JOUnNAL  OP  BOnTTGrjLWRB!  AND  GOTTAGD  GAUDENEB, 
hit  knowledge  from  bis  neighbour,  nor  ii  he  troubled  if  that 
neighbour  succeeds  better  than  he  has  done  himself, 
Ihere  is  one  cause  of  sadness  which  we  must  ever  feel  in 
looking  back  npon  the  past  year — namely,  that  of  reading  over  the 
death  roll  •  and  although  I  do  noi  think  that  the  number  whom  we 
have  lost  is  ao  grtat  as  usual,  yet  many  a  noble  tree  has  fallen,  and 
haa  left  a  gap  which  it  will  not  be  easy  to  fill,  either  in  the  public 
a:5airs  pf  horticalture  or  in  one’s  own  personal  feeling. 
In  the  early  summer  there  passed  away  one  whose  services 
tp  horticulture  cannot  be  over-estimated,  Mr.  Bruce  Findlay, 
the  able  and  energetic  Curator  of  Manchester  Botanical  Gardens 
at  Old  Trafford,  where  he  had  been  associated  with  all  the 
leading  horticulturists  of  the  kingdom,  and  where  he  had  raised 
the  Whitsuntide  exhibition  to  be  the  largest  and  most  renresenta- 
tive  one  in  the  kingdom.  His  health,  it  was  evident  to  his  friends, 
failed  greatly  during  the  last  year,  and  the  death  of  his  devoted 
and  much-loved  wife,  who  predeceased  him  by  a  few  months, 
weighed  he^ivily  on  one  whose  health  was  already  greatly  enfeebled. 
To  many  Old  Trafford  will  not  be  the  same  now  as  it  was,  but  we 
must  hdpe  that  the  raw  Curator  who  has  youth  and  health  on  his 
side,  may  walk  worthily  in  the  steps  of  his  predecessor. 
Then  bow  can  one  .write  ip  sufficiently  feeling  terms  of  our 
dear  old  friend  George  Prince,  the  most  genial  and  tender-hearted 
of  men,  from  whose  lips  one  never  heard  a  disparaging  word 
concerning  thos6  with  whom  he  was  brought  into  contact?  Ke 
always  buffered  defeat  without  a  murmur,  and  bore  his  triumphs 
meekly  ;  even  after  the  terfiblo  accident  which  so  crippled  him, 
and  ultimately  shortened  his  days,  he  ever  bore  the  same  cheerful 
and  hippy  manner  which  so  endeared  him  to  all  his  friends. 
In  the  person  of  Mr.  Anthony  Waterer  there  has  passed  away 
one  whose  knowledge  of  and  successful  cultivation  of  hardy  shrubs, 
more  especially  of  what  are  called  American  plants,  exceeded  that 
of  any  of  his  contemporaries  ;  he  was  the  king  of  Rhododendron 
growers,  and  no  one  who  ever  paid  a  visit  to  his  nurseries  at  Knap 
Hill,  is  ever  likely  to  forget  the  gorgeous  display  of  colour  and 
beauty  of  the  Rhododendrons,  Azaleas,  Ealmias,  and  other  plants  of 
a  similar  character  which  there  flourished  in  such  luxuriance.  He 
was  the  raiser  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful  varieties  of  the 
former  plant  that  we  Lave,  and  his  enterprise  made  his  plants 
known  all  over  the  kingdom.  In  some  years  he  used  to  have 
exhibitions  of  them  in  some  of.  the  London  squares,  always  at 
the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens,  and  even  as  far  north  as  Manchester, 
He  used  to  experiment  on  the  hardiness  of  many  shrubs  and  trees, 
and  if  in  any  one  year  any  of  them  succumbed  they  never  found 
a  place  at  Enap  Hill  again.  He  would  never  coddle  a  plant  ;  if 
they  required  that  treatment  he  would  have  none  of  them.  Blunt 
and  outspoken,  no  one  could  ever  say  that  they  raisnnderstood 
him,  nor  could  anyone  say  that  they  ever  found  him  otherwise 
than  straightforward  in  all  bis  dealings 
Some  years  ago  no  one’s  name  was  better  known  amongst 
Orchid  growers  than  Mr.  Robert  Warner  of  Chelmsford.  In 
oonjnnctiou  with  the  late  Mr,  B.  S.  Williams  he  published  a 
beautiful  illustrated  work  on  his  favourite  plants,  which  he  grew 
most  snccessfally  ;  and  in  the  days  before  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence 
and  Baron  Schroder  gathered  together  their  magnificent  collec¬ 
tions,  his  was  at  that  time  considered  one  of  the  most  extensive 
in  the  South  of  England. 
Horticulture’  has  also  lost  Mr.  Richard  Gilbert  of  Bnrghley, 
who,  as  a  vegetable  and  frnit  grower,  had  few  to  excel,  or  even 
equal  him  ;  then  there  was  that  patriarch  of  horticulture,  Mr. 
Joseph  Cheal,  who  died  at  the  ripe  age  of  ninety-six,  and  who 
retained  even  to  that  age  the  activity  of  body  and  clearness  of 
mind  which  had  always  characterised  him.  Another  veteran,  too, 
■whom  I  well  remember  meeting  when  the  National  Rose  Society 
held  its  exnibitions  at  Sheffield,  was  its  qnaint  and  cheery  Curator, 
Mr.  John  Ewing  ;  he,  too,  had  attained  a  good  old  age,  being 
eighty-three  when  he  died.  Several  foreign  names  occur  in 
the  obituary  for  1896.  Mons.  Abel  OarriSre  and  Soipion  Cochet, 
whose  names  are  better  known  to  ns  by  the  Roses  called  after 
them  than  by  anything  else. 
And  now,  my  good  brothers  and  siatera,  having  thus  briefly 
reviewed  the  past,  sailer  me  to  say  a  word  for  the  future.  It 
matters  little  to  me  what  position  in  life  you  occupy,  but  I  say, 
4^5. 
without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  there  is  no  hobby  in  which  you, 
can  indulge  that  will  give  yonr  purer  and  more  unalloyed  pleasure, 
tbau  that  of  gaidening it  has  the  great  charpa  ,of  novelty  and 
freshness,  and  of  leading  one  into  the  contemplation  of  Nature  in 
all  the  WOE  dr  OB8  ways  wherein  ita  mysteries .  are  evolved  ;  it  will 
show  to  you  that,  however  much  man  may  do,  he  is  ever  in  the 
hands  of  One  Whose  rnl®  directs  and  t'nergisei  all. 
lam  fast  verging  on  the  fooxacore  years,  and  I  can  truly  «ay 
that  one  of  my  chief  sourcefl  of  pleasure  in  my  long  pilgrimage 
has  been  that  love  of  flowers  which  was  evolved  at  a  very  early 
age,  and  which  still  remains  with  me  in  these  latter  days  ;  and 
snrely  yon  will  not  be  surprised  if,  as  one  who  has  -been,  entrssted 
for  now  close  upon  sixty  years  with  the  most  blessed  of  all  work, 
that  of  ministering  to  the  souls  of  men,  I  pray  thaj;  you  may  learn 
one  lesson  which  the  flowers  in  their  greatest  beauty  teach  as.-p-their 
evanescent  character,  and  so  be  ready  for  Him  when  He  calls  you 
to  come  up  into  the  Paradise  of  God. — D.,  Deal. 
“VACATED.” 
In  these  go-ahead  times  we  aesm  to  have  little  leisure  for 
rumination,  and  in  the  severely  practical  walks  of  everyday  life 
sentiment  rarely  finds  a  place.  Tet  it  is  good  sometimes  to  paus^ 
and  draw  comparisons.  Pleasant  they  may  or  may  not  be,  but  in 
either  ca«e  there  is  generally  something  to 'be  learned  from  them. 
Gardeners  have  numerous  opportauitiesior  this  without  going  out¬ 
side  the.  range  of  their  occupatioDj  as  the  seasons,  thegrowtb 
decay  of  plant  life,,  the  fruits  of  .neglect  and  attentipn,  and  a 
hundred  ojther  pointe  which  come  before  pur  notice  every  d^y  al) 
supply  material  for  teaching  by  comparison.  ’ 
Take,  for  instance,  the  well,- kept  establishment  of  an  owner  of 
affluence  who  takes  an  interest  in  his  home  and  surroundings. 
Fortunately  there  are  .many  such,  and  they  form  conspicuous 
features  on  the  pleasing  pi.oture  of  English  life.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  gardener  has  what  is  generally  termed  “a 
comfortable  place.”  His  life  is,  or  oaght  to  be,  a  pleasant  one. 
Not  expected  to  do  impossibilities,  while  the  means  at  ire 'id  are 
sufficient  for  bis  requirements,  his  existence  is  interesting  and 
placid.  Little  worries  he  has  of  course,  and  everyday  difficulties 
common  to  the  craft,  but  beyond  these  he  is  practically  undisturbed. 
I  Interest  on  the  part  of  his  employer  is  one  of  the  bright  spots  in  the 
life  of  a  gardener  who  has  a  love  for  bis  work.  To  do  our  very  beat 
should  be  our  aim  in  whatever  we  undertake,  but  after  all  we  are 
only  human,  and  if  when  our  best  is  done  we  meet  with  apprecia¬ 
tion  it  acts  as  an  incentive  to  greater  things,  and  is  no  small  factor 
in  assisting  men  to  reach  that  point  known  as  the  ‘‘  top  of  thu 
tree.” 
Take  a  garden  where  the  interest  is  mutual,  and  there  it  neither 
inclination  nor  necessity  for  that  tightening  o?  purse-ttrings  so 
common  in  these  days.  The  owner  wants  everything  done  well, 
the  gardener  knows  the  way  and  delights  in  doing  it.  There  is  no 
I  need  for  explanation,  appearances  tell  their  own  tale  ;  greenhouses 
and  buildings  are  in  good  preservation,  and  the  value  of  paint  is 
appieoiated.  The  odd  man,  or  Jack-of-all- trades,  to  be  found  in 
most  establishments,  who  can  either  cork  a  leaking  joint,  set  a 
boiler,  put  in  a  square  of  glass,  or  build  a  frame,  is  kept  constantly 
employed  in  repairing  and  improving.  You  look  in  vain  for 
neglected  corners  in  flower  or  pleasure  gardem — points  that  von 
try  not  to  see  when  aware  that  the  labour  stafi!  is  daficient.  Pass 
through  the  houses  and  note  carafally  as  yon  go.  You  will  find 
everything  up  to  date  ;  plants  of  recent  introduction  have  already 
found  their  way  there,  and  if  the  owner’s  particular  bent  leads  him 
in  the  direction  of  Orchids,  fruit,  ChryaantheniumB,  or  what  not, 
facilities  for  their  special  cultivation  are  provided. 
Indeed  there  is  no  necessity  to  enter  the  precincts  of  the 
domain  to  find  out  all  this.  It  is  noticeable  from  the  highway,  and 
travellers  as  they  pass  along  remark,  “  What  a  charming  place  !  ” 
The  pretty  little  lodges,  with  spotless  curtains  and  creeper-covered 
walls,  the  borders  of  bright  flowers,  and  the  neatly  trimmed  drive 
that  goes  twisting  away  under  a  bower  of  trees  up  to  the  mansion, 
all  tell  the  same  story  of  love  of  home,  afflaeuce  and  attention,  it 
is  a  pleasant  picture,  by  no  means  an  uncommon  one,  and  the 
gardener’s  life  under  such  conditions  is  not  unenviable. 
Then  sometimes  there  comes  &  change,  yea  often,  and  mark  the 
effect  it  has  on  everything  and  everybody.  The  means  by  which  it 
has  been  broHght  about  we  have  uothing  todo  with.  Perhaps  by 
misfortune  and  loss  of  money,  perhaps  by  foolish  waste,  we  know 
not ;  but  the  result  is  apparent,  and  all  connected  with  the  once 
prosperous  establishment  are  affec  ed  by  it.  This  is  no  mere  word 
painting,  bub  a  bard  stubborn  fact  to  be  seen  on  every  side.  Look 
round  and  mark  the  numerous  grand  old  establishments  that  were 
the  pride  of  gardeners  a  few  years  ago  ;  they  have  dropped  out  of 
the  ranks,  as  it  were,  and  by  their  names  ia  -written  the  wbrd 
