18S 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 4, 1905. 
the large number of Roses now in cultivation which bloom 
freely in the autumn, but not until the present year has this 
been found practicable. For a lirst venture, the autumn Rose 
show, held by the society in conjunction with the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society in their new hall in Vincent Square, in Sep¬ 
tember last, has been generally considered a great success. 
The committee are encouraged to think that, when better 
known, this very interesting and instructive exhibition will 
fully justify the new departure in the way of Rose shows that 
has now been made. It may here be mentioned, as showing 
the friendly feeling existing between the two societies, that on 
the occasion of the opening, in July last, of the magnificent 
hall where the autumn Rose show was afterwards held a con¬ 
gratulatory address was presented from the National Rose 
Society to His Majesty the King, as patron of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, ill reply to which address an equally cordial 
message has since been received, signed by the president, 
treasurer, and secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society. 
It is with the deepest sorrow that the committee have io 
record the sad loss the society has sustained in the death of 
their president, the late Dean of Rochester, which took place 
on August 27tli last. It may not be generally known that Dean 
Hole presided at that memorable meeting of rosarians in 1876, 
when the National Rose Society was founded. He was at once 
elected president, a position he had occupied with great benefit 
to the society ever since—that is to say, for the last twenty- 
seven years. The loss of Dean Hole to the society is in many 
ways an irreparable one, for lie occupied an altogether unique 
position in the Rose world as being the greatest apostle of Rose 
culture, so that wherever Roses are mentioned the name of 
Dean Hole must long remain inseparably connected with them. 
It is proposed early in 1905 to set on foot a fund in order to 
establish a suitable memorial to the society’s late president, 
to which fund many of the members will no doubt be glad to 
contribute. 
The committee also announce with much regret the recent 
death of the Rev. A. Foster-Melliar, one of the society’s most 
valued vice-presidents. He had just completed the revision of 
a new edition of his “Book of the Rose,” one of the most com¬ 
plete and practical works on Rose culture, particularly from 
an exhibitor’s point of view, that has yet been written. He 
was himself a keen exhibitor, and in 1893 won the society’s Tea 
and Noisette Challenge Trophy. His kindly presence will be 
much missed, both at the annual meetings and at the exhibi¬ 
tions. 
The by-1 aws and regulations of the society have year by 
year received various additions and amendments, but the com¬ 
mittee feel that the time has now come when those additions 
and amendments should be brought into line, and the whole 
series overhauled. The constitution, rules, by-laws, and regu¬ 
lations, which will in their place be submitted to the meeting 
to-day, have been drawn up with much thought and care by Mr. 
C. E. Shea, assisted by a small committee of experts in such 
matters. 
Another sub-committee which has also been doing good work 
during the past year has been that appointed to prepare the 
society’s new work on “ Pruning Roses,” which is designed to 
meet a want long felt by rosarians generally. In referring to 
that sub-committee special mention must be made of the great 
assistance it has received in its somewhat difficult task from 
the excellent reports sent in by one of its members, Mr. G. L. 
Paul. 
Finance. 
The receipts in gate-money at the Temple Rose Show exceeded 
those at the previous exhibition by nearly £100. This advance, 
together with the large amount received in subscriptions from 
new members, has placed the-finances of the society in a most 
encouraging position. The receipts from all sources, including 
a balance from the previous year of £53 7s., amounted to 
£1.383 19s. 3d., and the expenditure to £1,064 19s. 4d., leaving 
a balance in the treasurer’s hands of £318 19s. lid. Of that 
amount, it is proposed to set apart £100 for the new reserve 
fund and to contribute £25 to the Royal Horticultural Hall 
fund of the Royal Horticultural Society. The advance in mem¬ 
bership is most gratifying, as showing the increased interest 
now taken in the work of the society in fostering by its exhi¬ 
bitions and publications the cultivation of the Rose in all parts 
of the United Kingdom. During the past year 379 new members 
have joined the society, or a greater number than in any pre¬ 
vious year ; in fact, the number of members is at the present 
time more than double what it was only four years ago, the 
totals being 584 in 1900 and 1,308 in 1904. 
Arrangements for 1905. 
As the Benchers object to the Metropolitan Show of the 
society being held any longer in the Inner Temple Gardens 
the committed have entered into arrangements with the Koval 
Botanic Society of London to hold that exhibition in their 
gardens in Regent’s Park, on Thursday, July 6th. The Koval 
Botanic Gardens may not be quite so centrally situated as the 
Temple Gardens, but in all other respects they are much better 
adapted for a Rose show—in fact, they may be- regarded as 
forming an ideal spot in which to hold such an exhibition 
Added to this, for the first time in the society’s existence the 
committee will have an entirely free hand in all the arrange¬ 
ments connected with their Metropolitan Show, which cannot 
but prove a great advantage to both exhibitors and visitors 
The provincial exhibition will be held on July 18th at Glouces¬ 
ter, in conjunction with the Gloucestershire Rose Society. The 
autumn Rose will again be held in the Royal Horticultural 
Hall in Vincent Square, in conjunction with the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society, and at a rather later date, viz., Tuesday and 
Wednesday, September 26th and 27th. This exhibition will 
be rendered even more attractive than the last by the introduc¬ 
tion of several new classes, in order to illustrate still further 
the value of the Rose as an autumn flower. 
Members’ Privileges. 
Members subscribing one guinea will be entitled to six 5s, 
tickets, and subscribers of half-a-guinea to three 5s. tickets of 
admission to the society’s metropolitan exhibition; or, if pre¬ 
ferred, any of those tickets may be used instead for the 
society’s provincial show at Gloucester. In addition to this each 
member will receive, in proportion to his subscription, either 
four or two tickets for the society’s autumn Rose show to be 
held in the Royal Horticultural Hall of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, in Vincent Square, Westminster. Members joining 
the society for the first time in 1905 will also receive conies 
of the following publications :—The “Official Catalogue of Ex¬ 
hibition and Garden Roses,” the new and revised edition of the 
“ Hints on Planting Roses,” the “ Report of the Constitution of 
Rose Soils,” the “ Conference Report on the Decorative Use of 
Some Garden Roses,” and a new edition of “ A Symposium on 
How to Grow and Show Tea Roses.” All members will receive 
in February a new treatise on pruning Roses which is now in 
course of preparation by a special committee. Members alon. 
are allowed to compete at the shows of the society. They will 
be entitled to purchase tickets for their friends for the metro¬ 
politan exhibition at reduced prices. 
To the donors of special prizes the committee tender their 
best thanks, as these prizes not only add considerably to the 
interest of the society’s exhibitions, but also allow of the money 
thus saved being spent on the improvement of other classes. 
The local secretaries have once more obtained for the society 
a good many new members. Amongst the most successful mav 
be mentioned Mr. C. Barber, Mr. E. J. Holland, Mr. H. E. 
Molyneux, Rev. J. H. Pemberton, and Mr. E. R. Smith. To 
Miss Willmott, one of the society’s vice-patronesses, the thanks 
of the committee are especially due, not only for the large 
number of members she has obtained, but also for the kind 
interest she has taken in the work of the society generally and 
her earnest endeavours at all times to advance its interests. 
Giving Potatos Away. —The Cornwall County Committee for 
Agriculture has been giving some attention to the raising of 
new varieties of Potatos. Some of the seedlings tested in the 
county experimental plots against older and standard varie¬ 
ties have proved to be very heavy croppers and disease-re¬ 
sisting. The varieties on which they- chiefly centre their atten¬ 
tion are late ones. Instead of selling them for what they would 
fetch, they seem minded to benefit home growers by distributing 
them equitably and judiciously. 
* ■* * 
Roof Gardens at Islington. —Some four years ago a lover 
of flowers in Islington had his garden confined to flower-pots 
on the window-sills. It occurred to him that he might turn 
the roof of his workshop into a flower garden. The area of this 
roof was 300 square feet. In boxes he has now contrived to 
grow Carnations, Picotees, Fuchsias, Dahlias, Marguerites. 
Antirrhinums, Tobacco Plants, Pelargoniums, and other things 
with great success. Roses of a climbing character, Ampelopsis 
Veit chi, and other things of that character have also been turned 
to excellent account in pots and boxes. A collection of 50 
varieties of Chrysanthemums was added to the other floral 
treasures, and all of these have succeeded beyond his most 
sanguine expectations. 
