July 11th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
709 
life and vigour were imparted to it. From that day 
forth it had been as flourishing as any of the lovely 
products they saw on the tables before them. They 
had had something like 500 annuitants receiving 
pensions of £16 and £12 per annum. It was gratifying 
to reflect that, as men engaged in commerce, they 
could yet feel they had contributed to smooth the last 
days of many a poor sufferer. Until last Christmas the 
pensions were only £16 for men, and £12 for women, 
but, owing to a legacy of £450. and a most generous 
donation of £500 from an anonymous donor, they had 
made a great effort to increase the pensions, which 
they felt to be somewhat inadequate. By the great 
liberality of their contributors, they had been enabled 
to fund such a sum as would allow the committee to 
raise the pensions from £16 to £20 for men, and from 
£12 to £16 for women. At the present time they had 
104 annuitants—54 men and 50 women. The chief aim 
of this society had been to endeavour to make gardeners 
feel the value of thrift, because they honestly believed 
that it was right for everyone to assist those who had 
first tried to assist themselves; hence the fundamental 
rule of the society was that any gardener who sub¬ 
scribed his guinea a year for eighteen years, or who 
gave his ten guineas in one donation, should take 
precedence over any others who might be elected. 
Another fundamental principle was to make their 
expenditure for all efficient work as small as possible, 
and he was glad to say that nearly the whole of the 
contributions went to the annuitants. Referring to 
the lovely display of flowers before him, he said it was 
very difficult to dissociate the product from the 
producer. This bower of roses, this beautiful exhibi¬ 
tion, if not a flow of soul was certainly a feast of 
reason, and on behalf of the company present he 
desired to thank the Duke of Westminster (a liberal 
contributor to their funds), Messrs. Yeitch & Sons,Mr. 
J. Laing, Mr. Cutbush, Mr. Paul, Mr. Fraser, Mr. B. 
S. Williams, and others, for their lovely presents of 
fruits and flowers. They all knew the value of 
flowers. Even the ordinary households of the present 
day were not well furnished unless there were a few 
cut-flowers on the table, and the children went into 
the hedgerows to find some little flower to take home 
to their cottage or garret, where it exercised a 
humanizing influence. If they contributed liberally 
to the funds of this institution, when they went round 
their own garden they would see a greater delight, and 
smell a sweeter perfume in every flower. By their 
generous actions that night, everything would be 
intensified to their heartfelt satisfaction and lasting 
pleasure through life. 
Presentation to Mr. Cutler.— In adding to their 
funded property the committee had been greatly 
assisted by the secretary, who, since the year 1842, had 
night and day, without stint and to some extent without 
tangible reward, worked for the institution, until it now 
stood in a very proud and prominent position. The 
committee believed that the benefits accruing to the 
institution were mainly due to his great efforts, 
wonderful assiduity, and marvellous gifts. Imme¬ 
diately after the realization of the hopes they had lately 
been working for, it was at once suggested that a testi¬ 
monial should be presented to Mr. Cutler, and he now 
had very great pleasure in offering him a valuable gold 
watch and a cheque for £450. He was glad to say 
that 480 subscribers had contributed a sum of £505 
up to that time, and if the amount should be swollen 
to £705 or £1,005, no one would be more gratified than 
himself. In making the presentation, the Chairman 
observed that it did not at all adequately represent 
the debt of gratitude which everyone connected with 
the institution owed to the secretary. 
Mr. E. R. Cutler, who was received with great 
enthusiasm, said he must really be as hard as stone if 
he were untouched by the very kind remarks and 
flattering sentiments expressed that evening. He 
GARDEN SEAT. 
assured them he was deeply moved by this very hand¬ 
some present which they had so generously and 
kindly given to him. and which the chairman had so 
graciously presented. Some forty-eight years ago he 
came to London without a friend—literally without 
shoe or jacket; he was a ne’er-do-well, looked upon 
askance by everybody. He thought he should never 
have got on, but Providence turned up a friend, one 
of the promoters of that institution, the late Mr. 
Noble, of Fleet Street. He behaved like a father to 
him, and procured him a situation. He gave him 
not only good advice, but also the run of his house, 
and almost of his purse. He owed to that Scotchman 
all the success he had since attained. Mr. Noble told 
him that if a thing was worth doing it was worth 
doing well, and he advised him to stick to his 
situation. He had done so. His friend gave the 
same advice to another gentleman present that 
evening—one holding her Majesty’s commission, and 
occupying a place on the court of the Haberdashers’ 
Company, and he also had followed Mr. Noble’s 
advice. There was alway a little dark side to a 
bright question. Many gentlemen present had sons 
growing up, he had none. He had hardly any 
relations who cared for him, except his wife. She 
would look upon this present with great pleasure, and 
in years to come, if they should be siiared, they would 
both look back upon this evening as “ one bright spot 
in memory’s place.” He would conclude in the words 
of Shakespeare, “Beggar that I am, I am poor even 
in thanks.” 
Mr. Shirley IIibberd proposed “ The Corporation 
and City Guilds,” to which the Master of the 
Fruiterers’ Company briefly responded. 
Mr. G. Lambert, who occupied the chair at the last 
festival, proposed “ The Health of the Chairman,” 
who, he said, was a man, a gardener, and a gentleman 
in every sense of the word. The Chairman acknow¬ 
ledged the compliment in felicitous terms; and Mr. 
J. R. Bourne gave “ The Seed and Nursery Trades 
the Parents of the Institution,” to which Mr. N. 
Sherwood and Mr. B. S. Williams responded. “ The 
Health of the Stewards and Committee of Manage¬ 
ment ” was proposed by Mr. Lambert, and acknow¬ 
ledged by Mr. W. J. Nutting, the remaining toast 
being that of “ The Ladies.” 
— cl - - r — - J —- 
GARDEN SEATS. 
In the dog days more than at any other season, 
no accessory contributes more to the enjoyment of a 
garden than a comfortable seat in a secluded spot 
sheltered alike from cold winds and glaring sunshine. 
We use the word comfortable advisedly, for there are 
seats and seats, the one well designed to afford rest 
and repose to the human frame, the other generally a 
rustic affair made by the average village carpenter, 
and generally unendurable. It must not be supposed 
that we despise rustic seats, on the contrary, there 
are many positions about a garden where they are 
most appropriate, as for instance, what for want of a 
more fitting designation is generally called the wild 
garden, and by the side of woodland walks, &c , where 
a highly finished article would be out of character, 
but even here the man who makes the seat should be 
given to understand that it is intended to be sat upon 
and not to be used as an instrument of torture. 
In dressed grounds near the house, a better class 
of seat is more appropriate to the surroundings, and 
for such positions the home-made article cannot be 
expected to compare with the productions of the 
skilled manufacturer, which, as a rule, for comfort 
and elegance are all that can be desired, and which 
can be obtained nowadays at prices much below those 
which prevailed a few years ago. Many firms make 
the manufacture of such seats a speciality—such, for 
instance, as the Messrs. Deane, 46, King William 
Street, E.C., who make them of all sorts and sizes, 
from a simple folding wood chair to the beautifully- 
designed “ Imperial ” lounge, and the equally useful 
villa seat, of which we give illustrations. 
Early Strawberries. —A Clackmannan correspon¬ 
dent of The North British Agriculturist writes:—On 
June 30th, Mr. Lamont, head gardener to Lord Bal¬ 
four of Burleigh, pulled a small basket of ripe Straw¬ 
berries, grown out-of-doors, and although about six 
weeks ago they were fully a fortnight behind, this is 
four days earlier than ever they have been for the 
last twelve years. There were in the basket two 
varieties, the first being the Great Unknown, which 
was supplied by Mr. Hamilton, of Preston Hall, and 
though it did no good in that district, it appears, by 
the industry and skill of Mr. Lamont and the natural 
capabilities of the place, to prosper at Kennet. The 
other variety was Keen’s Seedling. 
