June 6, 1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
641 
less light than many kinds. Ferns with care are 
satisfactory as window plants, Adiantum cuneatum 
and Pteris serrulata being very pretty; and for 
hardy kinds, Polystichum angulare proliferum and 
Scolopendrium vulgare, (common Hart’s-tongue) will 
thrive in a shady aspect. The great success in 
window plants is to keep them clean, and be careful 
in watering ; in a room in which there is a fire daily, 
plants will require much more water. It is better not 
to over-pot, and when watering to give sufficient to 
wet the whole ball of soil.— R.G.W. 
-- 
DAVALLIA TENUIFOLIA BURKEI. 
We have much pleasure in noting this splendid 
addition to the forms of D. tenuifolia already in 
cultivation. It may be seen with Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons, Chelsea, in their splendid collection of Ferns. 
D. t. Veitchi is well known for its beautifully 
divided and graceful erect fronds. That under notice 
is decidedly a basket plant with arching and drooping 
fronds of great beauty. They are light green, four 
to five times pinnatisect, with narrowly wedge- 
shaped, emarginate or bifid segments. The old 
fronds keep good till long after the young ones are 
fully developed. An intermediate house suits it 
admirably, and its cultivation is of the easiest. 
Messrs. Veitch kindly supplied us with the 
accompanying illustration. 
-- 
THE GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVO¬ 
LENT INSTITUTION. 
The fifty-seventh anniversary festival of this institu¬ 
tion was held in the Whitehall Rooms, Hotel 
Metropole, London, on the 30th ult., under the 
presidency of The Right Hon. The Earl of Lathom, 
G.C.B , P.C. There was a short toast list, but the 
evening was a lengthy one owing to the numerous 
speakers and ‘the music which occupied the intervals. 
About 140 sat down to dinner. 
The Chairman proposed “ The Queen (our 
Patroness),” and after an interval rose again to 
propose ” H.R.H. The Prince of Wales (our Patron) 
and the rest of the Royal Family.” The toast of the 
evening, "Continued Success to the Institution,” 
was also rendered by the chairman. He began by 
saying that in looking over the lists of those who had 
occupied the chair before him on similar occasions, 
he noted many of gardening importance who were 
much more familiar with the subject than he was, 
and he had a little diffidence in coming before them. 
The Earl paid a high tribute to the gardener as a 
factor in beautifying our landscapes with trees, in the 
raising and growing of which as well as flowers 
under glass and in the open, he was so closely identi¬ 
fied that his labours deserved something more than 
a passing recognition at the hands of his fellow men. 
The chairman also said that he had seen gardens and 
gardeners at home and abroad, but he had never seen 
better than those in this country, for which he had 
reason to be highly satisfied. 
He made short excursions into the domain 
of some of the more popular flowers raised by 
gardeners; then in reverting to the Institution he 
admired the “help myself” spirit which pervaded 
the society. Those men who had given up their whole 
lives to the science and practice of gardening deserved 
well, and the Institution had accomplished great and 
important work and highly to be honoured, in pro¬ 
viding a fund that would help them in their old age 
when no longer able to pursue their vocation. On 
the part of the gardeners themselves, he said that if 
they could contrive to subscribe a guinea a year for 
a few years they would be able to secure a pension 
of £20, which he considered a very good insurance. 
The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institution not 
only helped gardeners but their widows, which was 
a great point in favour of the Institution and all con¬ 
cerned. At present 157 pensioners were supported 
out of the funds, eighty-two of them being men and 
seventy-five women. This list of pensioners cost 
the Institution something like £ 2,800 annually. Not¬ 
withstanding this fact, there were still thirty-one 
pressing cases awaiting for election; so that it 
behoved all concerned to make further effort to 
augment the funds. Before sitting down, he coupled 
with the toast the name of Mr. H. J. Veitch, the 
treasurer and chairman of committee. 
Mr. Veitch said that during the past ten years the 
strength of the Institution had materially increased. 
A sum of £10,000 had been added to the funds which 
now amounted to £31,000. The whole of the reserve 
capital was invested in consols. During the same 
period the pensions of the men had been raised from 
£16 to £20, and those of their widows had been 
raised to the former figure. He considered these 
sums well spent on men who had worked hard all 
their lives, but whose income had prevented them 
from making provisions for old age. Mr. Veitch 
also referred in feeling terms to the death of their 
dear old friend, Mr. John Wills, who was a great 
supporter of the Institution, and whom they had 
lost since their previous meeting. 
His Honour Judge Philbrick, Q.C., proposed 
“Horticulture,” and said that “gardening is the 
greatest refreshment to the spirit of man,” and in 
other words that it had brought restoration and 
peace to the troubled spirit of man. The love for 
horticulture was one of the charms of life, and 
besides the mere charm of gardening the latter 
supplied the garniture of the table. The man who 
had a reverence for beauty and a love of nature 
deserved well of his country. As Britains we had 
reason to be proud of the science of horticulture, 
which brought grace to life and beauty to our homes, 
as well to the home of the humble artisan with his 
flower in a pot, as to the lord. He alluded to the work 
of the gardener as an honest one, and that the work 
made him honest and a highly respectable member 
of the community. He alluded to his learned friend 
the Earl of Lathom and the interest he took in 
gardening, than whom there was no more honest 
gentleman. There was no greater triumph than that 
of horticulture and the improvements it had effected, 
even amongst the commonest things, but nothing 
was to be considered common which the Almighty 
had taken in hand. With the toast he coupled the 
name of Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart. 
Sir Oswald said he was not a sufficiently competent 
speaker to do justice in replying to the toast. His 
grandfather, however, was a botanist, an entomologist 
and every other 'ologist he could remember. For 
his own part he had a garden kept in the usual 
way, and took an interest in botany and horticulture. 
He said a great feature of horticulture was the shows 
held all over the country. Men who used to attend 
sports and public-houses, now went home from work 
to tend their gardens. 
Mr. Arnold Moss then rose to propose “The 
Committee and Stewards,” and described them as a 
very important class. He detailed some of the more 
important work they had been able to accomplish 
and coupled with the toast the name of Mr. Sherwood. 
At this point Mr. G. J. Ingram was called upon to 
read the list of donations that had been promised on 
behalf of the Institution. The following are some of 
the items of the donations promised:—The Queen, 
£25; the Chairman, £25 ; Messrs, de Rothschild, 
100 gs. ; Leopold de Rothschild, Esq., £1 o, annual 
subscription, and a dona tion of £25 ; the stewards 
(through N. N. Sherwood, Esq.), £125 ; Walter Cob, 
Esq., £112 5s.; the Duke of Bedford, £50; Sir 
Trevor Lawrence, Bart., 20 gs. ; Messrs. J. Veitch 
& Sons, 25 gs. ; Mr, Wm. Bull, 6 gs.; Arnold 
Moss, Esq., 5 gs. ; Messrs. Wm. Cutbush & Son, 
£rr rrs. ; N. N. Sherwood, Esq., £005; Lord 
Burton, £52 ros. ; Sir Oswald Mosley, £ro, and £ro 
annual subscription ; Baron Schroder, £25 ; W. 
Bennett. Esq., £21; Dicksons, Chester, £10 10s. ; 
W. Thompson, Esq., £r5 15s.; John Corry, Esq., 
£25, and £3 3s. annual subscription; Viscount 
Powerscourt, £10 ros.; W. Mackay, Esq , £25; J. 
K. White, Esq. (Worcester Auxiliary), £60; and 
Messrs. Fisher, Son, and Sibray, £5 5s. The total 
collected was £2,r8o. 
N. N. Sherwood. Esq., rose to reply to the toast of 
the “ Committee and Stewards,” and said that there 
was no committee which carried out its work more 
faithfully than that alluded to. He himself had been 
made steward for twenty-five times, which meant 
that he had attended twenty-five dinners, and had 
bothered his friends constantly for donations. The 
company was honoured that night by the second 
greatest mason in England. His masonic friends 
were usually very liberal and had responded well to 
the call. He himself had arrived at the age of fifty 
years, and having been blessed with health, he con¬ 
sidered he ought to do something for the Institution, 
and asked the secretary to recognise his name for 
roo gs. 
The Right Hon. Viscount Powerscourt proposed 
" The Chairman,” who took a keen interest in horti¬ 
cultural matters and all that pertains thereto. He 
himself had devoted the whole of his life to the culti¬ 
vation of trees as well as indoor plants. The climate 
of Ireland enabled him to succeed with many things 
which could not be grown in the north of England. 
He also referred to the benefits which had been 
conferred by the Institution upon gardeners no longer 
able to follow their profession, and that gardeners, 
who faithfully attended to* their arduous duties, 
deserved the greatest possible encouragement. He 
wished that the poor in Ireland could be induced to 
take a greater interest in horticulture than they did ; 
but that societies were trying to foster this idea. 
The Chairman, in replying, hoped that the income 
of the Institution would increase fourfold by this 
time next year, and before sitting down related some 
of his own doings and experiences in horticulture. 
Mr. Sherwood next proposed “ Mr. Ingram, the 
secretary ; ” and said that when the late Mr. Roger 
Cutler died, they thought they would have difficulty 
in finding a suitable man to fill the vacancy. Mr. 
Ingram had followed in the footsteps of his pre¬ 
decessor, and to-day the Institution was a greater 
success than ever. Mr. H. J. Veitch could say what 
the secretary had done for the cause ; and he felt 
sure that Mr. Ingram's first and last thought each 
day was about the Institution. Mr. Ingram feelingly 
responded. 
Davallia tenuifolia Burkei. 
