THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
i io 
seeds which will be distributed, but estimating the Pacific 
section on the basis of the amounts purchased in other sec¬ 
tions, it is safe to say that each senator, representative and 
territorial delegate in congress will have at his disposal (after 
deducting one-third allotted by law to the secretary of agricul¬ 
ture) nearly 30,000 packets of seeds, or about twice as many 
as last year. The amount expended for seed last year was 
$80,500 ; it will be seen therefore that the department has this 
year secured twice as much seed, of greater variety, for con¬ 
siderably less than twice as much money as last year. 
D. M. Ferry & Co., seed dealers, Detroit, Mich., have 
applied to the district courts for an injunction to restrain the 
secretary of agriculture from the free distribution of seeds by 
the government. They claim that the business of Ferry & Co. 
will be damaged $50,000 by the execution by the act of con¬ 
gress and the sale of 5,000,000 packages of seed taken from 
the firm. 
The complaint asserts that the law is without warrant in the 
constitution of the United States and in violation of the funda¬ 
mental principles upon which the government is based, is void 
and inoperative and confers no right on the secretary or his 
assistants to enter into any contracts for the purchase or free 
distribution of seeds or to pay or authorize the payment of any 
money out of the treasury of the United States for such 
purpose. 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Distinguished horticulturists of England in August held a 
conference at the Chester exhibition. Among the nurserymen 
and horticulturists present were : Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., 
president ; Philip Crowley, F. R. S., secretary, and Rev. W. 
Wilks, M. A., treasurer, of the the Royal Horticultural Society; 
Thomas Statter, Charles Shea, George Bunyard, Very Rev. S. 
Reynolds Hole, F. W. Burbridge, George A. Dickson and E. 
J. Baillie. 
Sir Trevor Lawrence read a paper upon “ The Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society of England : Its History and its Works,” the 
following summary of which was made by the Gardeners' 
Chronicle: The inhabitants of Great Britain during the last 
half-century had grown so accustomed to be surrounded by 
flowers in town and country alike that they had come to regard 
the present state of British horticulture as a matter of course ; 
but no one who carried his mind back to the beginning of the 
century could fai to be struck by the extraordinary progress 
which gardening had since made. During the century now 
near its end, trees and shrubs, annuals and perennials, flowers 
and fruits had been introduced from foreign countries in vast 
numbers, while the abilities of several generations of gardeners 
had found full scope for their exertions among a garden-loving 
people in improving the old, and raising new varieties of 
garden fruits. After describing the foundation of the society 
ninety-two years ago through the exertions of Thomas Andrew 
Knight, and its early history, including the granting of a royal 
charter in 1809, Sir Trevor said a valuable feature of the 
society’s work, and one which had had a great and enduring 
influence on British horticulture, lay in the steps taken in 1818 
to get from various countries valuable shrubs, plants and seeds. 
The earliest arrivals came from China and from India through 
the East India company, and in this way many valuable plants 
were introduced into Great Britain. The success of these 
efforts encouraged the company to send out with great success 
collectors at their own cost. 
Sir Trevor afterwards referred at some length to the vicis¬ 
situdes through which the society passed after the death of the 
Prince Consort, until at the end of 1887 a move was made 
which had the effect of entirely rehabilitating it in public 
opinion. As to the present position of the society, if it had 
done anything to repair the errors of the past, and inspire con¬ 
fidence in the future, it had been by sticking resolutely to its 
last, bearing constantly in mind that the function of horticul¬ 
tural society was to cultivate horticulture, and with a fixed 
determination to clear off outstanding liabilities and to avoid 
debt. In reducing the minimum subscription to one guinea, 
the society was actuated by a desire to enroll among its fellows 
as large a proportion as possible of the vast numbers of their 
fellow-subjects who were interested in gardens. The result of 
this and other changes had been, on the whole, eminently suc¬ 
cessful, the average annual net increase in the number of fel¬ 
lows being for several years 280, and the total number 3,300, 
against a maximum, so far as could be ascertained, of 2,500 in 
the old Chiswick show days. The Journal of the society was 
published regularly, the committees included a large number 
of the principal horticultural experts in the kingdom, while the 
great shows of the society, held now for several years in the 
gardens of the Inner Temple, by the continued kindness of 
the benchers, had been, in many respects, the finest ever seen 
in Great Britain. The fortnightly shows were now largely 
attended, and attracted such a number and variety of exhibits 
as made it increasingly difficult to find room for them. The 
society’s fruit show at the Crystal Palace bade fair to become 
an important annual event. The society had spent during the 
ninety-two years of its existence not less than ^400,000. That 
it had made mistakes and wasted money, its best friends would 
not deny ; but it might confidently be asserted that it had done 
and was doing good work which no other society could do— 
work of great value to the community. 
HUDSON VALLEY PEAR CROP. 
That portion of the Hudson River valley, lying between 
Albany and New York, has long been conceded to be the 
greatest pear producing section of the world, supplying New 
York, Boston and Philadelphia for almost their entire needs, 
besides supplying some portion of the needs of many European 
cities, says the New York World. The pear crop of this sec¬ 
tion was unusually large last year, and brough f to growers a 
revenue of several million dollars. Early in the spring this 
year, appearances indicated a fair crop', and everything was 
very encouraging until the bud opened, when the “bud moth” 
and “leaf roller” began their depredations, and held to their 
course until fully one-half the crop was destroyed. While the 
pears of this district are not so smooth and attractive as those 
of California, they are more highly appreciated as being of 
superior flavor. They are handled and marketed by commis¬ 
sion men, being sold to them generally before they are ripe. 
Last year Canada took about one-half the state’s entire crop at 
$2.50 per barrel. New York and Boston have secured two- 
third of this year’s crop at $3 per barrel. These pears are 
picked, barreled and shipped to New York, and are sold by 
the barrel without dumping. 
