July 30, 1904. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
617 
ally increased, except in 1894. By comparing 1903 with 
1887, it will be seen that the annual expenditure has mounted 
up to- £8,776, but so prosperous has the society become that 
last year its net imoonie was ,£12,418, being an increase of 
£1,694 over the previous year. It will therefore be seen that 
although the society’s expenses have been increasing, the 
splendid income has justified them in spending so much for the 
benefit of horticulture. 
At South Kensington, the Fellows had been gradually dwind¬ 
ling in numbers, and the gardens were merely degenerating 
into a, sort of “ kindergarten,” but since the society has reverted 
to its original purpose of attending to the wants- and necessities 
of horticulture pure and simple, it has gradually got over all 
those early difficulties, and now appears to have entered on a 
period of peace and prosperity such a® it never enjoyed at 
any former period of its history. During the past year the 
society gained 1,412 new Fellows, a number that, was quite 
unprecedented in any former period of its- history. Already 
this year it, has gained nearly 1,000 Fellowsi, and by the end 
of the year we believe the record will be again broken. As the 
list stands, the Fellowsi now number 8,150. 
The situation at jM-esent is that the society has now cele¬ 
brated its centenary. In, view of that fact, it is interesting 
to know that the long-talked-of New Hall for Horticulture has 
just been completed, and that thei society early in this year 
took possession of the new gardens at Wisley, which were 
gifted by Sir Thomas Hanb-uiy, K.C.V.O. The society has also 
completely effected its removal from Ohiswiok. Owing toi the 
great expense attached to the building of thei New Hall, Baron 
Sir Henry Schroder again came forward and offered to assist 
the Society with the munificent, sum of £1,000 for the purpose 
of effecting the removal of the Lindley Library from the pre¬ 
mises in Victoria Street to Vincent Square. Part of this money 
Will be devoted to thei fitting up of new cases and furniture for 
the library". 
With all these changes thei society now has its hands full in 
order to get the gardens and the hall -in full working order. 
The garden will certainly occupy more of the attention of the--«- 
so-ciety than the hall, which will now practically take care of 
itself, apart from the financial question of liquidating the re¬ 
maining debt upon the same. 
The new gardens at Wisley are practically under construc¬ 
tion, and will be devoted to the culture of fruits, flowers, 
vegetables, trees- and shrubs, stove and greenhouse plants: The 
experiments and trials with various subjects will be published 
in the society’s “Journal,” and briefer accounts recorded else¬ 
where. The object of the society is to make the gardens a 
practical as well as a, scientific school of horticulture. The 
late Mr. G. F. Wilson’s garden, in which he had acclimatised 
all sorts of subjects, will be preserved, but the quarters for 
other subjects to be tried or planted permanently have all 
vet 'to be put into proper working order. Besides the trial 
of new varieties by the sidei of old-established ones, thei society 
also promises toi give attention to hybridisation and the raising 
of new varieties. Attention will be given to those of decorative 
value rather than those of mere botanical interest. 
As soon as funds permit, a practical scientific department 
with laboratory will be established, b-ut the extent to which 
this will be carried will depend upon the liberality of those 
who are interested iff scientific research. Plantations will be 
made of all the best varieties of fruits as used toi be the case 
; at Chiswick, and novelties will bei -added from time to time as 
they arise. A collection of vegetables of the leading or 
i standard kinds will be grown for the purpose of comparison 
when new varieties are sent for trial. The object of growing 
the old varieties will be for assisting the committee in making 
their award-s, and -also for the general information of the 
Fellows. From time to time exhaustive trials cf fruits, flowers 
and vegetables will be made. This, of course, simp-ly means 
I a continuation, of the purely horticultural work such as used 
tobei conducted under the unfavourable conditions at Chiswick. 
Students will be admitted to the gardens at Wisley on 
much the same terms as previously. In, addition to- the prac¬ 
tical work, the students will also be admitted to a scientific 
course at Wisley when the laboratory has been established and 
m full working order. The Council state that there i-s generally 
more demand for students who have been trained in the 
society si garden than there are students to occupy the places. 
I-t is calculated that the initial cost of 'the laboratory and other 
buildings will range from. £1,500 to £2,000, and that the 
Salaries and upkeep afterwards will cost at, least £500 a year. 
It- is confidently hoped that such a horticultural research station 
wall bei the pioneer of many such stations in the country in, the 
near future. The students wi'll be instructed in plant breeding 
investigation of plant diseases and their treatment, and in 
hybridisation. 
It is intended also to- conduct experiments with gases, elec¬ 
tricity, chemical agents-,, etc., in the scientific cultivation of 
plants. A meteorological station, has already been, begun at 
Wisley, and will be continued on scientific principleis until it 
bidsi fair to rank a,s one cf the best in the kngdom. Already 
a number of valuable instruments are in use, including ther¬ 
mometers- of various kinds, and a, rain gauge. These will form 
a resuscitation cf the excellent meteorological work carried 
on at Chiswick many years, ago. The station has, in fact,, been 
placed under the inspection of, and works in co-operation with, 
the Government Meteorological Office. 
Odontoglossums at Oakwood. 
(See Supplement.) 
On this occasion we present our readers with a, supple¬ 
mentary plate representing ai group of select Odontoglossuims 
in, the celebrated collection of Norman C. Cooks-on, Esq., Oak- 
wood, Wy 1 a,n i-oII-Tyne. The three long spikes at the top of 
thei picture represent the ordinary or typical form of O. 
c-riispl|| yet nevertheless selected types of it, with broad 
overlapping segments and pure white flowers: Below this on 
’’irithi' left is a sipike of 0. c. Maria,ei, which has- a, group cf 
moderate sized blotches, chiefly confined toi the central area, of 
* the sepals and petals. Below this, on the left, is the very 
dark-blotched O. wilckeanum Sibyl, which has numerous large 
purple-red blotches on the white ground of the sepals. In 
the case of the petals, the principal blotches form a curve 
over the central area,. 
At the very bottom of the picture and near to- the left 
corner is O. crisp-urn purpurascens, with white sepals deeply 
tinted with rose, and finely and copiously spotted with 
brownish-purple. The petals are only slightly shaded with 
rose with a few small brown -spots. The long spike imme¬ 
diately above this is O. c. Co-okso-niae, which may readily be 
recognised by the large horseshoe-shapeid blotch on the 
centre of each segment. This is certainly a, magnificent 
variety, standing offt- conspicuously by the beautiful arrange¬ 
ment cf the blotches. Below this and -slightly to- the right is 
O. c. kinleys-ideanum, which may be recognised by the two 
petals being heavily marbled with a large purple-red blotch. 
An Award of Merit was granted this variety when it appeared 
at a, meeting of the- R.H.S. on March 8th last. The petals 
-seem to imitate the lip as if it had a slight tendency towards 
forming a pelo-ria. 
A little further to the right, at the veiy bottom of the 
picture, is 0. c. masisangeanum, with two- or three large 
blotchieisi on the sepals and petals. This Variety lias almost 
passed out of thei picture, 'however, to show it, very distinctly. 
The handsomely blotched flower almost in, the centre of the 
picture isi 0. c. Lucian,il. The flowers in this instance have 
two largei blotches or groups- of purple-brown blotches on a 
white ground slightly tinted with rose. The size and rich 
colour of the blotches of this variety certainly make it stand 
cut- distinctly as a choice and valuable variety. To- the left 
cf this is 0. Ro-lfiae, Oakwood va-r. The: original cf this arti¬ 
ficial hybrid race -has for its parentage 0. Pescatorei x 
hanyanum. The flowers are more expanded than in, the 
parent O. hanyanum, which thei aspect of thei hybrid re¬ 
sembles. The sepals are ivory-white, finely blotched with 
