446 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  24,  1900, 
Rose  Sljow  Fixtures  in  1900. 
June  13th  (Wednesday). — York  f 
„  27th  (Wednesday). — Salisbury  (N.R.S.),  Richmond  (Surrey),*  and 
Southampton.* 
„  28th  (Thursday). — Canterbury,  Colchester, and  Isle  of  Wight(Ryde) 
„  30th  (Saturday). — Maidstone  and  Windsor. 
July  3rd  (Tuesday). — ^Westminster  (R.H.S.),  and  Gloucester. 
,,  4th  (Wednesday). — Croydon,  Ealing,  Parningham,  Hereford, 
Reigate,  and  Tunbridge  Wells. 
,,  5th  (Thursday). — Bath,  Norwich,  and  Sutton. 
„  7th  (Saturday). — Crystal  Palace  (N.R.S.). 
„  10th  (Tuesday). — Harrow  and  Wolverhampton  f 
,,  11th  (Wednesday). — Brockham. 
,,  12th  (Thursday). — Brentwuod,  Salterhebble,  Woodbridge,  and 
Eltham. 
,,  13th  (Friday). — Ulverston. 
,,  14th  (Saturday). — Manchester,  and  New  Brighton. 
,,  18th  (Wednesday). — Cardiff  *  and  Carlisle. 
,,  19th  (Thursday). — Birmingham  (N.R.S.)  and  Helensburgh. 
,,  21st  (Saturday).— Newton  Mearns. 
,,  24th  (Tuesday). — Tibshelf. 
„  25th  (Wednesday). — Newcastle-on-Tyne.f 
,,  26th  (Thursday). —  Bedale. 
*  Shows  lasting  two  days.  f  Shows  lasting  three  days. 
I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  the  dates  of  any  other  Rose  shows  (or 
horticultural  exhibitions  in  which  Roses  form  a  leading  feature)  for 
the  next  list  of  Rose  Show  Fixtures,  which  will  appear  in  an  early 
issue. — Edward  Mawlet,  Losebank,  Berkhamsted.  Herts. 
Ethel  Brownlow. 
A  CHARMING  bloom  of  this  Rose  at  a  recent  Drill  Hill  meeting 
tempted  one  to  try  again  in  its  culture.  With  us  it  was  so  unsatis¬ 
factory  in  growth  that  we  discarded  it.  The  most  remarkable  thing 
to  form  its  great  beauty  is  the  substance  of  the  petals.  They  are 
large,  shell-like,  and  wonderfully  thick.  Its  tints  of  flesh,  rose, 
and  yellow'  form  a  delightful  combination.  But  Roses  like  this, 
Cleopatra  and  a  few  others,  are  not  easy  to  succeed  with,  at  least  out 
of  doors.  I  have  read  a  description  of  a  Rose — Horace  Vernet — “  that 
it  is  worth  growing  by  the  acre  to  obtain  one  perfect  flower.”  Life, 
however,  is  too  short  for  such  Rose  culture. 
Beesie  Brown. 
At  the  exhibitions  of  the  past  5'ear  or  two  I  had  been  struck  with  the 
beauty  of  this  new  variety  as  exhibited  by  its  raisers,  Messrs.  A.  Dickson 
and  Sons,  but  as  recently  seen  from  pot  plants  I  am  not  so  enamoured. 
The  petals  appear  wanting  in  substance,  they  are  papery,  and  the 
white  is  a  dead-looking  tint.  It  may  be,  of  course,  that  other  growers 
than  the  raisers  have  not  had  time  to  obtain  plants  sturdy  enough  to 
give  the  blooms  in  their  perfect  phase.  Somehow,  this  is  not  the  only 
Rose  that  has  failed  to  come  up  to  expectations,  after  seeing  it  so  fine 
at  first.  Has  any  reader  been  able  to  grow  Margaret  Dickson  so  grand 
as  it  was  when  first  exhibited  by  the  raisers  a  few  years  back  ?  Or 
the  three  Marchionesses— Downshire,  Dufferin,  and  Londonderry  ?  I 
must  confess  the3'  seldom  please  me,  except  in  the  matter  of  vigorous 
growth,  which  leaves  little  to  be  desired.  Do  they  resent  any  but  the 
Irish  soil  and  climate  which  gave  them  birth  ? 
The  most  satisfactoiy  of  the  Rcses  raised  in  North  Ireland  by 
A.  Dickson  &  Sons  with  us  on  alight  soil  is  Mrs.  R.  (J.  Sharman 
Crawford,  This  grows  and  flowers  beautifully,  and  is  quite  a  lavuurite. 
Mrs.  W.  J.  Grant  is  also  tine.  One  might  find  fault  with  its  want  of 
vigour,  but  the  exquisite  blooms  in  any  stage  of  development  are  so 
lovely  that  one’s  only  thought  is  to  plant  more  of  it  every  year. 
L’  Ideale. 
This  variety  is  charming  under  glass.  The  habit  of  the  plant  is 
rampant,  and  when  once  established  fills  a  considerable  space  in  a  short 
time.  The  combination  oi  tints  in  the  blooms  makes  it  a  most 
interesting  sort ;  and  in  the  bud  state  its  shape  is  excellent.  It  must 
not,  however,  be  thought  a  show  Rose,  the  blooms  are  too  small  for 
this ;  but  its  distinct  character  in  the  way  of  colour  makes  it  a  Rose 
worth  growing. — Specialist. 
Gardeners’  Koyal  Benevolent  Institution. 
Anniversary  Festival  Dinner. 
The  sixty-first  anniversary  festival  dinner  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal 
Benevolent  Institution,  which  was  held  in  the  Whitehall  Rooms  of  the 
Hotel  Metropole,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Duke  of  Portland,  K.G., 
P.C.,  G.C.V.O.,  on  Friday  last,  was  one  of  the  most  successful  in  the 
annals  of  the  association.  Not  only  was  there  a  very  large  company 
present  (about  160),  but  many  distinguished  gentlemen  graced  the 
festive  board  for  the  first  time;  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  becom  t 
regular  supporters,  and  that  they  will  in  the  future  lend  their 
countenance  and  influence  towards  the  extension  of  a  charity  whos  ■ 
aims  and  objects  are  so  essentially  meritorious.  His  Grace  the  chairman 
was  supported  by  the  Very  Reverend  the  Dean  of  Rochester,  the 
Venerable  the  Archdeacon  of  London,  Viscount  Powerscourt,  the 
Hon.  A.  H.  Smith-Barry,  M.P.,  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence,  Bart.,  V.M.H., 
Sir  Walter  Smythe,  Bart.,  the  Hon.  Alban  Gibbs,  M.P.,  and  Messrs. 
Jeremiah  Colman,  N.  N.  Sherwood,  Harry  J.  Veitch,  L.  Salamans, 
Francis  Ley,  J.  Robinson,  H.  Hicks,  H.  Youell,  H.  J.  Adams,  E.  H. Sewell, 
W.  Cobb,  Jas.  H.  Veitch,  J.  Gould  Veitch,  Arthur  W.  Sutton,  M.  H. 
Foquett  Sutton,  W.  Atkinson,  Alfred  H.  Rivers,  J.  Lee,  Charles  Lee, 
G.  Monro,  W.  Assbee,  F.  W.  Moore,  Owen  Thomas,  G.  Wythes, 
J.  Hudson,  H.  Morgan  Veitch,  R.  Dean,  G.  Gordon,  and  many  scores 
of  others  almost  or  quite  equally  as  well  known  in  the  realm  of  horti¬ 
culture.  We  must  also  add  the  name  of  Mr.  E.  G.  Hill,  head  of  the 
important  firm  of  B.  G.  Hill  &  Son,  Richmond,  Indiana,  who  may  be 
said  to  have  represented  horticulture  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
The  dinner,  which  was  an  excellent  one  admirably  served,  over,  and 
grace  having  been  said,  the  toast  of  her  Majesty  was  given  by  the  chair¬ 
man,  and  it  was  received  with  exceptional  enthusiasm.  Then  came  from 
the  chairman,  ‘‘  The  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Princess  of  Wales,  and  the 
other  members  of  the  Royal  family.”  In  the  course  of  a  few  remarks,  his 
Grace  paying  a  graceful  tribute  to  the  late  Duke  of  Westminster,  who 
had  long  been  president  of  the  Institution,  announced  that  H.R.H.  the 
Prince  had  testified  again  to  his  interest  in  the  objects  of  the  society 
by  consenting  to  become  its  president.  Not  only  musfthis  be  regarded 
as  an  honour  to  the  Institution,  but  to  the  entire  gardening  community, 
and  it  is  much  to  be  hoped  kbat  H.R.H.  will  still  further  add  to  the 
honour  already  done  by  acting  as  chairman  at  the  next  anniversary 
festival  dinner.  Then,  indeed,  would  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent 
Institution  leap  from  its  present  progress  to  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity. 
As  further  indicative  of  the  interest  of  the  royal  family,  the  chairman 
announced  that  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  York  had  consented  to  become  a 
patron  and  H.R.H.  the  Duchess  of  York  a  patroness  of  the  institution. 
Needless  to  say  these  facts  were  received  with  loud  expressions  of 
appreciation. 
His  Grace  the  Ddke  then  proceeded  to  the  toast  of  the  evening — 
“  Success  to  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution,”  and  at  the 
outset  thought  that  while  expresssing  the  great  pleasure  it  gave  him  to 
occupy  the  chair,  he  should  offer  an  apology  for  disappointing  them  on 
a  previous  occasion.  As,  however,  he  had  been  again  invited,  he 
might  consider  himself  forgiven.  He  was,  he  averred,  somewhat  at  a 
loss  to  understand  why  he  should  be  chosen  to  such  an  important 
position,  as  he  had  few  if  any  claims  to  be  called  a  gardener.  Rather 
had  many  years  of  his  life  ran  in  the  direction  of  sport,  including  the 
propagation  of  hares  and  rabbits,  which  he  was  given  to  understand 
were  not  always  the  best  of  friends  to  gardens  and  gardeners.  He  wished 
everyone  to  understand  that  the  possession  of  one  of  the  largest  gardens 
in  the  country  was  no  unmixed  pleasure — indeed,  he  had  been  bound 
to  regard  it  as  a  white  elephant.  It  had,  he  asserted,  exemplified  the 
saying,  “  the  larger  the  garden  the  fewer  the  flowers,”  but  now  he  was 
happy  to  know  that  under  the  supervision  of  one  who  had  long  been  a 
supporter  of  the  Institution  the  garden  that  had  been  a  wilderness  was 
fast  becoming  as  a  beautiful  oasis,  and  he  was  gathering  know¬ 
ledge  therefrom  as  would  make  him  more  fluted  to  preside  over  such 
a  company.  But,  continued  his  Grace,  whatever  anyone’s  qualifications 
to  be  considered  a  gardener  might  be,  everyone  ought  to  do  his  utmost 
to  advance  the  interests  of  the  society.  He,  with  everyone  else,  was 
bound  to  see  the  increasing  importance  of  horticulture  and  agriculture 
in  this  country,  and  he  considered  that  progress  had  been  more  rapid 
in  these  two  allied  sciences  than  in  any  other.  This  might  be  traced  to 
several  causes,  such  as  those  explorers  who  sent  home  from  far  distant 
lands  beautiful  trees,  shrubs  and  plants  for  our  gardens  and  green¬ 
houses,  and  further  to  the  splendid  scientific  works  at  Kew,  and  the 
persistent  efforts  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  It  was  impossible 
to  overestimate  the  value  of  such  work,  or  to  do  too  much  honour  to  the 
workers.  The  diffusion  of  knowledge  might  even  do  a  still  greater 
good  in  winning  back  some  of  the  population  to  the  land.  The  rural 
school  boards  had  recognised  the  importance  of  effort  in  this  direction, 
and  had  included  teaching  on  those  subjects  in  their  ordinary  curri¬ 
culum.  His  Grace  then  proceeded  to  place  before  those  present  the 
objects  of  the  Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution,  which  were  he 
said  to  assist  necessitous  gardeners  and  their  widows  with  pensions  or 
otherwise  in  their  hour  of  need.  Clearly  and  forcibly  he  dealt  with  point 
after  point,  and  trusted  in  conclusion  he  had  been  able  in  some  small 
degree  to  show  how  deserving  of  support  the  society  really  was.  He 
hoped  that  not  only  all  of  those  present,  but  also  the  public  at  large  who 
