January  19,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
4) 
If  “Annual  Subscriber”  hal  referred  to  Lii  c;  py  of  rules  govorulng 
the  Fund’s  management,  he  would  have  found  that  the  Secretary  can  bo 
appointed  only  by  the  members  at  the  annual  general  meeting,  and  that 
the  office  is  but  of  annual  duration,  at  that  cfficial  haj  to  submit  himself 
for  re-election  yearly. 
Naturally,  the  subject  of  filling  the  office  vacated  by  ^Ir.  -Barron  was 
the  primary  one  discussed  at  the  recent  Drill  Hall  meeting,  and  on  every 
hand  I  found  a  concensus  of  opinion  in  favour  of  the  election  being  by 
ballot.  Still  further,  it  was  held  that  the  Committee  should  severely 
refrain  from  nominating  any  one  person,  but,  there  being  four  or  five 
selected  from  the  entire  body  of  candidates,  their  names  should  be 
printed  on  a  ballot  paper,  and  copies  handed  round  to  each  subscriber 
present,  who  should  vote  by  putting  a  cross  against  his  favoured 
candidate,  the  papers  being  collected  by  scrutineers  and  counted,  no 
paper  being  accepted  other  than  those  collected  in  the  room.  Each  paper 
should  be  signed  by  the  tubscriber,  but  only  as  a  guarantee  that  he  was 
entitled  to  vote. 
It  is  but  natural  that  there  should  be  much  anxiety  to  secure  for 
the  post  the  best  possible  candidate,  and  one  who  is  not  only  familiar 
with  the  Fund,  but  one  who  has  been  a  worker  and  helper  in  it  in  the 
past,  and  who  is  essentially  identified  with  gardening.  It  is  unfjrtunate 
that  in  publishing  the  advertisement  inviting  applications  it  was  not  made 
clear  that  applicants  must  be  associated  with  the  gardening  vocation,  and 
not  to  exceed  a  certain  age  ;  also  should  furnish  a  pecuniary  guarantee 
from  some  acceptable  society.  These  were  conditions  that  would  have 
occurred  to  any  body  of  good  business  men.  Personal  canvassing  other 
than  through  circulars  or  cards  should  have  been  held  to  disqualify 
candidates  at  once.  These  conditions  would  have  cleared  the  ground 
largely  at  the  outset.  As  it  is,  very  many 
persons  have  applied  for  the  post  whose 
prospects  are,  to  put  the  matter  mildly, 
ridiculous. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  for  the 
work,  which  is  largely,  after  all,  formal 
and  regular,  not  spasmodic,  is  well  re¬ 
munerated  with  £100  per  annum.  As 
was  remarked  at  the  Drill  Hall,  it  is 
^‘a  decidedly  good  screw.”  It  ought  to 
secure  the  loyal  services  of  a  first-rate 
man  ;  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken 
to  prevent  any  sectional  or  mere  market 
appointment.  The  selected  official  should 
be  a  thoroughly  honourable  man,  having 
the  confidence  of  all  sections  of  sub¬ 
scribers.  I  hope  before  promising  votes 
every  subscriber  will  await  the  decision 
of  the  selection  committee,  and  even 
then  do  so  only  on  mature  considera¬ 
tion. — A.  D. 
This,  the  scat  of  Colonel  Sandbach,  is  situated  in  the  County  of 
Denbigh,  North  Wales,  and  its  nearest  railway  stations  arc  those  of 
!  Llanwrst  and  Abergele,  which  are  respectively  seven  and  eleven  miles 
I  distant.  This  fact  no  doubt  explains  why  Ilafodunos  has  so  seldom  been 
j  referred  to  in  the  gardening  press,  as  from  a  horticultural,  and  more 
I  especially  from  an  urb oricultural  standpoint,  it  is  quite  entitled  to  take  a 
prominent  position.  “  Ilafodunos "  is  a  Welsli  word  meaning  “Rest  for 
!  one  night,”  and  tradition  siiys  that  the  body  of  St.  Winifred  rested  hero 
.  for  one  night  on  its  way  to  its  final  resting  place  at  Holywell. 
!  The  estate  is  about  half  a  mile  from  the  pretty  village  of  Llangernyw, 
on  the  road  from  Abergele  to  Llanwrst,  which  is  about  eighteen  miles 
I  distant,  and  this  road,  from  beginning  to  end,  was  made  by  and  at  the 
I  sole  expense  of  the  lata  Squire  of  Hafudunos,  who  was  throughout  his 
long  residence  a  great  benefactor  to  this  distiict. 
At  the  entrance  to  the  p  irk  is  a  commodious  lodge,  luilt  entirely  of 
'  stone,  and  on  passing  through  iho  lodge  gates  the  visitor  at  once  gets  a 
foretaste  of  what  this  place  is  more  especially  noted  for.  There  are  to  be 
seen  on  the  right  side  of  the  carriage  road  some  magnificent  specimens  of 
Wellingtonia  gigantea.  Most  of  them  were  planted  about  fifty  years  ago, 
and  are  at  the  present  lime  (30  feet  liigli.  They  stand  on  rapidly  rising 
ground,  and  all  of  them  are  in  perfect  fumlth  and  vigour,  and  each  differs 
in  habit  from  its  fellows.  Froceeding  along  the  drive  towards  the 
mansion  we  notice  many  splendid  trees  and  shrubs.  The  mansion,  a 
most  beautiful  structure,  built  some  thirty  ye.rs  ago  from  designs  by  the 
late  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  on  or  very  near  tlio  site  of  a  former  residence,  is 
about  500  yards  from  the  gates. 
Near  here  are  part  of  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  monastery,  and  most  of 
us  know  that  in  consequence  this  place  must  bo  pleasantly  s.tuated  and 
the  soil  around  it  generally  fonile,  for  the  monks  of  old  wore  no  mean 
Cam  it  be  true  that  the  selection 
committee,  or  whateyer  it  may  be  called, 
appointed  to  examine  the  applications 
for  the  secretaryship  and  report  thereon, 
consists  mainly  of  what  are  known  as 
Covent  Garden  Market  men  ?  If  so,  it 
cannot  Be  fairly  representative,  and  if 
there  happen  to  be  an  able  Covent 
Garden  candidate,  some  of  the  mem¬ 
bers  can  scarcely  feel  themselves  in  a 
pleasant  position  in  the  conscientious 
discharge  of  their  duty. 
Several  growers  of  produce  for  mar¬ 
ket  have  been  good  supporters  of  the 
Fund  during  recent  years,  and  some 
have  been,  and  are,  useful  members  of 
committee,  but  the  founders  of  the  Society  were  private  gardeners  and 
pressmen  chiefly,  who  took  the  responsibility  and  shared  the  anxiety  and 
work  in  establishing  it.  This  being  so,  it  is  but  reasonable  that  they 
should  bo  represented  on  the  reference  committee  as  well  as  the  horti¬ 
cultural  trade  and  market  men.  It  is  hoped  they  are,  though  reports  say 
they  are  not,  and  if  not  it  is  a  pity. 
It  is  no  secret  that  among  the  numerous  candidates  are  men  of 
undoubted  capacity,  intimately  connected  with  gardening  and  the  gardening 
press,  as  well  as  with  secretarial  work — men  who  have  been  strenuous 
workers  for  the  Fund,  some  of  them  over  many  years.  If  these  men  are 
not  adequately  represented  on  the  examining  committee  it  cannot  bo  so 
complete  as  it  ought  to  be.  It  may  be  granted  that  the  members  will 
act  honestly  and  fearlessly,  still  it  dees  not  appear  to  bo  altogether 
appropriate  that  certain  sections  of  the  horticultural  community  should 
be  practically  ignored. 
The  rumour  was  current  at  the  last  R.H.S.  meeting  that  amateurs 
were  represented  on  the  Committee  by  the  Chairman,  ‘IMr.  W.  Marshall, 
traders  by  Mr.  Weeks,  and  everybody  else  by  Messrs.  Assbee,  May, 
Poupart,  and  Walker,  marketers.  This  may  not  be  a  complete  list ; 
whether  it  is  or  not,  neither  a  private  gardener  nor  press  representative 
was  mentioned  at  the  Drill  Hall,  and  the  assumed  omission  was  thought 
strange  by  more  than  one. — Member,  but  not  a  Candidate. 
Fig.  9.— Hafodunos. 
judges  in  selecting  the  best  positions  for  their  abodes.  We  almost  in¬ 
variably  find  that  wherever  there  is  a  monastery  or  monastic  remains 
there  is  an  abundance  of  good  water,  good  fishing,  and  good  land,  where 
fruit  and  vegetables  can  be  grown,  thus  insuring  them  a  constant  supply 
of  the  go-d  things  of  this  life. 
At  Hafodunos  we  see  many  plants  growing  vigorously  and  flowering^ 
freely  that  are  only  seen  in  highly  favoured  localities.  On  the  front  of 
the  mansion  many  of  our  best  and  tenderest  varieties  of  Tea  Roses  grow 
vigorously,  and  during  the  season  are  covered  with  flowers  of  excellent 
quality.  Amongst  others  there  are  several  large  plants  of  Fortune’s 
Yellow,  a  most  exquisitely  beautiful  variety,  but  rarely  seen  doing  well 
in  the  open  air.  On  the  terrace  walls  we  noticed  many  climbing  plants 
that  in  the  north  and  the  midlands  have  to  be  wintered  in  conservatories 
and  greenhouses,  yet  here  in  North  Wales  they  thrive  apace,  and  year 
after  year  are  covered  with  beautiful  blooms.  Very  conspicuous  was  an 
exceptionally  large  plant  of  Escallonia  macrantha,  covering  at  least 
80  square  feet  of  terrace  w'all,  and  full  of  flow'cr. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  terraces  flows  a  beautiful  stream  of  water, 
which  has  cut  its  way  through  the  hills  and  rocks,  in  some  places  forming 
quite  deep  ravines  and  in  others  a  beautiful  dell,  or  dingle,  as  they  call  it 
there.  Along  its  banks,  and  in  many  other  parts  of  the  grounds,  are 
superb  specimens  of  the  best  varieties  of  Rhododendr  ns,  and  they  must 
THE  GARDENERS’  ORPHAN  FUND, 
HAFODUNOS. 
