds that he was already up to his neck in hot 
floricultural water of this kind, and did not desire to 
by utterly submerged. Besides, no “ World ” man 
is allowed to take any place of profit in connection 
with any horticultural association, lest the integrity 
of the only independent gardening journal should be 
compromised thereby. 
A letter was read from Mr. W. G. Head, suggesting 
that the annual show in September next should take 
place at the Crystal Palace on the 4th and 5th of that 
month, which was agreed to. The question of providing 
competent judges was raised, but deferred for further 
consideration. Dr. Masters made an appeal on behalf 
of the Shirley Hibberd Memorial Fund, on the ground 
of Mr. Hibberd’s services to the Dahlia Society. A 
vote of thanks to the chairman closed the proceedings. 
-->2<-- 
DEATH OP MR. JOHN DOMINY. 
Another nineteenth-century landmark in the realm 
of horticulture may be said to have passed away with 
the death on the 12th inst., at Tadema Road, Chelsea, 
of Mr. John Dominy, whose useful career in life was 
closed, after a short but acute attack of pneumonia, in 
his 75th year. Though in no sense a great man, yet 
it can never be forgotten that it was John Dominy who 
first put into practice the art of artificially fertilising 
Orchids, and raising them from seed systematically and 
for commercial purposes. The idea of so doing it is 
admitted was not his own ; he derived it from Mr. 
J. Harris, a surgeon of Exeter, but that fact in no way 
lessens the obligations of all Orchid lovers to Dominy ; 
for if he had given us nothing but Cattleya exoniensis, 
that lovely and still scarce plant is alone sufficient to 
keep his memory green for all time in the Orchid world. 
Of his early life and training we know nothing, but 
he obtained his first head place as gardener to J. P. 
Magor, Esq., at Redruth, in 1841, and stayed there 
until 1846, when he entered the service of Messrs. 
Yeitch & Son, at the famous Exeter Nursery of that 
firm. On the business being transferred to Chelsea 
about 1865 he became nursery manager there, and 
retired into private life about eleven years ago on a 
most liberal retiring allowance from the Messrs. Veitch. 
It was about the year 1852 when Mr. Harris suggested 
the production of hybrid Orchids, and so well did 
Dominy turn this to practical account that in about 
four years’ time his first hybrid flowered—Calanthe 
Dominii—and this was succeeded by Cattleya hybrids, 
C. exoniensis, C. Dominiana, and a number of others, 
several of which have now passed out of cultivation. 
The total number of Orchids raised by him and put 
into commerce by the Messrs. Veitcb, was twenty-six, 
and they are comprised in the following list : — 
Aerides hybridum 
Anaectochrlus Dominii 
Calanthe Dominii 
,, Yeitchii 
Cattleya Brabantiie 
,, Devoniensis 
,, Dominiana 
,, „ alba 
,, exoniensis 
,, hybrida 
,, ,, maculata 
,, Manglesii 
,, quinquicolor 
Cattleya Sidniana 
Cypripedium Dominii 
,, Harrisianunt 
„ vexillarium 
Dendrobium Dominii 
Goodyera Yeitchii 
Lselia Dominiana 
j) j j rosea 
,, Felix 
,, Pilcheri 
,, ,, alba 
,, Yeitchiana 
Phajus irroratus. 
Cypripedium Harrisianum (C. villosum x C. barba- 
turn) was the first artificially produced hybrid Cypripe¬ 
dium ever raised. It came up in the Chelsea Nursery 
in 1S64, and flowered five years afterwards. The 
variety C. H. superbum was one of the original batch 
of seedlings, and differs from the typical C. Harrisianum 
in having larger and much darker-coloured flowers, 
shining with a more conspicuous lustre ; the white 
margin and apex of the upper sepals are also broader 
and more conspicuous. 
Mr. Dominy also raised three seedling Nepenthes, 
namely, N. Dominii, N. hybrida and N. h. maculata, 
also Fuchsia Dominiana, a hybrid between F. serratifolia 
and F. spectibllis, which is figured in the Flore des 
Serres, t. 1004. On leaving Exeter a suitable presenta¬ 
tion was made to Mr. Dominy by the Exeter Horti¬ 
cultural Society, which had previously awarded him a 
Silver Medal for his experiments in hybridisation. In 
1880 the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society 
awarded him the society’s large Gold Flora Medal in 
recognition of his services to horticulture, and about 
the same time Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., pre¬ 
sented him, on behalf of himself and a few friends, with 
a gold watch. For the last ten years at least Mr. 
Dominy had been a member of the Floral and, latterly, 
of the Orchid Committees, and was widely esteemed 
and respected amoDg Orchid growers. The funeral 
took place at Exeter on Wednesday. 
