March  17,  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
239 
United  Horticultural  Benefit  and  Provident. 
The  annual  general  meeting  was  held  in  London  last  iMonday 
evening,  Mr.  Horace  J.  Wright  presiding,  when  the  report  of 
the  committee  for  1903  (which  we  must  hold  over),  together  with 
the  financial  statement,  were  read  and  approved.  In  proposing 
the  adoption  of  the  report,  the  chairman  said  that  the  thirty- 
eight  years’  progress  made  hy  the  society  was  poor,  but  this  was 
no  reflection  on  the  managers — it  was  a  reflection  on  the 
gardeners  of  the  United  Kingdom.  Mr.  Wright,  in  a  later  part 
of  his  speech,  cited  the  case  of  a  mntnal  improvenient  society 
which  had  intended  to  form  a  benefit  society  within  itself,  the 
members  being  quite  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  a  great  gardeners’ 
benefit  society,  with  £22,749  Ts.  lOd.  capital,  already  existed.  One 
is  tempted  in  this  place  to  ask  why  the  I.eeds  gardeners  found 
it  necessary  to  establish  an  opposition  society  instead  of 
strengthening  the  already  existent  body?  “The  United”  has 
a  member.ship  of  1,016;  its  financial  condition  is  absolutely 
impregnable,  and  the  benefits  of  this  society  over  general  benefit 
.societies  are  most  substantial. 
Mr.  Wright  quoted  figures  to  .show  the  ratio  of  increase  of 
membership  since  1871,  when  only  forty  names  were  on  the 
books.  By  1880  eighty-seven  mem¬ 
bers  had  joined.  From  1880  to 
1890  a  large  increase  was  made, 
namely  to  353,  which  was  attributecl 
to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  .John  Wright 
by  his  advocacy  in  the  pages  of  the 
Jnurnal  of  Horticulfuvp.  In  that 
decade  the  society  had  multiplied  its 
previous  number  by  four.  Then 
from  1890  to  1900  it  rose  to  846 ; 
and  from  1900  to  1904  to  1,016, 
equal  to  a  quarter  of  the  actual 
previous  membership.  The  net  gain 
for  last  year  was  fifty. 
The  chairman  next  touched  upon 
the  question  of  advertising,  and 
suggested  that  the  surest  and  best 
means  of  reaching  the  gardeners 
was  by  sending  a  representative  to 
the  mutual  improvement  associa¬ 
tions.  He  thought  these  bodies 
would  willingly  set  aside  one  even¬ 
ing  for  a  discussion  so  fraught  with 
pos-sibilities  to  themselves.  Com¬ 
paring  one  benefit  society  with 
another  may  be  odious,  continued 
the  speaker,  but  it  was  unquestion¬ 
ably  educational.  Mr.  Wright  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  small  amount  utilised 
from  the  Convalescent  Fund 
(£4  10s.),  and  showed  that  the 
interest  on  that  fund  was  more 
than  three  times  as  much  as  the 
amount  disbursed.  He  thought 
that  ten  shillings  per  week  was 
ludicrously  small,  and  .suggested 
giving  a  lump  sum,  or  at  lea.st  a 
much  larger  weekly  amount.  He 
formally  moved  the  adoption  of  the  report. 
In  seconding,  Mr.  C.  H.  Curtis  impres.sed  on  the  meeting 
the  fact  that  members  accumulate  balances  which  they  can 
draw  at  sixty  years  of  age,  or  at  seventy,  if  they  wish  still 
to  be  benefit  members.  I^apsed  members  can  also  withdraw 
their  amounts  at  the  age  of  sixty.  Some  of  the  earlier  mem¬ 
bers  had  now  so  much  as  £117  to  their  credit.  Regarding  the 
society’s  finances,  the.se  are  sufficient  to  pay  £22  to  every 
member  at  the  present  time,  and  it  was  stated  that  no  other 
similar  society  could  say  the  same. 
Mr.  A.  J.  Brown,  School  of  Handicrafts,  Chert, sey,  also 
spoke  on  the  report.  He  was  of  opinion  that  the  weekly 
amounts  paid  from  the  Convalescent  Fund  should  be  fifteen 
shillings  to  eighteen  shillings  at  the  least.  ]\Ir.  Brown  inferred 
to  the  National  Deposit  Society  as  being  equally  as  good  as 
“  The  United,”  with  the  advantage  that  in  time  of  distress  a 
member  could  withdraw  part  of  his  money.  iMen  earning  a 
guinea  per  week  could  not  .save  money  against  the  contingencies 
of  death,  and  “The  United”  provides  no  death  money.  He 
supported  the  .suggestion  that  the  mutual  improvement  societies 
bo  approached,  and  stated  that  he  had  volunteered  to  address 
a  meeting  on  the  subject  of  gardening  charities  and  the  benefit 
society.  The  report  was  unanimomsly  agreed  to. 
It  was  voted  that  3,000  copies  of  the  report  and  balance- 
sheet  be  printed  and  circidated.  The  members  of  committee 
were  elected,  two  new  members  (Mr.  E.  F.  Hawes,  Royal  Botanic 
Gardens,  Regent’s  Park,  and  Mr.  W.  Wesker,  Wandsworth) 
being  added  in  place  of  Mr.  T.  Humphreys,  now  of  Birmingham, 
and  Mr.  S!  Summers.  Mr.  W.  Collins  was  unanimously  re¬ 
elected  secretary,  a  position  he  has  held  for  seventeen  years. 
Mr.  Collins  has  been  thirty-five  years  a  member  of  the  society, 
and  most  of  that  period  had  been  in  office.  Mr.  Janies  Hudson, 
V.iM.H.,  who  was  absent  through  illness,  was  re-elected 
treasurer,  and  received  a  very  hearty  vote  of  thanks  for  his 
consistent  and  valuable  .services. 
Mr.  .John  Wright,  V.M.H.,  proposed  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
the  trustees.  By  way  of  adding  to  the  membership  he  s.aid 
there  was  such  a  thing  as  every  member  securing  another.  He 
expressed  a  strong  hope  that  every  one  connected  with  the 
society  would,  in  the  intere.sts  of  the  rising  generation  of 
gardeners,  press  the  matter  on  every  hand.  He  hoped  it  would 
get  richer  and  richer,  and  do  more  and  more  good,  and  ended 
by  quoting  the  toast  of  the  Fruiterers’  Company:  “May  this 
society  grow  and  flourish,  root  and  branch,  for  ever  and  ever.” 
The  concluding  piece  of  business  was  a  formal  recommenda¬ 
tion  made  by  Mr.  A.  .1.  Brown  to  the  Rules  Sub-committee 
(and  seconded)  to  the  effect  that  they  consider  the  advisability 
of  appropriating  the  sum  of  fifteen  guineas  to  compensate  the 
committee  for  their  travelling  expenses,  and  to  report  to  a 
special  general  meeting  to  be  called  in  May.  This  recommenda¬ 
tion  was  at  first  in  danger  of  falling  to  the  ground  from  want 
of  a  seconder;  then  it  was  beaten  by  one  vote,  which,  .seeming 
inconclusive,  another  show  of  hands  was  taken,  when  a  large 
majority  voted  in  its  favour.  The  principle  of  paying  com¬ 
mitteemen’s  fares  will  thus  be  thoroughly  debated.  The 
secretary’s  address  is  9,  Martindale  Road,  Balham,  S.W. 
Sheffield  Chrysanthemum. 
At  the  monthly  meeting  some  good  exhibits  of  Daffodils  were 
shown,  and  Messrs.  Artindale  staged  some  nice  plants  of  Azalea 
indica  and  Lilac.  Mr.  W.  Snowden  gave  an  essay  on  “  Impres¬ 
sions  of  the  Horticultural  Traders’  visit  to  Holland  and  Belgiiim 
in  1903,”  and  in  his  racy  style  kept  his  auditors’  attention  for 
about  an  hour,  describing  the  places  and  firms  visited,  the 
peoples  and  methods,  the  cnstoms,  Ac.  He  gave  some  very 
humorons  descriptions  of  incidents  during  the  tour,  also  of  some 
of  the  individuals  forming  the  party.  Seldom  is  an  essay  heard 
wherein  every  point  is  made  to  tell  as  was  the  case  in  this, 
or  where  the  rapt  attention  of  the  audience  is  .so  well  main¬ 
tained,  and  from  the  arrangement  of  matter  and  the  splendid 
delivery  of  it  one  may  be  excused  if  he  is  led  to  expect  that 
something  more  mav  be  heard  of  IVIr.  Snowden  in  the  future.- 
W.  L. 
Strawberries  are  to  be  seen  in  the  fruiterers  window.s.  A 
basket  of  six  is  marked  3s.  6d. 
Fruit  as  a  Necessary  Food. — lender  this  title  Mr.  Henry 
Canned,  of  Swanley,  delivered  an  address  before  the  Chi.slehurst 
Gardeners’  Society  at  a  very  recent  date.  Mr.  Canned  is  a 
Aved-known  .staunch  vegetarian,  and  has  splendid  arguments  m 
favour  of  his  tenets.  The  lecture  proved  to  be  of  great  interest, 
coming  from  one  with  such  a  wide  experience. 
Apple,  Northern  Greening. 
