372 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 15, 1890. 
The vote of thanks to the honorary secretary, 
the Rev. W. Wilks, was thoroughly deserved, 
for he is one of the best and hardest-working 
secretaries the Society ever had. The treasurer, 
Mr. Morris, who was also thanked, occupies a 
somewhat different position to the secretary, 
in being a Government official with an easy 
berth at Ivew, to which is attached a 
salary of £700 a year, so that if he 
devotes—with the sanction, we presume, of 
his official chief—some considerable portion of 
his time to the service of the Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society, it is pretty evident that the 
nation pays him well for it; and the vote of 
thanks, in his case, should rather in gratitude 
have been given to Her Majesty’s Government 
for allowing him to place so much of his time 
and ability at the service of the Society. The 
cpiestion put by a Fellow, respecting the con¬ 
dition under which the Lindley Library is 
placed at the disposal of the Fellows of the 
Society, was so very imperfectly replied to 
that no one was one whit the wiser as to how 
hooks may he obtained from it if required. 
The assertion, also, that through dispensing 
with the services of a paid assistant-secretary 
£150 per annum is saved, is an astounding 
statement when it is remembered Iioav much 
boasting there has been of late years that the 
paid secretary’s salary Avas furnished from pri¬ 
vate sources. One of the most satisfactory 
declarations of the president Avas that in favour 
of maintaining the integrity of Chiswick. 
Hall for Horticulture.— Our good friend 
Mr. Cannell may Avell fling up his hands, 
and cheer as he did so enthusiastically after 
hearing Baron Schroder’s remarkable speech 
at the meeting on Tuesday last. His Avarm- 
hearted project for the erection in London of 
a Horticultural Hall as a permanent city home 
for the Royal Horticultural Society, and some 
other allied bodies, never Avas nearer realisation 
than at the present moment. For this hope¬ 
ful state of things we have to thank that able 
member of the Council, distinguished financier, 
enthusiastic horticulturist, and truly amiable 
gentleman, Baron Schroder. The speech alone 
which he made to the meeting—one of the 
most practical and best Ave eA*er heard at a 
Fellow’s meeting, served of itself to make the 
event a red-letter one in the history of the 
society. 
The proposals put forth by Baron Schroder 
were so bold, and yet so practical, backed as 
they Avere by the emphatic spirit of confidence 
in which they were uttered, that not a single 
note of doubt or distrust Avas spoken by any 
one. The unanimity Avith which they were 
received Avas not due to the voice of the 
charmer one half so much as to the fact that 
he spoke as a profoundly practical man of 
business. The proposition to convert all the 
money lent, as it Avere, into repayable bonds 
without interest, staggered the meeting, for 
nothing of the kind Avas looked for, The 
suggestion combines in the truest possible 
way the A'oluntary and the commercial; the 
money is not given, but lent without interest, 
and to be repaid in due course. Mhat can 
be more fair or more honourable 1 Ho Avonder 
that oA'er £2,000 Avas promised at the meet¬ 
ing, Baron Schroder himself starting Avith the 
munificent lead of £1,000. The opportunity is 
indeed a grand one, and in face of it Ave hope 
to hear not a single discordant sound. The 
RoA T al Horticultural Society has now a splendid 
opportunity; and if the FelloAvs and their 
friends will respond heartily, it may live to 
enjoy a glorious—a noble future. 
loral Death Tributes.—T he numerous 
Avreaths sent by many friends as tributes 
of sympathetic sorroAv and respect Avhen the 
remains of our friend, the late Mr. Wild smith, 
were carried to the grave, formed but one 
example out of myriads now of the remarkable 
hold this custom has upon civilised people. 
That during a single year enormous sums must 
be expended on the production of wreaths for 
funeral purposes is certain, and perhaps many 
think that the money is Avell expended, 
while some others may think that these sums 
properly applied might furnish more lasting 
and Avortliier memorials. There are many who 
regard the custom solely from a selfish aspect, 
and are content because it brings grist to the mill. 
But, after all, there is an element of sadness 
about funeral Avreaths, which is not evidenced 
at the moment, but displays itself in a few days. 
Beautiful floAvers, pure, snow-Avhite, fresh from 
the heated houses, may be tributes of exceeding 
Avorth at the moment of sepulchre, but after 
exposure to bleak winds, sharp frosts, heavy 
rains, and all the inclemencies of the season, 
soon fade and die aAvay, and then there is 
hardly to be found on earth a more sad¬ 
dening object than is a bedraggled, Avithered, 
and dead floral wreath. One of those of 
Mr. Wildsmith’s many friends who attended 
the funeral took Avith him a box filled Avith 
tiny bunches of pretty Avhite and coloured 
Primrose flowers. These, distributed amongst 
the mourning gardeners present, were taken 
with avidity, that they might be cast upon 
the coffin after being deposited in its final 
resting place—typically, a desire that he AA r ho 
had in life so much loved to create floral 
beauty might have his path to the other 
Avorld, figuratively strewn with flowers. The 
metaphor may seem an odd one, but there was 
much beauty in it nevertheless. Would that 
it AA’ere more widely adopted, because the 
flowers once buried are unable to bear painful 
Avitness of hoAV readily man cometh up and is 
cut down like a flower. 
onours to Gardeners. — Those of our 
readers Avho, beyond reading the reference 
we made last Aveek to a deceased gardener, saw 
what kind and generous references Avere made 
to him by some of our contemporaries, Avill 
not fail to have remarked that at length 
there seems to be some hope that gardeners 
may receive henceforth that recognition their 
undoubted merits, both as gardeners and as 
men, deserve at the hands of their professional 
papers. Let us express a fervent hope that 
no one, in perusing the various eulogiums thus 
written upon the late Mr. Wildsmith, felt one 
touch of envy. Personal tributes they were, 
but not less Avere they tributes to the pro¬ 
fession, of Avhich he Avas so admirable a member. 
Mr. Wildsmith was, perhaps, for A'arious 
reasons, much more Avidely known than the 
majority of his compeers; but, all the same, 
there are to be found scores of gardeners as 
Avorthy as he, but whose virtues and merits, so 
far, have not received that full meed of 
recognition which they deserve. What we are 
anxious, therefore, to do is to point out the 
moral of these recent kindly references. 
They mark an advance in generosity and in 
courtesy. We have in the past too much 
eulogised the great ones of horticulture—the 
scientist or the trader, and have not given 
full recognition to the claims of the workers 
in horticulture. 
Even the proposal iioav being put forth, 
to raise a memorial to Mr. Wildsmith should 
be regarded as a special compliment paid to 
gardeners, and for that reason, as also because 
of our Avarm recollections of the departed, 
Ave wish for it every success. We have raised 
memorials to some others occupying high 
positions in horticulture, but this seems to 
be about the first of its kind originated to the 
memory of a gardener. May it prove to be 
the pioneer of better things for the rank and 
file of a profession which does so much to 
beautify the earth, and bring it nearer to our 
ideal of heaven ! 
-- 
Gardening Appointments.—Hr. J. Ellam, formerly 
gardener at Bodorgan and Cliveden, as superintendent 
of the University Parks at Oxford, in succession to Mr. 
W. H. Baxter, who has retired on a pension. Mr. 
'William Sorley, from the nursery of Mr. John Downie, 
as gardener to Baron Schroder, The Rookery, Nantwich, 
Cheshire. 
An Amusing Speech at a Flower Show Meeting.— 
A meeting was recently held in the good town of 
Rothesay in connection with the Bute Horticultural 
Society, when the following speech was delivered by a 
worthy townsman in support of a proposal to carry on 
the annual flower show. Ex-Provost Sharp said that 
“ in Helensburgh and other towns the size of Rothesay 
there were more gentlemen with grounds, whereas 
Rothesay was inhabited by a lot of old women who 
wanted to let their houses and didn’t care a docken 
about the subject except to get cheap cabbages. He 
was in favour of carrying on the show, however.” It 
was agreed to continue the show, and make it open to 
all comers. 
Scottish Horticultural Association.—The monthly 
meeting of this association was held on the 4th insf., 
at 5, St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, Mr. D. P. Laird, 
presiding. Councillor James Colston was elected an 
honorary life member in recognition of the services he 
had rendered to the association. Mr. Alexander 
Mackenzie intimated that proof copies were now ready 
of the prize list and rules of a Chrysanthemum 
exhibition which the Association had arranged to hold in 
the Waverley Market on three days in November next. 
Mr. Robertson Munro, secretary, intimated that the 
Waverley Market was to be obtained on the same 
terms as last year. A discussion on the rules of the 
show followed. The chairman moved that the 
association send to Mr. H. M. Stanley a letter of 
congratulation on the successful accomplishment of his 
mission. He suggested that in the letter they should 
more fully speak of the benefits that horticulture might 
be expected to derive from his journey. Mr. Mackenzie, 
in seconding the motion, said that they might even 
look forward to Mr. Stanley opening their show in 
November for them. The motion was unanimously 
adopted. 
Horticultural Congress at Paris.—The sixth con¬ 
gress, organised by the National Horticultural Society 
of France, will be held in Paris during the General 
Horticultural Exhibition, which will take place from 
the 21st to the 26th of May next. The meetings will 
be held at the hotel of the society, 84, Rue de Grenelle, 
the first on Thursday, the 22nd of May, at 3 p.m.; the 
second and third on Friday and Saturday, at 2 p.m. 
Those who intend taking part in the congress, whether 
members of the society or not, should inform the 
president, M. A. Hardy, at the above address, as soon 
as possible. Six questions have been proposed for 
discussion—(1) Have the cultivated varieties of plants 
an existence analogous to that of individuals, such as 
divers authors affirm, that after a period of vigour they 
decline, become weaker and finally disappear ? (2) Is 
it necessary to obtain flowers with variegated corollas, 
to first obtain flowers with white corollas ? (3) To 
examine the tariff of railway companies, applied to the 
transport of vegetables and horticultural commodities. 
(4) Chemical manures in horticulture : their mode of 
employment. (5) To examine the tariffs of custom 
houses, and to procure improvements with regard to 
horticultural products. (6) The means of destroying 
the enemies of cultivated plants. 
Ancient Yews at Preen and Crowhnrst.—Speaking 
recently at the annual meeting of the Shropshire 
Archaeological and Natural History Society, Mr. Arthur 
Sparrow, F.S.A., said: “In the churchyard of the 
parish of Church Preen Ave have one of the largest, if 
not the largest, yew trees in England. I very carefully 
measured this tree last week, and its proportions are as 
follows Girth round tree at ground, 40 ft. 5 ins. ; 
one foot from ground, 30 ft. 10 ins. ; at four feet, 21 ft. 
9 ins. ; at seven feet, 22 ft. The tree is at least 50 ft. 
high, and its branches measure 61 ft. 6 ins. across, or 
a circumference of nearly 200 ft. The trunk of the tree 
is hollow, and measures 5 ft. 6 ins. across inside. It 
is this width for 10 ft., and will hold inside twenty-one 
men standing upright. Notwithstanding the decay of 
the trunk, the tree is, to all appearance, thoroughly 
healthy, and every year throws out fresh wood. For¬ 
tunately the size of this tree was recorded in 1780 and 
also in 1833 ; in the former year it measured 32 ft. 
2 ins. round at ground, and 19 ft. at four feet from 
ground, showing that the growth in 109 years has been 
2 ft. 9 ins. In 1833 the measurement at ground was 
36 ft., and at 4 ft. from ground 20 ft., so that in the 
last 56 years it does not appear to have increased in 
size. The only yew tree that I know at all comparable 
in size to the Preen Yew is the famous tree at 
Crowhurst, in Sussex. This tree is stated to be 33 ft. 
at ground ; onrs is over 40 ft. The Crowhurst tree is, 
however, 264 ft. at 5 ft. from the ground, and our tree 
is 22 ft. at 7 ft. I saw the Crowhurst tree some two or 
three years ago ; it did not then strike me as possessing 
anything like the vigour and health of the tree at 
Preen. As to the age of our tree, it is difficult to form 
an opinion, but I think we may be sure that when 
Preen Church was built in the 13th century it was a 
giant tree. 
