112 
journal  of  Horticulture  and  cottage  gardener. 
February  6,  1696 
the  prevailing  sentiment  of  important  commercial  and  amateur 
horticulturists  ;  indeed  it  is  doubtful  if  the  majority  of  the 
members  of  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  have 
even  seen  all  the  best  provincial  shows.  Those  of  them  who  may 
have  visited  these  great  representative  exhibitions  from  time  to 
time,  and  associated  with  the  many  earnest  men  who  assemble 
there,  must  know  very  well  tha;  the  systematic  concentration  of 
the  chief  society  on  the  London  shows  and  meetings  does  not  meet 
present  day  requirements.  Nor  is  this  feeling  by  any  means 
limited  to  provincial  nurserymen,  gardeners  and  amateurs,  but  is 
equally  entertained  by  many  residents  in  the  South  who  are 
frequently  seen  at  the  London  meetings.  Whether  rightly  or 
wrongly  numbers  of  Fellows  and  would-be  Fellows  of  the  R.H.S. 
are  of  opinion  that  the  Society  bolds  itself  too  much  aloof  from 
provincial  effort.  It  is,  in  a  word,  regarded  by  them  as  too  much 
of  a  London  and  too  little  of  a  national  Society. 
It  is  all  very  well  to  represent  it  in  official  documents  as  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  “  of  England.”  It  ought  to  be  such 
in  fact,  but  it  is  not  even  so  in  name  as  inscribed  on  its  charter, 
and  the  mere  extension  of  title  only  draws  more  particular  attention 
to  the  limited  extent  of  its  operations.  It  ought  to  be  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society,  not  of  London  or  England,  but  of  the  United 
Kingdom  ;  and  as  such  do  what  can  be  done  in  recognising  commend¬ 
able  efforts  and  meritorious  work  over  a  far  wider  field  than  at 
present.  Trustees  of  memorial  funds  do  this  in  granting  medals  to 
men  who  have  rendered  good  service  to  horticulture,  and  to  societies 
far  beyond  the  sound  of  Big  Ben  of  Westminster,  and  even  beyond 
the  strict  confines  of  “  England  ;  ”  but  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  seems  to  rest  content,  paradoxical  as  the  term  may  seem, 
with  its  localism.  It  has  done  nothing  for  the  provinces  since  the 
lapse  of  its  own  provincial  shows.  These  shows  are  not  likely  to 
be  resumed.  They  are  pretentious,  costly,  and  not  wanted.  But 
the  Society  can,  and  we  think  ought,  to  place  itself  in  touch  with 
shows  as  good  as  itself  could  provide,  and  make  some  grants  that 
would  cost  little  but  mean  much  in  the  centres  to  which  they 
might  be  from  time  to  time  allocated. 
Such  recognition  on  the  part  of  the  central  society  would  be  the 
more  effective  and  appreciated  if  in  a  few  instances  yearly  a 
deputation  composed  of  members  of  Council  and  Committees 
could  attend  and  award  such  honours  as  might  be  provided  ;  and 
further,  if  on  the  occasions  of  such  visits  evening  conferences 
could  be  arranged,  we  should  be  surprised  if  horticulture  would 
not  become  a  greater  force  in  the  country  than  it  is  now,  in  a  very 
few  years.  It  has  not  yet  been  shown  that  there  is  anything 
material  to  lose,  while  there  may  be  much  to  gain  in  any  efforts 
that  might  be  made  for  the  expansion  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society,  on  a  moderate  scale  and  in  a  tentative  manner  at  first. 
1  his  at  least  would  be  a  safe  way,  and  we  suspect  there  is  not  much 
fear  of  a  headlong  rush  ;  at  the  same  time,  we  have  no  reason  to 
apprehend  any  stubborn  reluctance  on  the  part  of  the  powers  that 
be  to  entertain  any  proposals  of  a  practical  nature  towards  making 
a  start  in  the  direction  indicated.  A  start  is  what  is  wanted. 
W  here  this  start  is  to  be  we  should  like  to  feel  depends  on  an 
invitation  that  might  be  received  by  the  R.H.S.  from  a  provincial 
centre.  It  is  rumoured  that  a  disposition  exists  at  Chester  to 
desire  the  attendance  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on  the 
occasion  of  the  great  horticultural  fete  that  is  to  be  held  in  the 
ancient  city  during  the  summer.  We  feel  certain  if  such  invitation 
were  received  in  Victoria  Street  that  it  would  receive  sympathetic 
attention,  and  we  should  be  more  than  a  little  surprised  if  it  did 
not  meet  with  acceptance.  We  have  endeavo  ured  to  obtain  definite 
information  on  the  point,  but  it  would  appear  that  the  moment 
has  not  arrived  for  imparting  it.  We  have  gathered  from  Chester 
that  there  are  grounds  for  the  rumour,  and  from  Victoria  Street 
that  a  favourable  view  is  taken  of  some  of  t  he  propositions  which 
have  been  made  in  our  columns.  What  thes  e  favourable  proposi¬ 
tions  are  has  not  transpired.  We  will  epitom  ise  a  few  of  them. 
1,  That  the  R.H.S.  should  be  more  widely  representative  of  | 
national  horticulture  by  provincial  societies  nominating  a  member 
to  serve  on  one  of  the  London  Committees,  and  providing  him 
with  the  means  for  attending  occasionally. 
2,  That  certificates  should  be  granted  at  local  shows,  in  con¬ 
junction  with  a  sub-Committee  from  the  chief  Society,  and  rank 
as  R.H.S.  certificates. 
3,  That  moveable  National  Conferences  of  representatives  of 
horticultural  societies  should  be  held  annually  under  the  auspices 
of  the  R.H.S. 
4,  That  deputations  from  the  R.H.S.  should  attend  provincial 
shows,  and  award  honours  to  specially  meritorious  exhibits. 
5,  That  a  code  of  action  should  exist  between  Societies  affiliated 
with  the  R.H.S.,  which  should  also  sanction  the  Judges,  who 
should  then  have  power  to  grant  certificates,  to  be  of  equal  weight 
to  those  of  the  R.H.S. 
6,  That  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  should  not  be  a  mere 
name  in  the  provinces,  but  a  reality,  by  attending  shows  and 
granting  awards  to  meritorious  exhibits  ;  it  should  also  lead  the 
way  in  all  horticultural  matters. 
7,  That  a  meeting  of  metropolitan  and  provincial  horticul¬ 
turists  interested  in  the  expansion  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  be  held  in  London  on  the  second  day  of  the  Temple  show. 
8,  That  branch  county  committees  of  Fellows  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  be  formed  to  work  in  co-operation  with  the 
head  Society  in  London,  reporting  the  proceedings  to  it  and 
through  the  Press  after  the  manner  of  the  London  meetings. 
Those  are  a  few  of  the  propositions  that  have  been  advanced. 
There  may  be  more,  but  sufficient  is  said  for  showing  that  a  wide¬ 
spread  desire  exists  for  a  greater  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
Metropolitan  it  must  of  necessity  be,  but  this  need  not  in  any 
sense  prevent  its  being  more  broadly  national. 
THE  CULTURE  OF  PRIMULAS. 
To  grow  Primulas  to  perfection  requires  an  amount  of  care 
which  few  persons  take  the  trouble  to  bestow  on  them,  but  when 
well  grown  they  are  amongst  the  most  useful  and  beautiful  of  our 
greenhouse  plants.  When  we  consider  they  can  be  had  in  bloom 
from  November  till  March,  or  even  later,  I  think  they  are  worth 
all  our  time  and  trouble,  as  they  so  amply  repay  us  during  the  dull 
winter  months. 
I  will  give  in  detail  my  method  of  growing  Primulas  in  the 
hope  that  the  system  may  help  others  who  have  not  a*  yet  given 
these  plants  the  attention  they  deserve.  One  of  the  main  points  is, 
I  think,  an  early  start,  so  as  to  give  the  plants  plenty  of  time  to 
develop  by  the  autumn,  therefore  I  sow  the  seed  the  first  week  in 
February  ;  of  course,  a  later  sowing  can  be  made  if  it  is  thought 
necessary,  but  the  early  sown  plants  will  flower  for  a  long  time,  and 
answer  all  practical  purposes  if  properly  managed .  The  soil  I  have 
found  most  suitable  for  sowing  the  seeds  in  is  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  loam  and  leaf  mould,  and  half  a  part  each  of  silver  sand 
and  wood  ashes,  or  old  mortar  rubbish .  The  compost  ought  to  be 
passed  through  a  fine  sieve,  and  the  pots  or  pans  must  be  perfectly 
clean  and  well  drained.  Fill  the  receptacles  to  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  of  the  top,  make  the  surface  smooth  and  even, 
place  on  the  floor,  and  give  a  thorough  watering  through  a  very 
fine  rose,  let  them  stand  a  few  hours,  then  scatter  the  seeds  evenly 
over  the  surface,  just  covering  with  very  fine  dry  soil. 
Sowing  being  completed  the  pots  should  be  placed  in  the 
stove  or  plunged  in  a  gentle  hotbed,  and  be  covered  with  sheets  of 
glass,  and  over  this  some  brown  paper  to  exclude  the  light.  Under 
these  conditions  the  seeds  will  germinate  in  from  ten  to  fourteen 
days,  but  they  do  not  all  do  so  at  one  time.  As  soon  as  the  seed¬ 
lings  appear  above  the  soil,  remove  the  paper  and  tilt  the  glass, 
eventually  removing  it  altogether,  but  shade  from  the  sun.  When 
the  first  rough  leaf  has  been  made  prick  out  the  young  plants  in 
shallow  boxes  filled  with  the  same  compost  as  that  in  which  they 
were  sown.  Place  the  boxes  close  to  the  glass  in  a  warm  house, 
where  the  temperature  is  kept  between  60°  and  70°,  till  they  become 
established,  then  remove  to  cooler  quarters. 
The  first  potting  in  2^-inch  pots  should  be  done  when  sturdy 
little  plants  have  formed,  using  the  same  compost  as  before,  still 
keeping  the  plants  in  the  greenhouse  until  the  roots  have  a  firm 
hold  of  the  soil,  when,  if  the  weather  permit,  they  ought  to  be 
transferred  to  a  cold  frame,  the  bottom  of  which  is  a  bed  of  sifted 
coal  ashes.  Afford  air  on  favourable  days,  but  avoid  cold  draughts, 
