December 19, 1896. 
250 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
7. Life Governors. — Every society remitting /50 
from its Rose or other floral festival should be 
represented by one Life Governor, who should be 
elected by the members of the contributing society. 
8 Associates. —Every society remitting £25 from 
its Floral Festival to be represented by one Associate, 
who should be elected by the members. 
8a Financial Statements to be prepared, audited, 
and signed by the Trustees, a copy being sent to 
each contributing society. 
9. Fifth Stef. —Meeting of the Trustees should be 
held to receive the Secretary’s report of the result 
of the Rose and other floral festivals, and to appoint 
delegates. 
Part II — The Establishment. 
10. First Step. —The Secretary to summon a meet¬ 
ing of the General Council, which should be com¬ 
posed of the Treasury Board (Trustees), Life 
Governors, and, as an ex-officio member, the 
secretary, to consider the financial position. 
11. Second Step. —The Secretary would summon a 
meeting of the Committee of “ Ways and Means ” to 
report procedure. The "Ways and Means Com¬ 
mittee ’’ should be composed of Associates and Life 
Governors and Secretary. 
12. Third Step. —The start having been made by 
the Rt. Hon. the Lord Mayor, the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, and the 400 horticultural societies, 
as representing horticulture, a deputation should be 
appointed to wait upon the Masters of the several 
Livery Companies of the City to solicit their co¬ 
operation, and the appointment of a Life Governor 
to the General Council from each City Company 
contributing at least £50. 
13. Fourth Step. — The General Council should be 
further strengthened by the admission of head- 
gardeners at half the usual qualification fee for Life 
Governors, viz , £25. 
14. Fifth Step. —The Ways and Means Committee 
should be strengthened by the admission of head- 
gardeners at half the usual qualification fee for 
Associates, viz., £12 10s. 
15. Sixth Step. —The executive body having been 
fully constituted, a general meeting should be called 
by the Secretary to formulate rules, determine pro¬ 
cedure, and to appoint a chairman and secretary for 
the General Council, and also for the Ways and 
Means Committee. It will be seen that, by these 
means, we should secure a thoroughly representative 
constitution, in which all interests would have fair 
consideration. 
Part III. — Revenue. 
16. First Step. —The financial statement having 
been sent to each contributing society or body 
(Clause 8a) the Secretary shall forward copy of rules 
as formulated (Clause 15) to each society and body, 
soliciting the support and co-operation of every 
individual member upon the following basis:— 
17. Fellows. —Any lady or gentlemen can be 
enrolled a Fellow of the Institute upon payment in 
advance of an annual subscription of Two Guineas. 
This entitles to free admission to eveiy horticul¬ 
tural meeting held during the year (except the 
Benevolent Festivals, and such others as may from 
time to time be found necessary by the Council), 
with two passes to reserved seats for each, and free 
access to the library. 
18. — Members. Any lady or gentleman can become 
a member of the Institution upon payment in advance 
of 21s. The membership gives free admission to all 
horticultural exhibitions during the year with the 
exceptions above alluded to. 
19. Subscribers. —Any lady or gentlemen ,vho sub¬ 
scribes 10s. 6d. per annum (in advance) should be 
furnished with a coupon admitting to fifteen ordinary 
horticultural exhibitions in the year. 
20. Contributors. —Any lady or gentleman who 
contributes 2s. 6d. per annum (in advance) should 
receive a voucher admitting to three ordinary 
horticultural exhibitions in the year. Ladies and 
gentlemen resident fifty miles, and beyond, from 
London should have the same privileges on reduced 
terms. 
21. Admission to Public. —The admission to the 
public is fixed at is. each person every day excepting 
on special occasions. 
22. Gardeners' Privileges. —All accredited gardeners 
should be permitted to participate in any of the 
above privileges at one half the usual charge for 
Fellows and Associates, and have also the use of the 
gardeners’ club-room, where refreshments might be 
supplied to them at a reduced tariff. 
22A. Exhibitions. —It is contemplated that prizes 
should preferably be either money or useful articles, 
together with special awards for meritorious exhibits 
which have not obtained prizes to encourage cottagers 
and others. Shows of wild flowers, exhibits repre¬ 
senting bee culture, and all similar country industries, 
to be periodically arranged. 
23. Trade Support. — The co-operation of the horti¬ 
cultural trade should be solicited, 500 ft run in the 
galleries being reserved for their use at a moderate 
rental ; and where attendants are not necessary, the 
letter-boxes would be cleared daily by the secretary, 
and all communications be at once forwarded by post 
to the exhibitors. Collecting boxes would be supplied 
to the trade on behalf of the Gardeners’ Benevolent, 
and Gardeners’ Orphan Funds, such boxes being 
collected by the secretary seven days before the 
annual Benevolent Festival. 
24. Stewards ( Benevolent ). — The stewards for bene¬ 
volent festivals would be members of the horticultural 
trade, and be elected from those whose contribution- 
boxes yielded the best results. 
25. Stewards ( Horticultural ) would be elected by the 
general council in recognition of special services 
rendered, preference being given to gardeners. 
26. Refreshments. —The refreshment department 
would be let out to some well-known first-class 
caterer by yearly contract. 
27. Music. —Musical arrangement would be made 
with the executive; only those of the highest class 
would be considered. 
28. Picture Galleries. —The picture gallery would 
be rented, and every facility given by the staff for the 
sale of pictures and statuary at a fixed percentage. 
29. Exhibition of Appliances. — This department 
would be under the control of the executive ; space 
being charged for, and assistance given to further 
the interests of inventors and manufacturers at a 
fixed percentage. 
30. Horticultural Papers be solicited to open their 
columns for donations. 
31. Exhibitions. — As far as possible there should 
be a continuous series of exhibitions, high-class 
concerts, conversaziones, lectures, debates, &c., so as 
to fully utilise the premises. 
32. Royal Courts. — The patronage of Her Majesty 
to be solicited. 
32A. Loan Collections. —Six courts being reserved 
upon the ground-floor (shown in section lines upon 
ground-floor plan) for the reception of a Loan 
Collection if members of the Royal Family shonldbe 
pleased to entrust one to the Institute. 
33. City Courts. —Thirteen or more courts should 
be reserved upon the ground-floor for the City 
companies, who would be asked to furnish them with 
exhibits illustrative of their several trades ; or these 
courts might be let to leading manufacturers, or 
others—every facility being given to them for 
furthering their business. These courts, it is 
estimated, would let at an annual rental of £50 
each. 
34. Hospital Courts. —Certain courts should be 
appropriated by the City charities at a reduced 
rental, donation boxes being placed in each. 
35. Charity : Three Days' Festival. —Apart from its 
expository uses as an exhibition hall for everything 
pertaining to horticulture, metropolitan, and other 
trades and charities, the Institute would be further 
dedicated to the cause of charity, as periodically, 
special efforts would be made to augment the funds 
of the Gardeners’ Benevolent and Orphan Societies, 
a three days’ festival being organized every year for 
this purpose. 
36. Sale of Work; Children's Help. —The co-opera¬ 
tion of everyone would be invited, lady secretaries 
being appointed to further the work amongst 
children by interesting them in plants and flowers, 
and by encouraging them to make articles for the 
sale of work held at the festival. Anyone sending 
goods of the value of 2s. 6d. to the festival for this 
sale of work should be admitted free on each day. 
37. Distribution of Flowers and Fruit after Shows. 
—All flowers and fruit sent for exhibition should be 
distributed by the lady secretaries at the close of 
each show amongst the metropolitan charities. 
Exhibitors be specially asked to consent to this as 
far as possible, in aid of the suffering and poor. 
38. National Festivals. —On St. Andrew’s, St. 
Patrick’s, and St. David’s days, respectively, special 
concerts might be given, and as far as possible 
exhibitions be held, representative of Scotland, 
Ireland, and Wales. On the occasion of grand con¬ 
certs all the courts would be concealed by drapery, 
red curtains being drawn across the front of each. 
Railway arrangements would be made with the rail¬ 
way companies for special trains at special rates, so 
as to afford facilities for our country friends to visit 
the metropolis, and at the same time to help the 
funds of the charities by contributing to the appeals 
which would be made to them during the three days 
of the festival. 
Having briefly outlined the formation, establish¬ 
ment, and maintenance of the Institute, it now 
remains to put the project " upon its mettle,” and as 
it is imperative that action should be taken at once 
—and someone must take the initiative —I propose 
to wait upon certain representative gentlemen and 
submit the scheme to them, and in doing so, I am 
prepared to find that some of my proposals may 
require to be more or less modified. 
The main points I firmly believe are attainable, 
and I look with great confidence to the results of the 
Victoria Rose and other floral festivals held simul¬ 
taneously all over the land as giving expression to 
the nation’s loyalty to our Queen, and its love of 
horticulture. 
Here is an opportunity for everyone, from the 
cottager to the nobleman, to give expressions of 
fidelity to our beloved Queen. Such a gift would 
find a welcome in the heart of the greatest living 
mother. 
That considerable organisation is involved is 
obvious, but no work of such magnitude was ever 
accomplished without it—"United we stand,divided 
we fall.” If we sink every other consideration and 
join hand in hand, the Horticultural Institute will 
surely be founded. 
Horticulture has advanced and prospered during 
her reign, and how could her children more expres¬ 
sively " rise up and call her blessed ” than by estab¬ 
lishing a permanent home for horticulture in grateful 
memory of her glorious reign. 
P.S—I purpose dealing further with the financial 
aspect of the scheme at an early date, probably in 
your next issue. 
I have not given the basement plan here ; it 
contains kitchens, engine-rooms, store-rooms, and 
other offices 
Of course the plans may require modification 
according to site. The general arrangement here 
shown would be a convenient one for the purpose 
contemplated. 
I certainly can see where improvements might be 
made in the elevation; 'the time, however, at my 
command just now is insufficient for me to give 
further thought to this at present .— James L. Wood, 
Oakleigh Park, Whetstone. 
--**•- 
LATE HAMBURGH GRAPES. 
Do these require the high temperature advocated by 
your correspondent Mr. James Mayne ? I trow not, 
my own experience at the present moment pointing 
in an opposite direction. To begin with, I have a 
conservatory facing westward, in which to grow 
them; the heating apparatus is not sufficient to 
keep out more than 20° of frost, or maintain a higher 
temperature without sun than 45°, on moderately 
mild days. It has frequently been, on frosty nights, 
nearer 35 0 than 45 0 , and the house is simply crowded 
with a most miscellaneous collection of plants, 
including Chrysanthemums, Camellias, Azaleas, and 
Orchids ; and I may add the front lights are never 
open. I just keep the water circulating in the pipes, 
not with much more than the chill off, and a 
moderate amount of top air on constantly. His 
advice respecting looking over the bunches and 
removing decayed berries, if any, is a practice which 
should always be well followed up. Happily, in our 
own case, there h3s been very little trouble in this 
direction. I can well understand that a higher tem¬ 
perature than he advocates will cause shrivelling ; 
for although I have maintained all through since the 
Grapes were ripe a much lower one than he 
advocates, and although the roots are in an outside 
border, and as everyone knows we have had an 
abundance of rain, so that the roots cannot lack 
moisture, there is just a tendency to shrivelling from 
over-ripeness. The general finish of the fruit was 
first-class for colour and bloom. There is a Muscat 
of Alexandria in the same house; the bunches are 
moderate in size, berries large, and well finished, and 
these, if desired, I could keep well up to Christmas; 
they would, in fact, be improved by this being done. 
I may add, the foliage of both Hamburgh and Muscat 
has mostly fallen.— W. B. G. 
