February  6,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AED  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
131 
those  of  the  N.C.S.  are  hard  to  construe  and  inconsistent,  were 
the  chairman’s  observations.  > 
The  following  addition  was  made  to  Rule  HI :  “  After  ‘  the 
management  of  the  society  shall  be  vested  in  the  officers  of  the 
society,  viz. :  A  president,  vice-presidents,  treasurer,  chairman 
and  vice-chairman  of  the  executive  committee,’  add  ‘  general 
secretary  and  ’  ;  also  line  6,  after  ‘  the  president,  treasurer,  chair¬ 
man,  vice-chairman,’  add  ‘general  secretary.’”  Mr.  Dean, 
secretary,  proi^osed  these  additions,  and  observed  that  that  night 
he  celebrated  his  twenty-first  year  of  Fellowship  of  the  Society. 
“  In  1890,”  he  continued,  “  you  elected  me  as  your  secretary  on 
the  death  of  Mr.  Win.  Holmes.  I  accepted  the  office  on  the  same 
footing  as  Mr.  Holmes  had  enjoyed.  Till  1899  I  had  a  vote  at 
your  committee  meetings.”  He  would  rather,  he  said,  have 
taken  the  secretaryship  without  fee  than  that  they  should  have 
withdrawn  his  power  to  vote.  He  stood  in  his  relation  to  this 
society  as  a  managing  director  did  to  a  large  public  company, 
and  gave  advice  on  all  the  matters  pertaining  to  the  business  of 
the  society.  No  change  has  taken  place  within  the  last  ten  year.s 
that  he  (Mr.  Dean)  had  not  proposed.  He  had  maintained  that 
the  best  interests  of  the  society  are  bound  up  in  continuing  to 
hold  the  exhibitions  at  the  Roval  Aquarium.  He  maintained 
that  as  they  took  his  10s.  a  year  he  was  entitled  to  a  vote. 
He  was  well  qualified  to  vote  on  any  question  that  came  before 
the  committees.  This  year  he  would  have  voted  against  many 
of  the  flowers  that  had  been  awarded  certificates.  He  appealed 
to  the  meeting  to  restore  him  to  his  former  position  among  th? 
ex-officio  officers.  Being  seconded  by  Mr.  Lake,  the  proposition 
was  passed  in  remarkable  silence.  The  following  addition  was 
proposed  by  Mr.  J.  McKerchar  and  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  T. 
Simpson  :  “  Rule  XIV.  Schedule  revision  committee. — A  sub¬ 
committee  of  the  executive  committee,  consisting  of  nine 
members  with  the  officers  ex-officio,  shall  be  appointed  at  the 
first  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  after  the  annual 
general  meeting,  to  revise  the  schedule  of  prizes  and  nominate 
judges,  and  report  the  .same  to  the  executive  committee  fcr 
approval.” 
This  elicited  many  direct  personal  reflections,  and 
party  feeling  ran  high.  Amongst  the  speakers  were  Messrs. 
Waterer,  Weeks,  Bevan,  Ballantine,  and  Witty,  all  of  whom 
severely  criticised  the  proposition,  and  deemed  it  a  most  un¬ 
warranted  reflection  on  the  executive  committee.  On  the  other 
side  Messrs.  R.  Dean,  Mease,  Lake,  and  a  member  unknown  to 
us,  supported  the  proposition.  C’ounty  members  are  continually 
“  casting-up  ”  the  reminder  that  “  You  folks  in  London  elect 
‘yourselves  as  judges  at  your  own  shows.”  It  was  pointed  out 
that  there  are  plenty  of  qualified  men  out.side  of  N.C.S.  circles 
who  could  act  as  judges.  On  the  matter  being  put  to  the  vote 
eighteen  voted  for  it  thirty-six  against,  being  eighteen  of  a 
majority.  The  scrutineers  of  the  ballot  for  committeemen 
(Messrs.  Taylor,  H.  J.  Cutbush,  and  Coles)  now  announced  results 
given  above,  whence  the  meeting  terminated. 
Royal  Scoliish  Arboricollural. 
The  forty-ninth  annual  general  meeting  of  the  above  society 
was  held  at  5,  St.  Andrew’s  Square,  Edinburgh,  on  the  31.st  ult, 
the  president,  the  Earl  of  Mansfield,  in  the  chair.  There  was  a 
large  attendance  of  members.  The  secretary  (Mr.  Robert 
Galloway)  submitted  the  report  of  the  council,  which  showed  an 
addition  to  the  membership  of  102  new  members,  making  a  total  of 
917,  including  244  life  members.  Eight  medals  for  essays,  &c., 
had  been  awarded  during  the  past  year.  It  was  intimated  that 
the  directors  of  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  had  again 
granted  facilities  for  a  Forestry  Exhibition,  to  be  held  in  the 
society’s  showyard,  at  Aberdeen,  in  July.  The  council  expressed 
gratification  at  the  formation  of  an  Irish  Arboricultural  Society, 
and  wished  it  every  success.  The  financial  balance  for  the  year 
showed  a  credit  of  £315,  and  the  invested  funds  amounted  to 
nearly  £1,100.  This  was  considered  satisfactory.  The  chairman 
expressed  the  hope  that  the  succeeding  year  might  prove  as  satis¬ 
factory  as  the  last  year  had  been.  There  was  plenty  of  interest 
shown  in  the  society,  and  he  was  anxious  that  they  should 
arrange  for  facilities  being  given  the  younger  members  so  as  to 
enable  them  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  society  in  all  respects. 
He  was  desirous,  in  continuation  of  the  reports  which  had  been 
made  as  to  the  interview  so  kindly  granted  by  Mr.  Hanbury  a 
few  months  ago,  to  announce  the  note  which  our  readers  will  find 
in  “  Notes  and  Notices  ”  this  week,  regarding  the  departmental 
committee  of  inquiry  into  the  condition  of  prospects  of  forestry 
here.  Following  office-bearers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing 
year: — President.  Earl  of  Mansfield:  vice-presidents.  Lord 
Lovat  and  Mr.  John  Methven.  J.P.  ;  Council,  Mr.  John  Boyd, 
forester.  Pollock  Estate,  Pollockshaws ;  Mr.  James  Forgan, 
forester,  Bonskeid,  Pitlochray :  Mr.  George  Fraser,  factor, 
Dalzell,  Motherwell ;  Mr.  D.  P.  Laird,  nurseryman,  Edinburgh ; 
and  Mr.  William  McKinnon,  nurseryman,  Edinburgh.  It  was 
agreed  to  increase  the  number  of  ordinary  councillors  from 
fifteen  to  twenty-one,  and  the  following  additional  gentlemen 
were  elected  to  the  Council : — Sir  Kenneth  McKenzie,  of  Gare- 
loch ;  Mr.  E.  P.  Tennant,  of  The  Glen.  Innerleithen ;  Sir  John 
Stirling  Maxwell,  of  Pollock,  M.P. ;  Mr.  John  Hay,  Dollar’s 
Estate  Office,  Kilmarnock;  Mr.  A.  E.  Richardson,  Royal  Botanic 
Gardens,  Edinburgh;  Mr.  George  Leven,  Auchencruive,  Ayr; 
and  Mr.  Charles  Buchanan,  Penicuik.  Discussions  on  various 
forestry  subjects  followed,  and  was  taken  part  in  by  many  of  the 
members  present.  The  annual  dinner  was  held  in  the  Royal 
Hotel,  and  an  enjoyable  evening  was  spent  there. — Scotia, 
Bessie  Gardenrrs. 
Alfred  Gaut.  F.R.H.S.,  Horticultui'al  Instructor  to  the  York¬ 
shire  College,  Leeds,  continuing  -  hrs  course  of  horticultural 
lectures  before  the  members  of  the  above  society,  which  have 
proved  considerably  interesting  to  the  residents  of  the  town,  on 
Tuesday,  January  28,  after  dealing  with  the  diseases  and  insects 
which  are  most  injurious  to  fruit  trees,  he  gave  his  audience 
the  result  of  his  wide  and  varied  experience  of  fruic  growing  in 
Yorkshire,  which  was  founded  upon  the  fruit  reports  gathered 
by  the  lecturer  from  most  of  the  best  fruit  growers  in  the  county. 
A  good  discussion  followed,  in  which  Messrs.  Hardy,  Leadbetter, 
and  Picker  took  the  most  active  part.  Mr.  Gaut  will  give  his 
concluding  lecture  on  February  4,  on  “  Practice  versus  Science,” 
at  which  it  is  hoped  will  be  a  most  interesting  discussion. — 
J.  F.  D.,  Yorks. 
Chester  Paxton. 
“  Cheshire  Orchards  ”  was  the  title  of  a  paper  read  by  Mr. 
John  Taylor,  of  Hoole,  at  the  usual  fortnightly  meeting,  held  at 
the  Grosvenor  Museum  on  Saturday.  Mr.  Taylor,  who  has  made 
fruit  culture  in  the  county  a  special  study,  dealt  with  his  subject 
in  a  very  practical  manner.  A  collection  of  Cheshire  grown 
Apples  and  Pears,  exhibited  at  the  meeting,  corroborated  the 
statements  of  the  lecturer,  and  showed  that  fruit  of  excellent 
quality,  and  posse.ssed  of  long-keeping  properties,  can  be  pro¬ 
duced  in  the  county,  provided  that  suitable  varieties  are  selected, 
and  proper  cultural  methods  adopted.  An  animated  discussion 
followed  the  reading  of  the  paper,  in  which  the  chairman  (Mr. 
Robert  Wakefield)  and  others  took  part. 
Scottish  Horticultural. 
The  first  monthly  meeting  of  the  session  was  held  on  Tuesday 
last,  in  Edinburgh,  over  one  hundred  being  present.  After  pre¬ 
liminary  business.  Dr.  Wilson,  St.  Andrew’s,  delivered  a  lecture 
entitled,  “A  Hybridist’s  Experiences.”  Dr.  Wilson,  Professor  of 
Agriculture  in  St.  Andrew’s  University,  is  very  widely  known  as 
a  successful  scientific  hybridiser.  He  kept  his  audience  spell¬ 
bound  for  an  hour,  detailing  his  experiences  over  a  wide  field. 
With  limelight  illustrations  he  mo.st  vividly  portrayed  his  many 
interesting  experiences ;  his  successes  and  failures.  Amongst 
plants  experimented  on  were  Geraniums,  Abutilons,  Begonias, 
Orchids,  Albucas,  Streptocarpus,  Tritonias,  Potatoes,  Straw¬ 
berries.  Gooseberries,  &c.  He  closed  his  lecture  with  a  most 
interesting  account  of  a  visit  to  America,  where  he  formed 
acquaintanceship  with  famous  transatlantic  hybridists.  No  more 
interesting  or  instructive  paper  was  ever  delivered  to  the 
association.  On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  and  Mr.  Laird,  a 
most  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  accorded  to  Dr.  Wilson.  Mr. 
Waldie  Lamont,  Merchiston,  exhibited  some  very  pretty 
Cyclamen  in  pots,  of  fine  habit  and  freely  bloomed.  It  was 
intimated  that  the  semi-jubilee  celebration  of  the  society  would 
be  held  on  March  21.  A  vote  of  thanks  brought  a  wonderfully 
successful  meeting  to  a  close. 
ReadiDg  Gardeners. 
During  the  past  month  three  meetings  have  been  held  in 
connection  with  the  above  association.  The  annual  meeting  on 
the  6th  ult.,  when  the  report  and  balance-sheet  presented  to  the 
members  proved  that  the  association  during  1901  had  experienced 
a  record  year  with  regard  to  the  attendance,  number  of  members, 
and  financially.  Over  sixty  new  members  were  elected  during 
the  year.  On  Januaiy  20  the  annual  tea  and  entertainment 
took  place,  when  over  120  sat  down  to  tea,  and  about  600  members 
and  friends  were  present  at  the  entertainment.  The  first  ordinary 
meeting  of  the  new  year  took  place  on  the  27th,  when  Mr. 
E.  Fry,  of  The  Gardens,  Greenlands,  Reading,  read  an  exceed¬ 
ingly  practical  paper  entitled,  “  A  Chat  on  the  Kitchen  Garden.” 
In  introducing  his  subject,  he  asked  the  question,  “  Are 
we  doing  sufficient  deep  digging  or  trenching  and  do  we 
manure  enough  ?  ”  He  impressed  upon  the  younger 
members  the  fact  that  it  is  a  duty  of  every  gardener  to 
be  able  to  supply  vegetables  for  the  table  all  the  year  round,  and 
therefore  they  should  not  give  all  their  thoughts  to  those  things 
that  grow  under  glass,  but  give  a  little  to  the  kitchen  garden  if 
they  wish  to  succeed  in  their  vocation  in  the  future.  Cultural 
directions  and  varieties  were  given  of  those  vegetables  the 
lecturer  had  found  to  do  well  with  him.  His  remarks  were  made 
far  more  interesting  by  the  aid  of  an  excellent  series  of  lantern 
slides.  A  good  discussion  followed,  in  which  Messrs.  Stanton, 
Neve,  Judd,  Wicks,  Exler,  Townsend,  Wilson,  Prince,  and 
Chamberlain  took  part.  Mr.  Townsend,  of  Sandhurst  Lodge, 
exhibited  some  splendid  blooms  of  Primula  obconica.  Two  new 
members  were  elected. 
