124 
JOURNAL  OF  BORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  i,  188fl. 
CHESTER. 
OUR  PORTRAITS. 
Ix  commemoratioQ  of  this  special  exhibition  at  Chester,  which  may 
be  the  pioneer  show  of  others  of  a  like  nature,  we  have  pleasure  in 
introducing  the  portraits  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Westminster, 
President  of  the  F6te,  and  a  recognised  patron  of  horticulture  and  all 
that  is  good  (page  132) ;  R,  A.Yerburgh,  Esq.,  M,P,,  an  effective  supporter 
of  the  movement  from  its  first  inception  ;  the  Worshipful  the  Mayor  of 
Chester,  Mr.  Alderman  B.  0.  Roberts,  who  has  given  valuable  aid,  in 
his  official  position  (page  125)  ;  the  Hoc.  Cecil  Parker,  who,  as  Honorary 
Director  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society’s  show,  has  brought  his  great 
practical  experience  to  bear  on  the  preparations  for  the  present  exhibi¬ 
tion  (page  125);  and  J.  Wynne- Ffoulkes,  Esq.,  Honorary  Secretary, 
who  is  known  as  a  keen  amateur,  and  who  has  worked  untiringly  and 
successfully  in  his  responsible  undertaking  (page  125). 
With  a  fuller  report  of  the  show  than  can  be  given  in  our  present 
issue  we  shall  have  equal  pleasure 
in  including  the  portraits  of  the 
Chairman  of  the  Executive,  H. 
Enfield  Taylor,  Esq.,  C.E,,  a  gentle¬ 
man  of  great  business  capacity,  with 
his  horticultural  coadjutors — George 
A.  Dickson,  Esq.,  J.P,,  Honorary 
Treasurer  and  able  Chairman  of  the 
Horticultural  Committee,  bead  of 
the  great  nursery  firm  of  the  city  ; 
E.  J.  Baillie,  Esq.,  F.L.S.,  of  the 
same  firm,  and  a  valuable  helper ; 
with  Messrs.  N.  F.  Barnes,  Eaton 
Hall  Gardens ;  and  J.  Taylor,  Hoole 
Hall  Gardens,  who  have  given  prac¬ 
tical  guidance  and  zealous  work  on 
the  Committee  to  which  they  were 
chosen  as  representatives  of  the  craft 
of  which  they  are  accomplished 
exponents. 
THE  CCNFERENCE. 
Cn  Tuesday  evening  a  Horti- 
cultural  Conference  was  held  in  the 
Town  Hall  before  a  large  assembly 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen.  Cwing  to 
indisposition  His  Grace  the  Duke 
of  Westminster  was  unable  to  take 
the  chair  as  expected ;  his  place 
was  therefore  taken  by  the  Right 
Worshipful  the  Mayor  of  Chester, 
B.  C.  Roberts,  Esq.  Amongst  those 
who  supported  the  Chairman  were 
the  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  and  Messrs.  G. 
Banyaid,  G.  Paul,  T.  F.  Rivers,  and 
other  gentlemen  included  in  the 
deputation  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
introductory  remarks  the  Chairman  regretted  the  absence  of  His  Grace 
the  Duke  of  Westminster,  whose  inability  to  attend  was  a  great  disap¬ 
pointment.  He  would,  however,  as  His  Grace’s  substitute,  offer  a  most 
hearty  welcome  to  the  members  of  the  deputation  on  this  their  visit  to 
Chester— (cheers) — an  honour  which  they  appreciated  greatly,  inasmuch 
a  8  with  one  exception  Chester  was  the  only  city  that  had  been 
similarly  honoured.  He  would  not,  however,  weary  them  with  a  long 
speech,  but  would  introduce  the  first  of  the  speakers.  Sir  Trevor 
Lawrence,  Bart.,  President  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
(Cheers.) 
Sir  Trevor,  whose  paper  was  entitled  “  The  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  of  England,  its  History  and  its  Work,”  was  received  with  much 
cheering.  In  commencement  the  essayist  remarkei  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  treat  with  the  history  of  the  R.H.S.  without  connecting 
also  its  work,  as  throughout  its  existence  these  two  had  been  inseparable. 
He  further  remarked  on  the  great  progress  made  by  horticulture  in  this 
country,  stating  that  it  had  advanced  more  during  the  Queen’s  reign  than 
it  had  done  during  the  previous  600  years  (cheers).  Horticultural 
science  also  has  not  lagged,  and  much  had  been  done  in  the  introduction 
from  various  sources  shrubs,  annuals,  perennials,  and  such  like.  It 
was  in  1804,  continued  Sir  Trevor,  that  the  Society  was  founded  by 
Thomas  Andrew  Knight,  in  whose  honour  the  Knightian  medals  were 
instituted,  A  Royal  charter  was  granted  to  the  Society  in  1809,  its  I 
mission  being  to  foster  and  encourage  horticulture,  and  many  useful 
papers  appeared  at  the  hands  of  the  members,  including  several  on  the 
culture  of  Potatoes,  Strawberries,  forcing  Grapes,  and  the  management 
of  Apples, 
Sir  Trevor  traced  the  vicissitudes  of  the  Society  during  these  early 
days  when  it  had  its  gardens  at  Kensington  and  its  offices  in  Regent 
Street  to  the  time  when  in  1822  when  33  acres  of  land  at  Chiswick 
belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  were  acquired  and  transformed 
into  gardens,  12  acres  of  which  now  form  the  present  gardens.  One  of 
the  features  of  the  Society’s  work  about  that  time  was  the  introducing 
of  a  large  number  of  plants  hitherto  unknown  in  this  country,  first 
from  far  China  through  Mr.  J.  Reeves,  and  then  from  India  through  the 
aid  of  the  East  India  Company,  One  of  Mr.  Reeves’  introductions  was 
Wistaria  sinensis,  and  a  portion  of  the  original  plant  still  exists  at 
Chiswick.  Speaking  of  the  collectors  sent  out  by  the  Society,  Sir  Trevor 
mentioned  Mr.  Douglas,  who  introduced  numerous  Pines  and  shrubs, 
and  was  eventually  killed  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  ;  Mr.  J.  Macrae,  who 
collected  from  South  America  ;  Mr. 
J.  Potts,  from  China  ;  and  in  1843, 
Mr.  R.  Fortune,  who  did  so  much  to¬ 
wards  the  transfer  of  the  Tea  growing 
industry  from  China  to  India  and 
Ceylon.  He  also  introduced  many 
plants  now  well  known,  including, 
amongst  others.  Gardenias,  Dielytras, 
Weigelas,  and  Tree  Paeonies.  He 
(Sir  Trevor)  would  give  them  an  idea 
of  the  work  of  the  Society  at  that 
time  by  stating  that  between  1841 
and  1845  no  less  than  42,000  plants, 
31,000  cuttings,  and  381,000  packets 
of  seeds  were  distributed  among  the 
Fellows.  Following  the  fortunes  of 
the  Society,  Sir  Trevor  spoke  of  the 
Chiswick  f§te8,the  first  of  which  was 
held  in  1833  and  the  last  in  1857, 
equals  to  which  have  not  since  been 
seen,  so  far  as  the  culture  of  plants 
such  as  those  of  New  Holland  and 
others  were  concerned,  as  at  present 
day  shows  they  are  unknown. 
From  a  financial  point  of  view, 
however,  these  shows  were  not  a 
success,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  Duke  of  Devonshire  during  his 
twenty  years  of  office  made  strenuous 
efforts  the  Society  went  from  bad  to 
worse,  until  in  1858  the  crisis  came  ; 
and  it  found  itself  with  a  debt  of 
£10,000  to  face.  Sir  Trevor  here  read 
an  extract  from  the  report  of  the 
Council  of  that  year  when,  with  the 
election  of  the  Prince  Consort,  it  was 
hoped  that  the  trials  were  at  an  end.  Such,  however,  was  not  the  case, 
for  then  came  the  death  of  the  Prince,  followed  by  the  disastrous  history 
of  the  Society  at  South  Kensington,  which  the  essayist  went  through  in 
detail.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1887  that  a  move  was  made  to  retrieve 
the  shattered  fortunes,  and  since  then  he  was  glad  to  say  great  progress 
had  been  made.  Reference  was  also  made  to  the  journals  and 
publications  of  the  Society,  the  various  Committees  and  their  work,  and 
Sir  Trevor  stated  that  eighty  societies  were  now  affiliated.  During  the 
ninety-two  years  of  its  existence  the  Society  had  spent  £400,000,  not  all 
wisely  he  knew,  yet  it  had  done  an  enormous  amount  of  good  in  the 
interests  of  horticulture.  This  work  it  hoped  to  carry  on,  and  that  was 
why  the  idea  of  sending  deputations  to  provincial  shows  was  entertained. 
Sir  Trevor  spoke  of  the  examinations  in  horticulture  conducted  under 
the  auspices  of  the  R.H.S.,  and  concluded  by  stating  that  so  long  as  the 
Society  had  stuck  to  its  last,  and  made  the  encouragement  of  gardening 
its  sole  object,  then  and  then  alone  had  it  prospered,  and  so  long  as  that 
was  its  aim  it  would,  he  felt  sure,  continue  to  prosper.  He  wished  to 
tender  his  hearty  thanks  to  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  whose 
absence  they  all  regretted,  and  who  had  promised  £1000  toward  a  horti¬ 
cultural  hall  in  London  (cheers).  He  further  wished  to  thank  all  those 
who  had  in  any  way  assisted  the  Society  in  the  days  of  its  adversity  or 
prosperity.  (Loud  cheers). 
The  next  address  was  “Garden  Craft,”  by  the  Very  Reverend 
S.  Reynolds  Hole,  Dean  of  Roohester,  who,  without  note  or  memo. 
