26 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  9,  1902. 
sixty-fourth  year  of  usefulness.  During  all  this  lengthened 
period  the  Institution  has  provided  permanent  relief  by 
means  of  its  pensions  to  distressed  and  aged  gardeners. 
The  annual  pension  given  to  men  amounts  to  £20,  and  to 
gardeners’  widows  £l6.  Since  1838  the  Gardeners’  Koyal 
Benevolent  Institution  has  expended  no  less  a  sum  than 
£84,000,  Even  now  there  are,  or  were  at  the  beginning  of 
last  year,  181  persons  receiving  annuities  for  life.  At  the 
annual  general  meeting,  to  be  held  on  the  23rd  instant, 
twenty  fresh  pensioners  are  to  be  added.  Twelve  of  these, 
having  subscribed  for  fifteen  years,  and  having  in  every  way 
complied  with  the  regulations  of  the  Institution,  will  be 
placed  on  the  funds  without  election,  and  the  remaining 
eight  are  elected  by  votes  from  amid  thirty-three  other 
applicants.  Many  of  those  who  annually  come  forward 
supplicating  assistance  have  never  contributed  to  the  funds, 
and  naturally,  unless  their  case  is  one  of  extreme  necessity, 
and  can  be  made  known  to  the  electors,  the  votes  polled  in 
their  favour  are  few.  On  the  other  hand,  the  committee 
are  empowered  by  the  rules  to  credit  any  candidate  who  has 
paid,  say,  four  years’  subscriptions,  with  fifty  votes  previous 
to  an  election ;  if  eight  years’  subscriptions  have  been  con¬ 
tributed,  250  votes  are  accredited ;  and  so  on  ascendingly, 
till  550  votes-  are  given  to  any  person  who  has  paid  fourteen 
years’  subscriptions.  Thus  the  Institution  inculcates  the 
principle  of  self-help,  and  to  a  certain  extent,  which  is  only 
reasonable  and  just,  favours  those  who  have  done  their  best 
tp  help  themselves. 
Certain  amendments  to  the  fifth  and  tenth  subsections  of 
Rule  III.  will  be  proposed  at  the  coming  annual  general 
meeting,  which,  if  agreed  to,  will  entitle  all  eligible  candi¬ 
dates  who  have  been  annual  subscribers,  or  the  widows  of 
such,  to  receive  100  votes  for  each  yearly  guinea  subscribed. 
A  fifteen  years’  subscriber  would  thus  have  1,500  votes, 
which,  with  those  he  might  expect  to  have  polled  in  his 
favour,  would,  under  the  present  conditions,  ensure  his 
election.  Under  the  same  rule,  a  life  member  will  be  en¬ 
titled  to  100  votes  for  each  year  of  life  membership  for  ten 
years,  being  1,000  votes  for  the  ten  guineas  ;  and,  by  pay¬ 
ment  of  twenty  guineas,  be  entitled  to  200  votes  per  year 
for  ten  years.  These  proposed  alterations  must,  and  will, 
demand  discussion,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  if  passed 
they  will  contribute  greatly  to  the  augmentation  of  the  funds, 
without  a  corresponding  demand  for  a  relatively  larger 
amount  of  pensions. 
Yet  while  many  rvho  subscribe  cannot  guarantee  health 
or  continued  income,  we  trust  that  there  are  few  who  furnish 
donations  with  the  intention  of  qualifying  purely  and  simply 
for  a  pension.  We  would  urge  every  gardener  to  assist  the 
Institution,  first,  because  he  is  a  gardener,  and  therefore 
more  bound  than  others  to  assist  his  fellow-craftsmen ; 
secondly,  because  a  very  little  from  each  person  would 
compile  a  big  total,  sufficient  to  provide  for  all  necessitous 
cases,  instead  of,  as  at  present,  only  a  comparatively  few. 
We  may  modestly  estimate  that  there  are  30,000  professional 
gardeners  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  Of  these,  1,000 
might  well  manage  to  send  one  guinea  to  the  Secretary,  at 
175,  Victoria  Street,  Westminster,  London ;  12,000  could 
afford  5s.  each  ;  and  the  remaining  17,000  could  all  manage 
Is.  apiece,  the  total,  as  here  stated,  amounting  to  £4,900. 
If  any  one  inquires  how  we  estimate  30,000  gardeners  (which 
must  be  a  long  way  under  the  correct  census),  we  would 
point  to  the  fact  that  13,000  addresses  are  given  in  the 
“  Horticultural  Directory,”  and  these  only  represent  the 
names  of  head  gardeners,  where  a  staff  of  two  or  more 
assistants  are  kept.  Yet  while  the  above  might  be  raised 
from  among  working  gardeners  alone,  any  year  and  every 
year,  we  are  constantly  told  that  gardeners  are  loath  to  sub¬ 
scribe,  and  their  assistance  is  but  meagre. 
We  feel  sure  that  this  matter  has  not  been  discussed 
sufficiently  amongst  gardeners  themselves.  Would  it  not  be 
well  to  devote  more  attention  to  gardening  charities  at  the 
various  horticultural  societies’  meetings^  Collection  boxes- 
are  provided  in  some  instances  known  to  us,  and  never  is  a 
meeting  held  that  those  present  do  not  drop  a  few  pence- 
at  least  into  these  boxes.  The  action  of  committees  of  fiower 
shows  in  devoting  a  booth  or  stall  to  the  sale  or  tmwers 
(brought  by  permission  from  neighbouring  gardens)  is  hignly 
commendable,  and  we  feel  sure  the  feature  will  become  a 
part  of  all  local  shows.  This  matter,  too,  might  be  discussed 
at  gardeners’  meetings.  Considerable  amounts  have  been 
raised  as  gate-takings  by  the  agents  of  those  generous  owners 
of  large  and  beautiful  gardens  who  have  allowed  the  public 
to  enter  on  paying  a  minor  charge.  Here  agam  gardeners 
in  a  neighbourhood  could  petition  a  landed  gentleman 
through  their  society  and  be  effective,  where  the  head 
gardener  or  estate  agent  might  not  care  to  make  personal 
advances.  There  are,  however,  very  many  ways  in  wbicti 
gardeners  can  assist  this  Institution,  that  exists,  as  we  have-, 
already  stated,  to  provide  for  the  distressed  amongst  them, 
and  work  that  lies  at  one’s  hand  ought  not  to  be  passed  over.. 
Cypripedium  Spicerianum. 
A  delightful  story  of  Foster mann’s  search  for  this  Orchid  is 
told  in  Mr.  Frederick  Boyle’s  book,  entitled  “The  Woodlands 
Orchids  ”  of  which  v  e  furnishf  d  a  notice  in  our  last  issue,  and, 
indeed, ’told  the  strry  of  the  ultimate  finding  of  the  speci^  (see 
page  10).  “The  annals  of  0.  Spicerianum,”  says  Mr.  Boyle, 
“open  in  1878,  when  Mrs.  Spicer,  a  lady  residing  at  Wimbledon, 
asked  Messrs.  Veitch  to  come  and  see  a  curious  flower— very 
lovely  as  she  thought — which  had  made  its  appearance  in  her 
greenhouse.  Messrs.  Veitch  went,  with  no  extravagant  hopes, 
perhaps,  for  experience  might  well  make  them  distrustful  ot 
femmine  enthusiasm.  But  in  this  instance  it  was  more  than 
iustified,  and,  in  short,  they  carried  off  the  marvel  leawng  a- 
cheque  for  seventy  guineas  behind.  I  may  remark,  continues 
the  author,  “that  Cypripeds  are  easy  to  cultivate.  They  are  also- 
quick  to  inevease.  Messrs.  Veitch  hurried  their  specimen  along, 
and  divided  it  as  fast  as  was  safe.  To  say  that  tlie  morsels 
fetched  their  weight  in  gold  would  be  the  reverse  of  exaggera¬ 
tion _ mere  bathos.”  The  writer  then  goes  on  to  describe  the- 
steps  that  were  taken  to  find  out  where  its  natural  habitat  was, 
and  to  send  collectors  after  it.  The  first  plant  had  come  along 
with  a  batch  of  C.  insigne.  Messrs.  Sanders  sent  out  toster- 
mann  who,  after  a  considerable  amount  of  varied  experience,  in 
which  among  other  things,  he  had  to  hunt  and  shoot  a  tiger  to 
clear  ’a  certain  district  through  which  his  route  lay,  found 
C.  Spicerianum  clinging  in  masses  to  rocks  by  the  sid^  of  a 
stream  among  the  mountains  of  Bhutan  in  India.  By  his 
efforts,  40,000  plants  of  this  attractive  and  free  flowering  species 
we-r©  off6r©d  at  Stev6iis^  Auction  Rooms  on  March  9,  loo4. 
flowers,  of  which  our  illustration  shows  the  natural  size,  are  or 
medium  proportions  ;  dorsal  sepal  pure  white  and  green  at  the 
base,  with  median  purple  stripe.  The  petals  are  pale  green, 
mottled  and  marked  with  purple:  while  the  lip  is  brownish 
purple.  The  scapes  are  8in  to  15in  high;  foliage  green,  llie 
species  is  now  in  flower. 
The  Week's  Cultural  Notes, 
The  deciduous  section  of  Dendrobiums,  like  D.  Wardianum, 
D.  Devonianum,  D.  crassinode,  and  D.  Bensoniie,  are  not  usually 
very  long  lived  under  cultivation,  but  if  more  care  were  taken- 
with  the  plants  when  newly  imported,  they  would  at  least 
obtain  a  good  hold  upon  the  home  of  their  adoption  the.  first 
season,  and  this  would  give  them  a  better  chance  than  they 
often  get.  No  Orchid  can  bo  considered  in  a  fair  way  to  con- 
tinu’ed  health  if  it  is  swaying  about  in  its  pot  or  basket ;  it 
must  be  so  firmly  fixed  that  it  cannot  be  rocked,  and  ivith  plants- 
of  the  habit  of  those  mentioned  above  this  is  often  a  difficult 
matter  when  the  usual  style  of  potting  is  adopted. 
The  long  (often  pendulous)  pseudo-bulbs  are  a  considerable 
weight  when  fully  matured,  and  no  matter  how  carefully  the 
compost  may  be  placed  it  will  usually  be  loosened  more  or  less 
by  the  end  of  the  season.  To  prevent  this  I  have  found  it  an 
excellent  plan  to  tie  the  plants  firmly  to  small  wooden  or  cork 
blocks,  and  let  these  into  the  pots  or  baskets.  As  these  decay 
their  room  may  be  filled  up  with  peat  and  moss,  and  the  roots- 
that  are  annually  produced  from  the  base  or  the  bulbs  are- 
