February  15,  IfOO. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
141 
submitting  instances  of  diseases  of,  or  injuries  to  plants,  caused  by 
insects  or  otherwise.  The  Scientific  Committee  is  composed  of  gentle¬ 
men  qualified  to  give  the  best  advice  on  all  such  subjects,  either  in 
respect  to  the  prevention  or  cure  of  disease.  The  Committee  is  also 
glad  to  receive  specimens  of  any  subjects  of  horticultural  or  botanical 
interest. 
Special  Exhibitions. 
The  Society’s  great  show  held  in  May  (by  the  continued  kindness  of 
the  Treasurer  and  Benchers)  in  the  Inner  Temple  Gardens,  was  as 
successful  as  ever,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  satisfaction  to  the  Council  to  find 
that  this  meeting  is  now  universally  acknowledged  to  be  the  leading 
horticultural  exhibition  of  this  country.  The  best  thanks  of  the  Society 
are  due  to  all  who  kindly  brought  their  plants  for  exhibition,  or  other¬ 
wise  contributed  to  the  success  of  this  show. 
The  International  Conference  on  Hybridisation  held  at  Chiswick 
and  at  Westminster  Town  Hall  on  July  11th  and  12th  was  considered 
both  by  our  home  and  also  by  our  foreign  guests  to  be  an  unqualified 
success,  not  only  from  the  value  of  the  papers  read  and  communicated 
but  also  from  the  pleasant  opportunity  it  afforded  for  the  meeting  of 
horticulturists  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  report  of  the  Conference 
has  been  unavoidably  delayed.  It  will  form  a  distinct  and  very  valuable 
volume  of  the  Society’s  Journal. 
The  exhibition  of  British  grown  fruit  held  by  the  Society  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  on  September  28th,  29th,  and  30th  was,  considering  the 
very  unfavourable  season,  most  satisfactory.  Full  particulars  will  be 
tound  in  vol.  xxiii.,  part  3  of  the  Journal,  which  will  be  issued  in  the 
course  of  a  few  weeks. 
As  an  object-lesson  in  British  fruit  cultivation  this  annual  show 
stands  unrivalled,  and  is  of  national  importance.  Those  who  have 
V  sited  it  frcm  year  to  year  cannot  fail  to  have  been  impressed  by  the 
wonderful  advance  which  has  been  made  in  the  quality  of  the  hardy 
fruits  exhibited.  And  as  the  importance  of  fruit  growing  in  this  country 
cannot  well  be  over-estimated  the  Council  invite  Fellows  and  their 
friends  to  support  them  in  their  efforts  to  maintain  and  improve  this 
Exhibition  by  visiting  it,  and  by  subscribing  to  its  funds.  For  it 
•cannot  be  too  widely  known  that  the  continuance  of  the  Show  is 
absolutely  dependant  on  at  least  £100  being  raised  by  subscription 
each  year  towards  the  prize  fund.  The  Show  involves  the  Society 
in  a  very  large  expenditure  without  the  possibility  of  any  financial 
return.  The  Council  have  therefore  established  the  rule  that  they 
will  not  continue  it  unless  sufficient  interest  in  it  is  taken  by  Fellows 
and  their  friends  to  provide  £100  towards  the  prize  fund.  And  this 
w  ill  in  the  coming  year  1900,  be  even  more  important  than  heretofore, 
as  the  Directors  of  the  Palace  have  signified  to  the  Council  that  they 
feel  compelled  to  decrease  their  contribution  by  £50.  A  glance  at 
the  list  of  subscribers  will  show  how  small  has  been  the  interest  taken 
by  the  bulk  of  the  Fellows.  The  Council  would  point  out  that  this  is 
not  a  local  show  with  a  few  large  prizes,  but  that  a  multitude  of  small 
prizes  have  been  arranged  in  order  to  secure  the  best  fruits  in  each 
section;  special  prizes  have  been  allotted  to  market  growers;  and 
counties  have  been  grouped  in  such  a  way  that  growers  should  not 
have  to  compete  with  exhibitors  from  localities  more  favoured  by 
climatic  conditions.  These  points  will  be  still  further  extended  should 
sufficient  financial  support  be  forthcoming.  Subscriptions  should  be 
sent  at  once  to  the  Secretary,  117,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster,  and  if 
the  list  prove  satisfactory  the  schedule  will  be  issued  in  April,  and 
the  Show  held  on  September  27th,  28th,  and  29th,  1900.  The  list  of 
subscribers  for  1899  will  be  published  in  part  3  of  vol.  xxiii.,  of  the 
Society’s  Journal. 
An  invitation  was  received  and  accepted  for  sending  a  deputation  to 
visit  a  Show  of  Daffodils  and  other  early  spring  flowers  and  produce, 
held  at  Truro  on  the  2l8t  and  22nd  of  March,  1899.  The  Council 
desire  to  express  their  best  thanks  for  the  great  courtesy  and  hospitality 
with  which  their  deputation  was  received  in  Cornwall. 
The  Journal  of  the  Society  has  been  continued  so  as  to  enable 
Fellows  at  a  distance  to  enter  more  fully  into,  and  reap  the  benefits 
of  the  study  and  work  of  those  actively  engaged  at  head-quarters. 
Vol.  xxii.,  part  4,  and  parts  1  and  2  of  vol.  xxiii.,  were  issued  dnring 
the  year;  vol.  xxiii.,  part  3,  will  be  ready  on  April  1st,  and  vol.  xxiv., 
on  the  Hybrid  Conference,  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Examinations. 
An  examination  in  the  principles  and  practice  of  horticulture  was 
held  on  April  11th,  concurrently  in  different  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  a  centre  being  established  wherever  a  magistrate,  clergyman, 
schoolmaster,  or  other  responsible  person  accustomed  to  examinations 
would  consent  to  act  on  the  Society’s  behalf,  in  accordance  with  the 
■rules  laid  down  for  its  conduct.  No  limit  as  to  the  age,  position,  or 
previous  training  of  the  candidates  was  imposed.  165  candidates 
presented  themselves  for  examination.  The  names  and  addresses  of 
those  who  succeeded  in  satisfying  the  examiners,  together  with  the 
number  of  marks  assigned  to  each,  will  be  found  in  the  Society’s 
Journal,  vol.  xxiii.,  page  64. 
It  is  proposed  to  hold  a  similar  examination  in  1900,  on  Wednesday, 
April  25th.  Candidates  wishing  to  sit  for  the  examination  should 
make  application  during  February  to  the  Secretary,  E.H.S.  office,  117, 
Victoria  Street,  Westminster. 
The  thanks  of  the  Society  are  due  to  all  the  members  of  the  stand¬ 
ing  Committees — viz.,  the  Scientific,  the  Fruit  and  Vegetable,  the 
Floral,  the  Orchid,  and  the  Narcissus  Committees,  for  the  kind  and 
patient  attention  which  they  have  severally  given  to  their  departments. 
The  thanks  of  the  Society  are  also  due  to  all  those  who,  either  at 
home  or  abroad,  have  so  kindly  presented  plants  or  seeds  to  the 
Gardens.  A  list  of  the  donors  has  been  prepared,  and  will  be  found  in  the 
Society’s  Journal,  vol.  xxiii.,  part  3,  which  will  be  issued  on  April  1st. 
The  Council  wish  to  express,  in  their  own  name  and  in  that  of 
the  Fellows  of  the  Society,  their  great  indebtedness  to  all  who  have  so 
kindly  contributed,  either  by  the  exhibition  of  plants,  fruits,  flowers, 
or  vegetables,  or  by  the  reading  of  papers,  to  the  success  of  the 
fortnightly  meetings  in  the  Drill  Hall.  They  are  glad  to  find  by  the 
increased  and  increasing  number  of  visitors  that  the  Society’s  fort- 
nightly  meetings  are  becoming  fully  appreciated  by  the  Fellows  and 
public  in  general. 
A  desire  having  been  expressed  that  the  so-called  fortnightly  meet¬ 
ings  should  be  actually  fortnightly  throughout  the  whole  year,  it 
will  be  found  by  referring  to  the  Book  of  Arrangements,  1900,  that 
t  he  Council  have  acceded  to  this  request  as  far  as  it  was  possible  to  do  so 
having  regard  to  such  obstacles  to  absolute  regularity  as  the  Temple  and 
Crystal  Palace  Shows,  and  the  occurrence  of  Bank  Holidays. 
Besides  the  lectures,  delivered  at  various  meetings,  the  Kev. 
Professor  Henslow,  V.M.H  ,  has  most  kindly  given  several  floral  demon¬ 
strations,  short  accounts  of  which  have  appeared  in  the  Journal. 
A  very  courteous  proposal  has  been  received  from  the  Richmond 
Horticultural  Society,  inviting  the  Council,  with  the  Fruit,  Floral,  and 
Orchid  Committees,  to  sit  at  Richmond  on  the  occasion  of  the  local 
Society’s  show  in  the  Old  Deer  Park  on  Wednesday,  June  the  29th. 
This  invitation  has  been  cordially  accepted,  and  the  Committees  will 
sit,  and  plants,  &c.,  will  be  brought  before  them  for  certificate,  exactly 
as  if  they  were  sitting  at  Westminster.  Directions  will  be  found  in 
the  Book  of  Arrangements,  1900. 
The  New  Charter. 
Ever  since  the  great  revival  of  the  Society  in  1887  questions  have 
from  time  to  time  arisen  as  to  the  legality  of  certain  of  the  bye-laws. 
It  has  been  urged  that  this  or  that  bye-law  was  ultra  vires  because  it 
was  apparently  in  conflict  with  the  Charter.  And  when  recourse  was 
had  to  the  two  Charters  under  which  the  Society  is  incorporated,  the 
later  (and  therefore  presumably  the  ruling)  Charter  was  found  to  be  so 
encumbered  with  matters  relating  solely  to  the  South  Kensington  lease 
from  the  Commissioners  of  the  1851  Exhibition  (which  matters  ceased 
in  1887  to  have  any  further  connection  with  the  Sooiety),  that  it 
seemed  well-nigh  impossible  to  separate  the  small  residuum  of  the 
Charter  that  was  still  applicable  to  the  Society’s  altered  position,  from 
the  mass  of  enactthents  which  had  become  obsolete  and  irrelevant. 
There  appeared  to  be  only  two  alternatives,  either  to  abide  by  the 
existing  bye-laws,  or  to  petition  her  Majesty  to  grant  a  new  Charter. 
The  expense  involved  in  the  latter  course  has  hitherto  been  an  obstacle, 
but  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  year,  18b9,  the  conditions  of  the 
Society’s  flnances  appeared  to  the  Council  to  be  such  as  to  warrant 
a  petition  being  made  to  her  Majesty  for  a  new  Charter,  and  a  con¬ 
siderable  part  of  the  year  has  been  employed  in  drawing  it  up.  The 
petition  to  her  Majesty  and  a  draft  of  the  new  Charter  were 
submitted  to  a  general  meeting  of  the  Society  held  on  June  21st,  1899, 
and  were  unanimously  adopted  and  ordered  to  be  sealed  with  the 
Society’s  seal  and  presented  to  her  Majesty  the  Queen. 
The  Council  have  much  pleasure  in  announcing  that  on  the  advice 
of  the  Privy  Council,  her  Majesty  acquiesced  in  the  petition,  and  on  the 
14th  day  of  November,  signed  the  Supplemental  Charter,  and  ordered 
it  to  be  sealed  with  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Kingdom. 
The  Council  have  appointed  a  Committee  to  draw  up  a  draft  of 
new  bye-laws,  which  they  hope  to  lay  before  a  general  meeting  at  no 
distant  date. 
The  Society’s  Centenary. 
The  subject  of  the  celebration  of  the  approaching  centenary  of  the 
Society  in  March,  1904,  is  naturally  attracting  considerable  attention. 
After  the  consideration  of  various  excellent  projects  (some  of  which, 
however,  appeared  impracticable  on  account  of  their  expense),  the 
Council  have  decided  to  recommend  the  acquisition  of  a  new  garden  in 
the  place  of  Chiswick  as  being,  under  all  the  circumstances,  the  best 
and  most  practical  method  of  celebrating  the  centenary.  A  garden  for 
experiment  and  trial  is  an  absolute  necessity  for  the  Society,  and 
Chiswick  has  recently  become  so  surrounded  with  buildings,  and  the 
atmosphere  so  heavily  charged  with  smoke,  that  not  only  has  the 
difficulty  of  cultivation  enormously  increased,  but  it  is  feared  that  the 
results  obtained  from  the  trials  are  rapidly  ceasing  to  be  reliable.  It  is 
therefore  proposed  to  issue  an  appeal  to  all  the  Fellows,  and  to  raise  a 
fund  for  the  purchase  of  a  more  suitable  site  for  a  garden,  in  memory 
of  the  first  hundred  years  of  the  Society’s  existence. 
The  Council  fully  recognise  the  advantage  of  the  Society’s 
possessing  a  hall  of  its  own  in  which  plants,  flowers  and  fruits  can  be 
seen  by  the  Fellows  under  more  favourable  conditions,  as  regards  light 
and  space,  than  are  possible  in  the  building  at  present  used  for  the 
meetings.  They  do  not,  however,  as  yet  see  their  way  to  its  attain¬ 
ment,  but  will  be  happy  to  consider  any  suggestions  concerning  it. 
Notable  Losses. 
The  Council  have  the  sad  duty  of  recording  the  death  of  fifty-four 
Fellows  during  the  year,  and  among  them  they  regret  to  find  the  names 
