144 
February  18,  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE 
of  Edinburgh,  erected  a  monument  in  Dalkeith  Cemetar-y  to  the 
memoi’y  of  the  late  Mr.  Malcolm  Dunn,  gardener  at  Dalkeith  Palace, 
■who,  with  his  well  known  enthusiasm  and  universality  of  aim,  took 
great  interest  in  all  its  proceedings,  and  for  years  was  one  of  its  most 
active  and  valuable'  members.  “  The  Arboricultural has  still  funds 
to  commemorate  Mr.  Dunn's  memory  in  some  other  way  associated 
with  forestry.  *  # 
The  annual  and  jubilee  meeting  was  held  in  the  rooms  of  the 
Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  St.  Andrew  Street,  and  was 
very'  largely  attended.  Mr.  Steuart  Fotheringham,  of  Murthly, 
occupied  the  chair,  while  among  those  present  were  Sir  Kenneth 
Mackenzie,  of  Gairloch  :  Sir  Archibald  Hepburn,  of  Smeaton, 
Major  Cacldell,  Colonel  Bailey  (Lecturer  on  Forestry),  Dr. 
Somerville,  Sir  Ralph  Anstruther,  &c. 
The  annual  report  was  read  by  the  secretary,  and  .showed 
that  the  society  maintains  the  progress  that  has  attended  it 
for  many  years,  the  number  of  members  now  being  1016,  an 
increase  of  sixty-one  over  last  year.  All  the  various  enterprises 
of  the  society  had  been  successfully  carried  on;  the  finances 
were  very  favourably  reported  on,  a  clear  balance  of  £90  having 
accrued  on  the  year,  with  a  total  accumulated  fund  of 
£1,229  7s.  6d.  The  reports  were  unanimously  adopted,  and 
members  of  council  were  elected  in  room  of  those  retiring. 
The  following  were  elected  honorary  life  members  of  the 
•society: — The  Right  Honble.  the  Earl  of  Mansfield,  Colonel 
Bailey,  F.R.S.E.,  Lecturer  on  Forestry;  Dr.  Somerville, 
assistant  secretary  Board  of  Agriculture;  Mr.  J.  G.  Thomson, 
wood  manager  to  the  Countess  of  Seafield,  Strathsirey ;  Mr. 
James  Kay,  wood  manager  to  the  Marquis  of  Bute;  and  Mr. 
D.  F.  Mackenzie,  factor,  Mortonhall. 
On  account  of  the  absence  of  a  number  of  prominent  members 
it  had  been  arranged,  previous  to  the  meeting,  to  postpone 
the  forestry  conference  till  July,  at  Perth,  when  a  short  excur¬ 
sion  will  ahso  be  made  to  the  famous  woods  at  Murthly  and 
Scone  Palace. 
A  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  calling  on  the  Board 
of  Agriculture  “  now  to  take  steps  to  give  effect  to  the  recom¬ 
mendation  of  the  Departmental  Committee  on  Forestry,  by  pro¬ 
viding  an  estate  to  serve  as  a  State  Forest  Demomstration  Area, 
and  also  by  providing  plots  in  connection  with  Edinburgh 
Tniversity  to  carry  on  forestry  education.” 
When  the  formal  business  had  been  completed  the  president 
gave  a  short  address  to  the  members  on  the  past  history  of  the 
society,  giving,  in  a  few  sentences,  the  leading  facts  of  the 
society’s  progress  as  noted  in  this  report. 
Mr.  Fraser  Story  then  delivered  a  most  intersting  and 
instructive  lecture  on  ”  German  Forestry,”  with  lantern  illustra¬ 
tions.  Mr.  Story  detailed  in  a  clear  and  rapid  manner  the 
various  items  of  interest  in  the  progress  of  plantations  in 
Germany,  illustrating  very  clearly  all  the  different  methods  by 
very  excellent  photographs,  taken  by  Mr.  Story  himself.  Mr. 
Story  urged  strongly  on  his  audience  to  study  the  v’arious 
German  methods,  and  wherever  they  could  be  adopted  in  our 
country  to  adopt  them.  A  very  interesting  discussion  followed, 
taken  part  in  by  Mr.  Davidson,  of  the  English  Arboricultural 
Society ;  Mr.  Ehves,  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society ;  Mr. 
Richardson,  and  others.  Votes  of  thanks  to  the  lecturer  and  to 
Mr.  Steuart  Fotheringham,  for  his  conduct  in  the  chair,  brought 
the  afternoon  meeting  to  a  close. 
In  the  evening  the  members  to  the  number  of  about  ninety 
dined  in  the  Royal  British  Hotel,  the  presideiit,  Mr.  Fothering¬ 
ham,  in  the  chair,  and  Sir  Kenneth  Mackenzie  acting  as  croupier. 
The  attendance  was  representative  of  the  members,  and  in¬ 
cluded  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  Edinbui’gh  Town  Council, 
the  leading  nuserymen  in  Edinburgh,  and  several  from  a  dis¬ 
tance.  After  dinner  a  long  and  interesting  toast  list  was  gone 
through,  and  a  highly  enjoyable  evening  was  spent. 
The  chairman,  in  a  happy  vein,  proposed  the  loyal  toasts. 
In  replying  to  the  toast  of  the  “  Imperial  Forces”  Major 
Caddell  made  a  highly  original  and  amusing  speech,  connecting 
the  Imperial  Forces  with  Fore.stry,  inasmuch  as  a  navy  could  not 
exist  without  wood. 
Dr.  Somerville,  in  an  eloquent  and  interesting  speech,  pro¬ 
posed  the  toast  of  the  evening,  “  The  Royal  Arboricultural 
Society  of  Scotland,”  reviewing  many  of  the  early  experiences 
of  the  society,  and  showing  how  that  many  of  its  early  aspira¬ 
tions  had  been  realised,  and  that  others,  though  not  quite 
achieved,  were  now  in  view  and  might  be  expected  soon  to  be 
achieved.  Mr.  Steuart  Fotheringham  replied  in  a  happy  vein. 
Among  other  toasts  submitted  and  warmly  pledged  were 
“  Our  Guest.s,”  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Massie,  replied  to  by  Mr. 
Grant  Thomson  ;  “  The  Landed  Interest,”  by  Mr.  David  P.  Laird, 
and  replied  to  by  Sir  K.  Mackenzie;  “Agricultural  Colleges,” 
proposed  by  Mr.  McHattie.  and  i-eplied  to  by  Judge  Maepher- 
son ;  “  The  Press  ”  and  "  The  Clergy  ”  were  also  proposed  and 
responded  to  ;  and  “  The  Chairman  ”  was  neatly  and  eloquently 
propo.sed  by  Mr.  Mather,  nurseryman,  Kelso,  and  duly 
responded  to.  Proceedings  of  the  afternoon  and  evening  were 
of  great  interest  and  of  much  educational  value,  and  mu.st  do 
much  to  stimulate  greater  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  members. 
AND  COTTAGE  GARDE  NEB. 
The  Royal  Horticultural  Society's  Subscription. 
Although  the  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  at 
their  meeting  did  not  give  effect  to  the  views  I  expressed  in  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture,  I  do  not  think  that  one  has  much  to 
complain  of.  The  entrance  fee  agreed  to  is  not  a  heavy  one, 
and,  as  it  is  not  to  be  levied  from  woi'king  gardeners,  it  will 
not  press  hardly  upon  a  body  of  men  who  ought  to  be  numbered 
largely  among  the  Fellows  of  the  .society.  The  decision  come 
to  will  not  be  likely  to  reduce  to  any  extent  the  number  of 
tho.se  who  join  the  society,  and  it  wdl,  at  the  same  time,  add 
a  considerable  sum  to  its  funds.  The  suggestion  that  those  who 
wishecl  the  Journal  of  the  .society  should  ijay  an  additional 
subscription  would  hardly  have  w'orked  out  wmll  in  practice,  and 
it  would  not  have  helped  the  position  of  the  Fellows  at  a  dis¬ 
tance  from  London,  whose  interests,  thanks  to  your  courtesy, 
I  had  an  opportunity  of  advocating. — A  Far-aw'ay  Fellowu 
Exporting  Plants  to  the  Continent:  An  Inconvenience. 
Having  read  your  note  on  page  557  of  Decemoer  17  with 
reference  to  the  .sending  of  flowers  to  the  Continent,  especially 
to  Germany,  I  answer  your  questioir :  “  Are  really  healthy  plants 
forbidden?”  by  saying  “Yes.”  If  England  is  not  concerned 
with  the  International  Phylloxera  Convention,  other  countries 
are,  and  any  parcel  .sent  to  Germany  (or  another  Europea?! 
country)  containing  plant.s  with  roots  will  be  examined  in  a 
special  office  for  phylloxera  before  forwarding  to  the  addressee. 
Many  fiimis  have  had  a  very  bad  experience  in  this  matter.  I 
remember  once  that  a  German  firm  ordered  a  large  quantity  of 
rooted  cuttings  of  Dahlia  novelties  (phylloxera  certificate  was 
enclosed),  and  after  paying  a  large  sum  for  the  examination  the 
plants  were  then  forwarded.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  nearly 
all  the  plants  were  spoiled  in  consequence  of  being  too  lon.g  on 
the  journey.  That  is  the  only  reason  why  many  German  firms 
do  not  like  to  buy  similar  plants  from  England,  and  this  must 
cause  great  loss  to  England’s  horticultural  trade  abroad. — 
Frank  Koehler,  correspondent  of  “  Die  Gartenwelt.” 
The  Gardeners’  Association. 
In  the  issue  for  February  11,  “Provincial”  has  advanced 
certain  i-emarks  which,  though  excellent  enough  in  their  way, 
appear  to  me  quite  outside  practical  application  and  realisatioJi. 
It  is  true  enough  that  numbers  of  other  professions  have  their 
institutes  or  guilds:,  to  have  passed  the  degrees  of  which,  entitle 
the  examinees  to  place  certain  letters  to  their  names,  and  these 
are  usually  recognised  as  not  only  raising  or  assuring  the  status 
of  the  holders,  but  also  as  increa.sing  the  value  of  .services 
rendered.  Suppose  for  a  moment  that  the  friends  of  young 
gardeners  are  ready  and  able  to  pay  for  an  increased  cost  of 
education  and  maintenance ;  suppo.sing,  also,  that  young  me?i 
have  attained  to  success  and  obtained  the  right  to  affix  certain 
magical  letters  to  their  names,  will  employers  evince  an  over¬ 
whelming  desire  to  employ  the.se  highly-trained  mortals?  Not 
they!  And  then  after  this  expenditure  of  time  and  money, 
what  is  the  reward  in  the  shape  of  income?  Perhaps  £60  to 
£100  per  annum,  and  frequently  a  difficulty  in  obtaining  this 
noble  rate  of  remuneration. 
It  has  been  hinted  that  the  proposed  association  would 
endeavour  to  obtain  a  higher  rate  of  pay  for  its  members.  Very 
good  project  indeed!  "We  shall  all  be  agreed  as  to  the  merits 
of  the  case  heie.  But  those  who  pay  the  labour  account  may 
very  truthfully  say  that  their  burden  is  already  sufficiently 
heavy.  If  a  cord  is  overstrained  it  breaks,  and  we  may  be 
sure  that  should  a  fe-v  individuals  obtain  more  in  payment  thei-b 
will  be  a  less  number  to  receive  the  money.  Garden  expenses 
are  all  too  often  looked  upon  as  a  neces.sary  evil,  and  must  be 
kept  in  check.  Anything  that  tends  to  increase  the  expenses 
of  private  gardening  i.s  only  so  much  inducement  for  employers 
to  turn  for  their  produce  to  the  market  grower,  and  many  of 
them  already  say  that  they  can  purchase  a  great  deal  of  garden 
produce  much  cheaper  than  they  can  grow  it  at  home.  In  the 
face  of  this  and  the  continued  increase  in  size  and  numbers  of 
market  establishments,  can  it  be  expected  that  the  private 
gardener’s  wages  will  be  raised? 
There  is  also  the  question  of  .social  status.  What  is  it  the 
gardener  expects  in  this  connection?  Does  he  expect  his 
employer  to  invite  him  to  dinner?  Of  course  not,  though  in 
