508 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 24. 1905. 
Christian lias been our President. The late 
Queen Victoria was patron of the society, and 
a generous subscriber to it. Their Majesties 
the King and Queen are at present our 
patrons, Queen Alexandra giving us an annual 
subscription.” 
“ And you find the subscriptions main¬ 
tained 2 ” 
“ Yes; but, of course, we could do with 
more, and, like young Twist, are always ask¬ 
ing for more. Last year the subscriptions 
amounted to £66 18s. 6d., and our total re¬ 
ceipts came to £111 11s. 8d. Our expendi¬ 
ture was £103 11s., thus giving us £8 odd in 
hand. 
“The finances for a Royal Borough are 
certainly not great,” allowed Mr. Keer, “ but 
you see, November, the month in which we 
hold our show, finds most of our aristocratic 
supporters, and those of the wealthy residents 
of the neighbourhood who would probably 
attend the exhibitions, away. Our sister 
society, at Windsor, the Rose and Horticul¬ 
tural Society, have a great advantage over us, 
which, however, of course, we do not begrudge 
them. Their show is held in summer, and, 
by permission of His Majesty the King, on the 
slopes of Windsor Castle, and consequently 
thei gate money is considerable. Further¬ 
more, we are handicapped for accommodation. 
The Royal Albert Institute, where we hold 
our shows, is not nearly large enough for our 
purpose, and allows no- scope for development, 
but it is the only available building in the 
town. These are apparently insurmountable 
difficulties.” 
The very slight note of depression which had 
crept into Mr. Keer’s voice as he contemplated 
the situation did not, however, linger, and the 
next moment his characteristically confident 
and enthusiastic manner was resumed, and 
with emphasis, as though in protest to the 
temporary lapse of spirits. 
“ Our shows are greatly admired*” he 
declared, “ and the successes we have achieved 
are due to the strong, capable, and zealous 
committee, which consists: of amateurs. and 
gardeners. To the Chairman of the Commit¬ 
tee, Mr. Arthur Turner, of the Royal Nur¬ 
series, Slough, the society is deeply indebted ; 
indeed, in a very large degree our success is 
attributable to the untiring and generous 
efforts of this gentleman, and to the wide 
practical knowledge which he has contributed 
to our deliberations and the work of organisa¬ 
tion. Mr. C. S. Sainty, the late secretary 
and present vice-chairman, has devoted him¬ 
self ungrudgingly to forwarding the interests 
of the society, and I am pleased to say he is 
still an active member, and ever ready to 
help. 
“ Among the judges for our shows we have 
been privileged to secure the services of 
Messrs. Molyneux, Turner, Drover, Perkins, 
and Mease. Owing to the keenness of com¬ 
petition they have some most interesting 
struggles before being able to give their deci¬ 
sions. I have accompanied the judges every 
year, and to me this is the most interesting 
part of my duties.” 
Mr. Keer is not one to blow his own trum¬ 
pet—indeed, I am sure nothing would be less 
to his liking—and it was by accident more 
than design that he alluded to a compliment 
paid him by Mr. Edwin Molyneux—this 
apropos of the general arrangements of the 
last show. It was at the luncheon, and Mr. 
Molyneux observed that he wished especially 
to refer to the admirable way in which the 
exhibits were arranged, which would have 
enabled them (the judges), without any aid of 
a steward, to have followed and adjudicated 
upon them. For this very great credit was 
due to the secretary. 
“ And,” added Mr. Keer, with a qualm of 
innate modesty, “ I should like to have heard 
him include the staging committee in this 
kindly reference to our work, for without their 
assistance the praise would have been un¬ 
deserved.” 
“ Now let me ask you about your forth¬ 
coming show. You expect a good one, of 
course ? ” 
“ Yes, there is every promise that our four¬ 
teenth exhibition will be excellent. We 
anticipate a record number of entries, and 
hope the prizes may be all awarded. Last 
year the challenge cup presented by the 
Chrysanthemum Society was held over as only 
two groups were entered. Mr. N. L. Cohen, 
of Englefield, has presented a challenge cup, 
and Mr. W. S. Baxter, of The Brook, Taplow, 
a handsome silver cup. Our schedule in¬ 
cludes, in addition to the above'cups, prizes 
in money amounting to £65. These are 
awarded for Chrysanthemums (pot plants and 
cut blooms), miscellaneous plants, fruit, and 
vegetables. There are a number of open 
classes for gentlemen’s gardeners, amateurs, 
and cottagers.” 
At the last show the attendance was not 
altogether satisfactory. Mr. Keer and his 
— 
OUR PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 
SPECIAL COMPETITION 
For Members of Local 
Horticultural Societies. 
Prizes. — (1) Three guineas. 
(2) One guinea. 
(3) Ten shillings and sixpence. 
Open only to members of local Horticultural 
Societies. 
The above prizes are offered for the best article 
or essay on the following subject:— 
“ How to extend the membership 
and usefulness of local Horticultural ! 
Societies.” 
Tne length of the essay should be about 1,000 
words, and it must be sent in before the end 
of August next. Mark envelopes in left-hand 
corner with the words “Society Competition.” 
committee would appeal to the residents of 
Windsor, Eton, and the district, to all lovers 
of flowers, to give the show their support by 
purchasing tickets. They will be well re¬ 
warded for the small expense and little 
trouble involved in visiting the exhibition, 
and as the local Chrysanthemum and Horti¬ 
cultural Society is one of the most worthy in¬ 
stitutions in the district the executive of the 
society are entitled to expect this support. 
One year it seems the society found itself 
with a credit balance of £10, and the benevo¬ 
lent-hearted members of the committee 
decided to divide this surplus between a local 
hospital and the Gardeners’ Orphan Fund, 
and actually did so do. The resolution com¬ 
ing to the ears of a subscriber, a baronet, and 
a man with very decided opinions as to the 
rights of -subscribers and powers of commit¬ 
tees, he was greatly incensed and demanded 
explanations. 
“ He got in a rage about the matter,” said 
Mr. Keer, reminiscently. “ Subscribers, he 
declared, gave their money on the under¬ 
standing that it was to be spent in furthering 
the cause of horticulture. To give it to 
charities was obtaining money under false 
pretences. We got no further subscriptions 
from him, and I must say there would appear 
to be some reason in his objection. To a rank 
layman like myself there seems to be involved 
here a nice point of law. What is your 
opinion ? ” 
But being profoundly ignorant in such 
matters I had no opinion to offer. 
Peter Penn. 
A Handsome Greenhouse Plant. 
(Asy stasia bella.) 
Considering the beauty of this old-fashioned 
greenhouse shrub, one is surprised that it is 
not more often utilised for planting out in 
large cool greenhouses. It may be grown with 
equal facility in pots or planted out in beds of 
the house, but in the latter case is capable 
of producing much finer effects on account of 
the enormous number of blossoms that a sin¬ 
gle plant will produce after having become 
well established. For some time past a plant 
about 5 ft. high and 3 ft. wide has been a 
picture of beauty in the gardens of Miss Wil- 
shere, The Frythe, Welwyn, Herts. This 
plant carried 150 sprays of bloom of a delicate 
lilac or lavender, beautifully netted with veins 
many shades darker. The temperature of 
this house is kept at 45 degs. in winter. 
After the plant goes out of bloom it is merely 
necessary to trim back the young shoots to 
reasonable length according to the size the 
plant is desired to be. in pots it is necessary 
to prune hard back annually or to propagate 
young plants frequently with the object of 
continuing a supply of specimens of small 
size. By planting it out in a bed, of the house 
more flowers can be obtained at much less 
trouble in time and attention. A bunch of 
sprays was exhibited at a recent R.H.S. meet¬ 
ing by Mr. Joseph Fitt, the gardener. The 
plant is best known, perhaps, as Mackaya 
bella- in gardens. 
Lily of the Valley at The Frythe. 
At a recent meeting of the R.H.S. Mr. 
Joseph Fitt, gardener to .Miss Wilshere, The 
Frythe, Welwyn, Herts, brought up a col¬ 
lection of varieties of Lily of the Valley, 
which is a more variable plant than the average 
gardener would imagine. Amongst others he 
had Convallaria majalis majus, which differs 
from the ordinary one in having broader leaves 
and larger flowers more loosely arranged on 
the stalks. Less common was the double 
variety, C. m. flore pleno, having more numer¬ 
ous petals and more or less striped with pur¬ 
ple. This was certainly curious and inter¬ 
esting, but scarcely so graceful as the single 
varieties. The variegated form C. m. varie- 
gata was notable for having its leaves with 
regular yellow stripes forming lines along the 
course of the veins. Other leaves showed 
more irregularity and broader bands of 
creamy yellow. The most handsome and use¬ 
ful of all was C. m. Fortin’s var., having very 
large bell-shaped flowers. The leaves of this 
variety are also larger than usual, and the 
whole plant very robust. When well crown 
this is far in advance of the Berlin variety of 
Lily of the Valley. 
The LTgly Horse Chestnut. —Luke Ellis 
in the Fc/io speaks- of the “ usual rant and 
nonsense about ‘ Chestnut Sunday ’ at 
Bushey. The Horse Chestnut, artists-think, 
is,” he says, “ the most formal and 
‘lumpish’ of all our trees, and they are almost 
unanimous in their refusal to paint it. V ho 
car eg to see in a picture long avenues of huge 
green puddings, dotted over with formal white 
extinguishers ? ” 
