February  13,  190^i. 
.i<U:iL\AL  UF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
151 
matter  forbade  the  chairman  from  giving  any  fuller  particulars. 
He,  however,  stated  that  no  final  steps  would  be  made  without 
obtaining  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  Fellows.  The  matter 
will  be  ripe  shortly,  and  a  general  meeting  will  be  called.  Dr. 
Masters  seconded  the  adoption  of  the  report,  and  said  that  he 
would  not  let  “  the  cat  out  of  the  bag  ”  more  than  the  chairman 
had  done,  but  he  could  assure  the  Fellows  it  was  a  very  fine 
“  cat  ”  indeed.  Mr.  Alex.  Dean  asked  whether  the  contemplated 
hall  would  be  likely  to  be  erected  and  ready  for  the  Centenary, 
in  1904,  and  further  inquired  whether  a  great  International 
Exhibition  might  not  be  advisable  to  celebrate  both  the  opening 
of  the  hall  and  the  Centenary  ?  Sir  Trevor  said  that  the 
latter  proposal  had  been  mooted  in  Council,  but  caution  was 
advisable.  The  £80,000  left  (lost)  at  South  Kensington  must 
not  be  forgotten.  Regarding  the  completion  of  a  hall  by  1904, 
tlie  Fellows  could  rely  on  every  possible  exertion  being  made. 
A  Fellow  called  attention  to  the  glazed  paper  used  for,  and 
another  to  the  uncut  edges  of,  the  Society’s  Journal.  Glazed 
paper,  .said  the  chairman,  was  necessaiy  if  the  beauty  and  clear¬ 
ness. of  the  illustrations  was  to  be  maintained,  and  the  second 
point  he  gave  next  to  no  attention  to,  merely  remarking,  as  he 
.sat  down,  that  all  wlio  care  anything  for  hooks  at  all  would  never 
dream  of  having  the  edges  cut.  \Ve  are  sure  this  feeling  does 
not  pervade  all  book-lovers,  and  most  certainly  we  would  like 
to  see  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  vutli  the 
edges  cut. 
Mr.  A.  W.  Sutton  concluded  the  business  by  proposing  the 
following  resolution  : 
“  This  meeting  is  glad  to  hear  from  the  president  that  steps 
are  being  taken  to  secure  a  site  for  a  hall,  and  pledges  itself  to 
give  its  most  favourable  consideration  to  any  proposal  which  the 
Council,  in  due  course,  may  lay  before  it.”  Surgeon-Major  Ince 
seconded. 
A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman  was  the  last  act  in 
the  afternoon’s  meeting,  which  lasted  fifty  minutes,  was  full  of 
interest,  and  largely  attended. 
Richard  Dean  Testimonial, 
In  a  paragraph  last  wmek  we  briefly  referred  to  this  testimonial 
presentation  ceremony  performed  under  the  chairmanship  of 
W.  Cuthbertson,  Esq.,  at  the  Royal  Aquarium,  Westminster,  on 
the  evening  of  February  4.  After  the  Royal  toasts  had  been 
given,  Mr.  Cuthbertson  delivered  a  speech  full  of  good  points. 
He  referred  to  Mr.  Sherwood’s  very  kind-hearted  and  unceasing 
interest  and  help  during  the  time  the  testimonial  had  been  pre¬ 
paring.  It  was  with  sincere  feelings  of  thankfulness  that  he  and 
all  present  had  learned  of  Mr.  Sherwood’s  improved  health,  and 
he  trusted  that  before  long  he  would  again  bo  among  them  in 
activity.  In  a  few  sentences  the  chairman  summarised  the 
chief  works  in  which  Mr.  Dean’s  part  had  been  conspicuous. 
The  spontaneity  of  the  response  to  the  appeal  sent  out  by  the 
Testimonial  Committee  had  been  remarkable.  A  large  number 
of  names  came  flowing  in,  quite  outside  from  those  to  whom 
circulars  had  been  sent,  and  this,  he  thought,  showed  the  high 
appreciation  of  Mr.  Dean’s  services  that  existed.  For  twenty 
years  Mr.  Cuthbertson  had  known  Mr.  Dean,  and  though  at  times 
the  old  floriculturist  proved  “  a  terror  for  his  size,”  yet  they  all 
knew  that  his  heart  was  right.  Officiating  at  such  shows  as 
Shrewsbury  and  Wolverhampton,  Mr.  Cuthbertson  had  been 
Mr.  Dean’s  equal,  but  never  yet  his  superior.  “  I  have  been  his 
host  in  the  far  away  island  of  Bute,  and  I  have  been  his  guest  at 
Ealing.  It  is  a  very  happy  privilege  now  to  present  you,” 
said  the  chairman,  turning  to  Mr.  Dean,  “  on  behalf 
of  the  subscribers,  with  this  Address  and  accompanying 
purse  of  £300,  given  on  entering  your  seventy-third  year,  for 
the  good  work  you  have  done  for  horticulture  in  past  years. 
Here  are  the  names  of  nearly  300  subscribers,  and  among  them 
you  will  find  the  names  of  Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  eminent  in  science  ; 
Sir  Albert  Rollit,  who  repre.sents  all  that  is  best  in  the  world 
of  business ;  the  Very  Rev.  the  Dean  of  Rochester,  and  others, 
eminentlv  representative.  This  Address  will  be  a  silent  testimony 
to  the  esteem  in  which  you  are  held  by  your  fellow  workers  in 
horticulture.  I  hope  that  God  may  grant  you  yet  health  and 
strength  to  safely  reach  the  summit  of  four-score.” 
•'  May  there  Vje  no  sorrow  in  your  song, 
No  winter  in  your  years.” 
Mr.  Dean  stood  while  the  peroration  was  delivered,  and  when 
the  presentation  had  been  made  he  sat  down  for  a  few  moments. 
On  rising  his  first  words,  spoken  falteringly,  were  : — “  Gentlemen, 
there  are  times  in  the  life  of  man  when  the  heart  is  almost - ” 
and  the  veteran  was  overcome  for  a  time.  Again  rising,  he  con¬ 
tinued  :  “  I  hope  you  will  pardon  this  weakness  gentlemen  ;  after 
all  it  is  only  human.  I  can  say  with  the  poet,  ‘  We  feel  what  we 
cannot  all  express.’  When  this  movement  was  first  put  on  foot 
to  present  this  magnificent  present  I  had  no  idea  that  it  would 
reach  what  it  has  reached.  I  am  deeply  grateful  to  all  who 
have  contributed,  no  matter  how  small  the  sum.  I  am  especially 
grateful  to  Mr.  Sherwood,  and  we  all  sympathise  with  his  two> 
sons  during  the  illness  that  has  afflicted  a  man  overburdened  in 
business.  To  Mr.  Cuthbertson,  Mr.  Jones,  Mr.  Wilkinson,  and 
Mr.  Ballantine  I  am  also  deeply  grateful.  I  can  claim  to  have 
been  a  gardener  all  my  life.  I  was  the  son  of  a  gardener,  born 
at  the  celebrated  nursery  of  Messrs.  Bridgeworth,  in  the  south 
of  England,  where  my  father  was  foreman.  At  the  age  of 
thirteen  I  had  to  turn  out  and  do  what  I  could  for  my  own  living. 
I  was  able  and  glad  to  help,  in  certain  ways,  the  old  department, 
and  I  became  a  worker  in  the  garden  till  I  was  eighteen  years 
of  age.  This  was  a  period  of  great  political  events.  The  French 
Revolution  had  broken  out  in  1848,  and  the  Potato  famine  in 
Ireland  caused  distress  beyond  measure,  exciting  Daniel  O’Con¬ 
nell  to  his  tremendous  agitations.  The  Revolution  spread  all 
over  Europe.  Taxes  were  high,  and  the  conditions  were  .such 
that  it  was  no  wonder  the  pulses  of  a  young  man  became  deeply 
stirred  with  the  public  doings. 
“  I  became  an  under  gardener  in  1849  to  a  gentleman  who  after¬ 
wards  attained  the  honour  to  be  Mayor  of  Southampton,  an  I 
who  now  made  me  his  body-servant  during  the  time  that  he  wa.s 
Mayor.  I  remember  seeing  and  hearing  speak,  among  other.s 
at  this  time,  the  great  Hungarian  patriot,  Kossuth,  William 
Makepiece  Thackeray,  and  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  I  went 
to  all  the  municipal  banquets  and  civic  functions,  and  that  wa.s 
my  introduction  to  a  new  life,  and  inspired  me  to  reach  to  some¬ 
thing  higher  and  better — a  perfectly  natural  ambition  as  I  think. 
My  principal  entry  to  horticulture  was  in  1853,  when  I  joined 
Mr.  Charles  Turner’s  staff  in  his  nursery  at  Slough,  for  the  wages 
of  14.S.  a  week.  I  made  my.self  useful  to  IVlr.  Turner,  and 
remember  going  to  some  of  the  great  Chiswick  gatherings, 
travelling  all  night  in  a  great  van  to  attend  the  next  day’s  show. 
It  was  here  that  I  gleaned  some  of  that  knowledge  of  shows  that 
has  been  so  useful  to  me  in  after  life.  In  1857  I  entered  the 
nursery  of  Messrs.  Beckenson  and  Child,  in  London.  Before 
long  Mr.  Charles  Turner  came  to  me  and  said  that  a  secretary 
was  required  for  the  National  Floricultural  Society.  This  society 
was  established  in  1851.  A  central  figure  in  London  floricultural 
circles  at  this  time  was  George  Glenny,  but  out  of  a  mistrust  of 
him  grew  the  National  Floricultural  Society,  with  Mr.  John 
Edwards  as  its  first  secretary.  In  1858  the  first  great  National 
Rose  Show  was  held,  in  St.  James’s  Hall,  and  I  then  assisted  the 
present  Dean  of  Roche.ster;  and  in  September  of  that  year  I 
again  assisted. 
“In  1861,  to  my  great  joy,  I  received  an  invitation  from  Mr. 
George  Eyles  to  judge  at  Southampton,  which  was  my  first  entry 
as  a  judge.  The  old  Horticultural  Club  at  this  time  used  to 
meet  once  a  month  at  Anderton’s  Hotel,  London,  where  such 
worthy  and  well  remembered  men  as  John  Downie,  Dodds,  Dr. 
Hogg,  Arthur  and  Andrew  Henderson,  Robert  Mamock,  Thomas 
Moore,  the  brothers  Lee,  William  Paul,  and  others  met.  Of 
these,  only  William  Paul  remains.  They  were  men  of  great 
natural  ability,  who  did  their  work  in  their  day  and  passed  away. 
I  wonder  if  there  is  a  sort  of  continual  existence  for  those  men 
on  the  slopes,  may-be,  of  old  John  Bunyan’s  ‘Delectable  Moun¬ 
tains,’  where  they  can  foregather  and  have  converse  about  the 
flowers  they  grew  here  together  .P  In  1865  I  went  to  Messrs. 
F.  and  A.  Dickson’s,  but  not  being  quite  comfortable  there.  Dr. 
Hogg  invited  me  to  the  secretai-yship  of  the  great  International 
Exhibition  of  May,  1866.  For  this  marvellous  exhibition  we 
covered  in  three  and  a  half  acres,  and  the  total  receipts  amounted 
to  £1,618  4s.  7d.  There  were  110  judges.  At  the  end  of  the 
fourth  day  of  the  show  we  learned  that  a  knowledge  of  the  great 
horticultural  exhibition  being  held  in  their  midst  was  beginning 
to  dawn  on  the  London  public.  For  five  days  longer  it  was  con¬ 
tinued,  and  resulted  in  a  total  surplus  of  £3,000.  A  considerable 
portion  was  given  to  the  Royal  Gardeners’  Benevolent  Institu¬ 
tion,  and  another  sum  was  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  the 
Lindley  Library,  and  a  further  amount  spent  in  the  preparation 
of  a  report  of  the  proceedings.  The  ground  for  the  exhibition 
was  laid  out  by  a  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  J.  Gibson, 
Standish,  and  Robert  Fortune.  That  exhibition  was  such  the 
like  of  which  may  not  be  seen  in  London  for  a  considerable  time. 
Subsequent  to  the  exhibition.  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  Sir  Charles 
Cooper,  and  others,  to  the  number  of  twenty-one,  went  down  to 
the  Star  and  Garter  Hotel,  at  Richmond,  to  a  dinner,  and  there 
were  photographed.  Of  this  number  onlv  Sir  Charles  Cooper 
Mr.  W.  Paul,  Mr.  W.  Bull,  Dr.  Ma,sters,  Mr.  Harry  J.  Veitch[ 
and  Mr.  R.  Dean  now  remain.  ’ 
“  In  1867  commenced  the  exhibitions  of  the  Royal  Horticul¬ 
tural  Society  in  the  provinces,  and  I  had  the  honour  to  take 
part  in  all  of  them,  as  steward  or  as  judge.  In  1869  I  went  to 
Ireland,  and  visited  the  principal  gardens  of  interest  for  “  The 
Irish  Gardener.”  Again,  in  1870,  I  went  to  Ireland,  in  the 
capacity  as  judge  at  the  Dublin  Horticultural  Society’s  Show, 
held  at  Ballsbridge,  and  while  there  delivered  a  lecture  on  spring 
fiowers,  standing  where  Daniel  O’Connell  had  stood,  in  the 
Rotunda,  at  Dublin.  In  the  ’70’s  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  be  co¬ 
editor  of  ‘  The  Gardener  ’ — a  Scottish  publication — with  the  late 
Mr.  William  Thomson.  At  a  dinner  held  after  a  show  in  Bir¬ 
mingham  about  this  time,  I  came  into  personal  contact  with  Mr. 
Joseph  Chamberlain  (then  Mayor  of  Birmingham)  by  assisting 
