2 
JOURNAL  OF  HO’rrTnrr/rfOU'J  AND  rOTTAGF  GARDEN LR. 
.T;i;iuary  1,  19C3. 
first  «leams  of  light  dawned  u)iou  tli  e  Society.  It  had  been 
bound  in  swaddling  clothes  by  its  charter,  which  was  regarded 
by  many  as  a  sort  of  fetish  or  some  sacred  bogey  on  which  it 
Avould  be  a  sacrilegious  thing  to  lay  hands  ;  but  at  that  dinner  it 
was  proposed  to  form  a  committeo'  to  see  what  could  be  done. 
There  are  a  few  men  who  ought  never  to  be  forgotten  in 
connection  with  this  revival.  Foremost  amongst  these  I  think 
we  must  place  Sir  Trevor  Lawrence,  who  has  for  so  many  years 
been  its  president,  a  chivalry  which  does  him  infinite  credit,  as 
notwithstanding  the  many  unpleasantnesses  which  he  had  to 
endure  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  revival,  he  loyally  held  fast  to 
its  fortunes.  The  Society  still  has  the  benefit  of  his  counsel  and 
advice,  and  its  warmest  supporters  hope  that  he  may  continue 
long  to  be  its  president. 
Of  late  years,  under  the  able  and  courteous  guidance  of  my 
good  friend  the  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  the  Society  has  made  rapid 
and  continuous  progress,  and  now  it  proposes  to  celebrate  its 
centenary  in  1904  by  the  erection  of  a  hall  and  offices,  which 
shall  serve  all  the  interests  of  horticulture.  The  gift  of  Sir 
Henry  Schrhder  of  To, 000  has  given  this  object  of  the  Society 
a  grand  start,  and  when  one  glances  through  the  list  of  its 
members  and  sees  how  many  men  of  wealth  and  position  belong 
to  it,  I  do  not  think  there  can  be  any  doubt  as  to  the  ultimate 
fulfilment  of  the  wishes  of  the  Council.  Already  plans  have 
been  submitted  to  the  members  for  the  uew  building,  and,  of 
course,  with  the  usual  privilege  of  John  Bull,  they  have  been 
hailed  with  a  chorus  of  disapprobation.  These  are  things  to 
which  in  our  public  life  w'e  are  accustomed,  but  somehow'  or 
other  good  comes  of  it,  the  details  are  well  threshed  out,  and 
ultimately,  no  doubt,  a  result  worthy  of  the  Society’s  position 
Avill  be  cari’ied  out.  The  undertaking  is  under  the  immediate 
I)atronage  of  Their  Gracious  Majesties  the  King  and  Queen,  and 
of  Ilis  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  loyal  subjects 
are  not  likely  to  leave  them  to  make  an  abortive  attempt. 
But  it  is  not  in  this  direction  that  the  renew'ed  life  of  the 
Society  is  manifest.  During  the  Course  of  the  past  year  more 
than  a  thousand  new  FelloAvs  have  been  elected,  and  as  a  result, 
I  suppose,  of  this  the  fortnightly  meetings  at  the  Drill  Hall  have 
been  crowded  with  visitors  (formerly  they  were  but  a  few 
scattered  through  the  room),  and  the  grand  Temple  Show  has 
offered  its  usual  attractions  to  the  Fellows  and  the  public  in 
general.  I  say  nothing  of  the  hardy  fruit  show  at  the  Crystal 
Palace,  first,  because  it  was  not  as  good  as  usual  owing  to  the 
character  of  the  season,  and  also  because  it  is  probable  it  will 
not  be  held  there  again.  The  show  at  Holland  House  was.  I 
believe,  a  failure  in  every  respect ;  the  serious  illness  of  His 
Majesty,  which  appeared  at  one  time  so  likely  to  be  fatal,  inter¬ 
fered  with  it,  and  the  announcement  of  a  Rose  show  to  be  held 
within  a  few  days  by  the  National  Rose  Society  at  the  Temple, 
conduced  to  this  end. 
It  is  somewhat  curious  that  while  all  this  show  of  active  life 
in  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  Avas  manifested,  one  place 
that  has  been  connected  with  horticulture,  and  especially  the 
National  Chrysanthemum  Society,  has  ceased  to  exist.  The 
Royal  Aquarium  has  been  purchased  by  the  Wesleyan 
Methodists,  who  propose  to  erect  upon  the  site  a  block  of 
buildings  for  religious  purposes  connected  with  their  body  ;  and 
the  Crystal  Palace  also,  to  Avbich  Ave  can  look  back  and  think  of 
the  many  splendid  shows  held  there,  is  so  crippled  in  its 
finances,  that  it  is  A'ery  unlikely  that  any  horticultural 
exhibition  Avill  take  place  there  again.  For  the  former  I  have 
no  regret,  but  I  must  feel  some  for  the  Palace.  Many  a 
pleasant  meeting,  especially  of  the  National  Rose  Society,  has 
been  celebrated  there,  and  no  better  place  could  be  found  for 
such  an  object  if  one  could  only  put  out  of  mind  the  difficulty  of 
reaching  it.  I  say  nothing  of  the  Royal  Botanic  Society, 
because  I  think  it  has  ceased  to  be  a  power  in  horticulture,  and 
yet  I  do  remember  the  time  when  its  exhibitions  in  its  charming 
grounds  w'ere  among  the  treats  to  which  we  always  looked  forward. 
Special  societies  have  been  affected  by  these  changes  and  by 
the  very  unpleasant  weather  of  the  past  season.  The  National 
Auricula  Society  presented  a  very  poor  collection  of  plants  ;  the 
northern  growers  were  again  absent,  and  I  quite  think  that  the 
time  is  coming  when  this  beautiful  flower  Avhich  AA'as  so  culti¬ 
vated  by  florists  in  times  past,  will  be  absent  from  our  exhibitions. 
The  truth  is  the  flower  requires  much  individual  attention  that 
growers  turn  from  it  to  those  that  require  less  care  and  are  more 
showy  in  their  attractions.  The  Carnation  and  Picotee  Society, 
Sweet  Pea  Society,  and  the  Dahlia  Society  have  all  had  their 
admirers,  though  I  do  not  think  their  exhibitions  have  this  year 
been  a  ver^'  great  success — and  it  is  not  on  the  old  lines  that 
we  can  now  think  of  them.  As  for  the  Dahlia,  what  is  called 
tlie  Cactus  section  seems  to  absorb  the  interest  with  which  the 
flower  is  regarded. 
The  introduction  of  noA'elties  goes  on  still  apace,  fostered  by 
the  Floral  Committee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  I 
cannot  call  to  mind  any  remarkable  productions  from  abroad, 
but  unquestionably  our  hybridizers  have  been  very  active,  and 
Ave  find,  I  think,  proofs  of  their  activity  especially  among 
Orchids.  Some  Avill  be  surprised,  perhaps,  to  hear  that 
twenty-four  Cypripediums,'  twenty  Cattleyas,  and  thirty-eight 
Odontoglossums  haA’e  received  certificates  or  awards  of  merit, 
and  as  this  has  been  going  on  for  some  years  one  Avonders  what 
has  become  of  them  all.  The  raiser  of  a  neAv  Dahlia  has  no 
compunction,  Avheu  a  better  flower  of  the  same  class  makes  its 
appearance,  of  consigning  his  old  to  the  rubbish  heap  ;  but  it  is 
a  different  thing  Avith  an  Orchid,  and  we  may  again  ask,  Avhere 
are  all  those  which  have  been  certificated  or  had  awards  of 
merit  during  the  last  ten  years  ?  Thirty-seven  Dahlias  and 
fifteen  Chrysanthemums  have  also  received  aw'ards.  The  former 
are  mostly  those  of  the  Cactus  section,  which  seem  to  have  ousted 
the  old  florist  type,  which  I  recollect  Dr.  Liudley  stigmatised 
as  “  lumpish  and  inelegant.”  Nevertheless,  what  a  rage 
there  was  for  them  at  one  time,  and  how  we  used  to  Avatch 
with  interest  Mr.  Keynes  of  Salisbury',  and  Mr.  Turner  of 
Slough,  when  they  were  pitted  one  against  the  other !  It 
Avill  be  thus  seen,  I  think,  from  this  rapid  survey  of 
the  past  year  that  the  love  of  flowers  has  in  no  way 
diminished  amongst  us.  There  is  no  country  in  the  Avhole 
Avorld  in  Avhich  this  love  flourishes  as  in  England.  France  has 
done  much  by  the  skill  and  intelligence  of  those  who  have  taken 
to  the  cultivation  of  their  flowers  to  enrich  our  gardens  ;  but  yet 
Avhen  A\'e  go  abroad  to  see  flowers  we  are  constrained  to  go  to  a 
nurseryman,  and  the  reason  of  this  is  that  there  are  no  amateurs, 
as  we  understand  the  term,  in  France. 
I  have  always  taken  this  opportunity  of  recording  the  roll 
call  of  those  who  have  passed  away  from  us  during  the  past  year, 
and  foremost  amongst  those  whose  loss  we  regret  we  must  notice- 
Mr.  Charles  J.  Grahame,  one  of  the  most  generous  and  intelligent 
horticulturists  I  have  ever  met.  I  believe  I  am  not  wrong  in  saying 
that  with  him  originated  the  idea  of  holding  a  floAver  show  in  the 
City  Avhich  culminated  in  the  great  Temple  Show  held  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society.  With  him,  too, 
originated  the  great  change  in  the  National  Rose  Society  of 
classifying  exhibitors  by  the  number  of  plants  grown  by  them, 
which  has  tended  more  than  anything  to  popularise  the  Rose 
amongst  exhibitors.  To  all  who  kneAv  him  his  loss  came  as  a 
great  shock  ;  he  was  much  beloved  and  respected  by  all.  The 
melancholy  death  of  Mr.  H.  Selfe  Leonard  at  Rome,  owing  to 
his  having  accidentally  fallen  down  the  lift  at  an  hotel,  deprived 
us  of  one  of  our  most  successful  herbaceous  plant  growers.  And 
there  has  gone  from  our  midst  a  great  florist  and  amateur 
gardener  of  the  Victorian  age,  Mr.  G.  F.  Wilson,  whose  estate 
at  Wisley  is  about  to  be  sold;  and  of  others  I  must  name  Mr- 
David  Syme,  Sir  Daniel  Cooper  (an  aged  personality),  Charles 
Maries,  Ed.  J.  Beale,  and  Mr.  William  Bull  of  Chelsea. 
Gardening  literature  hasffieeu,  as  usual,  abundant.  Some 
changes  have  taken  place  in  the  Aveekly  journals  which  cater  to 
the  horticultural  tastes  of  the  public;  and,  as  in  duty  bound,  I 
must  first  refer  to  our  Journal.  I  miss  from  its  pages  the  names 
of  many  who  used  to  be  regular  contributors ;  and  I  believe  I 
may  claim  to  be,  with  Mr.  Robert  Feuu,  the  oldest  on  its  list. 
The  “  Gardener’s  Chronicle  ”  still  worthily  maintains  its  position 
of  upholding  the  scientific  side  of  the  science  of  horticulture. 
The  “Garden,”  from  which  the  accomplished  co-editor.  Miss 
Jekyll,  has  retired,  does  its  best  to  encourage  the  cultivation  of 
the  old-fashioned  flowers  of  our  borders,  and  the  many  novelties- 
which  have  been  added  to  them;  while  the  “Gardener’s 
Magazine '’  has  placed  itself  second  to  noue  in  the  zeal  which 
it  displays  for  horticulture.  Of  the  smaller  publications  I  have 
little  to  say,  but  they  seem  to  be  prosperous.  Books  connected 
Avith  gardening  are  produced  from  time  to  time,  aud  I  believe  the}'^ 
possess  a  ready  sale  ;  so  in  this  respect  too  AA'e  are  moving  on. 
In  drawing  this  rapid  survey  to  a  close,  I  do  as  I  have  always 
done,  beg  the  favour  of  saying  a  few  personal  words.  It  has 
been  known  to  many  of  our  readers  that  during  the  past  year 
I  have,  in  the  striking  words  of  Scripture,  “been  at  death’s 
door,”  and  that  at  one  time  none  of  those  around  me  expected 
that  I  should  survive.  This  illness  drew  forth  from  many  of  my 
friends  such  expressions  of  affectionate  love  and  sympathy  that. 
I  should  be  ungrateful  indeed  if  it  had  not  made  a  deep  impres¬ 
sion  on  me.  To  all  of  you  I  desire  to  express  my  thankfulness, 
and  trust  that  you  may  have  many  years  of  enjoyment  amongst 
the  floAvers  you  love  so  well.  I  am  now  in  my  eighty-fifth  year, 
my  time  here  cannot  be  for  long ;  up  to  the  last  I  shall  remember, 
I  hope,  all  the  kindness  aud  affection  I  have  received  from  you, 
and  that  God  may  slioAver  upon  you  His  richest  blessings  is  the 
sincere  Avish  of  your  friend  of  many  years. — D.,  Deni. 
