290 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  4,  1901. 
to  Percy  Jackson,  Esq.,  Ullefc  Road,  Sefton  Park),  and  T.  Wilson.  The 
ten  pots  of  hardy  herbaceous  plants  were  staged  much  lower  than  usual, 
which  was  quite  correct,  too,  for  otherwise  Mr.  Finch’s  brilliant  display 
would  have  been  seen  disadvantageous! y.  A  choice  bouquet  came  from 
Mr.  C.  Osborne,  but  the  baskets  of  flowers  were  of  the  very  poorest 
description.  The  attendance  was  good  throughout  the  day.  The 
luncheon,  presided  over  by  Mr.  J.  Foster,  was  noted  for  the  hopeful 
speeches  uttered  regarding  the  association’s  welfare,  the  usual  votes 
being  tendered  to  the  committee. —  R.  P.  R. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  of  Ireland. 
The  Etiquette  of  Awarding  Prize  Money. 
We  place  before  our  readers  the  following  letters  from  Mr.  Brock 
relating  to  an  interchange  of  communications  between  him  and  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  of  Ireland,  with  the  hope  that  our  friends, 
and  particularly  those  from  across  St.  George’s  Channel,  may  express 
their  opinion  on  either  side  of  the  question  as  laid  before  them  in  the 
letters  jwe  publish.  We  reserve  our  own  opinion,  and  do  not  hold 
ourselves  responsible  for  the  subjoined  letters  of  our  correspondent. 
He  writes : — 
^  |  As  the  circumstances  attending  my  resignation  as  a  member  of 
the  above  society  are  peculiarly  interesting  to  exhibitors  and  members, 
I  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  allow  me  to  place  the  facts  before  your 
readers,  which  I  shall  do  as  briefly  as  possible.  I  have  been  a 
subscribing  member  to  the  society  for  several  years,  and  in  1898  was 
honoured  by  being  elected  a  member  of  the  Counoil.  My  first  experience 
of  the  society  as  an  exhibitor  was  at  the  show  held  in  November  last, 
when  I  competed  in  three  classes  for  Japanese  Chrysanthemum  cut 
blooms,  winning  the  society’s  silver  medal,  the  Waterhouse  challenge 
cup,  and  £16  in  cash.  On  the  23rd  January  I  received  from  the 
secretary  a  cheque  payable  jointly  to  my  employer  and  myself,  which 
I  promptly  returned,  with  a  request  that  it  should  be  made  payable  to 
myself*  a  course  of  action  which  had  the  full  approval  of  my  employer, 
who,  the  Council  knew  perfectly  well,  was  not  a  member  of  the  sooiety. 
This  reply  of  mine  was  responded  to  by  the  subjoined  letter  of  the 
secretary  to  the  society,  which  proposed  to  enforce  conditions  so 
humiliating  that  I  feel  confident  they  would  be  repudiated  by  any 
exhibitor  possessing  the  least  spark  of  manliness. 
The  following  is  the  reply  referred  to  : — 
61,  Dawson  Street,  Dublin,  14th  February,  1901. 
Dear  Mr.  Brock, — You  must  wonder  at  the  cause  of  the  delay  in 
responding  to  your  letter  of  the  23rd  ult.,  returning  me  the  cheque  for 
£16.  We  had  not  a  finance  meeting  until  Tuesday  last,  when  I  drew 
a  fresh  cheque,  payable  to  you,  in  lieu  of  the  one  returned.  I  laid 
it  before  the  committee  for  signature,  but  before  signing  it  they 
thought  it  better  for  me  to  write  to  you  and  ask  yon  to  kindly  obtain 
for  them  Captain  Nicholson’s  authority  for  so  doing.  The  Council 
regret  having  to  adopt  this  course,  but  feel  justified  in  doing  so  owing 
to  the  repeated  unpleasantness  from  time  to  time  occasioned  by  the 
exhibitors  not  being  recognised  in  the  matter  of  the  awards. — Yours 
faithfully,  W.  H.  Hillyard,  Secretary. 
Mr.  Peter  Brock. 
Then  followed  Mr.  Brock’s  reiterated  protest : — 
Glenmor,  Drogheda,  1st  March,  1901. 
W.  H.  Hill  yard,  Esq.,  Secretary 
To  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Sooiety  of  Ireland. 
61,  Dawson  Street,  Dublin. 
Gentlemen, — As  a  member  of  the  Council  I  strongly  protest  against 
the  highly  objectionable  manner  in  which  the  Finance  Committee  have 
sought  to  settle  the  prizes  awarded  to  me  at  the  last  Chrysanthemum 
Show,  through  my  employer,  for  whom  I  aot,  and  to  whom  I  am 
accountable,  and  who  doeB  not  recognise  that  they  had  any  right  to  go 
beyond  me  in  the  matter.  Such  a  policy  is  unlikely  to  be  conducive  to 
the  welfare  of  the  society,  or  to  tend  in  fostering  that  friendly  relation- 
ship  that  should  exist  between  the  Executive  and  gardeners  who  take  an 
interest  in  the  society,  and  in  many  ways  contribute  to  its  support. 
Doubtless  there  may  be  cases  where  it  would  be  advisable  to  adopt  such 
a  course,  but  even  then  only  if  so  directed  by  the  exhibitor.  The 
qualification  to  compete  at  the  shows  of  the  sooiety  without  paying 
entry  fees,  existed  in  my  membership.  The  Finance  Committee,  on 
behalf  of  the  society,  accepted  my  annual  subscriptions  and  my  entries, 
without  requiring,  or  asking  for  the  authority  of  my  employer,  who  is 
not  a  member  of  the  society.  Now,  that  a  few  pounds  are  due  to  me  for 
prizes,  they  have  assumed  a  jurisdiction  as  to  how  the  awards  should  be 
settled,  by  forwarding  a  joint  oheque  between  my  employer  and  myself, 
which  they  signed,  and  which  reached  me  on  23rd  January.  I  promptly 
returned  it  with  the  request  that  it  should  be  made  payable  to  myself. 
On  14th  February  Mr.  Hillyard  wrote  intimating  that  he  had  drawn  a 
fresh  oheque  for  me,  and  laid  it  before  the  Finance  Committee  for  their 
signature,  but  that  they  declined  to  sign  it,  and  had  directed  him  to 
write  to  me  and  obtain  for  them  Capt.  Nicholson’s  authority  for  the 
action  which  I  had  taken.  In  my  reply  I  repudiated  the  idea  of  asking 
Capt.  Nicholson  for  such  a  favour  rb  they  requested,  whioh  on  the  face 
of  it  implied,  that  neither  as  his  servant,  or  even  as  a  member  on  the 
Society’s  Council,  could  I  be  trusted,  and  I  direoted  him  to  write  to 
Capt.  Nicholson  direct  and  ascertain  from  him  whether  I  was  authorised 
to  receive  the  money  referred  to.  He  subsequently  wrote  and  obtained 
the  desired  authority,  but  the  excuse  for  so  doing  does  not  justify  the 
action,  and  it  still  appears  to  Capt.  Nicholson  to  be  an  extraordinary 
course  to  adopt,  bearing  in  mind  that  he  has  no  connection  with  the 
Society,  and  consequently  had  never  made  any  complaint  whatever. 
The  Waterhouse  challenge  cup  arrived  here  on  19th  February,  directed 
to  Capt.  Nicholson,  but  he  refused  to  take  the  oustody  of  it  direct  from 
you  and  thus  deprive  me  of  the  privilege  of  presenting  it  to  his  care. 
I  also  declined  to  have  the  custody  of  it,  and  by  his  direction  I  returned 
it  to  Messrs.  Waterhouse  on  the  day  following  its  arrival.  With  reference 
to  my  subscription  for  the  current  year,  which  is  not  yet  paid,  I  beg  to 
inform  you  that  I  have  no  intention  of  continuing  to  be  a  subscribing 
member,  and  thereby  render  myself  liable  to  what  I  consider  further 
insults  from  the  Finance  Committee  of  the  Society,  and  I  respectfully 
request  that  you  be  good  enough  to  eliminate  my  name  from  its  Council 
and  membership,  and  that  you  publish  same  with  report  of  meeting 
of  Council  at  which  this  is  received. — I  remain,  gentlemen,  yours 
respectfully,  Peter  Brock. 
The  Council’s  explanation  was  posted  on  the  14th  March,  1901,  as 
follows : — 
D-ear  Sir, — I  am  directed  by  the  Council  to  acknowledge  receipt  of 
your  letter  on  the  1st  inst.,  bearing  on  the  subject  of  previous 
correspondence  relative  to  the  prizes  awarded  Capt.  Nicholson  at  the 
last  winter  show,  and  to  express  the  Counoil’s  extreme  regret,  that  in 
consequence  of  their  action  in  the  matter,  which  was  rendered 
inevitable,  as  already  pointed  out,  in  consequence  of  the  Council  being 
repeatedly  brought  to  task  over  paying  prize  money  direct  to  gardeners, 
and  ignoring  the  exhibitors  in  whose  names  the  entries  were  made,  and 
by  whom  the  exhibits  were  shown,  should  have  caused  you  to  take  such 
an  extreme  course.  Nothing  was  further  from  the  desire  or  intention 
of  the  Council  than  to  cause  you  annoyance  or  incite  an  unfriendly 
feeling  between  you  and  the  society.  In  the  case  under  discussion  the 
entry  form  was  filled  in  in  the  name  of  Capt.  Nicholson,  and  the 
Council,  feeling  their  responsibility  to  him,  while  still  prepared  and 
anxious  to  pay  you  the  money,  if  so  authorised,  thought  it  better  to 
adopt  the  course  they  have  done.  The  Council  sincerely  trust  that  on 
further  and  more  impassionate  consideration  of  the  whole  case,  having 
regard  to  the  explanation  already  given,  you  will  see  your  way  to 
withdraw  your  resignation  of  your  seat  on  the  Council,  and  continue 
your  membership,  and  allow  the  same  friendly  connection  that  have  so 
long  existed  between  you  and  the  society  to  remain  unimpaired. — Yours 
faithfully,  W.  H.  Hillyard,  Secretary. 
Mr.  Peter  Brock. 
The  finale  : — 
Glenmor,  Drogheda,  16th  March,  1901. 
Dear  Sir, — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  l4th  inst.  re  the  exhibits 
in  Capt.  Nicholson’s  name  at  the  last  winter  show.  The  Council  seem 
to  overlook  the  faot  that  they  did  not  at  the  time  the  entries  were  made 
require  him,  as  the  exhibitor,  to  be  a  member  in  accordance  with  rule  6, 
or  in  accordance  with  rule  7,  and  pay  entry  fees.  The  entries  were 
accepted  on  the  qualification  of  my  membership,  and  from  me  as  his 
trusted  agent  in  the  transaction.  The  entry  forms  are  similar  to  others 
I  have  filled,  but  have  never  at  any  time  been  questioned  as  to  my 
authority  to  receive  the  prizes  won  at  any  show.  As  no  published  rule 
on  the  subject  exists  in  your  society,  if  this  course  was  rendered 
inevitable,  as  a  member  of  the  Council  I  should  have  been  made  aware 
of  it  before  such  a  measure  was  adopted.  What  other  exhibitors  have 
done  in  the  past  does  not  justify  the  action  of  the  Council  in  my  case, 
as,  apart  from  being  well  known,  the  faot  that  I  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Council  entitled  me  to  expeot  more  consideration  from  them.  With 
reference  to  the  reconsideration  or  withdrawing  of  my  resignation,  I  beg 
to  inform  you  that  I  have  no  intentions  of  continuing  to  be  a  subscribing 
member  of  the  society,  or  have  any  connection  with  a  Council  that 
would  act  in  suoh  a  manner. — Yours  faithfully,  Peter  Brock. 
W.  H.  Hillyard,  Secretary  R.H.S.  of  Ireland. 
Our  correspondent  contrasts  the  action  of  the  “  Royal  ”  with  other 
horticultural  societies  in  Ireland — notably,  the  Ulster  Horticultural 
Society  and  the  Newtownards  Horticultural  Sooiety — and  adds  :  “  It 
is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  the  societies  in  the  north  are  such 
successful  and  flourishing  institutions,  as  oompared  with  the  one  in 
Dublin.” 
- <,•.) - 
Famous  Yew  Tree  on  Fire. — A  dastardly  attempt  to  destroy 
North  Lanoashire’8  venerable  Yew  tree  is  reported  from  Cark-in- 
Cartmel.  The  tree  stands  on  the  Birkley  estate,  near  to  Cark,  and  is 
one  of  the  sights  and  novelties  of  the  district.  It  is  over  1000  years 
old,  and  is  said  by  Stookdale,  in  his  “  Annals  of  Cartmel,”  at  one  time 
to  have  been  one  of  the  landmarks  for  vessels  ooming  up  Moreoambe  Bay. 
The  fire  was  discovered  recently  by  a  young  lad  at  half- past  seven 
one  evening,  and  was  extinguished  by  Mr.  Crewdson,  a  resident  of 
Birkley.  Early  the  following  morning,  however,  the  tree  was  again  in 
flames,  and  the  members  of  the  Cark  Fire  Brigade  put  out  the  fire. 
Very  grave  damage  has  been  done  to  the  Yew. 
