476 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 13, 1907. 
tr. 
A, A, -plants put out in centre of bed under glass lights ; 
B, B, plants pinched. 
Give water to the young seedlings with 
great care. Instead of applying the water 
to the surface, hold the pots in a can 
of tepid v/ater, and let the moisture soak 
the soil upwards ; there is less danger of 
the plants damping off by following this 
method. 
The Best Compost in which to Grow 
THE Plants. — Procure some good loam 
inclined to be heavy rather than light, 
and chop it into pieces about the size of a 
3 in. flower pot. This kind of loam should 
form quite three parts of the bulk, the 
other part being leaf soil. Mix the two 
ingredients together, and spread the com¬ 
post evenly all over the surface of the 
bed to a depth of nine inches. Then put 
another bushel of it for each plant in the 
centre of the bed, make all firm, and 
plant the Melons. 
Putting Out the Plants. —Do not 
bury the stems any lower than they were 
when growing in the pots. Press the soil 
firmly around the roots without injuring 
the latter, and forthwith support the stems 
with neat stakes when dealing with plants 
in houses as the stems must be guided to 
the wires under the roof glass. But in 
frames there is no need for staking, as 
the branches must be trained over the 
surface of the bed. (See figs. 1, 2, 5, 
and 6.) 
The best time for planting in frames is 
towards the end of April, and in houses 
heated with hot water pipes the end of 
March. 
c 
A, plant pegged down on bed and pinched; 
B, good loam; C, shows top portion of hot¬ 
bed. 
Two plants will be sufficient for a frame 
6 feet by 3 feet 6 inches, and sifx plants 
for one twice that size, as there is more 
central space available for the branches. 
In houses the cordon system of growing 
Melons is the best. Usually growers have 
put out the plants about 3 feet apart, and 
tried to secure three and four fruits on 
each plant. But if planted 1 foot apart 
two fruits are easily obtained on each 
plant—sometimes three—so that a larger 
number of fruits are secured from the 
same space, and quite equal to, if not 
better than, those grown on plants 3 feet 
asunder. G. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent 
Institution. 
ANNUAL DINNER. 
The 68th anniversary festival dinner of 
the above institution was held at the 
Hotel Metropole on the 26th ult. A 
very good attendance of visitors and 
people connected with the institution sat 
down to table under the presidency of the 
Hon. Walter Rothschild, M.P. Amongst 
those present we noticed the Right Hon. 
Col. Mark Lockwood, M.P., Sir Edgar 
Speyer, Bart., Messrs. Harry J. Veitch, 
F.L.S., G. Bunyard, H. B. May, Stuart 
M. Samuel, M.P., and many others. 
After the usual loyal toast had been 
proposed and well received, the Chairman 
proposed “ Continued prosperity to the 
Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Institu¬ 
tion.” He said that if those who minis¬ 
tered to our enjoyment met with misfor¬ 
tune in life it was our duty to see that the 
closing days-of their life,"if not pleasant, 
should at least be made tolerable and 
agreeable. He then discussed the 
various funds which were intended for the 
support of the pensioners and the Samari¬ 
tan Fund, which was used for the purpose 
of affording temporary relief while wait¬ 
ing election. The subscribers were very 
numerous, and from this source alone 
they had an income of ^1,500 a year. 
He did not think, however, that the num¬ 
ber of subscribers had increased in the 
same ratio as the wealth of the world. 
We need not despair of that, however, 
for he thought that the society would not 
find it necessary to cut down expenses in 
connection with the support of the pen¬ 
sioners. Happily, there were other 
sources from which voluntary contribu¬ 
tions were obtainable, and by that means 
the institution would continue to prosper. 
He complimented the gardeners and 
growers who had supplied the table that 
evening with flowers and fruit, and he 
said it was evident that those who saw the 
tables would be conscious that the society 
were keeping the interest of the gardener 
in view. He coupled with that toast the 
name of the treasurer, Mr. Harry J. 
Veitch. 
While addressing the audience, Mr. 
Veitch mentioned some of the pensioners 
who had lived to a great age and had 
drawn large sums of money, although in 
their earlier days they had only contri¬ 
buted quite nominal sums. One alone 
had drawn ,-£640, while the widow of an¬ 
other received ^390, so that the two 
families altogether had received about 
/i,ooo from the institution. He then 
read various letters of thanks from pen¬ 
sioners and those receiving temporary re¬ 
lief, showing how grateful they were for 
such timely aid. He did not know any 
other institution where the funds were 
managed more economically. 
In a speech that was brimful of 
humour, Stuart M. Samuel, Esq., M.P., 
proposed “Horticulture in all its 
branches.” This was responded to by 
the Right Hon. Mark Lockwood, M.P., 
who spoke of his pursuit of horticulture, 
his difficulties and successes. As evi¬ 
dence of the interest that is taken in 
horticulture generally, he mentioned the 
difficulty of getting near the plants at ex¬ 
hibitions so as to examine them. Gar¬ 
dening, he said, was a question of 
patience, of love, interest, and close at¬ 
tention. 
Sir Edgar Speyer, Bart., proposed' 
“Our Chairman.” At this point the 
secretary, Mr. G. J. Ingram, read out a 
lengthy list of donations that had been 
given in aid of the institution in connec¬ 
tion with the dinner. The chairman had 
given 100 guineas, Messrs. Sutton and 
Sons £200 , Messrs. Hurst and Son 50 
guinea^, Messrs. Veitch and Sons ^25, 
and many other handsome sums were 
given, the record total amounting to 
.£2,500. 
The Chairman then said it was his 
greatest pleasure to be able to help those 
who had contributed so much to the plea¬ 
sure of the community. He thanked the 
contributors of fruit and flowers, and con¬ 
cluded by saying that that night had been 
a record for subscriptions. He then had 
to leave for his Parliamentary duties. 
Numerous songs and solos were inter¬ 
spersed between the speeches during the 
evening, and the musical entertainment 
was under the direction of Mr. Herbert 
Schartau. 
-- 
Rose Charles J. Grahame. 
What a glorious Rose this new variety 
is, with its broad petals of a dazzling 
orange crimson, and fine form. 
