January IS, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
309 
committee to know that their efforts to provide an 
excellent entertainment had met with every success. 
He was sure that it was their pleasure to continue this 
source of attraction, and by their efforts to provide an 
entertainment that would meet with the support of 
the citizens. Last year the profits had been £164, 
which was very satisfactory indeed. They had to take 
into consideration the fact that several galas had been 
unsuccessfully held, but he hoped they would be able 
this year to again hold an exhibition as prosperous as 
last year. In proposing the election of the City 
Sheriff as president, Sir Joseph Terry stated that 
Councillor Clayton had consented to become a life 
member. The proposition was seconded by Alderman 
Rooke, and carried unanimously. Alderman Rooke 
proposed, and Alderman Matthews seconded, the re- 
election of Sir Joseph Terry as chairman, and the 
motion was adopted. Alderman Rooke was appointed 
vice-chairman, Mr. Joseph Wilkinson, treasurer, Mr. 
C. Simmons, secretary, and Mr. J. Pearson, auditor. 
The following were elected on the committee :—Messrs. 
Bland, Anderson, Balmford, Blenkin, Border, Browne, 
Chapman, Cooper, Craven, Dunkley, Garbutt, Hodgson, 
Kirby, Lambeth, McKay, Matthews, Milward, Preston, 
Rutherford, Sellar, Sharpe, Foster, and Wilson. Votes 
of thanks having been accorded to Alderman Matthews 
for the excellent way in which, as sheriff, he fulfilled 
the duties of president, and to Sir Joseph Terry for the 
genial way in which he had discharged the duties of 
chairman, the meeting terminated. 
-- 
WANTED, A PUBLIC HALL FOR 
HORTICULTURE. 
I AM much pleased to see you are giving publicity to 
suggestions as regards a hall for horticulture. After 
leading the various comments respecting it, many 
must have been surprised at the wide difference of 
opinion which exists as to the best me'thod of attaining 
the object in view. The Gardiners' Chronicle, in 
reviewing our circular in its issue of January 4th, 
remarks, “Like our friend, we, too, hope to see the 
day when we shall have a hall worthy of our great 
nation, and one which shall be available not only for 
the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society, but of 
all the special societies, of the Library, of the Horticul¬ 
tural Club, and of the charitable societies connected with 
horticulture. This has been a dream for many a long 
year, but when we see . . . the proposal being sent 
broadcast ... we begin to hope the dream may 
he fulfilled.” 
My friend, Mr. Shirley Hibberd, says if my sugges¬ 
tion as to soliciting donations from the wealthy be 
carried out, the scheme should have no help from him, 
and almost commands his friends not to have a hand 
in such an awful and dangerous work, yet the very same 
means that I suggest are adopted to build nearly all our 
churches, chapels, and other public buildings. How¬ 
ever, I am delighted to think that my firm has been the 
means of bringing out into the light of day that which 
Mr. Hibberd has so long kept under a bushel; but 
if he alludes to me as one of his friends who has 
heard of his proposals for a sort of pseudo Joint Stock 
Market, a Co-operative Store Company, or some such 
kindred concern, my friend was never more mistaken in 
his life, and I think he should show what evidence 
he has to that effect before putting forth such a 
statement. 
Mr. Hibberd alludes to a resolution which he put to 
the meeting in 1888, and lost ; but a year before that, in 
the side room, at the Albert Hall, I asked the Council 
not to finally engage the Drill Hall until the Fellows 
had time to consider its adaptability, and again at the 
same meeting, which he (Mr. Hibberd) mentions, I 
proposed that we should ask the Crystal Palace 
Company, and this resolution was also lost, conse¬ 
quently I have far more ground for considering that 
his ideas were boirowed from me, than he has to 
infer that I purloined his. Mr. Hibberd was present on 
both occasions, and probably heard me converse with 
several gentlemen present about procuring a site on the 
Thames Embankment. I think I am safe in saying 
that very few horticultural projects can be pointed out 
that have had a happy time where capital had to be 
borrowed, but we do know that many have had a 
disastrous ending. 
No one knows the extent of. these failures better than 
my friend, yet he almost makes it appear as if the Royal 
Horticultural Society is not doing as much good work, 
and is not as deserving of sympathy as any of the 
Polytechnic institutions which attract eleemosynary 
donations to the extent of £50,000 a year in London. 
My friend is so definite and determined on this point 
that I am afraid if some well-wisher, like the late Mr. 
Davies, were to bequeath us for a hall £1,000 or so, 
he would be for immediately returning such donation, 
saying it would lower the dignity and injure the very 
foundation of our society. No, every farthing to build 
this hall must be obtained by its own commercial 
pursuits, and, of course, be called the “ The Royal 
Horticultural Hall Trading Co., Unlimited,” the very 
thing, in my opinion, to destroy its charter, character, 
independence, and whatever good the society is 
intended to do. 
However, judging from the several inquiries I have 
received as to the sort of building that is needed, my 
hopes are more and more strengthened that we shall 
have assistance from some amongst the great and 
wealthy of this country, in order to place the society 
in a comfortable and becoming building equal to those 
possessed by horticulturists in Belgium and America. 
— H. Cannell, Swanley. 
-- 
GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVO¬ 
LENT INSTITUTION. 
By the courtesy of the secretary, Mr. E. R. Cutler, we 
have been favoured with a copy of the statement of 
accounts to be presented for adoption at the annual 
meeting on Thursday, at which, we understand, Dr. 
Masters, F.R.S., will preside. The business to be 
transacted will also include the election of two vice- 
presidents, in the places of the late Sir Morton Peto 
and Mr. Marnock ; and the Right Hon. Lord Revel- 
stoke, and C. Czarnikow, Esq., will be proposed by the 
committee. Mr. Harry Yeitch will also be proposed 
for re-election as treasurer ; Messrs. Lee, Meston and 
Willard, as auditors ; and Mr. E. R. Cutler, as secretary, 
for the forty-ninth time. The re-election of Messrs. 
J. F. Meston, J. Webber, A. Watkins, W. Y. Baker, 
and S. Osborne as members of the committee will also 
be proposed, and the names of Mr. Harry Turner and 
Mr. G. Wythes will be put forward to take the places 
vacant by the retirement of Mr. J. Sweet, and the 
death of Mr. J. Ridout. 
THE ELDER. 
If tradition can be said to carry with it some authority, 
then the Elder is a tree of great antiquity. There is a 
tradition to the effect that it was the tree upon which 
Judas Iscariot hanged himself, and Sir John Mandeville, 
who some centuries ago published a book of travels, and 
who is supposed to have been an eye-witness, tells us 
that in his day there stood in the vicinity of Mount 
Sion “the tree of Iildre that Judas hunge himself 
upon for despyr.” 
The Elder (Sambucus nigra) is a native of this 
country, and 1 should think it would, perhaps, be 
difficult to find a rustic village in the south of England 
that has not its Elder bush or tree. Dr. Prior thinks 
that the common name of Elder is derived from the 
Anglo-Saxon Ellen or Eller —words that seem to mean a 
kindler, and to be derived from Anglo-Saxon, Danish, 
and Swedish words which culminate in op helderen, 
kindle or brighten up—a name which we may suppose 
that it acquired from its hollow branches being used, 
like the Bamboo in the tropics, to blow up a fire. 
The common Elder is a tree of rapid growth when 
young, though it never appears to attain to a great size. 
It is remarkable for the stoutness of its shoots, which, 
when a year old, are as large as those of many other trees 
at two or three years of age. They are covered with a 
smooth grey bark, and contain an unusual proportion 
of pith, which being removed, the branches may easily 
be formed into tubes, and on this account the Elder 
was formerly called the Bore tree. The wood is white, 
and of a fine close grain, tough, and easily cut, hence 
it is used for making skewers and shoemakers’ pegs. 
The leaves have an unpleasant odour when bruised, 
which is supposed to be offensive to most insects, and 
a decoction of them is sometimes employed by gardeners 
to keep off caterpillars from delicate plants ( Treasury 
of Botany). The tree is very hardy, and endures in 
most bleak situations, though in the northern parts of 
Scotland the tree seldom ripens its fruit. One might 
truthfully speak of the Elder as Miss Plues does, as “ a 
very familiar friend.” The large flat cymes of flowers 
can be seen covering many a bush in every part of 
England in the months of June and July, while the 
overpowering scent makes itself perceptible at a great 
distance. But authorities are found differing somewhat 
as to the excellences of this bush. Evelyn states that 
if its virtues were fully known, no one need longer have 
any ailments ; and Dr. Boerhaave, of Leyden, thought 
so highly of its qualities that he never passed the tree 
without taking off his hat. But Pliny differed in 
opinion, and slightingly declared, in allusion to the 
hollow stems, that the plant was “all skin and bones.” 
But it is a useful plant in many ways, for, in addition 
to the uses already mentioned, it is said that a rob is 
made of the berries, which is a safe and excellent 
domestic remedy for colds, coughs and sore throats, 
and is slightly purgative. 
An immense deal of plant lore and myth has 
gathered about the Elder. In England the plant has 
been regarded with superstition from very early times, 
and is looked upon as a tree of bad omen. Branches 
of Elder were formerly considered to be typical of 
disgrace and woe. In Gloucestershire and some other 
counties, the peasantry will on no account burn Elder- 
wood, the reason being that it was supposed to be 
one of the trees from which the wood of the Cross was 
formed. In a rare old pamphlet on Gloucestershire 
superstitions, a figure is given of an Elder-wood cross 
borne constantly about the person as a cure for 
rheumatism. The cross consisted of a small piece cut 
from a young shoot just above and below a joint so 
as to leave the bud projecting at each end of it, after 
the fashion of a rude cross ; but, to be efficient, the 
Elder must have grown in consecrated ground. It is 
reported that in Tortworth, and in other Gloucester¬ 
shire churchyards, are to be found such trees, and 
applications for pieces of them are still made. Mr. 
Jones, in his Notes on Certain Superstitions in the Vale 
of Gloucester, cited the following, which, by the way, 
is said to be no unusual case :—“ Some men were 
employed in removing an old hedgerow partially 
formed of Elder trees. They had bound up all the 
other wood into faggots for burning, but had set apart 
the Elder, and inquired of their master how it was to 
he disposed of. Upon his saying that he should, of 
course, burn it with the rest, and ordering it to he 
faggotted, one of the men said, with an air of undis 
guised alarm, that he never heard of such a thing as 
burning Elder-wood ; and, in fact, so strongly did he 
feel upon the subject, that he refused to participate in 
the act of tying it up.” In the eastern counties also, 
the Elder is popularly thoughts to be the tree of 
647 14 4 
STATEMENT of the RECEIPTS and PAYMENTS 
INSTITUTION For. the Year 
Dr. 
£ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 
To Balance, 1SS3.. 
„ Annual Subscriptions...1,32S 0 0 
,, Donations at and in 
consequence of Annual 
4,S36 16 7 
,, Collecting Cards . 
... '994 
9 
9 
4,773 
15 
7 
,, Advertisements . 
... 63 
1 
0 
,, Dividends on Stock... 
... 600 
12 
6 
,, Interest on Deposits 
... 73 
14 
7 
Legacy, viz. 
,, Proceeds of Legacy of 
the late J. Rylands, 
Esq.. 
680 
1 9 
6,044 
£6,691 19 9 
Stock on 2| per Cent. Consols, £23,000. 
OF THE GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVOLENT 
ending 31st December, 1889. 
Cr. 
£ s. d. £ S. d. 
By Pensions and Gratuities. ... 2,34S 13 4 
, Secretary’s Salary and Honorarium 186 5 0 
, Rent of Offices. 15 0 0 
, Stationery . 25 6 S 
, Book of Cheques . 3 6 s 
, Printing. 155 0 0 
, Expenses of Annual Dinner. 153 16 10 
, Marion and Co., for Frames. 4 14 
, Postages and Sundry Betty Ex¬ 
penses . 
140 9 1 
„ Amount placed on Deposit . 1,000 0 0 
,, Purchase of £1,900 2} per Cent. 
Co sols . LS46 14 0 
,, Balance, viz.:— 
With Treasurer at Bankers 
,, Secietary. 
743 5 7 
3,091 18 11 
2,846 14 0 
5,938 12 11 
Audited January 
( JOH1 
13th, 1S90, < J. F. 
I J. W 
729 2 3 
24 4 7 
- 753 6 10 
£6,691 19 9 
JOHN LEE 
'. MESTON 
ILLARD. 
