822 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 21. 1905. 
Then, thirdly, propagate by eyes obtained 
from the bottom of plants and by cutting up 
sections of the woody stem having one or two 
eyes in a section. Do' not. use the bottom 
of the stem, as it is too old, and will not grow 
away. In this case fill a pot to within lgin. 
of the top with silver sand, then lay in the 
eyes and fill it up. Put these in the frame 
until grown through. Then pot off into 60’s, 
using the same compost with. a little extra 
sand added. 
In the last case, with seed, it is very seldom 
done, only in the case of hybridising. 
When these plants have established them¬ 
selves in 60’s, put them on a shelf till well 
coloured, shading them for two hours in the 
middle of the day when the sun is bright. 
When well coloured pot them into their final 
6 -in. pots, using the following compost: Two 
parts good fibrous loam, one of peat, one of 
leaf mould, some dry cow manure and silver 
sand. Pot them very firmly in this size, but 
not so firm in 60’s. After they are potted, 
place them in a stove, taking great care with 
watering till well rooted ; then give them a 
liberal supply of liquid manure water, such 
as sheep droppings and soot water to help 
colour them. It is a hard job to obtain 
good-coloured plants from bad-coloured tops 
and cuttings. These plants when well grown 
are very useful for table decoration. 
Thrifty. 
THE UNITED HORTICULTURAL 
BENEFIT & PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 
-hu ANNUAL DINNER. 
The nineteenth anniversay dinner of the 
above society was held at the Holborn Re¬ 
staurant, London, on the 10th inst., under 
the presidency of William Marshall, Esq., 
when a good muster sat down to table, in¬ 
cluding most of those who have been patrons 
or members of this society for several years 
past. 
After dinner the usual loyal toasts were 
proposed by the chairman, and in clue course 
he proposed “ The United Horticultural 
Benefit and Provident Society.” He said 
that they had a membership of twelve hun¬ 
dred, and that during the past year 105 new 
members had been enrolled. They had over 
£24,000 invested. He then described the 
origin of the society, stating that in 1865 it 
was due to the resignation of the Fruit and 
Floral Committees of the R.H.S., who in¬ 
tended to start a society in opposition to the 
original body. They even held a number of 
shows with more or less success, until, owing 
to reform in the committees of the R.H.S., 
the new body concluded that it was unneces¬ 
sary to continue their efforts in this direc¬ 
tion, and set themselves to the founding of 
a new society which should be purely for the 
benefit of gardeners. It seems that one of 
the chief difficulties entailed by the R.H.S. 
was the holding of shows and meetings on 
Saturday instead of Wednesday. He said 
he had been chairman of committees of the 
R.H.S. for twenty years, and it might seem 
curious that he should take up this attitude, 
but Ms intention was to show the origin of 
the present society. After some shows and 
meetings were held, a meeting took place on 
March 7th, 1868, at 37, Arundel Street, 
London, when a benevolent fund was the 
principal feature of the meeting, and made it 
a success. It was not meant to be a charit¬ 
able society, nor to be run in opposition to 
any other. Some flower shows were held with 
the object of acquiring funds, and at the 
fourth, which was held at the Guildhall, they 
vaised over £200. The original rules took 
three- months to work up. The balance at 
the end of the first year was £186. Tlte first- 
annual meeting was held on May 4th, at the 
Green Dragon Hotel. Gardeners at first 
fought shy of the society, and they started 
with only thirty-one members, which had now 
reached 1,200, as above stated. On one occa¬ 
sion their income, plus the previous balance, 
was £476 11s. 5d., but- no money was paid; 
away during the year, so that he considered 
this the simplest balance-sheet he had ever 
seen. 
Mr. C. H. Curtis replied to the toast, and 
sai l that 105 members was the largest number 
ever enrolled in one year. If the society were 
closed up to-morrow they could give every 
member £27, and he thought no other society 
of a similar nature was- in such a position. 
At- this point- he read a long letter from one of 
the earliest members in reference to the early 
work of the chairman in connection with the 
society. 
Mr. Wm. Taylor proposed “ The Honorary 
and Life Members,” which was replied to by 
W. A. Bilney, Esq. He said that the number 
of life members and honorary members might 
be increased, and suggested that the chair¬ 
man must have selected his original members 
with very great care. Mr. E. A. Bunyard 
also replied to the same toast. 
Later on Mr. H. B. May proposed “ The 
Chairman,” and said that for nearly fifty 
years there was no event of consequence in 
horticulture but Air. Alarshall was connected 
with. He felt sure the chairman would think 
of this night as one of the most pleasant of 
his life. The chairman replied, agreeing 
heartily with the last statement. 
Mr. James Hudson, Y.M.H., proposed 
“ The Visitors,” and said that they wanted 
more honorary members. He urged all to 
band together to help gardeners who had the 
misfortune to need it. Mr. George Gordon 
said he knew of no society of greater im¬ 
portance to gardeners than this one. Mr. 
Strugnell also replied. Mr. E. F. Hawes, in 
proposing “ The Press,” said that the success 
of this society since its founding by Mr. 
Alarshall had been due to the Press. Air. 
R. TI. Pearson replied. 
Hatching Bantams. 
Two or three times during the incubating 
period it will be an act of wisdom to sprinkle 
the- nest with flowers of sulphur. This has 
the effect of keeping down insect life, and 
o-ivino' the young chicks at- least- a start m 
fife free of such bloodsucking gentry. From 
the fourteenth day onward it is wise to 
sprinkle the nest and eggs well with warm 
water whilst the hen is off for her morning 
feed. This has the effect of moistening the 
inner lining of the egg-shell and rendering it 
softer and easier for the young chicks to break 
through. 
Bad Hatching. 
It sometimes happens that a chick is unable 
to break through the shell; when this is the 
case great care is needed, and it is not wise 
to be in too big a hurry to release the little 
prisoner; but if all, or nearly all, the eggs in 
a clutch are either chipped or hatched, the 
remainder should be examined. This can be 
done by breaking a small hole in the thick end 
of the egg. If the chick is dead, of course 
nothing can be done; but if it is alive and 
looks as though it wants to come out, remove 
the shell carefully, and the lining from the 
top of the egg. If any blood shows its appear¬ 
ance, stop operations at once; if not, go on till 
you get down to the bird’sbeak, thenstop ; wit-h 
the room you have given it ought to be able 
to get out; if not, it is too weakly, and you 
are better without it. Others possibly will 
chip the egg, but are not able to work their 
way all round it; if this is so you must remove 
the shell a Tittle on either side of the bird’s 
beak and loosen the lining which will be found 
covering the head and shoulders. Should 
blood begin to flow, stop at once. 
Removal of Chicks. 
Some breeders remove the chicks as they 
are hatched, and place them in a flannel-lined 
basket near the fire. Others leave them witli 
the hen. If the hen is quiet and a reliable 
mother it is, I think, best- not to remove the 
young chicks; let them stay—she wiU not 
hurt them, and they will be far more com¬ 
fortable with their mother than in a flannel- 
lined basket. Should, however, the hen be 
untried, and show signs of restlessness, then it 
is best- to remove the chicks, as in her anxiety 
to look at and examine her young family she 
may trample on some which are only half out 
of the shells. Hens vary considerably, and no 
hard and fast line can be laid down. Much 
depends, too, upon the breeder or his 
assistant. Every time I go near a hen which 
is sitting I speak to her and scratch her head 
and neck; thus she gains confidence and wel¬ 
comes my approach whenever I go near, and 
when a hen has this confidence in those about 
her she sits much closer and quieter, and is 
not so anxious when her young brood appears. 
Answers to Correspondents. 
Birds Pale ix Face (Beginner).—It is 
nothing to be alarmed about. All birds go 
more or less pale in face at the time of the 
moult. As birds near the moult the comb 
gradually loses its brightness and dries up, 
whilst the rich, ruddy glow of the face also 
disappears. As your birds recover from the 
moult the colour will return to their combs- 
and faces, until they are once more a rich 
bright red, and shortly after that you may 
expect to find them laying. During the; 
moulting season you should put a little 
sulphate of iron in their drinking water three 
times a week, a piece about the size of a large 
