666 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 18, 1898. 
GARDENERS’ ROYAL BENEVOLENT 
INSTITUTION. 
The fifty-ninth anniversary festival dinner of this 
well-known charity was held at the Whitehall 
Rooms, Hotel Metropole, on Wednesday evening, 
June 8th. His Grace the Duke of Portland had 
promised to take the chair, but was prevented by ill¬ 
ness from so doing. His place was taken by Sir 
Oswald Mosley, Bart., of Rolleston Hall, Burton-on- 
Trent. See accompanying portrait, for which we are 
indebted to Mr. Geo J. Ingram, the secretary. 
Upwards of 140 sat down to a well-served 
dinner, the table being profusely and prettily de¬ 
corated with flowers and plants, amongst which the 
now celebrated Acalypha Sanderi was very con¬ 
spicuous. Amongst the gentlemen present were the 
Very Rev. the Dean of Rochester, and Messrs. A. 
W. Sutton, H. J. Veitch, James H. Veitch, John H. 
Laing, H. Cutbush, P. Kay, G. Munro, H. B. May, 
A. Turner, P. Crowley, N. N. Sherwood, W. Gold¬ 
ring, J. Assbee, J. Douglas, Owen Thomas, G. 
Reynolds, Geo. Wythes, J. Hudson, T. W. Sanders, 
and R. Dean. 
A lengthy toast list was provided, commencing, as 
in duty bound, by the healths of the Queen, who 
has been patroness of the institution since 1851, 
the Prince of Wales, its patron, with the Princess of 
Wales and the rest of the Royal Family. After these 
had been honoured, at the invitation of the chair¬ 
man, Sir Oswald then proceeded to give the toast of 
the evening—' 1 Continued success to the Gardeners’ 
Royal Benevolent Institution " This he did in a 
few well-chosen words. At his request, Mr. Ingram, 
the secretary, read a letter from His Grace the Duke 
of Portland, stating his regret at being unable to 
attend, his physician having forbidden the exertion, 
and expressing a willingness to preside on some 
future occasion. This, Sir Oswald thought, was a 
matter upon which they might congratulate them¬ 
selves, that one of the finest noblemen in England 
was interested in the society. In his subsequent 
remarks, the chairman mentioned the fact that this 
was the 60th year of the society's existence. In his 
younger days he had not been much interested in 
horticulture ; indeed, his first introduction to it was 
in the shape of the Birch, but as he had grown older 
he had grown wiser. He had found horses expen¬ 
sive, and hence he had practically given them up, 
and had taken to gardening, thus following the 
example of some of his ancestors. He was very 
emphatic in stating his opinion that employers 
should give their gardeners full pay during sickness, 
no matter how much they might receive from clubs, 
as that was the way to encourage self-help. He 
advised all gardeners to subscribe to this very 
necessary society, and coupled with the toast the 
name of Mr. H. J. Veitch, their treasurer. 
Mr. Veitch, on rising to respond, was received 
with great applause, thanked Sir Oswald for coupling 
his name with the toast, and also returned thanks for 
the society, as he had done for a number of years. 
Mr. Veitch then proceeded to give some succinctly 
stated facts connected with the work and progress of 
the " Benevolent.” They had now the largest number 
of pensioners they had ever had, 168, of whom 93 
were men, and 75 women. Their oldest pensioner, 
Eleanor Brown, died recently. Her husband had 
subscribed a guinea a year for sixteen years, had 
been put upon the list in 1866 at the age of 76, and 
drew his pension until the year 1875, when he died, 
having received £144 from the society. His wife 
was put on in his place, and she, too, has now died, 
after receiving £314 in pension since 1875. This 
worthy old couple, therefore, drew £458 for 16 
guineas subscription. Mr. Veitch then spoke of the 
need for making the institution more widely known. 
The wages of gardeners had not risen of late years 
in proportion to those in other occupations, and he 
read three very amusing advertisements for gar¬ 
deners, in which, while experienced men were 
wanted to look after cows, pigs, horses, etc , as well 
as gardens, the pay was even below that of a labourer. 
If the men filling these positions had a family they 
would, like the prodigal of old, have “ to live on the 
husks that the swine did eat.” In speaking of the 
Victorian Era Fund,he said they had collected £4,000 
of the £5,000 asked for, and £200 more had been pro¬ 
mised, and he then dealt with the distribution of this 
money, showing how the interest was distributed £>-0 
rata to the number of years that the applicants had 
been subscribers. He commended the action of Mr. 
J. W. Thomson in leaving legacies to the charities, 
both to his audience and to himself. They had 
auxiliary societies at Bath, Wolverhampton, and 
Worcester, all of them doing great things, and they 
hoped to have one at Reading, for Mr. A. W. Sutton 
had taken the matter up. In conclusion, he made a 
strong appeal to the hearts and purses of his 
audience, and reminded them that the institution 
was carried on for those “ who, through unavoidable 
circumstances, were led to seek its benefits in their 
old days, and who in their young days had done so 
Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart, 
much to minister to the pleasure and gratification ot 
others.” 
The toast of " Gardening ” was proposed by Dean 
Hole, who spoke at some length, and highly de¬ 
lighted and amused his audience by his fund of 
ready wit and anecdote. Said the Very Rev. gen¬ 
tleman, Horace had averred that ” he was a bold man 
who first went to sea in a boat,” and someone else 
had declared that he was a bold man who first ate 
an oyster, but in his estimation the boldest man he 
had ever met was he who had asked the Dean of 
Rochester to speak on gardening, for how could he 
know when the Dean would stop. He had possessed 
a love of gardening from his early infancy, for it had 
been stated that one of his nurses had given warning 
because he would grab the flowers out of her Sunday 
bonnet. He was not sure that this was true, but he 
was sure that a love of flowers was innate in every 
human being, that it was a memory of Paradise lost, 
and a hope of Paradise regained. He remembered 
how he had purchased his first Salvia for sixpence, 
and cared, and tended it, and fought for it. Then, in 
succeeding years, came a period of apathy and in¬ 
difference when his Mary ” was neither Marigold 
nor Polyanthus; when his "Annie ” was not Ana- 
gallis, when his " Carrie ” was not Caryota, and 
when the " Miss ” he loved best was not Mesembry- 
anthemum. In those days he loved "Marguerite,” 
but regarded her with a lackadaisical expression. 
Since those days his love for flowers had returned, 
never more to leave him. He remembered the 
" scarlet and yellow ” fever of Tom Thumb Pelar¬ 
gonium, and yellow Calceolaria, how it had swept 
over the land, but since we had recovered from it all 
branches of gardening had shown progression. He 
pleaded, however, for more gardens, and for more 
beauty of arrangement in our gardens. We had too 
many straight lines, and we saw too much of the 
garden from the windows of the house. Speaking 
particularly of his favourite flower, the Rose, he 
believed there was a splendid future for it, and that 
the Hybrid Tea would eclipse all others. For up¬ 
wards of half a century he had enjoyed a sym¬ 
pathetic friendship with fellow gardeners that he 
had been unable to obtain in any other walk of life. 
From coronet and billycock alike, in ducal castles 
and humble cottages he had received the same 
brotherly sympathy. Even when he crossed the 
Atlantic there was not a hotel in which a box of 
Roses or Carnations was not there to greet him. In 
conclusion, he said that to the work of their institu¬ 
tion might well be applied the blessing from the 
" Old Book ”—" The blessing of him that was ready 
to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's 
heart to sing for joy.” 
The toast was coupled with the name of Mr. 
Arthur W. Sutton, who, in replying, said that their 
gardens depended upon their gardeners. He referred 
to the Hon. Alicia Amherst’s work on the “ History 
of Gardening ” in appreciative terms, and spoke of 
what the clergy had done for the art. In addition to 
Dean Hole there were such gentlemen as the Rev. 
D’Ombrain, Rev. G. Engleheart, and the Rev. W. 
Wilks, all of whom had worked well for the cause. 
He hoped that the Berkshire Auxiliary Society would 
be a huge success, and he had almost obtained a de¬ 
finite promise rom Mr. C. E. Keyser, of Alder- 
maston, that he would be its president. 
Mr. Geo. Munro proposed "Our Country Fri^tds, ' 
and commented upon the value of the auxiliaries to 
the central society. Mr. Geo. A. Dickson briefly 
acknowledged. 
The amount of money promised during the even¬ 
ing was then announced as being £2,300, including 
donations to the Victorian Era Fund The chief 
subscribers were as follows:—His Grace the Duke 
of Portland, 50 guineas; Sir Oswald Mosley, £62 
10s. : Messrs. Rothschild, 100 guineas; Mr. Cole¬ 
man, 50 guineas; Messrs. Hurst & Son, £20 ; Mr. 
N. N. Sherwood, £20 ; Mr. W. Sherwood, 5 guineas ; 
Mr. E. Sherwood, 5 guineas; Miss Sherwood 5 
guineas; Messrs. Dickson and Robinson, £"35 ; Mr. 
A. W. Sutton, £50; Mr. M. H. F. Sutton, £23; 
Messrs. Jas. Veitch & Sons, Ltd., £20; Mr. H. J. 
Veitch, £50; Mr. Leonard Sutton, £50; Mr. Geo. 
Munro (list), £131; Baron Schroder, £20; Mr. A. 
Wilson, £90 ; Lord Wantage, 10 guineas; Mr. T. 
W. Bond, 14 guineas; Mr. W. Thomson, 20 guineas; 
Mr. G. Maycock, £10 ; Mr. N. C. Cohen, 5 guineas ; 
Mr. P. Blair, 5 guineas; Mr. W. Crump, £20 ; Dean 
Hole, £5 ; Mr. W. Jinks, £18 tos.; Mr. W. Y. 
Baker, 13 guineas; Mr. Chas. Turner, 5 guineas; 
Mr. B. F. Smith, 2 guineas; Mr. P. Crowley, 6 
guineas ; Messrs. Wrench & Son, 5 guineas; Mr. G. 
H. Richards, 10 guineas; Messrs. Fisher, Son & 
Sibray, 10 guineas; Mr. W. J. Corrie, 5 guineas ; 
Mr. J. F. McLeod, 2 guineas; and the Worcester 
Auxiliary, £70. Mr. Geo. Dickson's list is not yet 
completed, but will run from £50 to £100. 
The musical arrangements were in the capable 
hands of Mr. Herbert Schartau, and the songs given 
by him, and Mesdames Lucia Johnstone, and Edith 
Serpell, and Mr. Chas. Chilley, also the humorous 
sketches by Mr. Walter Churcher were much 
enjoyed. 
A vote of thanks to the Chairman for presiding 
was proposed by Mr. N. N. Sherwood, and the 
meeting then came to a close at an advanced 
hour. 
- g -- 
JUSTICIA CARNEA. 
This old fashioned plant is too frequently met with, 
presenting appearances which are a long way from 
creditable either to the plant itself or those in whose 
collections it finds a place. Well handled, it is 
capable of becoming one cf the most useful and 
beautiful among what may be fairly classed soft- 
wooded stove subjects. Plants well done in 4-in. 
and 6-in. pots are occasionally met with; but it is 
capable of greater things than these, and with a very 
moderate amount of care may be grown into a fairly 
large specimen. Take small plants and keep them 
moderately dry and at rest after flowering. Early in 
March shift them into No. 16 pots, using a mixture 
of fibre, loam, and peat, with some sharp sand. Place 
them near the glass in a temperature ranging from 
50° to 6o° ; water sparingly till the plants get fresh 
hold of the soil, and syringe both morning and even¬ 
ing Avoid getting the plants into a sodden con¬ 
dition, as they are rather impatient of excess of 
water at the root. The species is a rapid grower, 
and if left to its own resources will become leggy. 
To prevent this peg the shoots down, as this causes 
the back buds to swell, and when the points of these 
shoots turn up pinch them out with the thumb and 
finger, till enough breaks are secured to form a plant 
with a head commensurate to the size of the pot in 
which the plants are growing. They should be in 
flower during May; remove into cooler quarters 
during flowering time. As they go out of bloom dry 
them off partly, then prune back moderately, and in 
a month or So place in heat again; water more 
