March 13, 1897. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
443 
£25 16s. 5d. ; advertisements in annual report, 
£11 gs. 6d. ; total, £145 gs. iod. 
Management fund expenditure : secretary’s salary 
and bonus, £32 3s. 6d. ; rent of rooms and National 
Safe Deposit Company, £10 13s. 6d. ; stamps, &c., 
£12 gs. 5^d, ; stationery and printing, £28 8s. 2d. ; 
auditors' and brokers' fees and sundry expenses, 
£17 os. 7jd. ; balance in hand, £44 14s. 7d. ; total- 
£145 9 s - iod. 
The treasurer, Mr. J. Hudson, next read his state¬ 
ment of accounts, showing that the total receipts 
were £1,672 -4s. gd. ; the expenditure, £1,612 os. 4d.; 
balance in hand, £60 4s. 5d. ; the two previous items 
total £1,672 4s. gd. 
The statement of liabilities and assets showed 
liabilities to the four respective funds of 
£11,787 6s. nd. ; balance, £172 17s. 6d. ; total, 
£n,g6o 4s. 5d. The total assets invested in various 
stocks were £11,goo ; cash in hands of treasurer, 
£60 4s. sd. ; total, £n,g6o 4s. sd. The receipts of 
the annual dinner were £27 13s. 6d., and, the 
expenses being paid, left a balance in hand of 
£1 3 s. 4 d. 
Mr. A. Hemsley proposed the adoption of the 
report and balance sheet, which was seconded and 
adopted nem. con., they being considered satisfactory 
in every way. It was then proposed by Mr. W. 
Collins that 2,500 copies of the report and balance 
sheet be printed and distributed, and this was agreed 
upon. 
The Chairman then spoke at considerable length 
upon the prosperous condition and prospects 
of the society, and dwelt particularly upon the claims 
it had upon gardeners generally by reason of the 
advantages it offered to members who might join it. 
As an instance of this he spoke of the substantial 
sum which fell to the share of Mr. James George 
upon his retirement, namely £82 10s., which was 
a more handsome sum than fell to the lot of hundreds 
of men who had paidjarge amounts to various other 
benefit societies. He (the Chairman) had been 
looking up the membership of the society at various 
periods, and had noted how rapidly the numbers 
mounted up during the past few years. At present 
the list stands at 641. If increase goes on at the 
same rate for the next five years the list will have 
mounted to 1,000. 
The society, he continued, was worthy of the 
highest confidence and support. He himself was 
over age before learning of the existence of such a 
useful society, otherwise he would have joined it. 
He, however, invited young gardeners throughout 
the country to come forward and join it for their own 
advantage. The present members and their childrens' 
children would gro w old and gray before the old age 
pensions scheme, of which we hear so much, would 
become a reality. Societies like the United Horti. 
cultural should not wait for such [a consummation, 
but continue to support and further the interests of 
their own great scheme of self help. He often 
wondered whether our numerous and great charities 
would not ultimately produce harm by serving to 
pauperise the people as a nation. He urged upon 
society in general and gardeners in particular to be 
more self dependent, relying upon their own 
resources, either individually or by the united effort 
of societies like that to which they belonged. 
The next business on the agenda was the election 
of five members of committee to fill that number of 
vacancies. Various members proposed Mr. Keif, 
Mr. Cole, Mr. E. T. Cook, Mr. Winter, and Mr. A. 
Hemsley, and these various propositions being 
seconded, they were carried unanimously. Mr. 
James Hudson was re-elected treasurer, by acclama¬ 
tion, on the proposition of two of the oldest 
members of the society and the support of the 
chairman. Mr. Hudson returned thanks. Mr. W. 
Collins, g, Martindale Road, Balham, S.W., was 
re-elected secretary, thanked for his past services, 
and voted an honorarium of £5 together with 6d. 
per head of members on the list over and above 
two hundred. Votes of thanks were accorded the 
trustees, committee, and to the Press for assisting 
the society by giving publicity to tbeir proceedings. 
Mr. Robert H. Pearson, Mr. W. P.Thomson,and Mr. 
J. Fraser replied for the Horticultural Press. 
Several members urged upon all present to induce 
' young gardeners to join the society. The 
meeting lasted nearly an hour and a half, and a 
vote of thanks to the chairman brought the proceed- 
ngs to a close. 
MESSRS. CORRY & CO’S GARDEN 
SUNDRIES. 
Without the gates and a little beyond the city walls 
of’ancient London, we came upon the old established 
business of Messrs Corry & Co. The business was 
first established in 1848; but the firm rapidly 
became known when a manufactory, bonded tobacco 
stores and warehouses were set up at Fogg’s Wharf, 
gi, Shad Thames, S.E., in the vicinity of the Tower 
Bridge in 1866. The warehouses of this branch of 
the establishment have recently been rebuilt and en¬ 
larged. The show rooms are at 13 and 15, Fins¬ 
bury Street, E C., while the equally commodious 
offices and warehouses are at No. 16 on the opposite 
side of the same street. These were the premises we 
visited the other day, and we were surprised at the 
enormous number of the wants of a garden, and the 
endeavour to meet that ever-increasing demand for 
articles of every imaginable description. Messrs. 
Corry & Co. are merchants and manufacturers of 
nurserymen, seedsmen, and florists’ sundries, but 
their business is entirely a wholesale one, and there 
are doubtless hundreds of our readers who use the 
articles that come from here, yet have no conception 
from whence they emanate. 
Owing to the fact that this is only a wholesale 
business, it follows that the articles sold can only 
reach private and other garden establishments 
through the medium of those whose business is to 
retail them. Here, however, according to the old 
adage, we found practically everything from a needle 
to an anchor. The show rooms contain a most 
varied assortment of articles, and looking across the 
street crowded with all sorts of vans and waggons, we 
noted the warehouses of some seven floors one above 
the other crowded with all sorts of things. Something 
like 1,607 hinds of articles independently of varieties 
of them are kept in stock. Every new article of 
value or patent is taken up when they first come 
out, so that the list continues to increase every year, 
and fresh space has to be found for them. 
Amidst such a vast assemblage of articles, useful 
and ornamental, it is impossible to deal with more 
than a few of them taken practically at random. 
The glassware used for the culture of Hyacinths in 
glasses is of a most varied assortment, and often of a 
highly ornate character. Akin to this is the white 
china ware in all the latest novelties for the holding 
of plants and flowers. The ornamental vases for the 
holding of flower pots, are equally varied, adorned 
with flowers, and fashioned in every mould. The 
terra cotta flower pots, vases, window boxes, and 
other articles defy description in their varieties of 
form. Nor can we overlook the Martin flower rack 
which can be adapted to glasses, vases, bowls, etc., 
of a varied description. In private establishments, 
where cut flowers are in great demand, they have 
been very useful. We gave an illustration of the 
Martin rack in Vol. X., p. 87. 
The trade in dried grasses, Gnaphaliums, or 
French Immortelles, and similar ornamental articles, 
is very extensive. Some are merely dried, others are 
dyed as well. Ornamental baskets of a fancy character 
may be seen in the most varied forms. Light card¬ 
board and other boxes, in all sizes, are meant for the 
packing and sending away of bouquets and cut 
flowers in a fresh condition. Virgin cork has been 
put to very varied uses in the making of brackets, 
pockets, and rustic work of all kinds where flowers 
may be used or plants used for decorative purposes 
Artificial plants, flowers and leaves are not over¬ 
looked. Wire baskets, wire stands, protectors, 
arches, and trellis work are endless in variety. Seats, 
chairs, summer houses, and ornamental garden 
furniture, are made to suit every taste and use. 
Teak baskets in variety, cylinders and rafts are 
meant to meet the wants of the Orchid grower. 
Handlights of many shapes come in handy for 
various purposes in gardens, where, in fact, they are 
indispensible for the protection of all sorts of half 
hardy plants, particularly in spring, when every 
glass house is crowded and various things require 
planting out before it is safe to trust them to the 
tender mercies of our fickle climate. Garden baskets 
of a varied description supply the wants of every 
establishment. None of them are more useful than 
the truck or Sussex baskets, which are made of thin 
laths, and are light and durable. They are useful 
for carrying weeds, vegetables, flowers, fruit, or, in 
fact, almost anything ; and are made in various sizes 
to meet the hundred and one wants of a gardener. 
The number of kinds of insecticides is simply 
legion ; and the wonder is that insects can exist 
with so many means and methods of destroying them. 
AmoDgst these we would mention Tobacco juice 
in various forms, from the ordinary juice to pure 
nicotine, paper, rag, powder, &c., in bond. Messrs. 
Corry & Co. manufacture these articles, and many 
others we have already mentioned ; whilst every 
insecticide that has established its name in the 
market is kept in stock, and the appliances for dis¬ 
tributing them. Manures include all the leading 
established makers and all the ordinary fertilisers 
required for a garden, together with Standen’s, 
which is the oldest and best known manure, con¬ 
taining a very high percentage of ammonia and phos¬ 
phate. Fowler’s lawn sand destroys weeds and 
at the same time makes the grass grow ; it has now 
been before the public for twenty years, so that its 
reputation is well established. 
Cutlery and garden implements generally are 
extensively represented in all the best kinds, 
including budding, grafting, propagating, and prun¬ 
ing knives. Shears, flower gatherers, grape and 
other kinds of scissors, and secateurs of all shapes 
and sizes are a special feature. French secateurs 
made by Aubert’s successors in France, and having 
what is termed the " doublecut ” are of the very best 
of their kind. They are somewhat dearer than 
English made articles of a similar description, and 
for that reason are not handled by Germany at all. 
They are all hand-made tools of the best description. 
Garden tools include implements for seed sowing, 
spades, rakes, forks, cultivators, mowing machines, 
lawn tennis markers, hoes, hand forks, etc. The 
spades are of all sizes and weights to suit the soils 
of different localities. 
In another direction are syringes of various types, 
lawn sprinklers, garden pumps, and meteorological 
instruments, such as thermometers, barometers, and 
rain gauges, in an endless variety of form and pattern. 
Other sundries are raffia,mats, wooden and zinc labels 
ofevery size and design. Messrs. Corry & Co. have 
the plant for making the zinc labels. Sticks and canes 
of various sizes for the staking of plants constitute an 
industry in themselves. Something like twenty tons 
of them pass through the establishment in a month. 
Travelling boxes for the conveyance of flowers to 
exhibitions constitute another item, with the various 
other accessories the exhibitor requires, such as Rose 
supports and tubes, Springthorpe cups and tubes for 
Chrysanthemums, Pansies, etc. Window cases and 
aquaria receive due attention. “ Summer Cloud " 
shading is a sort of thin paint of a light green colour, 
which, when applied to the roofs of glasshouses, 
keeps on all the summer, and forms a light screen 
to break the fierce rays of the sun, thereby pro¬ 
tecting fine foliage plants from being injured, and 
prolonging the duration of flowers. In the autumn 
it can easily be washed off with warm water. The 
above is merely an indication of the thousand and 
one articles kept in stock. 
-- 
ARE PEAS PROFITABLE FOR 
COTTAGERS ? 
This is a question which is of considerable import¬ 
ance ! It may be asked at the outset why should not 
the cottager enjoy a few boilings of green Peas as 
well as the richer members of society ? and certainly 
we can find no valid reason why he should not 1 
Whether it would pay him to grow them or not is 
another question that we think would, after due con¬ 
sideration, have to be answered in the negative. 
First of all there is the question of space to be 
attended to. The cottager (we allude now to the 
countryman) has to rely upon his garden to aid con¬ 
siderably in supplying food for his family, and he is, 
therefore, from necessity compelled to grow such 
vegetables as yield the heaviest return for each 
square yard. Now, however high in the scale of 
nutritive values Peas may be, it can scarcely be 
claimed for them that they yield as good a return 
for the space occupied as a breadth of Cabbage, 
Onions, Potatos, or Parsnips. Runner Beans, 
although they take up fully as much room as the 
tallest growing varieties of Peas, afford a supply of 
food over a very long period, whereas the yield from 
a row of Peas is of a comparatively transient nature. 
In rural districts, however, the garden is not 
infrequently a large one, and space can readily be 
afforded for a few rows of Peas. No more profitable 
way of growing Peas in cottage gardens exists, than 
by sowing single lines between different kinds of 
vegetables. 
