THE GARDENING WORLD . 
533 
July 1, 1905. 
® Society + Doings. ® 
The Editor will he pleased to receive particulars of the Fixtures, Meetings , Lectures, cfee., of Horticultural Societies. Secretaries 
or Members willing to send us brief notes of general interest are invited to forward name and address to the Editor, who will 
gladly send supply of stamped addressed contributors' slips. 
in Unnatural Death. 
Reiteration may become tiresome, but it is 
sometimes necessary. The late secretary of 
t W o once flourishing horticultural societies, 
(writing to tell as that they are things of the 
{past, adds : “ They both died a natural death 
{some years ago.” Now to our mind this is 
tantamount to a. contradiction of terms. 
There can be no such thing as the natural 
{death of a society of this kind. It is a most 
unnatural, though, unhappily, not an infre¬ 
quent occurrence. In the natural and rational 
order of things, such an organisation ought to 
enjoy a perpetual leas© of life, and to grow 
stronger as it waxes oldei - . So long as man 
loves flowers and plants, -so long will its 
raison d’etre continue. The cause of collapse 
is disease ; it suffers from inefficient organisa¬ 
tion, or some other equally fatal ailment, and 
dies, not naturally, but most unnaturally, be¬ 
cause quite unnecessarily. 
The Duke of Portland Re-elected. 
The financial statement produced at the last 
meeting of the Nottinghamshire Horticultural 
and Botanical Society, held on the 15th ult., 
shows that with a total income of £607 (in¬ 
cluding £374 from the flower show and £155 
from subscriptions), tire society had a credit 
balance of 13s. lid., compared with one of 
5s. 2d. last year. The expenses included £437 
spent on the show. The committee stated 
that there had again been a good accession of 
new members, 46 having been elected during 
the year. The Duke of Portland was re¬ 
elected president, as were also the twenty-one 
vice-presidents, the treasurer (Mr. J. H. Hay¬ 
wood), the hon. secretary (Mr. C. J. Mee), 
and the committee, which include Councillor 
A. Page (chairman), Messrs. J. H. Richards 
and M. Browne (vice-chairmen), Messrs. J. 
Baker, A. Clarke. W Harpham, J. H. Hay¬ 
wood, R .Huckerby, H. Ralphs, W. Sibley, 
W. W. Sibley, C. Smith, E. Stevenson, E. 
Steward, E. Wadsworth, R. J. Walters, J. 
Yamell, G. Goode, H. Spray, and Councillors 
1 C. Smith and J. Barnett. 
A Lecture on Rose-Growing. 
Mr. Edward J. Holland lectured before a 
large and appreciative gathering of the mem¬ 
bers of the Thornton Heath and District Hor¬ 
ticultural Society last week, when Mr. W. J. 
Dart, a well-known local “ rosarian,” presided. 
Mr. Holland devoted most of his time to the 
subject of budding, observing that, except in 
a very few instances, the planting of slips was 
unsatisfactory, the slender roots being unable 
to supply a good growth above ; by budding, 
on the other hand, strong and vigorous plants 
were ensured. For this purpose he recom¬ 
mended stocks from the old Brier of the 
hedges, which one had to go out in the winter 
time to get. The best time for budding was 
the last ten days of July. A practical demon¬ 
stration of how to bud followed. 
A Pretty Cornwall Show, 
< The committee of the Mevagissey Cottage 
Gardening Society are endeavouring to con¬ 
siderably enlarge their schedule. The society 
held a distinctly pretty show last year in the 
beautiful gardens of Heligan, and this year’s 
show is, we note, to be held in the same place, 
by the kind permission of the owner of the 
grounds, Mr. Tremayne, who has been unani¬ 
mously re-elected president of the society. 
The British Ancient Free Gardeners. 
The development of the British Order of 
Ancient Free Gardeners’ Friendly Society has 
been steadily going on till it stands in the 
friendly society movement about twelfth 
numerically and eighth financially. The free 
gardeners claim for their society an unbeaten 
record as regards the annual increase in the 
funds pro rata to the membership. At the 
end of 1904 there were twenty districts worth 
r \ 
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.” 
The 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.” 
£235,640, with 48,431 adult members. With 
the juveniles, there is a total membership of 
58,000. 
Gardeners and Pensions. 
“ There is, in my opinion, only one solu¬ 
tion to the old-age pension question, and that 
is that friendly societies insist upon its being 
placed within the realm of practical politics,” 
said Grand Master Drewery, of Hull, who 
spoke at the business session of Grand Lodge 
of the National United Order of Free Gar¬ 
deners, which opened at Driffield, Yorkshire, 
on the 14th ult. The Order now numbers. 
72,559 members in 602 lodges. The total con¬ 
tributions during the year realised £94,131, 
and there was a gain of over £5,000. The 
capdtal account amounts to £237,831 5s. 9d., 
a gain of over £7,000 on the year. 
Insects Good and Bad. 
“Insects Injurious and Beneficial,” being 
the title of an essay by Mr. H. B. Dobbie, read 
before the member’s of the East Anglian Hor¬ 
ticultural Club at their monthly meeting and 
exhibition on the 14tli ult., proved uncom¬ 
monly interesting, and excited a suggestive 
discussion. Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, 
scale, and many other subjects were pointed 
out as injurious, whilst the Ichneumon fly, 
ladybird, and some others were stated to bo 
useful friends. Air. Dobbie said he knew of 
no plant that was immune from insect pests 
in some form. During the discussion, Air. 
H. Perry remarked that he had never seen in¬ 
sect life in any form, either outside or in, 
attack the Eucalyptus. The wasp, he said, 
though a foe, was a carnivorous friend. He 
had observed that the common snail was 
partial to American blight. 
Horticulture at the Antipodes. 
The horticultural societies of Australia are 
now holding their annual Chrysanthemum 
shows. Presiding at the thirteenth annual ex¬ 
hibition of Chrysanthemums of the Liberty 
Plains Horticultural Society, Air. G. W. 
Moore, Alinister of Alines and Agriculture, 
spoke of the elevating influence of flowers 
upon the lives of the people, and declaimed that 
everyone who cultivated a garden was a public 
benefactor. In the schools of certain foreign 
countries one of the aims of the teachers was 
to inculcate a love for flowers, and the good 
example could, he said, with advantage be 
followed in the schools of their own country. 
He praised the Railway Commissioners for 
encouraging the cultivation of flowers and 
shrubs at the various railway stations. 
No Children’s Sports. 
The children showed such a lack of interest 
in the sports provided for them last year in 
connection with the Bridge (Canterbury) Hor¬ 
ticultural Society, that they have been with¬ 
drawn for this year. At the forthcoming show 
(August 3rd_), the St. John Ambulance Brigade 
of Canterbury will give a grand display, and 
there will also be a cricket match between the 
Bridge Nigger Troupe and the Bridge Cricket 
Club. After the distribution of prizes by Mrs. 
Gay, the proceedings will wind up with a 
nigger entertainment and dancing. This 
would seem to be a very inclusive programme. 
Flower Lore. 
“ The Language of Flowers ” was the subject 
chosen for a delightful lecture delivered be¬ 
fore the members of the Wakefield Paxton 
Society at their last meeting. Said the lec¬ 
turer, the Apple blossom is said to signify 
spiritual beauty ; the Cowslip, pensiveness ; 
the Daffodil, deceit ; the Daisy, beauty and 
innocence ; the Forget-Ale-Not, true love ; the 
Hawthorn blossom, hope ; and the Honey¬ 
suckle, a bond of love and sweetness of dis¬ 
position. The lecture was an attractive 
medley of flower lore, historical, biographical, 
and hortative, and was much enjoyed. 
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident 
Society. 
The monthly committee meeting of this 
society was held at the Royal Horticultural 
Hall, Vincent Square, Westminster, on Mon¬ 
day, the 19th ult. Air. Chas. H. Curtis pre¬ 
sided. Six new members were elected. Four 
deaths were reported and certificates produced, 
and the amounts standing ro the credit of the 
late members in the books of the society were 
directed to be paid to their nominees respec¬ 
tively/ A lapsed member having reached the 
