562 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  18,  1902 
two  or  three  buyers  secured  a  stock  of  the  one  variety,  who 
would  be  “the  introducer?”  Mr.  G.  Paul  suggested  using  the 
words  “  sender-out,”  as  being  more  expressive.  After  discussion, 
however,  no  agreement  was  come  to,  and  the  matter  went  back 
into  committee  for  general  consideration,  and  to  be  brought 
forward  at  the  next  annual  general  meeting. 
Mr.  Mawley  read  •letters  from  Glasgow,  desiring  that  the  date 
of  the  northern  exhibition  be  made  Wednesday,  July  15,  instead 
of  Thursday,  the  16th,  that  date  being  less  suitable  .as  a  visitors’ 
day.  The  change  of  date  was  agreed  to.  A  Gloucester  member, 
Mr.  Conway  Jones,  said  he  had  been  deputed  by  his  local  society 
to  ask  the  National  Rose  Society  whether  it  could  fix  Gloucester 
asthe  place  for  its  southern  show  in  1901.  Mr.  Mawley  replied 
that  Sutton,  in  Surrey,  had  already  been  mentioned  for  1904, 
but  they  would  bear  Gloucester  in  mind.  The  meeting  then 
terminated  with  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman. 
The  Annual  Dinner. 
Following  the  general  meeting,  which  lasted  from  half-past 
three  to  half-past  five,  was  this  pleasant  social  gathering  of 
rosarians  and  their  friends.  A  number  of  those  who  had  attended 
the  afternoon  meeting  were  unable  to  stay  to  dinner,  but  others 
evidently  took  their  place,  and  each  chair  around  the  tables  was 
occupied.  Mr.  Edward  Mawley,  the  secretary,  was  in  the  chair, 
and  on  his  right  hand  was  Mr.  Harman  Payne,  foreign  cor¬ 
responding  secretary  of  the  National  Chrysanthemum  Society. 
The  tables  were  decorated  with  Roses  contributed  by  Mr.  Geo. 
Paul  and  Mr.  Geo.  Mount,  and  dishes  of  Apples  from  Mr.  Geo. 
B unyard.  The  names'  of  the  Apples  had  been  also  sent,  and 
there  was  quite  an  examination  at  the  writer’s  part  of  the  table, 
on  the  respective  flavour-merit,  of  some  of  the  varieties. 
Ross  Nonpareil  was  accorded  a  high  place  as  a  small  dessert 
Apple.  The  arrangement  of  the  Roses,  too,  was  of  interest, 
insomuch  that  they  separately  appeared  to  be  mystically,  stand¬ 
ing  erect,  or  inclinedly,  without  any  support.  The  secret  was 
that  half-needles  had  been  fixed  here  and  there  along  the  centre 
of  the  table,  and  the  soft  base  of  the  pithy  stems  of  the  Roses 
had  been  pressed  down  upon  them.  The  idea  is  novel,  and  well 
worth  the  noting. 
After  the  loyal  toasts  were  acclaimed  and  drunk  by  the 
company,  and  various  vocal  selections  rendered  by  the  Venetian 
Part  Singers  and  Madam"  Marion  Harris,  the  chairman  proposed 
a  toast  to  the  National  Rose  Society.  In  his  remarks  he  stated 
that  the  founder  of  the  society  was  absent  on  that  occasion  for 
the  first  time  during  twenty-five  consecutive  years.  Nor, was 
Air.  J.  D.  Pawle  able  to  be  among  them,  whose  well-known 
presence  had  hitherto  been  relied  on  at  the  dinner.  Mr.  Alawley 
regretted  also  the  absence  of  Mr.  Cecil  Cant,  and  trusted  that 
he  would  soon  recover  from  a  dangerous  trouble.  Those  suffering 
from  colds,  fashionable  at  this  season,  included  such  warm  sup¬ 
porters  as  Mr.  George  Bunyard,  Mr.  George  Mount,  and  Air. 
Jefferies,  and  who  were  unable  to  be  present ;  but  he  was  pleased 
at  the  same  time  to  see  so  many  others  around  him  in  this 
Christmas-Rose-like  ”  weather. 
Air.  Mawley  then  went  on  to  say  that  it  was,  naturally,  rather 
galling,  after  a  quarter  of  a  century,  to  find  their  expenditure 
-exceeding  their  income.  The  society  had  had  a  peculiar  career. 
Until  two  years  ago  they  had  jogged  along,  leaving  the  risks 
of  the  shows  to  others ;  but  now  they  had  started  a  speculative 
“business.”  They  had  an  increasing  membership,  and  soon 
there  might  be  1,000  on  the  books. 
He  told  a  story  in  contradiction  to  the  usual  advice  “  to  cut 
your  coat  according  to  your  cloth,”  the  moral  being  that  the 
coat  might  thereby  be  either  too  small  or  much  too  large.  The 
adage  must  not  be  taken  too  literally.  Nor  must  the  National 
Rose  Society’s  regulations  be  accepted  ad  verbum,  for  they  had 
one  which  said :  “  All  flowers  must  be  staged  as  cut  from  the 
plants,”  and  the  chairman  thought  many  of  the  flowers  would 
look  poor  indeed  but  fqr  the  quarter  of  an  hour’s  dressing. 
Air.  Mawley  said  their  “  speculative  show  ”  was  very  expen¬ 
sive,  amounting  to  £640  during  the  last  two  years.  Turning 
to  the  question  of  catering  to  the  taste  of  the  non-exhibiting 
member,  he  thought  they  should  not  forget  that  it  was  from  the 
ordinary  grower  that  most  of  the  prizes  came.  Such  members 
were  not  always  fond  of  flower  shows,  but  they  were  fond  of 
those  little  books  the  society  provides — books  on  Rose  culture. 
Roses  are  exceedingly  popular  at  the  present  time,  and  this  was 
because  gardens  now-a-days  might  be  all  Roses,  and  in  bloom 
from  early  summer  to  winter  by  a  wise  selection  of  the  different 
sections. 
The  toast  of  “  The  Visitors  ”  came  from  Mr.  G.  Paul,  coupling 
with  it  the  name  of  Air.  Harman  Payne,  who,  as  Mr.  Paul 
banteringly  remarked,  had  been  reported  to  have  said  that  the 
N.R.S.  was  mostly  composed  “of  old  maids  and  country  par¬ 
sons.”'  Mr.  Harman  Payne  (an  Ofhcier  du  Societe  Merite 
Agricole),  in  his  charming  style,  soon  put  himself  right  with  the 
members  of  the  Rose  Society.  The  toast  of  the  “Horticultural 
Press”  was  proposed  by  Air.  F.  Cant  and  responded  to  by  Mr.  G. 
Gordon.  The  very  pleasant  meeting  broke  up  about  nine 
o’clock. 
The  Horticultural  Hall. 
I  trust  I  am  not  too  late  to  take  part  in  the  debate  on  this 
matter,  What  I  and  a  good  many  others  desire  to  know  is,  Will 
the  average  gardener  assist  the  funds?  Unless  he  be  a  Fellow, 
there  are  hundreds  of  good  gardeners  who  have  never  seen  the 
inside  of  the  present  hall,  and  are  just  as  likely  never  to  see 
the  inside  of  the  new  one  ;  yet  they  would  give  their  “  brick  ’’ 
for  the  sake  of  “  our  common  cause,”  the  advancement  of  horti¬ 
culture.  I  think  there  should  be  a  museum  somewhere  in  the 
new  building,  and  a  meeting  room  for  country  gardeners  who  are 
not  Fellows,  but  who  are  willing  to  subscribe  to  the  new  hall. 
AVe  should  have  a  hall  for  the  United  Kingdom,  not  a  metro¬ 
politan  affair,  but  a  headquarters  for  all  genuine  “  blue  aprons,” 
whether  as  head  gardener  to  a  Duke,  or  a  single-handed  gardener 
to  a  doctor.  Is  the  Council  willing  to  offer  outsiders  (I  mean 
non-Fellows)  something  in  return  for  their  “bricks”?  I  pro¬ 
pose  that  every  gardener  in  a  situation  gives  at  least  a  florin, 
and  every  man  under  him  a  shilling ;  he,  or  they,  to  give  more 
if  so  disposed,  and  where  possible  to  ask  their  employers  also 
to  subscribe.  I  think  that  if  the  Council  would  make  it  clear 
what  benefit  the  non-Fellows  would  derive  from  the  hall, 
“  bricks  ”  would  come  in  much  quicker,  and  maybe  a  bit  of 
granite  for  the  front.  At  any  rate,  the  writer’s  “  brick  ”  and  his 
men’s  are  waiting  to  see  what  the  Council  offer. 
Bournemouth.  C.  S.  Ritchie. 
The  Bothy  Plan  Competition. 
I  have  taken  great  interest  in  the  bothy  plan  scheme  from 
the  beginning,  and  hope  that  the  idea  will  be  a  success,  and 
will  find  many  competitors.  The  higher  amount  stipulated  in 
your  last  number  as  the  maximum  cost  of  the  building  will 
have  freed  some  competitors  from  difficulties  on  this  point. 
[Note  that  the  cost  must  not  exceed  the  amount  stated,  though 
it  may  be  ,less. — Ed.]  As  you  say,  it  may  not  be  a  difficult 
matter  to  draw  a,  suitable  plan,  but  it,  nevertheless,  requires 
great  forethought,  and  such  work,  it  must  be  remembered,  is 
the  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood  for  many  persons.  To  persons 
not  acquainted  with  building  it  is  not  quite  so  .easy  as  it  looks : 
the  part  I  cannot  comprehend  is  what  is  termed  “  general 
items.”  How  is  a  person  quite  uninitiated  to  give  an  estima¬ 
tion  of  the  general  items  of  a  building  when  there  is  such  a  lot 
to  know  about  the  business?  Why,  if  the  “common”  journey¬ 
man  can  do  such  work  off-handed  ( ?)  he  would,  I  venture  to  sup¬ 
pose,  find  work  in  another  atmosphere!  [See  footnote. — Ed.] 
There  is  much  to  be  taken  into  consideration  to  be  able  to  give 
a  satisfactory  estimate  of  general  items,  and  is  unusual  in  such 
a  case  (?).  A  certain  figure  is  stated,  and  then  circumstances 
make  the  profits  variable,  and  it  is  the  profits  that  a  business 
man  must  look  to.  I  asked  two  men,  an  architect  and  a 
builder,  what  they  would  charge  me  for  “  ideas  ”  and  “  a  plan  ”  ; 
they  both  said  the  lowest  they  could  do  was  half-a-guinea. 
How  many  bothyites  can  afford  to  pay  that  sum  for  help,  and 
get  no  prize  perhaps?  It  will  be  those  fortunate  ones  who  have 
friends  in  the  line  that  will  have  the  best  ideas,  and  therefore 
stand  a  chance  of  obtaining  a  prize ;  but  I  do  hope  those  who 
love  the  work  and  yet  cannot  afford  to  pay  high  prices,  or  have 
no  influential  friends,  will  send  in  a  plan,  for  it  is  plans  from, 
the  both]/  that  will  be  looked  for.  Air.  Editor,  is  that  not  so? 
I  trust  it  will  be  those  plans  that  will  be  considered,  with 
respect  to  the  circumstances  under  which  they  originated ;  for 
it  is  hardly  possible  for  a  gardener  to  be  able  to  compete  with 
an  archiect,  or  vice  versa.  By  all  means  state  a  figure  as  to 
cost,  but  if  “  general  items  ”  is  made  law  I  know  one  who  will 
be  thrown  out. — W.  H.  Rabjoiin. 
[The  above  is  a  remarkable  letter  in  this2  that  the  writer  of 
it  seems  to  have  missed  the  points  which  we  have  tried  to  lay 
down  in  our  solicitation  for  a  bothy  plan.  We  agree  that  it 
requires  “  considerable  forethought  ”  in  order  to  produce  a  meri¬ 
torious  plan,  and  we  had  no  conception  that  “  a  common  jour¬ 
neyman  ”  would  ever  think  to  produce  a  plan  “off-hand.”  It 
was  partly  in  order  that  oompetitors  might  have  time  to  duly 
investigate  the  matter — which  experience  should  be  invaluable 
to  a  gardener— that  the  final  date  of  closing  the  competition 
was  deferred.  Our  correspondent  is  wrong  in  saying  that-  it  is 
unusual  to  furnish  an  estimate  of  cost  when  a  draughtsman 
submits  a  plan.  What  value  would  attach  to  a  plan  if  it  did 
not  qualify  with  the  stipulated  cost  ?  In  his  next  point,  the 
