374 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 15, 1890. 
tubers does not evoke much interest to the casual 
observer, but to those who know what an amount of 
beauty and worth lie folded up in some of them, and 
slumbering only for a season, they have a very great 
attraction, as was instanced by Mr. Cannell very 
tenderly taking up a small tuber to show me, at the 
same time saying, “I want 50 guineas for this tuber ” ; 
and when he went on to say, “only two persons are 
allowed to handle it,” I thought it best to turn my 
eyes another way for fear the tuber should somewhat 
diminish in size under my credulous gaze, and I should 
be charged for the depreciation. 
Fifty guineas for a Begonia ! It was enough to take 
one’s breath away. But, then, it must be remembered 
that that single tuber is the only one of its kind at 
present, and I hope to again have the pleasure of 
another good stare at “her”—for it is called “The 
Bride ”—-when she has awakened from her slumber 
and put on the full panoply of her bridal dress, as by 
all accounts, and the several First Class Certificates 
awarded it, it is the most lovely, bewitching, and most 
fetching of all the tuberous double-flowered bridal 
Begonias yet raised, and is another worthy representa¬ 
tive of the splendid Swanley strain. 
Vast strides have been made in recent years in the 
way of improved strains of the more popular of our 
florists’ flowers, and it is but natural that each florist 
should look upon his own improved forms in the 
different strains of the specialties in which he deals 
as the best. 
It is to the superior strains of the different flowers 
grown at Swanley that a good deal of the well-earned 
popularity of the “Home of Flowers ” is due, and in 
the growing of their plants to so great excellence their 
Real Manure, no doubt, plays a part, coupled with the 
real abilities of the men who know so well how to 
handle and treat the several subjects under their 
respective charges ; but to the bringing of the plants 
into such glorious wealths of floral beaut} 7 , a great deal 
is due to the very suitable light and airy structures in 
which the plants are grown, specially built to meet 
their several requirements, and may be put down with 
the manure as Real Houses for the purpose. 
In construction these houses are low span-roofs, with 
the path down the middle. The stages for the plants 
are on each side, and placed well up to the roof glass, 
thus preventing, by any possibility, the plants becoming 
drawn up, thin, and weakly. A flow and return pipe 
is on each side of the pathway at the ground level, 
and another flow and return elevated on a level with 
the eaves.' These latter prevent any stagnation of air 
and moisture hanging about the plants, secure the 
flowers against damping, and complete the heating of 
the house. 
What a contrast these structures are to the many 
abominable makeshifts —- by courtesy called plant 
houses—in scores of private places, and which gardeners 
have to put up with, yet out of which they are expected 
to produce wonders in the way of flowers—possibilities, 
I need hardly say, very seldom realised ! 
It is a notable fact that if any of our trade growers 
want to grow any particular plant in quantity, and to 
the highest perfection, they erect houses suitably 
constructed and specially adapted to meet the require¬ 
ments of that particular plant, and are careful not to 
crowd the house with hosts of other plants for w T hich it 
is not adapted. These facts are in strong contrast with 
what is to be seen in many private places, where, if a 
house is erected for plant-growing, absurd demands are 
expected from the gardener by his employer, not only 
in the way of quantity and quality of one or two kinds 
of flowers, but he is expected to produce large quantities 
of several kinds of flowers, for which neither the 
capacity nor the adaptability of the house is suited. 
In short, he is expected to use it for the growing of 
all kinds of plants, and may be just on something of 
the happy family principle, a sort of plant menagerie, 
where several kinds of families are soon collected, but 
are not bargained for, in the shape of mealy-bug, 
thrip, red-spider, scale, and aphis, kinds which soon 
become the worry and bane of the gardener’s life, in 
trying to keep the several pests down. To do this they 
cause him more anxiety, and take up more time than 
would the growing of three or four houses full of 
healthy plants, were the houses specially set apart for 
each subject, or may be two or three subjects for which 
the houses would be suitable. 
Is it, then, to be wondered at that under such cir¬ 
cumstances gardeners so frequently fail to produce 
anything but feeble attenuated plants, with only a 
modicum of poor flimsy flowers, and that their employers 
should be disappointed at their inability to produce 
more from these houses of happy family notoriety ? It 
may be thought that I exaggerate, and that my picture is 
overdrawn, but I know places, large places too, where 
every foot of glass is devoted to fruit culture—Grapes, 
Peaches, Melons, Tomatos, &e., yet thousands of bed¬ 
ding plants have to be got forward annually, and at 
the same time a constant supply of cut flowers is 
expected of the gardener in charge, and all from the 
same glass of course. Under such circumstances one 
or two things is inevitable, either the fruit or flowers 
must be a failure if the other is to be good, or the two 
must be very mediocre indeed, and each very much 
below the supply demanded. — J. Kipling. 
-- ago - 
FIGS AT GUNNERSBURY PARK. 
A batch of small plants in pots are kept back as much 
as possible during the summer, and then placed in heat 
in autumn. The fruits on these ripen about Christmas 
and give a wonderful supply of fruit. Then one of the 
houses containing old-established trees planted out are 
started early, with the result that the figs are now 
about the size of pigeon’s eggs, or larger. The large 
trees are confined to two sorts, namely, Brown Turkey 
and White Marseilles. The latter forces easily, but 
its first crop from last year’s wood is always a light 
one. What fruits there are, are mostly confined to the 
tips of the shoots. The second crop is, however, 
usually heavy. The tree is adapted for open air culture 
against a wall. When mature the fruit is round, pale 
green, ridged, and of a most delicious flavour. 
The Brown Turkey, on the contrary, is laden with 
fruit about equally all over last year’s wood. Takiug 
all things into consideration, this is about the best 
all-round Fig, and the most generally cultivated in this 
country. In the open air it may be grown as a standard 
or trained against a wall; and indoors, proves most 
useful for forcing or ordinary culture. Mr. Reynolds, 
gardener to the Messrs. Rothschild, manages the 
successive batches, either in pots or planted out, with 
great success. 
-- 
UNITED HORTICULTURAL PRO¬ 
VIDENT AND benefit society. 
The twenty-fourth annual general meeting of the 
members of this admirable society was held on Monday 
evening last at the Caledonian Hotel, Mr. J. Wright 
presiding. The report of the committee and statement 
of accounts showed the society to be in a prosperous 
condition, and making good progress as regards the 
admission of new members, forty having joined during 
the past year. The number of benefit members now on 
the books is 312. The amount of sick pay disbursed 
during the year was £37 1 5s. 4 d., a trifle more than 
last year, and divided among twenty members. At the 
present time there are only two sick members on the 
fund. One death had occurred during the year, viz., 
Mr. Arthur Barker, of Hindlip, who was ill for many 
weeks, but who made no claim for sick pay. The balance 
in favour of the benefit fund is £3,478 18s. 11 \d., an 
increase of over £400 during the year. The balance in 
favour of the benevolent fund is £1,416 14s. 10|<7., 
and no call upon this fund had been made during the 
year. The management fund was also in a satisfactory 
state, the total receipts for the year being £127 15s. 10if., 
and the expenditure £106 2s. 8 %d. The treasurer’s 
account showed the invested funds to be over £5,000. 
In moving the adoption of the report, which was 
seconded by Mr. R. Dean, and carried unanimously, the 
chairman said about seven years ago he made him¬ 
self better acquainted with this society than he had 
before, by a close examination of its books. He had 
recently examined the books again, and the more he 
looked into the constitution of the society and its 
working over a period of years the more he was satisfied 
on the following essential points:—1. Its absolute 
safety and undoubted stability. 2. Its great excell¬ 
ence and wonderful comprehensiveness. 3. The 
advantages it offered over general benefit societies. 
4. Its careful, economical, and admirable management. 
Now given those conditions—and he was thoroughly 
convinced they were embodied in this society—then he 
asked, What more could be expected or desired of a 
benefit and provident institution ? The “United” was 
safe and sound — ‘safe ’ because the benefit funds were 
invested in Government and Corporation stock ; 
‘ sound ’ because they have from the beginning until 
now, and without any exception, increased in an 
enormously greater ratio than the withdrawals for 
sickness, and this preponderating increase of capital 
over liabilities must continue so long as the same con¬ 
ditions continued—a steady accession of members and 
the maintenance of the average health statistics. The 
chairman continued :—The report shows the prosperity 
and usefulness of the society. The experience, how¬ 
ever, of any one year does not adequately represent its 
character ; yet if we take what may be called the worst 
year—the year in which the deductions for sickness 
were by far the greatest on record, and which may be 
regarded as abnormal—we find the receipts exceeded 
the expenditure by no less than £263 13s. Id. That 
was in 1887. Passing to 1889, we find the income 
exceeded the outlay by £421 6s. 8 d ; or, in other words, 
a gain in receipts of £134 7s. 6 d., and a reduction in 
sick disbursements of £43 5s. ul. over 1887—a very 
marked improvement on both sides of the ledger. But 
a fairer test for ascertaining the true position of the 
society is to take an average of the last five years, and 
this shows a yearly addition to the benefit fund of 
£345 2s. 7 d., and an average annual outlay of £32 3s., 
or a yearly gain for investment during the period of 
£312 19s. Id. Multiply this by five, and we find that 
the sum acquired in as many years, and placed to the 
credit of the members, to be no less than 
£1,564 17s. lit?. Is not this remarkable? I 
suspect unparalleled, and especially when the fact 
is remembered, for a fact it is, that there is not a 
farthing of expense as a set-off against it, this being 
met by a small special fund provided by the far-seeing 
founders of this splendid institution. Further, when, 
as we find in the balance sheet, a sum exceeding £5,000 
now stands to the credit of the society, surely not another 
word is needed on the question of its safety and sta¬ 
bility. Passing to the second claim—the great excellence 
and wonderful comprehensiveness of the society—one 
of its excellencies is common to all benefit societies— 
namely, the right of members to payment during 
sickness over a prescribed period. When the limit is 
reached—a year—and a member continues ill, there is a 
substantial benevolent fund to grant him further aid, 
of which he may more than ever be in need. No one 
knows till occasions unfortunately arrive, what good 
this wisely-established fund may do. It has been of 
great service under sad circumstances in the past, and 
may be, and probably will be, a perfect Godsend in the 
future to poor aged and needy fellow mortals. Ordinary 
members only contribute one monthly contribution to 
the fund, its main support being by contributions of 
honorary members. Gardeners’ friends who have the 
means and disposition to [do so, are thus afforded -an 
opportunity for sharing in the good work of providing 
against unforeseen calamities, or for affording additional 
or supplementary relief to the sick payments in case of 
emergency. 
Next to be referred to are the striking advantages 
the “United” offers over general benefit societies. 
Here we come to something that stands alone, distinct, 
and superior to anything than can be found in 
connection with any other benefit society—the invest¬ 
ment of the surplus accumulated capital, excluding 
£1,416 14s. lOrf. of the benevolent fund, now amount¬ 
ing to £3478 18s. 11^5?., to the credit of the members. 
This is theirs, not only without any drawbacks, but 
with all accumulations, for the yearly interest on each 
member’s share is added to his capital investment, for 
it is as surely his as if the money passed from his own 
hands into the Bank of England. Further, the exact 
amount banked for each member is made known to 
him every year. The sums are steadily accumulating, 
last year’s increase being £400, and will do so as long 
as the subscriptions are paid ; and even if they lapse, 
the amount invested remains the property of the 
defaulting member, and is payable to him if he attain 
the age of sixty years, or at his death, whenever that 
may occur, to his nominee, whose name is entered on 
the books ; but—and here is a little penalty which the 
shrewd authors of this grand scheme imposed :—When 
a member ceases payment—ceases, in fact, to be a 
member, the interest earned by his share of invested 
capital is not added to it, but is transferred to the 
management fund ; and at the present moment a sum 
of £339 16s. 4|d. stands to the credit of persons whose 
payments have lapsed. They lose the interest on that 
amount, therefore the society does not lose by losing a 
few members, but gains. Still, it is always striving 
for more. Why ? Because it is for their benefit. That 
is the great central, indeed, only possible object of its 
existence. No power on earth can deprive a member 
of one farthing of his investment, and no official has a 
fraction of pecuniary interest in the increase of those 
investments. 
All the benefits of this society, including the sub¬ 
stantial personal investments, are insured by smaller 
annual payments than to general benefit societies, the 
members of which have no share whatever in the 
invested reserve funds. Mr, G. Baker, of Membland 
