240 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
tio'ix as could be obtained in Gerrardi Street, Sohcv, at a rental 
of 25gs. In 1811, on the death of the first president, Mr. 
Thomasi Andrew Knight was installed in his place, and con¬ 
tinued to occupy this position for twenty-seven years, to the 
great benefit of all concerned. In 1816 the first bye-laws were 
passed, and the society put on a business-like footing. This 
had such a beneficial effect that in 1818 the income of the 
society had reached £1,791, and the expenditure £1,719. At 
the' same time, the society possessed assets valued at £4,400. 
An experimental garden was established at Kensington with 
a nursery at Ealing in 1818. Offices were acquired by purchas¬ 
ing 21, Regent Street, at a cost of £4,200. The annual sub¬ 
scription was originally two guineas 1 , but about this time it was 
raised to three guineas. Between 1819 a.nd 1821 845 new 
Fellows joined the society. Ini 1822 the gardens of the society 
•were removed from Kensington and Ealing to Chiswick, where 
they have remained ever since till the: last scenes which we re^ 
count above. The'society took a lease of 33 acres for thirty years 
from the Duke of Devonshire. This lease fell in in 1852, when 
it was renewed for a like period. This in turn fell in in 1882, 
and the lease was renewed for another period, which wonld 
have' terminated in. 1912, but the remainder was surrendered 
for a certain sum in view of the' gardens being established, at 
Wisley. The acreage of Chislwick was greatly reduced during 
the latter part of the second lease, the area at present enclosed 
by the walls being only 12 acres. 
As early as 1818 the society recognised 'the value of intro¬ 
ducing new plants', trees, shrubs, etc., from other countries 
beyond the bounds of Europe. In the first place, the' plants 
seem to liave come through Fellows of the society and others 
abroad. The first collector sent abroad by the society was 
Mr. Don in 1821. In 1823 Dd. David Douglas was employed 
as a collector. In 1824 and afterwards he visited various parts 
of North America down tio* California, and sent home seeds of 
many Conifers, shrubs, and annual and perennial herbs', which 
have been of infinite service in embellishing parks and gardens 
of the British Isles. Mr. Douglas also visited the Sandwich 
Islands. 
Other collectors..sent out by the society were Mr. McRae, 
Mr. John Potts, Mr. John Damper Parke®, Heir Theodor Bart- 
weg and Mr. Robert Fortune. The last-named was one of the 
most fortunate selections the society made for collecting plants. 
Tliis happened in 1843. Mr. Fortune sent home a large 
number of new plants from China and Japan, returning there 
to collect on his own account, wei believe', after completing 
his commission with the R.H.S. From. 1841 to 1845 Hartweg 
and Fortune’s expeditions alone cost the society £3,837. 
During this period 42,584 plants', 31,374 parcels of cuttings, 
and 308,371 packets of seeds were distributed from Chiswick. 
The last collector sent out by the society was Mr. John Weir, 
who went to New. Granada in 1861. 
The gardens at Chiswick were laid out at great cost, in¬ 
cluding £7,300 contributed by voluntary subscriptions. In 
1821 328 new Fellows were elected, but after this period the 
list of Fellows gradually declined owing to the heavy entrance 
fee and the increased subscription, this being 6 guineas and 
4 guineas respectively. There was a serious defalcation in 
1826 and the annual anniversary dinner was discontinued in| 
1827. Fetes or breakfasts were established at Chiswick to 
take the place of the dinner. These in turn gave way to ex¬ 
hibitions in Regent Street and at Chiswick. It was chiefly 
at. the instance of Dr. Lindley that.the shows* were established. 
He was appointed assistant secretary in 1822, and became 
a member of the council and honorary secretary in 1858. The 
room at Regent Street was just sufficiently large for the hold¬ 
ing of the fortnightly shows, which have been one of the most 
enduring features of the society. The first show at Chiswick 
was held in 1833, and the last in 1857. 
Between, 1840 and 1855 both income and expenditure had 
exceeded £7,000, though the income from subscriptions: only 
averaged £3,000. Large profits accrued from the Chiswick 
shows while fashion and finei weather favoured them, but' 
between 1833 and 1846 fashion and fine weather both forsook 
Chiswick. It. is worth mention here that Mr. George Bentham 
March 19, 1904. 
was secretary from 1830 to 1841, succeeding Mr. Knight, who 
died in 1838. The Duke of Devonshire held office as president 
for twenty yearsi and did much to add to the attractions of 
Chiswick by opening his beautiful grounds to; the Fellows, 
lie died in 1859 and the Prince Consort was elected as his 
successor. Notwithstanding the efforts of the society and the 
sale of 21, Regent Street, together with its collections of 
plants, herbarium and botanical library and tlie discontinuance 
of the Chiswick shows misfortune continued to dog the society’s 
steps, till on May 1st, 1858, the Fellows were reduced to 985 
with a debt of nearly £10,000. 
When the Prince Consort was elected president in 1858 the 
society took a lease of 20 acres of land at South Kensington 
for 'thirty-one years. A new charter was granted in 1861 and 
large donations from the late Queen Victoria and Prince Con¬ 
sort made the affairs of the society look rosy, but in December 
of that same year the' Prince Consort died. The enormous 
bonded debt which the society bad incurred at South Kensing¬ 
ton was destined finally to drive it from that place. Only 
during the years of international exhibitions'—namely, 1862 
and 1871—was the society able to cover its engagements. 
The society dragged on at South Kensington till 1887, when 
(in 1888) a ne!w career was commenced by the holding of fort¬ 
nightly meetings in the Drill Hall, Westminster, and by pur¬ 
suing .a plan which lias had the effect of entirely rehabilitat¬ 
ing the society in public opinion. Dr. Royle was secretary 
from 1852 till his death in 1858, and was succeeded by John 
Lindley, who had been connected with the society ever 
since 1822—a. very illustrious connection indeed. In 189!) 
the third charter was obtained for 'the society, which is flow 
governed by the same. 
The completion of the 100th year of the existence of the 
society happened on Sunday, March 6th last. The society 
has now entered on possession of its garden at Wisley, which 
was purchased and presented to it by 'Sir Thomas Hanbury, 
K.C.V.O., last year. The building of the new hall was also 
commenced last year, and the society expects to enter it for 
the purpose of holding its fortnightly meetings after June, and 
the Carnation and Piootee Society also entertain the idea of 
holding their show in connection with the Royal Horticultural 
Society on July 26th. The society has now nearly 7,000 
Fellows, as compared with a maximum of 2,500 when Chiswick 
was in its heyday. 
Many of our readers will remember that we gave a more 
detailed account of the .society in The Gardening World, Vol. 
XII., p. 607, so that we refrain from repeating more of it here 
than just a reminder of the centenary year. 
Phyllostachys nigra. 
(Sec Supplement.') 
The black-stemmed Bamboo when grown under favourable 
conditions in the latitude of London grows, to a height of 
8 ft. or 10 ft. The main stems, though slender, are liard, and 
usually stand quite erect for a time, at least, until they become 
weighed down by the abundance of foliage and the numerous 
lateral twiglets 'that develop in the course of a few year's. 
The plant shown in our supplement has reached this stage of 
development, so that although the central branches are up¬ 
right, or nearly so, others all round the outside droop down 
in a graceful manner, thus completely hiding the stems, and' 
giving the whole bush a beautiful grassy appearance and a 
light and feathery character, such as no other kind of vegeta- 
tain than a Bamboo could furnish. 
The species of Phyllostachys', in all cases known to us, are of 
this feathery and graceful description, and we have on more 
than one occasion spoken of them as the princes of the Bamboo 
tribe, and that holds' good, at least .so far as the hardy species 
are concerned. 
After this species has been established a. year or two it begins 
to throw up strong central stems with a few almost naked 
branches' on the' top, or it may be that no side* branches are 
produced at all the first year. During the second year short 
