, W ?% ■\ : DF >, 1880. WASH»« c t BOSTON : PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. 1880. ft. ■ Ms i COPYRIGHT, 1880, BY THE MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Stereotyped and Printed By Rand, Avery, {?> Company, 117 Franklin Street, Bolton. PREFACE. The first movement towards the present work was on the 7th of January, 1854, when, on motion of Charles M. Hovey, it was voted " that the Committee on Publication be request- ed to consider the propriety of publishing so much of the history and proceedings of the Society as they may deem im- portant for present use and future reference." In January, 1859, and also in January, 1860, the subject was again con- sidered; but no action appears to have been taken until 1861. On the 7th of February, of that year, on motion of Edward S. Rand, it was voted " that a committee of six (of which the president shall be chairman) be appointed, who shall be au- thorized to collect and publish, in a form to correspond with the present Transactions of the Society, a complete record of all its proceedings from 1829 to 1862, inclusive, together with such other matter as shall in their judgment be desirable or necessary to complete a full and connected history of the Society from its commencement to the present time, and that the Committee be authorized to employ such assistance in the preparation of the work as they may find necessary." This committee consisted of President Joseph Breck, Edward S. Rand, Marshall P. Wilder, Charles M. Hovey, Joseph S. Cabot, and Eben Wight. Rev. Luther Farnham was appoint- iii iv PREFACE. ed editor, and prepared the history to the close of the year 1862. President Breck stated in his valedictory address in January, 18G3, that the work would require revision, and there the subject rested for some years. In 1871, it was placed in the hands of a new committee, consisting of President William C. Strong, Marshall P. Wilder, Charles M. Hovey, Francis Parkman, Charles O. Whit more, and E. W. Buswell, who employed the present secretary of the Society to revise and complete the work. Under their direction and that of the Standing Committee on Publication and Discussion, it has been brought down to include the first half century of the Society's existence. The sources from which the materials of the History have been derived besides the Records and Transactions of the Society are mainly the New England Farmer, the Magazine of Horticulture, and the Horticulturist. Other sources of information are acknowledged in notes, especially in the in- troductory chapter. This, it is believed, comprises a fuller account of the commencement and progress of horticulture throughout our country than can be found elsewhere, and will be of general interest. The Committee have added to the work a portrait of Gen. Dearborn, to whom as its first president the Society is most indebted for that prestige which it has ever retained under his successors, and which has secured for it a foremost place among similar institutions. The volume is also enriched with views of the halls erected by the Society. The appen- dix contains, besides the matters referred to in the body of the work, a list of all the officers and members of the Society from its foundation. The editor, Robert Manning, has brought to the work the utmost faithfulness and a constant endeavor to secure strict accuracy. The investigation of PREFACE. V records often obscure has required much time and labor, and unwearied application, and to him is due the credit of bring- ing the history to its present form. The work meets the ap- proval of the Committee of Publication, and they believe will be received with favor by the members of the Society and the public at large. With the above account of the origin and progress of the work it is now offered as a simple and truthful record of the history of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and as a contribution to the history of American horticulture. WILLIAM C. STRONG, A. B. MUZZEY, E. LEWIS STURTEVANT, Committee of Publication. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. PAGE. Sketch of the History of Horticulture in the United States up to 1829 1 CHAPTER I. The Organization and Objects of the Society ... 55 CHAPTER II. Mount Auburn purchased by the Horticultural Society, and an Experimental Garden and Cemetery estab- lished 69 CHAPTER III. The Progress of Mount Auburn under the Auspices of the Horticultural Society, and the Separation of the Two Interests by Mutual Agreement ... 85 CHAPTER IV. The Finances of the Society 119 CHAPTER V. The Rooms occupied by the Society, including the Erec- tion and Dedication of the First and Second Horti- cultural Halls 140 CHAPTER VI. The Library of the Society . . . . *. . . 184 vii viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PAGE. The Exhibitions of the Society, 1829-1844 .... 213 CHAPTER VIII. The Exhibitions of the Society, 1845-1864 .... 271 CHAPTER IX. The Exhibitions of the Society, 1865-1878 .... 346 CHAPTER X. General Review of the Work and Influence of the So- APPENDIX. 454 Acts of Incorporation; Standing Committees, 1829; Sub- scribers for the First Hundred Lots in Mount Auburn; Acts authorizing the Society to establish a Ceme- tery; Act to incorporate the Proprietors of Mount Auburn ; Indentures between the Society and Mount Auburn ; Reports of Standing Committees, 1829 ; Award of Premiums, 1830 ; Officers and Members of the Society 475 INTRODUCTION. SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF HORTICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES UP TO THE TEAR 1829. The history of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society may be appropriately introduced by a sketch of the commencement and progress of horticulture in this country, and especially in Massa- chusetts, previously to the formation of the Societ}^. Though the primary object of the first settlers of the State was freedom in the enjoyment of civil and religious libert}', their attention was, like that of all other colonists, turned to the cultivation of the soil as a means of subsistence. They brought with them a share of that love of gardening which the}' had in their former home, and we find them, from the very first, engaged in the growth, not only of the grains which afford the staff of life, but of fruits and vegetables, which, to a certain extent, are regarded as luxuries ; and one or two notices show that the cultivation of flowers was not wholly neglected. The report brought by the explorers sent out by the Pilgrims on the 16th of November, 1620, that they found "clivers fair Indian baskets, filled with corn, some whereof was in ears, fair and good, of divers colors, which seemed to them a very goodly sight, having seen none before, of which rarities they took some to cany to their friends on shipboard, like as the Israelites' spies brought from Eshcol some of the good fruits of the land," 1 is in the spirit of men who not only rejoiced in finding the means of subsistence, but loved the culture of the ground. The scattered notices in the early writers show the Pilgrims as glad to learn of the aborigines the method of manuring and plant- ing their fields of Indian corn. " Squanto showed them how to set, 1 Morton's New England's Memorial, p. 40, ed. 1828. 2 INTRODUCTION. Bsh, dress and tend it." ' The Indians used to put two or throe fishes (generally alewives, though sometimes shad or horseshoe crabs were used) into every corn-hill. 9 The Pilgrims were obliged to watch their corn by night, to keep the wolves from the fish, until it was rotten, which was in about fourteen days. 8 And in L621 "the governor requested Massasoit to exchange some of their corn, for seed, with ours, that we might judge which best agreed with the soil where we live." The natives were acquainted with the advan- tage of selecting the finest ears of corn for seed, and taught the settlers to do the same. 4 The}- possessed varieties adapted to the warmer or colder parts of the country. One field cultivated by them in the present State of Maine is said to have comprised three hundred acres. Their practice of planting corn when the leaves of the white oak were as large as a mouse's oar has come down to our own time. The savages were accustomed to burn the country over twice a year, viz., in spring and fall: otherwise it would have been grown over with underwood, and impassable. By this means the trees grew hero and there, as in parks. 6 In the spring of 1621, which followed that first winter " of awful sublimity of suffering," the Pilgrims at Plymouth had made con- siderable progress in gardening as early as the first of March ; the season, most fortunately, being a forward one. They planted twenty acres of Indian corn, and six acres of barley and pease. manuring the ground with herrings, or rather shads, after the Indian manner. The corn did well, the barley was "indifferent good, but our pease not worth the gathering, for we feared they were too late sown. They came up very well, and blossomed : but the sun parched them in the blossom." 6 As early as 1632 there might have been seen in one township a hundred acres together sot with these fish, every aero taking a thousand of them ; and an acre thus dressed would produce as much corn as throe without. 7 " Here are grapes." wrote Edward Winslow in 1621, " white and red, and very sweet and strong also; strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, &c. ; plums of three sorts, white, black, and red, being almosl as good as a damson ; abundance of roses, white, red. and damask, single, but very sweet indeed." 8 i Young's < hnm. of the Filgrinusp. 230. r ' Morton's New Eng- Canaan, Bk. 1. Chap. XVITT. ' Ibid., i>. -1. o Young's Chronicles, p. 230. » Ibid., p. 371. 7 Morton's X. E. Canaan, Bk. II. Chap. VII. I K. port of the Mass. Board of Agriculture, 1853, p. 5. 8 Young's Chronicles, p. :34. HORTICULTURE OF THE PILGRIMS. 3 Besides records of farm and garden crops planted bj" the Pil- grims for their immediate sustenance, other memorials have come down to us in the very trees set out by them, such as the apple tree planted at Marshfield, about 1G48, by Peregrine White, the first Englishman born in New England. This survived as a rep- resentative of his orchard, and the land on which it stood passed b}' inheritance to his descendants, until a few years ago, when, being sold, the tree was cut down by the purchaser. A lithograph of the old tree may be found in Russell's Guide to Plymouth, published in 1846, when it was described as measuring seventeen feet in height, and the old trunk, then mostly decayed, six feet in length and four and one-half feet in circumference, and as still bearing fruit. The pear tree imported from England by Gov. Prence or Prince, about 1640, and planted on his homestead at Eastham, on Cape Cod, was described in 1836 as a flourishing, lofty tree, producing, on an average, fifteen bushels of fruit a 3-ear. 1 The fruit is medium sized, oval, green nearly covered with russet, ripening in September, of poor quality by modern pomological standards, and known by the general name of Fall pear. The suck- ers springing up from the root produce the same, proving that it has never been grafted. In the memorable storm when the Minot's Ledge lighthouse was destroyed, in April, 1851, the larger of two stems which then formed the tree was blown down. The remain- ing stem is now, according to the testimony of Capt. Ezekiel Doane, the present owner of the tree, about five feet around the butt, and thirty-five feet high. Another pear tree, still standing in Yarmouth, was planted by Anthoiv^ Thacher, about 1640, near where his house then stood. It is a large, rotten-hearted tree, having lost all its old branches, but thrown out many new ones. It is a summer pear of inferior qualit}\ The tree produced a fair crop in 1872. 2 Besides these trees, many others planted by the first settlers, or before the year 1700, are yet standing, and a still greater number are remembered as having perished since the commencement of the present century. They were all, however, of inferior quality as to their fruit, but all strong growers. Large trees of the High- top Sweeting, of very ancient date, as well as other varieties of apples, are still standing in the Old Colony. A row of Hightop 1 Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture, Vol. VT. p. 430. 2 Letter from Amos Otia of Yarmouthport. 4 INTRODUCTION. Sweetings in Marshfield is reputed to have been planted more than two hundred years ago. Mr. Otis, whose letter is quoted above, Bays, that, in many historical researches, he has found that the first settlers in Barnstable and Yarmouth, with scarcely an exception, planted pear trees near their dwellings, and that this fact has enabled him to determine localities which would otherwise have been doubtful. The Red Kentish was the only cherry, and the Damson the only plum cultivated. The seeds of these as well as of the other trees were brought by the Pilgrims from England. The " Sugar " pear, probably a French variety, brought, perhaps, from Acadia, was introduced about 1680. The Rhode Island Greening apple was introduced about 1765. Up to 17.30, very few apples not originat- ing in the Old Colony were cultivated. All the Hightop Sweetings known were grafted trees. Among the ancient seedling varieties were the Foxwell, Pig Nose, Bachelor's Button, Pearmains, and others. Of seedling pears, the Ewer and Aunt Desire. The poorer sorts of fruit were very early grafted with better kinds. The notices of horticultural operations in the history of the Massachusetts Colony are much fuller than in that of Plymouth. The most prominent persons in these operations were Govs. En- dicott and WInthrop, as at Plymouth Gov. Prince. Either the chroniclers did not think it worth while to record the gardening operations of others, or, as was more probably the case, the colo- nists generally were too much occupied in the cultivation of corn and other crops necessary for their subsistence to undertake the cultivation of fruits and other productions which were classed as luxuries. The land, new and rich in mould, the accumulation of ages, did not require very careful cultivation to secure an abundant return ; but a few years of constant cropping exhausted its productiveness. The Rev. Francis Iligginson, writing in 1629, says, "The aboun- danl encrease of corne proves this eountrc}' to bee a wonderment. Thirtie. lbrtie, fiftie, sixtie, are ordinarie here: Yea, Joseph's encrease in Egypt is out-stript here with us. Our planters hope to have more then an hundred fould this yere. And all this while I am within compasse. What will you sa}- of two hundred fould and upwards? It is almost incredible what great gaine some of our English planters have had by our Indian corne. . . . There is not such grcate and plentifull eares of corne, I suppose anywhere else THE MASSACHUSETTS COLONY. O to bee found but in this countrey: Because also of varietie of colours, as red, blew, and yellow : and of one corne there springeth four or five hundred. . . . Our governor hath store of green pease growing in his garden, as good as ever I eat in England. The countrie aboundeth naturally with store of rootes of great vari- etie and good to eat. Our turnips, parsnips, and carrots are here both bigger and sweeter than is ordinary to be found in England. Here are store of pompions, cowcumbers, and other things of that nature which I know not. . . . Excellent vines are here, up and down in the woodes. Our governor hath already planted a vineyard with great hope of encrease. Also mulberries, plums, rasberries, corrance, chesnuts, filberds, walnuts, smalnuts, hurtleberries, and hawes of whitethorne, neere as good as our cherries in England ; they grow in plentie here." x Master Graves, in his letter appended to the above quoted account of New England's Plantation, gives this glowing descrip- tion of the luxuriance of vegetation in 1629 : — " Thus much I can affirme in generall, that I never came to a more goodly country in all my life, all things considered. If it hath not at any time been manured and husbanded yet it is very beautifull in open lands mixed with goodly woods, and again open plains, in some places five hundred acres, some places more, some lesse, not much troublesome for to cleere for the plough to goe in ; no place barren but on the tops of the hills ; the grasse and weedes grow up to a man's face ; in the lowlands and by fresh rivers aboundance of grasse, and large meddowes without any tree or shrubbe to hinder the sith. I never saw, except in Hungaria, unto which I alwayes paralell this countrie, in all our most respects : for everything that is heare eyther sowne or planted, prospereth far better then in Old England. The increase of corne is here farre beyond expectation, as I have seene here by experience in barly, the which, because it is so much above your conception I will not mention. . . . Vines doe grow here plentifully laden with the biggest grapes that ever I saw : some I have seene foure inches about. . . . Wee abound with such things which, next under God, doe make us subsist : as fish, foule, deere ; and sundrie sorts of fruits, as musk-millions, water-millions, Indian pompions, Indian pease, beanes, and many other odde fruits that I cannot name." 2 i Mass. Historical Society's Collections, First Series, Vol. I. p. 118. 2 Ibid., p. 124. 6 INTRODUCTION". On the arrival of trie " Arabella " at Salem, the 12th of June, 1G30, " the common people immediately went ashore, and regaled themselves with strawberries, which are very fine in America, and were then in perfection." 1 Roger Williams says, "The straw- berry Ls the wonder of all the fruits growing naturally in these parts. In some places where the natives have planted, I have many times seen as many as would fill a good ship within a few miles' compass." 2 The earliest agricultural account of Massachusetts is New- England's Prospect, by William Wood, who came to this coun- try in 1629, and returned to England August 15, 1633. He says : 8 " The ground affoards very good kitchin gardens, for Tur- neps, Parsnips, Carrots. Radishes, and Pompions, Muskmillions, Isquouter-squashes, Coucumbers, Onyons, and whatever growes well in England grows as well there, many things being better and larger : there is likewise growing all manner of Hearbes for meate and medicine, and that not onely in planted Gardens but in the Woods, without either the art or helpe of man as sweet Marjoran, Purselane, Sorrell, Peneriall, Yarrow, Mirtle, Saxifarilla. Bayes, &c. There is likewise Strawberries in abundance, verie large ones, some being two inches about ; one may gather halfe a bushell in a forenoone. In other seasons there be Gooseberries, Bilberries, Resberries, Treackleberries. Hurtleberries, Currants ; which being dried in the Sunne are little inferior to those that our Grocers sell in England." 4 Other natural productions are thus described : — " The Hornebound tree growing with broad spread Armes. the vines winde their curling branches about them ; which vines afford great store of grapes, which are very bigge, both for the grape and Cluster, sweet and good ; These be of two sorts, red and white, there is likewise a smaller kinde of grape which groweth in the Isl- ands, which is sooner ripe and more delectable ; so that there is no knowne reason why as good wine may not be made in those parts as well as in Burdenaux in France being under the same degree. . . . '• The (heme trees yeeld great store of Cherries which grow on clusters like grapes ; they lie much smaller than our English cherry, nothing neare so good if they be not fully ripe, they so furre the mouth that the tongue will cleave to the roofe, and the throat wax 1 Hutchinson's History of Muss., Vol. I. p. 25, ed. 1795. » First ed., p. 11. 1 Mass. riist. Coll., First Series, Vol. III. p. 2a. * Ibid., pp. 11, 12. PROGRESS OF GARDENING. < hoarse with swallowing those red Bullies (as I may call them) being little better in taste. English ordering ma}' bring them to be an English cherrie, but yet they are as wilde as the Indians. The Plursmes of the Countrey be better for Plumbs than the Cherries be for Cherries ; they be blacke and yellow, about the bignesse of a Damson, of a reasonable good taste. The white thorne affords hawes as big as an English Cherrie, which is esteemed above a Cherrie for his goodnesse and pleasantnesse to the taste." * It appears, from the same writer, that, as at Plymouth, the ocean afforded the fertilizers for the crops of the first settlers. "The English," he says, " use to manure their land with fish, which they doe, hot because the land could not bring corne without it, but because it brings more with it, the land being kept in hart the longer." 2 At Salem, "very bad sandie ground had for seaven yeares together brought forth exceeding good corne, by being fished but every third yeare." 3 It seems to have been but a short time before some kinds of fish became too scarce to be used as manure ; for on the 22d of May, 1639, it was forbidden after the 20th of the next month to use any cod or bass fish for manuring. Heads and offal might be used for corn. 4 Wood also gives the fol- lowing account of the agriculture of the aborigines, from which it would appear to be more careful than has generally been supposed : " An other work 5 is their planting of corne, wherein they exceede our English husband-men, keeping it so cleare with their Clamme shell-hooes as if it were a garden rather than a corne-field ; not suffering a choaking weede to advance his audacious head above their infant corne or an undermining worm to spoil his spumes." 6 From his notices of different settlements it would appear that horticulture had made quite as much progress as could be expected in so short a time. In Dorchester he found " very good arable ground, and hay grounds, faire Corn-fields, and pleasant Gardens with Kitchin-gardens." "The inhabitants" of Roxbury "have faire houses, store of Cattle, impaled Corne-fields, and fruitfull Gardens." Boston had "very good land, affording rich Corne- fields, and fruitfull Gardens; likewise, sweet and pleasant Springs." Of Lynn he says, " There is more English tillage than in New England and Virginia besides; which proved as well as could be expected, the corne being very good, especially the Barley, Rye, and Oates." i Wood, pp. 15, 16. » Wood, p. 37. 6 Of the Indian women. 2 Ibid., p. 10. 4 Mass. Records, Vol. I. p. 258. « Wood, p. 81. 8 INTRODUCTION. John Josselyn, who styled himself " gentleman," made a voyage to New England in 1G38 and 1G3'J, and another in 1GG3, when he sojourned till 1G71 ; and in his account of these two vo}-ages, especially the latter, and in his New-Englands Rarities Dis- covered, he gives a fuller, but, unfortunately, a less trustworthy account, than that of Wood. 1 " The plants in New England," he says, " for the variety, num- ber, beauty, and vertues ma}- stand in Competition with the plants of any Countrcy in Europe. Johnson hath added to Ghrard's Herbal 300, and Parkinson mentioneth many more ; had they been in Xi'/v- England they might have found 1000 at least never heard of nor seen by an}- Englishman before : 'Tis true, the countiy hath no Bonerets or Tartar lambs, no glittering coloured Tuleps; but here you have the American Mary-Gold, the Earth-nut bearing a princely Flower, the beautiful leaved Pirola, the honied Colibry, &c." 2 " Red-Lilly growes all over the Countrey amongst the bushes." 8 "Our fruit-Trees prosper abundantly, Apple-trees, Pear-trees, Quince-trees, Cherry-trees, Plum-trees, Barberry-trees. I have observed with admiration that the Kernels sown or the Succors pin nt id produce as fair & good fruit without grafBug as the Tree from whence they were taken : the Countrey is replenished with fair and large Orchards. It was affirmed by one Mr. Woolcut (a magis- trate in Connecticut Colony) at the Captain's Messe (of which I was) aboard the Ship I came home in that he made Five hundred Hogsheads of Syder out of his own Orchard in one year, Syder is very plentiful in the Countrc}-, ordinarily sold for Ten shillings a Hogshead. At the Tap-houses in Boston I have had an Ale-quart spie'd and sweetened with Sugar for a groat. . . . "The Quinces, Cherries, Damsons, set the Dames a work, Mar- malad and preserved Damsons is to be met with in every house. It was not long before I left the Countrey that I made Cherry wine, and so ma}- others, for there are good store of them both red and black." 4 Jossebyn describes with much minuteness many of the plants which he observed, classif}-ing them as 1st, Such plants as are 1 The quotations from the Voyages are taken from the reprint in the Massachusetts Historical Society's Collections, Third Series, Vol. III., and those from the Rarities, from Tuckennan'a edition ; the references in both cases being to the original pages. 1 Second Voyage, p. 59. s Ibid., p. 79. « Ibid., pp. 189, 190. FLOWERS AND WEEDS INTRODUCED. 9 common in England ; 2d, Such plants as are proper to the county ; 3d, Such plants as are proper to the country and have no names ; 4th, Such plants as have sprung up since the English planted and kept cattle in New England ; and, 5th, Such garden herbs amongst us as do thrive there and such as do not. Among those of the second class which attracted his attention were earth-nuts, one sort bearing most beautiful flowers J of which Winslow records that the Pilgrims during their first winter "were enforced to live on ground-nuts," 2 and also interesting to modern horticulturists from the propositions which have been made, look- ing to its improvement so as to make it a valuable esculent root. 8 But this plant has lost its opportunity ; and what value lies unde- veloped in it we shall probably never know, unless the potato becomes far worse diseased than at present. In his third division he gives 4 a woodcut of a leaf of the Goodyera pubescens, or rattle- snake plantain, as unmistakable as the colored plate in the Flore des Serres, and regrets that he failed of carrying this plant, which he "judged to be a kind of pirola and a very beautiful plant," and which has become so much sought after in our day for fern- cases, etc., to England as a rarity of great value. His fourth class is both curious and interesting, if we can depend upon the accuracy of the names, as showing how rapidly foreign weeds were usurping the places of native plants. He mentions the couch-grass, shepherd' s-purse, dandelion, groundsel, nettle, plantain, knot- grass, "cheek-weed" 5 and several others besides the purslain, which we find among his garden herbs. All the common garden herbs and vegetables, with few exceptions, were found to grow well; and among flowers he mentions hollyhocks, gillyflowers, sweet-brier or eglantine, and English roses ; which last, he says, thrive " veiy pleasantly." 6 This appears to be, with the excep- tion of Winslow's "fair white lily and sweet fragrant rose" among other flowers in his rough rlrymes, the first intimation we have of the cultivation of garden flowers ; a neglect which we ascribe rather to the necessity of first attending to the growth of such plants as afforded subsistence than to lack of taste. Some of our most injurious insects were very early noticed. Josselyn says, "there is a Bug that lyes in the earth and eateth the 1 1ST. E. Rarities, p. 56. * N. E. Rarities, p. 67. 2 Young's Chronicles, p. 329. B Ibid., pp. 85, 86. a Journal of the London Horticultural Society, Vol. II. p. 144. 8 Ibid., pp. 87-91. 10 INTRODUCTION". seed, that is somewhat like a Maggot, of a white colour with a red head, and ia about the bignes of ones finger and an inch or an inch and a half long ; " 1 undoubtedly the larva of the May beetle (Lachnosterna fusca), so troublesome to modern cultivators. "There La also a dark, donnish Worm or Bug of the bigness of an Oaten-straw, and an inch long, that in the spring lye at the Root of Corn and Garden plants all day and in the night creep out and devour them" (probably some species of Iladena, or cut- worm) ; and he gives what he rightly calls a " somewhat strange way to get rid of them, which the English have learnt of the Indians." 2 From his remark that " I never heard or did sec in eight years' time one worm eaten Pea," 8 it would appear that the pea-weevil (Bruchus pisi), said b}' entomologists to be a native of this country, was either not known in New England, or had not learned to prefer the exotic pea, in which only it is now found, to its original food, whatever that may have been. In 1GG1 John Hull related that " the canker worm hath for lower years devoured most of the apples in Boston, that the apple trees look in June as if it was the 9th month." They were again veiy destructive in 1770. In 1G65, 1G86, and 1708, fasts were held in Salem for deliverance from caterpillars, palmer worms, and other destructive insects. 4 The curculio was abundant as earl}* as 1746 ; for John Bartram, writing to Peter Collinson in that year, of the sloe, says, "the blossoms are prodigious full, but never one ripe fruit. They art- bit with the insect as all our stone fruit is, but the Peaches and some kinds of Cherries overgrow them." 6 Josselyn in his Second Voyage described Boston as having the south side adorned with fair orchards and gardens ; and similar language was used in regard to Dorchester, Roxbury, Dedham, Charlestown, Marblehead, and Ipswich. 6 lie says 7 that the Indians had kidney-beans (which they boiled), pompions, and watermelons. He also makes frequent mention of them else- where. Some of the beans, he says, were indigenous, and others introduced. Champlain also, 1G04-K', lo. speaks in many places of their cultivating beans and squashes. Marquette, who in L673 1 Second Voyage, p. 115. * Darlington's Memorials of Bartram and Marshall, p. 175. ! Ibid., p. 116. • Second Voyage, pp. 160-168. s N. E. Rarities, p. 88. » Ibid., pp. 129, 130. 4 Felt's Annals of Salem, Vol. II. p. 127. THE ENDICOTT PEAR TREE. 11 descended the Wisconsin and Mississippi, commended the agricul- ture of the aborigines. Their beans and melons he found excellent ; but their squashes were not of the best. The researches of Dr. Gray 1 have made it probable that the Jerusalem artichoke (Ileli- anthus tuberosus) is indigenous, and was cultivated by the Ilurons. It excites some surprise to notice how rapidly the aborigines availed themselves of the vegetables introduced by the Europeans, and raised orchards of fruit trees, especially the peach and apple. We find in the records of the Massachusetts Company the evi- dence of forethought for the interests of the Colony in the form of a memorandum on the lGth of March, 1629, " To provide to send for New England, Vyne Planters, Stones of all sorts of fruites, as peaches, plums, filberts, cherries, pear, aple, quince kernells, pome- granats, also wheate, rye, barley, oates, woad, saffron, liquorice seed, and madder rootes, potatoes, hop rootes, currant plants." 2 In a letter from the governor and deputy of the New England Colony to the governor and council in New England, April 17, 1629, they sa}', " As for fruit stones and kernells the tj'ine of the }'eare fitts not to send them now, soe wee purpose to do it by our next." 8 It would appear from Jossebyn's account, 4 that these seeds were afterwards sent, and had sprung up and prospered. As in the Plymouth Colony we find a tree surviving from the orchard planted by an early governor, so in the Massachusetts we have one remaining from the orchard planted by Gov. Endicott. The time of planting of this tree has been given from the date, 1630, on a sun-dial which stood near it, and which, the governor said, bore the age of the tree. It has, however, been questioned whether this tradition is correct, as the land whei*e it stands was not granted to John Endicott until 1632, and it is improbable that the governor would have commenced cultivation before he had obtained a legal right to the land. If the family tradition, that the tree came over from England in the " Arabella " with Gov. Winthrop, June, 1630, is correct, it may have been planted at Gov. Endicott's town residence, 6 before the grant of the farm. The fact that the governor and his descendants lived upon the farm until 1816, and that the}' held it by the original grant until 1828, a period of one hundred and ninety-six 3 r ears, strengthens our faith in the traditionary account of the age of the tree. 6 1 American Agriculturist, 1877, p. 142. * Ante, p. 8. 2 Mass. Records, Vol. I. p. 24. B Ante, p. 5. » Ibid., p. 392. « Hovey's Magazine, Vol. XLS., p. 254. 12 INTRODUCTION. Gov. Eixlicott's farm was known as Orchard as early as 1G43, 1 and the pear tree stood near the site of his mansion. The tree has never been grafted, as is shown by the fact that two suckers produce the same fruit as the main part of the tree. The fruit is of inferior quality, even coarser than that of the Gov. Prince pear tree. Tradition reports that the " woodwax" (Genista tinc- toria) which covers the rock}- pastures around Salem was intro- duced as a flower in Gov. Endicott's garden. In 1G48 Gov. Endicott exchanged five hundred apple trees, of three years' growth, with "William Trask, for two hundred and fifty acres of land. 2 This statement, and the allusions, in his corre- spondence with Gov. Winthrop, to the exchanges which they car- ried on, very much after the manner of modern fruit growers, give us an idea that he was engaged quite extensively in propagating fruit trees. Writing to Winthrop the second month, 8 22d, 1644, he says, " I humblie and heaxtilie thanck you for your last lettre of newes & for the trees 3011 sent mee. ... I haue not sent you any trees because I heard not from you, but I haue trees for 3-ou if 3-011 please to accept of them whensoeuer 3-ou shall send. I thinck it is to late to sett or remoue. I could wish 3-ou to remoue in the latter end of the yeare 3-0111- trees, & I pray 3-ou send mee what 3-011 want & I will suppby what I can. M3- children burnt mee at least 500 trees this spring b3* setting the ground on fire neere them." 4 To John Winthrop, jun., at " Tenne Hills " he writes, the 19th of the first month, 1G45, " Let mee say truelie I account not my- selfe to be the lesse ingaged vnto you concerning what you wrote, ffor an3 r such small courtesie as a few trees. . . . What trees }-ou want at au3* t3'me send to mee for them, & I will suppby 3-011 as longe as I haue a tree. I ame sony 3-0 u make so many apologies & cautiones to mee, I partly guesse from whence it proceeds, & that is because I told 3-ou I was ingaged to pa3' 1,500 this springe. I haue almost paid them, & it was to excuse truely that I could not send 3-ou such trees as I would haue otherwise done ; but for small trees I can spare 3*ou as man3' more as I haue sent, & would now haue done it, but 3-our man thought the horse (not being well) would not carrie them." This letter is dated at " Orchard," and 1 Memoir of John Endicott, by C. M. Endicott, p. 72. s Ibid., p. 80. » April. « Mass. Hist. Coll., Fourth Series, Vol. VI. pp. 146, 147. GOVERNOR WINTHROP S GARDEN". 13 in a postscript Endicott says that " Your man hath some Indico seeds for yourselfe and Mr. Piter. ' ' x Traditions exist of the Indians having planted on the peninsula of Boston, clearing away the wood, as was their custom, by burn- ing. 2 William Blackstone, the first settler, cultivated six acres of land around his residence, which was near what is now the corner of Beacon and Charles Streets. A part of this was planted as a garden, where he raised apple trees which continued to bear fruit as late as 17G5. After his removal to Rhode Island, he planted at Study Hill, near Pawtucket, the first orchard that ever bore apples in that State. " He had the first apples of the sort called Yellow Sweetings that ever were in the world." 8 In April, 1632, Conant's Island in Boston harbor was granted to Gov. Winthrop for forty shillings and a yearly rent of twelve pence, he promising to plant a vineyard and an orchard, of which the fifth part of the fruits were to be paid yearly to the governor for the time being forever. The name of the island was thenceforth to be " The Governor's Garden." On the 4th of March, 1634-35 the General Court changed the rent to " a hogshead of the best wyne that shall grow there, to be paide yearely, after the death of the said John Winthrop and noething before." The grape culture, if ever seriously undertaken, undoubtedly proved a failure ; for in 1640 the rent was again changed to " two bushells of apples every yeare, one bushell to the Governor & another to the Generall Court in winter, — the same to bee of the best apples there growing." Accordingly we find in the records of the General Court held at Boston the seventh day of the eighth month, 1640, formal men- tion that " Mr. Winthrop, Senior, paid in his bushell of apples." 4 Josselyn mentions, that when ready to sail from Boston, the 11th of October, 1639, "Mr. Luxon, our master, having been ashore upon the Governours Island gave me half a score very fair Pippins which he brought from thence." 5 Among the incidental proofs of the attention given to horticul- ture is the enactment, in 1646, b} T the court of the Colony of Mas- sachusetts, that the person who should be known to rob any orchard or garden, or who should injure or steal any graft or fruit tree, should forfeit treble damages to the owner. 6 i Mass. Hist. Coll., Fourth Series, Vol. VI. p. 150 a. 2 Drake's Old Landmarks of Boston, p. 10. 3 Snow's History of Boston, p. 62. s First Voyage, p. 29. * Mass. Records, Vol. I. pp. 94, 139, 293, 301. « Mass. Records, Vol. U. p. 180. 14 INTRODUCTION. From notes made 1646-48 in an interleaved almanac belonging to S. Danforth, then probably a resident of Cambridge, we find the dates of gathering several varieties of apples, the Long apples. Blackston's, 1 Tankerd, Kreton Pippin, Long lied apples, Russetin, and Pearmaines. They were all ripe in August and September. " Apricoks " were ripe Jul}- 20; and the "Great Pears," August 1, though what variety ripening at that season could deserve the name of " great " must be a puzzle to modern pomologists. 2 The correspondence of John Winthrop, jun., shows that he, as well as his father, was interested in the cultivation of fruit trees. Edward Howes wrote, " From our new howse in Lincolnes Inn feilds near Prince's Streete," the 18th of April, 1634, " As for the Quod- ling apple slipps, I spake to Mr. Ilumfries once or twice about it and he sayd he would see for some. I hope he will bring some ouer with him, and yet I doubt it because it is soe forward in the yeare." 8 George Fenwick of Saybrook, Conn., wrote, Ma}' G, 16-11, "I haue receaued the trees yow sent me, for which I hartily thanke yow. If I had any thing hearc that could pleasure yow, yow should frely command it. I am prettie well stoned with chirrie & peach trees, & did hope I had had a good nurserie of aples, of the aples yow sent me last yeare, but the wormes have in a manner distroyed them all as they came vp. I pray informe me if yow know any way to preuent the like mischiefe for the future." 4 John Mason, writing from Saybrook, January 28, 1654, prayed the governor to " forget not to prouide for the planting some trees at spring." 5 March 5, 1656, he wrote to Mrs. Elizabeth Winthrop, " I haue sent ten apple trees by Goodman Stobyon to your selfe. I suppose the}' will, most of them, be planted in the north end of your orchard. I would haue sent more if I had thought there were a place to receiue them. I haue alsoe sent Thomas Bayley thirty grafted trees, as hee desired mee. They are in Goodman Stolyon's boate. I would entreat you to acquint him with it. Ilee told mee hee would put it to Mr. Winthrops account. They come to thirty shillings." 6 The fruit of an apple tree, which, together with an acre of land, was given to the apostle Eliot by the Indians, was exhibited before 1 Can this have been the "Yellow Sweeting" mentioned above as originated by William BlackistoiK? 1 Savage's Winthrop, Vol. EI. p. 332. » Ibid., Vol. VII. p. 419. 3 Mass. Hist. Coll., Fourth Series, Vol. VI. p. 499. 8 Ibid., p. 421. * Ibid., p. 368. ANCIENT FRUIT TREES. 15 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1833. This tree stood near the meeting-house in Natick, and was called the Orange Sweeting, and was a favorite with the Indians. It will be remem- bered that Eliot deceased in 1G90. Another apple tree, imported from England, and planted in the garden of the Wyllis family in Hartford, Conn., before the middle of the seventeenth century, produced on a few weak limbs at the top of the tree some dozens of apples in 1822. It was of the Fearmain variety. 1 Other interesting relics are the Orange pear tree in the garden of Capt. Charles Allen at Salem, supposed to have been planted about 1640, and other ancient trees of that variety in the same chy, now or recently living ; the Warden and Messire Jean pears in the Pickering garden in Salem, the former grafted on the day the battle of Lexington was fought ; an ancient Apple pear, also in Salem until 1878 ; 2 the trees of the Black Pear of Worcester, or Iron pear in Dorchester, said to be more than two centuries old ; an English Pearmain apple tree in Weathersfield, Conn., brought from England by William Tryan, now measuring nearly eleven feet in circumference, having, according to tradition, yielded fruit nearby a century before the Revolution, and in 1877 still in good bearing condition ; 8 the original tree of the Pinneo pear, at Co- lumbia, Conn., reputed to be one hundred and forty years old ; 4 the original tree in the town of Chelmsford of the pear of the same name, once valued for its size and beauty, which was a very large tree before the destructive gale of September, 181G, when it was much injured ; 5 the row of trees of the Hunt Russet apple on the old Hunt farm in Concord, Mass., believed to be at least two hun- dred years old ; 6 and the four healthy trees still remaining of an apple orchard, planted, probabhy as early as 1770, on the Bacon farm in Richmond, Mass. 7 A paper in the Philosophical Transactions, 8 by Paul Dudley, F.R.S., and chief justice of Massachusetts, who resided at Roxbury, gives a vivid idea of the extent to which the culture of fruit and vegetables had attained in 1726 ; but he says not a word of flowers. 1 Letter of Hon. John "Welles to Hon. John Lowell in Mass. Agricultural Repository, Vol. VIII. pp. 2S0, 281. 2 Proceedings of the American Pomological Society for 1875, pp. 101, 102. s Massachusetts Ploughman, Dec. 15, 1877. 4 American Agriculturist, 1S76, p. 422. 8 Hovey's Magazine, Vol. VI. p. 18. « Transactions of the Mass. Horticultural Society, Part I. 1875, p. 63. " Michigan Farmer, Nov. 14, 1S76. 8 Abridgment, Vol. VI. Part II. p. 341. 16 INTRODUCTION. " The Plants of England, as well those of the Fields and Orchards, as those of the Garden that have been brought over hither, suit mighty well with our Soil, and grow here to great Perfection. " Our Apples arc, without Doubt, as good as those of England, and much fairer to look to, and so are the Pears, but we have not got all the Sorts. " Our Peaches do rather excel those of England, and then we have not the Trouble or Expence of Walls for them ; for our Peach Trees are all Standards, and I have had in my own Garden seven or eight Hundred fine Peaches of the Rare-ripes, growing at a Time on one Tree. " Our People, of late Years, have run so much upon Orchards, that in a village near Boston, consisting of about forty Families, they made near three Thousand Barrels of Cycler. This was in the Year 1721. And in another Town, of two Hundred Families, in the same year I am credibly inform'd, they made near ten Thou- sand Carrels. Some of our Apple Trees will make six, some have made seven Barrels of Cyder, but this is not common ; and the Apples will yield from seven to nine Bushels for a Barrel of Cyder. A good Apple Tree, with us, will measure from six to ten Foot in Girt. I have seen a fine Pcarmain, at a Foot from the Ground, measure ten Feet, and four inches round. This Tree, in one Year, has borne thirty eight Bushels (by Measure) of as fine Pearmains, as ever I saw in England. A Kentish Pippin at three Foot from the Ground, seven Foot in Girt ; a Golden Rossetin six Foot round. The largest Apple Tree that I could find, was ten Foot and six Inches round, but this was no Graft. "An Orange Pear Tree grows the largest and 3-ields the fairest Fruit. I know one of them near forty Foot high, that measures six Foot and six Inches in Girt, a Yard from the Ground, and has borne thirt}- Bushels at a Time ; and this 3'ear I measured an Orange Pear, that grew in nry own Orchard, of eleven Inches round the Bulge. I have a Warden Pear Tree, that measures five Foot six Inches round. One of my Neighbors has a Bergamot Pear Tree that was brought from England in a Box, about the Year 1G43, that now measures six Foot about, and has borne twenty two Bushels of fine Pears in one Year. About twenty Years since, the Owner took a C3'on, and grafted it upon a common Hedge Pear ; but the Fruit does not prove altogether so good, and the Rind or Skin, is thicker than that of the Original. JUSTICE DUDLEY'S ACCOUNT. 17 " Our Peach Trees are large and fruitful, and bear commonly in three Years from the Stone. I have one in nry Garden of twelve Years Growth, that measures two Foot and an Inch in Girt a Yard from the Ground, which, two Years ago, bore me near a Bushel of fine Peaches. Our common Cherries are not so good as the Kent- ish Cherries of England, and we have no Dukes or Heart Cher- ries, unless in two or three Gardens." Justice Dudley gave the measurements of several forest trees of remarkable size, among them a Platanus occidentals, or button- wood, nine yards in girt. An onion set out for seed would rise to four feet nine inches, and a parsnip would reach eight feet. He gave some remarkable instances of the power of vegetation, including a wonderful crop of pumpkins from a single seed. The intermixture of the different varieties of Indian corn had been noticed by the aborigines, and attributed by them " to the Roots and small Fibres reaching to and communicating with one another ; " but Dudley was " of Opinion that the Stamina, or Prin- ciples of this wonderful Copulation or mixing of Colours, are car- ried by the Wind ; and that the Season of it is, when the Corn is in the Earing, and while the Milk is in the Grain, for at that Time, the Corn is in a Sort of Estuation and emits a strong Scent." He had examined an apple* tree in his own town which bore a considerable quantity of apples, especially every other year, but never had a blossom. Probably this was similar to the varie- ties with petalless flowers known in our own day. It had been discovered that " molosses " could be made by boiling down the juice of sweet apples. A summer variety was used, and the farmers ran much upon planting orchards of this sweeting for fatting their swine, and assured him that it made the best kind of pork. 1 "We find, in the first half of the eighteenth century, gardens attached to the residences of the wealthy citizens of Boston. When these were situated on the slopes of the various hills, the ground was shaped into terraces both in front and rear, planted with shade and fruit trees, and embellished with flowers. The gardens were laid out in the style then prevalent in England. One of these estates, on Tremont Street, midway between the entrance to Pemberton Square and Beacon Street, was the residence of Gov. Bellingham, and afterwards became the property of Andrew 1 Phil. Trans., Vol. VI. pp. 379, 380. 18 INTRODUCTION. Faneuil, who erected on it the firsl hothouse in New England. 1 On his decease H passed to his nephew, Peter Faneuil. Perhaps the finesl of all these estates was thai of Thomas Hancock, whose mansion, which remained until 1863, was situated west of where the State House now stands, the grounds including tln.se occupied by the State House and part of the Reservoir, his nursery being where is uow Hancock street. The garden was laid out in flower- beds bordered with box, and planted with fruit trees on espal- iers, hollies, vews. etc. Later the house and grounds of Gardiner Greene, who owned the larger portion of Pemberton Hill, which he greatly improved and beautified, are spoken of as forming alto- „.,'• the linest private residence in Boston. His greenhouse is ; to have heen the only one existing at the time in Boston. ('.aniens such as are now seen only in the suburbs were then found in every part of Boston, and many are remembered by men now living; but, with the increase of population and trade, they have gradually disappeared. Shade trees were seen everywhere in the streets; bu1 these also have followed those who planted them. The English elm trees on Tremont Street, opposite Horticultural Hall, known from the planter as " Paddock's Mall," were prob- al.lv set there in 1762. They were cut down in February. 1874, alter efforts had been made by the Horticultural Society and others to save them. 8 The name of Old Orchard Beach, in Saco, Me., arose from a growth of apple trees planted there at a very early period, some of which remained as late as 1770. A hundred years later the trunks of two apple trees, very much decayed, but one of them still bearing fruit, remained at the site of the ancient •• Agamen- tieiis." or "Gorgeana," in York. This bearing tree stood on land which was originally the homestead of Thomas Gorges, an early mayor of Gorgeana. and governor of the Province, who established himself there ahout 1641. Tradition aver-, that this tree had been brought over from England in a tub, and planted where it then stood, more than two hundred years ago. The house Of Walter Phillips, who was a noted gardener and public ,, Hiccr in the present towns of Newcastle and Edgecomb, was sur- rounded by an apple orchard. Many other ancient apple, pear, ' Andrew FnnenU c:im< to B «ton ai early .-^ 1709, and died in 1737, bo that this hothouse n I. uili in the early part of the eighteenth century. — Sargent's Dmiingsicith , i. Vol ll. pp. 506, .'a-:. liu.irks of Boston. | •• 888; Atlantic Monthly, Vol. XI. p. 699. HORTICULTURE IN MAINE. 19 and other trees are mentioned in an interesting History of Orcharding in Maine in the First Annual Report of the Secre- tary of the Maine State Pomological Society, from which the above facts are taken, showing that the first settlers immediately engaged in the planting of orchards. From the same source we learn that John North, who came from Ireland about 1730, and settled in what is now Bristol, not only set out apple trees, but cultivated a garden ornamented with shrubs and flowers. The cellar of his house may be seen at the present day, surrounded by shrubs, the damask rose, primroses, and barberry bushes, and some very old trees. The ox-eye daisy, or whiteweed, was culti- vated in the garden, and spread from it over the farms. To Ben- jamin Vaughan, M.D., LL.D., and his brother Charles Vaughan, the State of Maine is indebted for early attempts at agricultural and horticultural improvement. They were Englishmen by birth, and came to Hallowell in 179G, where they established upon their farm an extensive garden, a large orchard, and a nursery of fruit trees, in which not only the common fruits and vegetables, as well as nut-bearing and ornamental trees, were cultivated, but new sorts, imported from Europe, were tested, and, if they proved valuable, disseminated throughout the State, where, especially in Kennebec County, the good effects of their labors are still to be seen. Their head gardener, John Hesketh, came to this country in 1797, having previously been head gardener at Knowesley Hall, the seat of Lord Derby, and two years later he was employed by the Vaughans. His knowledge of fruits, plants, and flowers, and of the principles of landscape gardening, was very thorough for the time. Dr. Vaughan was a distinguished member of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, and, under the signature of " A Kennebec Farmer," contributed largely to its publications. 1 Very early in the present century Ephraim Goodale established a nursery for the propagation of trees, undoubtedly the first in the State, in the present town of Orrington. 2 Dr. Vaughan and Mr. Goodale were honorary members of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Besides the pear trees which have come down to us from Govs. Endicott and Prince of Massachusetts was the well-known tree 1 The Agriculture, Natural History, and Industry of the County of Kennebec, by 8. L. Boardman. 2 First Annual Report of the Maine State Pomological Society, n. IS. 20 INTRODUCTION". planted by Gov. Stuyvesant of New Amsterdam in 1G47. It was a Summer Bonchretien, and one of the oldest grafted trees which have survived to our day. It is said to have been imported from Holland. In 1856 it produced a bushel of pears. A description and woodcut may be found in Harpers' Magazine for May, L862, when it was but little more than a venerable trunk. It stood on the corner of Third Avenue and Thirteenth Street. It was broken down by a dray in the spring of 1866, but afterwards sent up a sucker from the foot, which grew ten feet high, but probably proceeded from below the point where the tree was grafted. Gov. Stuyvesant's garden, or " bouwery," was remarkably fine, and kept in a high state of cultivation. From fort}- to fifty negro Blaves, besides a number of white servants, were constantly em- ployed in the improvement of the gi*ound. Where the road to the city crossed his property, shade trees were planted on each side. 1 Some cherry trees planted at Yonkers, N.Y., about 1650, by Frederick Philipse, the founder of that place, were growing there two hundred 3-cars later. Other cheny trees planted as early, at Point Pleasant, Bristol, R.I., on the estate of Robert Rogers, also endured for two centuries. 2 "The pears which we now have," said Mr. Lowell in 1828, 8 " were introduced by the Huguenots, who, on the revocation of the Edict <>f Nantes, fled to this country. The original trees are in some instances to be found in the gardens laid out by the Faneuils, the Johonnots, and others, and nearly all which we now have may lie traced to them." Mr. Lowell doubtless referred to the "White Doyenne. St. Germain. Brown Beurre, Yirgouleuse, etc. The revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes was in 1685. Mr. Prince 4 remarked in 1831, of the White Doyenne, or St. Michael, that, "in the vicin- ity of New York and on Long Island, this variety of the pear is more extensively cultivated than any other, and most of the very ancient ingrafted trees there met with are of this description, where, from time immemorial, it has borne the title of the Virgalieu pear. How this name originated, and whether it was brought by the an- cient Dutch settlers, or by some of the numerous French emigrants at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, it seems impossible now to determine: siillice it to say that by that title, and corruptions Vs nistory of the City of New York, Vol. I. pp. 1ST, 215. ' Rep ) of Patents, 1858, p. 298. • New England Farmer, Vol. VU. p. 121. « l'miiological Manual, Part I. p. 4.3. FKUIT IN VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND. 21 thereof, it has been solely known in the localities referred to, from the remotest period of its probable introduction." It is probable that Mr. Lowell's view is correct, and that the White Doyenne was introduced by the Huguenots, who in 1689 settled New Rochelle. The culture of the vine with the view of wine-making was early undertaken in Virginia, French vine-dressers having been brought over in 1621, who wrote to the English Company, that the soil and climate of Virginia surpassed that of Languedoc, and afterwards made a successful experiment in the production of wine, a speci- men of which was sent to England. 1 The common apple was grafted on wild stocks in Virginia in 1647. The same year, twenty butts of cider were made in that Colony by Richard Bennet. Wine was also made in Virginia, by a Capt. Brocas, in 1647, and in 1651 premiums were offered for its production. As early as 1722 there were vineyards which pro- i duced seven hundred and fifty gallons a j^ear. Many other attempts were made, soon after the settlement of the country, to produce wine, one of which, by English settlers at Uvedalo (now in Dela- ware), seems to have met with some success. An attempt to i establish a vineyard near Philadelphia was made by William Penn i in 1683, and another by Andrew Dore in 1685 ; but neither suc- i ceeded. The peach, nectarine, and apricot are mentioned as grow- ing abundantly in Virginia in 1720. Some of the peaches are rep- i resented to have been twelve or thirteen inches in circumference. They were raised so easily as to be planted for feeding hogs, and also for making brandy. Quinces also grew there in perfection at the same time. The peach and pear were introduced by George IRobbins at "Peach Blossom Plantation," Easton, Talbot County, Md., about 1735, the seeds having been received from Peter Col- llinson of London. A codling apple tree, sent by Charles, Lord I Baltimore, to his son Benedict Calvert, about the middle of the ; eighteenth century, stood for a hundred 3'ears in full vigor at ! Mount Airy, Prince George's Coum^y, Md. 2 The author of the Introductory Essa} r and Notes to Wood's ! New-England's Prospect (third edition, 1764) says, "The late I Col. Tasker of Maryland in one }'ear made more than twenty hogs- heads of wine from the Burgundy grape, which by good judges fwere thought equal to the product of France." 1 Holmes's American Annals, first edition, 1805, Vol. I. p. 224. 2 Keport of U. S. Commissioner of Patents, 1853, pp. 260-297. 22 INTRODUCTION. The French settlers who arc traditionally placed at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, 111., about 1G83 or 1GS5, gave attention to horti- culture, proofs of which are still seen in the venerable pear trees, of enormous size, that survive on the sites of their settlements. Though most of the original trees are gone, there are many of the second generation scattered along the Mississippi and Wabash river towns. These old French pear trees were very hardy, and never blighted. The houses of the settlers were generally placed in gardens surrounded by apple, pear, peach, and cherry trees, and they also gave attention to the cultivation of garden vegetables. 1 A BtriMng feature of the landscape on the banks of the Detroit River, near the city of the same name, is the gigantic pear trees, probably planted :is soon as the first permanent settlements were made by the French, — about a century and a half ago. A bole .six feet in girth and a height of sixty feet are common; and many show a circumference of eight to nine feet, and rear their heads seventy and sometimes eighty feet from the earth. They bear uniform crops; thirty to fifty bushels being often the annual prod- uct of :i single tree. The fruit is of medium size, ripening about the end of August, ei'isp. juicy, and spicy, and though, as a table fruit, surpassed by many sorts, it still holds a fair rank, and, for stewing and preserving, i- unite unrivalled. Individual trees differ a little in the time of ripening and the size and flavor of the fruit; but the variety is well characterized. Nearly every one of the old homesteads possessed a tree; some, two or three: few exceeded half a dozen. Such was the size and productiveness of these trees, that a single one usually nave an ample supply for the wants of a family. Tradition reports that these trees were obtained from Montreal, to which place they were brought from Normandy or Provence: Put the fruit has not been identified with any known French variety. Trees of the same variety are found at other places in the vicinity. One of those at Monroe is twelve feet in circumference. Another legend among the French habitants of Detroit is to the eflfecl that an emigri from France brought over three pear seeds in his vest pocket, which were planted on the hanks of the Detroit River, and became the parents, by means of sprouts :is well ;is seeds, of these venerable trees. One of the oMest. which stood until a recent period, is known to have been planted as early as 1 705. 1 Tnuuacttoni "t' the Ulinoia Horticultural Society, Vol. X., New Series, p. 125; Country Gentleman, Sept 26, 1879. FRUIT TREES ES" MICHIGAN. 23 Many of the farms which were closely crowded on the banks of the Detroit River had orchards of several hundred apple, cherry, and pear trees, among which were the Red and White Calvilles, the Detroit Red, the Pomme de Neige or Fameuse, the Pomme Grise, Russets, Pearmains, and other apples not so well known. But, while the pear trees flourish in a green old age, the apple orchards are fast disappearing, and it is probable that even the pear trees, which belong to the old habitants of Detroit, will perish with them and their homesteads, and that another half-century will see the last of those magnificent trees. 1 . Tradition says that some of the early French missionaries brought pear seeds, scions, and trees from Normancly as early as 1749. The apple orchards have not been traced farther back than 1749. A portion of the varieties are of Canadian origin, and indi- cate that the collections were brought from that province. Some of the apple trees at Detroit were grafted by Capt. Cowan, who com- manded a small vessel on the lakes, and had been gardener to Gen. Washington previously to 1789. The settlers of Michigan, after its organization as a Territory in 1805, found here and there about the State orchards of seedling apple trees planted by the Indians, which, though of great age, were healthy and productive. About 1825 Gov. William Woodbridge planted two thousand apple trees and some pear trees on his farm, now part of the city of Detroit. The first peach tree at St. Joseph, where that fruit is now so suc- cessfully cultivated, was raised from the pit by Mr. Burnett, the Indian trader, who came there about 1775. The settlers in 1829 found peach trees growing there, and, as soon as they had made their clearings, they planted apple and peach seeds. 2 William Penn, writing on the lGth of the 8th month, 1683, after mentioning the mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, plums, strawberries, cranberries, whortleberries, and grapes growing naturally in the woods, said there were also very good peaches ; not an Indian plantation was without them. He thought they were not inferior to any peach in England, except the true Newington. He ques- tioned whether it was best to attempt to improve the fruits of the country, especially the grape, by the care and skill of art, or to send for foreign stems and sets, already good and approved. It 1 Paper read by Bela Hubbard before the Detroit Pioneer Society; Letter of John C. Holmes; Report of the Michigan Pomological Society, 1878, p. 174. 2 Reports of the Michigan Pom. Soc, 1872, 1873, 1878. 24 INTRODUCTION. seemed to him most reasonable to believe not only that a thing grows best where it grows naturally, but that it would hardly be equalled by another of the same kind not naturally growing there; bul In' intended to try both. At about the same time, Mahlon Stacy, writing from Jersey, said, " We have peaches by cart- loads." Aboul the year 1700, the whole street, of a mile in length, in Germantown, was fronted with blooming peach trees. 1 The Bartram Botanic Garden, near the city of Philadelphia, begun in 1728 by John Bartram, who was pronounced by Linnaeus the besl natural botanist known, was the first garden of the kind in America. Here grew the trees and plants collected by Bartram in his botanical explorations, which extended over nearly all the United States then known, — from Lake Ontario in the north to the Bource of the St. John's River in Florida, — and here still flourish a greater variety and finer specimens of our indigenous trees than can probably be found grouped together in any other place of the Bame size: the most prominent being a deciduous cypress (Taxo- dium distichum) twenty feet in circumference and one hundred and twenty-live feet high. The original tree of the Petre'pear, raised by Bartram from seed sent him by Lady Petre, and which first bore fruit in 17(5.'!, stands near the house which Bartram built of stone with his own hands. A seat under an Ohio buckeye i ZEsculus pavia), around wdiich once twined a luxuriant Tecoma, or trumpet creeper, was a favorite resort of Washington while he lived in Philadelphia. - The Bartram garden was continued by the sons of its founder, John and "William, and afterwards occupied by Col. Robert Carr (whose wife Anne was a daughter of the younger John) as a nursery. About 1807 Francois Andre Michaux resided here, and studied the collection of trees and shrubs. More fortunate than the majority of such establishments, it is now in the possession of Andrew M. Eastwick, who preserves its original appearance, as far as possible, as a monument to the taste and industry of our first native botanist. 8 Bartram was a member of the Royal Societies of London and Stockholm.'' and his correspondence extended to the most distin- Lnoalaof Philadelphia, ed. 1S4-1, Vol. I. pp. 17, 46, Vol. II. p. 46. ' Horticulturist, Vol. V. p. 263, Vol. X. p. 871, Vol. XI. p. 79. ■ Mi-. Baatwick England in -'great quantities." The crop of the previous year had failed in England, owing to an unfavorable spring; but the American apples were found an admirable substi- tute, though they were too expensive for common eating, being sold for two. three, and even four pence each. Their flavor was, however, said to be superior to any thing that could be produced in England, and even to that of the apples of Italy. - The next botanical garden, after that of Bartram, was estab- lished in 177.'!. by his cousin, Humphry Marshall, at West Brad- ford. Chester County. lYnn., where he soon collected all the most interesting trees of our country, together with many native herba- ceous plants and man} 1 curious exotics, a large portion of which \et survive. Many of the oaks, pines, and magnolias have at- tained to a majestic altitude. Like Bartram, he corresponded and exchanged with European cultivators, one of whom, Dr. Thomas Parke, wrote to him on the 29th of April, 1795, desiring a collec- tion of seeds of American foresl trees for Sir John Menzies of Scotland, and also a small assortment of apples, pears, and peaches, of the besl grafted or inoculated kinds, in trees of two or three years old. It excites some surprise to learn that a sufficient number of American varieties of these fruits existed at that time to constitute even a small assortment.' Marshall's example was followed by his friend and neighbor, John .lacks,. n. who in the year 1777 commenced a highly interest- ing collection of plants at his resi ' Ibid., p. 456. Apples wire exported In 1741 from New England to the West Indies in considerable abundance. — Report of V. s. Oommiationer of Palenis, 1S53, p. "260. 3 DarlingtunV kfemoriala, pp. 23, GAEDENING IN THE SOUTHEEN STATES. 27 by tasteful culture and planting, and produced an arboretum of evergreens and other elegant forest trees probably not surpassed at the time in the United States. 1 Another of Bartram's friends was James Logan, one of the primitive fathers of Pennsylvania, who came to America, in com- pany with William Penn, in 1G99. He published in 1735 an account of his experiments and observations on Indian corn, which were very remarkable for that da}', in support of the Linnaean doctrine of the sexes of plants. At his estate, " Stenton," near Germantown, he planted, about 1730, a grand avenue of the hem- lock spruce, which has remained to the present day. 2 John Bartram's son William, who had accompanied his father in many of his journeys, set out in 1773 on a botanical exploration of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, his travels extending west to the Mississippi River. In the course of these explorations, which continued through five years, he made many interesting ob- servations on the horticulture of the European settlers and of the Indians. Near Charleston, S.C., he noticed a large plantation of the European mulberry (Moras alba) , some of which were grafted on the native mulberry (Moras rubra) for the purpose of feeding silk-worms. Near Savannah he found the garden of the Hon. Jonathan Byram furnished with a variety of fruit trees and flower- ing shrubs. At Frederica, the first town built by the English in Georgia, peach, fig, pomegranate, and other trees and shrubs, were growing out of the ruins. On the banks of the St. John's River, in Florida, he saw many large and flourishing orange groves, the descendants of the trees introduced by the early Spanish settlers. Man} T other fine groves had been exterminated to make room for the cultivation of indigo, cotton, corn, and sweet potatoes. At the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, in Alabama, he saw several large apple trees, planted by the French, which were in a very thriving condition. In a garden at Mobile, the Dioscorea bulbifera was cultivated for its edible roots. At Pearl Island, near New Orleans, Bartram found peaches, figs, grapes, plums, and other fruits, in the utmost degree of perfection ; and at a plantation on the Mississippi, near Baton Rouge, he observed, in a spacious garden, many useful and curious exotics, particu- larly the tuberose, which grew from five to seven feet high in the open ground, the flowers being very large and abundant. 1 Darlington's Memorials, p. 22. 2 Ibid., pp. 21, 307; Downing's Landscape Gardening, sixth ed., p. 43. 28 INTRODUCTION. Atone Indian village, Bartram noticed a cultivated plantation of the Bhellbark hickory, the trees thriving, and bearing better than those left to nature; and at another village he saw a carefully pruned orange grove, besides plantations of maize, sweet potatoes, beans, and other legumes, pumpkins, squashes, melons, and other I cucurbitacese, and tobacco. Around other deserted villages were growing plum, peach, and fig trees. A favorite situation for their towns was on a peninsula formed by the bend of a river, or at the junction of two rivers, which generally comprised a sufficient body of land suited to their crops ; but, when this was not the case, they chose a fertile spot in the most convenient place. Bartram passed nearly two miles through a plantation of corn and beans, which was well cultivated, ami kept clear of weeds. 1 The peach described by Coxc as the Columbia was so largely cultivated by the Indians in the Carolinas and Georgia as to have received the name of Indian peach. It reproduces itself from seeds. Peach and (jiiince trees were killed by frost in the Province of New York in 1 7:57 ; but the apple and pear trees were not hurt by the cold. In 17G8 the Society for Promoting Arts, at New York, awarded a premium of ten pounds to Thomas Young of Oyster Bay. for the largest nursery of apple trees, the number being 27,123. s The Linnsean Botanic Garden at Flushing, L.I., was founded about the middle of the last centuiy, by "William Prince, and was continued by three generations of his descendants. The Messrs. Prince were unwearied in their endeavors to procure all foreign and native plants, and for many years this was the most extensive nursery establishment in the country. The collection of grapes, both European and native, was very large : the American plants were numerous ami various, including splendid specimens of mag- nolias and other forest trees. Here were made some of the ear- liest attempts to produce improved varieties of fruit from seed in this country. In 1827 the nurseries contained more than a hun- dred species of Australian plants, among which were two of Eu- calyptus and several Banksias. In 1828 the}' covered an extent of thirty acres, the collection of roses occupying an acre, and includ- ing more than sis hundred different kinds.' 5 William Robert Prince, 1 Trawls through North iind South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, etc. 1 Report of r. s. ( tanmlMlonei <>f PfcteaU, is.'.ij, pp. 861, 284. ' Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, Vol. IU. p. 466, Vol. VIII. p. 2S0; New England Farmer, Vol. V. p. --'I, Vol. VII. p. 25. GARDENING IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 29 of the third generation, who was at the head of the establishment for many years, was widely known in the horticultural world as a man of remarkable enterprise, indefatigable in his exertions for the introduction of new plants, and as a man of extensive reading and a forcible writer. He was the author of a Treatise on the Vine (New York, 1830) and a Pomological Manual (New York, 1831), in both which he was assisted by his father, the second William Prince, who also wrote a Treatise on Horticulture (New York, 1828). Mr. Prince dedicated his Pomological Manual to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, of which he was a cor- responding, and his father an honorary member. The first person who cultivated a garden on a large scale in Charleston, S.C., was Mrs. Lamboll. About the middle of the last centurj' her garden was richly stored with flowers and other curiosities of nature, as well as useful vegetables. She was fol- lowed by Mrs. Martha Logan and Mrs. Hopton, the former of whom, when seventy 3-ears old, wrote a treatise on gardening called the Gardener's Kalendar, which was published after her death in 1779, and as late as 1808 regulated the practice of gar- dening in and near Charleston. She was a great florist, and uncommonly fond of a garden. About 1755 Henry Laurens purchased a lot in Ansonborough, afterwards called Laurens Square, and enriched it with every thing useful or ornamental that Carolina produced, or his extensive mer- cantile connections enabled him to procure. He introduced olives, capers, limes, ginger, Guinea-grass, the Alpine ever-bearing straw- berry, red raspberries, and blue grapes; also, from the south of France, apples, pears, plums, and the white Chasselas grape, the latter of which bore abundantl}'. The fruit raised from the olive trees was prepared and pickled to equal those imported. His gar- den was superintended with maternal care by Mrs. Elinor Laurens, with the assistance of John Watson, a complete English gardener. Watson soon after formed a spacious garden for himself, and estab- lished the first nurser}' in South Carolina. His garden was laid waste during the Revolution, but afterwards revived by himself and his descendants. Robert Squib followed him, and, as well as Watson, introduced many of the native productions of the State into Europe. Squib was also the author of a Gardener's Kalen- dar. Andre Michaux, who was sent out by the French Govern- ment in 178G to collect plants, established a botanic garden about ten miles from Charleston. 30 INTRODUCTION. One of tlif finest gardens near Charleston in 1808 was that of Charles Drayton at St. Andrews. It contained many valuable exotics; but t ho principal ofTort of the proprietor was to make a concentrated display of the botanic riches of the State, in which he was very successful. His garden was arranged with exquisite taste. Another garden was formed by William Williamson at St. Paul's, and afterwards owned by John Champneys. The exten- sive pleasure grounds were planted with every species of flowering trees and shrubs, native and foreign, and another part contained a greal number of fruit trees, especially pecan nuts and pear trees. The Melia Azedarach, or Pride of India tree, was introduced by Thomas Lamboll. 1 New Smyrna, in Florida, was founded in 1763 by Dr. Andrew Turnbull, who carried thither a colon}' of fifteen hundred Greeks, Italians, and Minor cans. His main object was the production of BUgar and indigo ; but the vine, fig, pomegranate, olive, orange, and other tropical fruits were planted, and some of the old fig and olive trees still remain. One of the varieties of orange introduced by him was of such excellence that it is still cultivated as the Turnbull orange. In St. Augustine there was a garden-lot to each house, most commonly stocked with orange and fig trees, inter- spersed with grape vines and flowers. The pomegranate, pine- apple, papaw. plantain, olive, orange, and most of the exotic and indigenous plants common to the tropics and the Middle States, were cultivated in the garden attached to the Government House. The Island of Anastatia, opposite St. Augustine, was remarkable for date. and olive trees, and for the fine quality of the oranges grown there. The orange, fig, peach, pomegranate, and other fruit trees, were also produced at Pensacola. 2 The barberry was early introduced into the gardens of New Eng- land, and increased so rapidly, that in 175-4 the Province of Massa- chusetts passed an act to prevent damage to English grain arising from barberry bushes in the vicinity of grain fields. 8 Us earrj as L762 the scarcity of corn in New England led to the inquiry whether some foreign vegetable might not be introduced which would serve as a substitute for bread. The subject was fully discussed, and, as a consequence, potatoes were soon after largely ■ l.'.imwiy - * EQatory of South Carolina, cd. 1858, Vol. II. pp. 128, 129, 193. ' Forbea'l Sketchet of the Floridas, pp. 85-91, 178; Letters of Edmund n. Hart and w B, II. nt. 3 Acta and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, Vol. m. p. 797. GEORGE HEUSLER. 31 and successfully cultivated. 1 The potato is said to have been in- troduced into this country Ijv a colony of Presbyterian Irish, who settled in Londonderry, N.IL, in 1719 ; but its cultivation did not become general for many 3-ears. 2 The variety of maize known as sweet corn was found by the offi- cers attached to the expedition of Gen. Sullivan, sent against the Indians in the Genesee country, in 1779, and brought to Connecti- cut, whence it proceeded south. 3 Another account 4 is, that it was introduced into Massachusetts, from the country of the Susque- hannah, by Capt. Richard Bagnol of Plymouth, on his return from Sullivan's expedition. Whatever the truth of these reports, there is no doubt that the Six Nations, against which Sullivan's expedition was directed, had made much progress in agriculture, and cultivated not only large fields of corn, but fine gardens of beans, pease, turnips, cabbages, melons, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. At one village of the Indians the corn fields comprised two hundred acres. The apple and peach orchards were very extensive : at one village an orchard of fifteen hundred fruit trees was destroyed, and, at another, fifteen hundred peach trees alone. 5 In 1769 Benjamin Coates of Salem advertised garden seeds, im- ported from London, for sale. Susanna Renken of Boston gave a similar notice at the same time. 6 The first regularly educated gardener of whom we have any account in this vicinity was George Ileusler, a native of Landau in the Province of Alsace, Germany. He had been employed in the gardens of several German princes and of the King of Holland, and came from Amsterdam to this country in 1780, bringing pro- fessional diplomas and recommendations. Soon after his arrival, he commenced the practice of his profession in the employment of John Tracy of Newburyport. In 1790 he removed to Salem, and continued his vocation on the farm of Elias Haskett Derby in Danvers (now Peabody), and in many of the gardens of Salem, Danvers, and other towns of Essex County, until nearly the time of his decease, which occurred April 3, 1817, at the age of sixty-six 3-ears. As early as 1796 he gave notice that he had choice fruit trees for sale at the farm of Mr. Derby. The latter gentleman had, 1 Felt's Annals of Salem, Vol. n. p. 146. 2 Horticultural Register, Vol. III. p. 214. 3 Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, Vol. VI. p. 483. * Transactions of the New York State Agricultural Society for 1848, p. 836. 5 Addresses by Rev. David Craft at the Centennial Anniversary of Sullivan's Expedition. 6 Felt's Aunals of Salem, Vol. II. p. 145. 32 INTRODUCTION". just before, imported valuable trees from India and Africa, and had a very extensive nursery of useful plants in the neighborhood of his garden. Mr. Eeusler was highly esteemed as an intelligent, upright, kind-hearted, and religious man; and to him the commu- nity are largely indebted for the introduction of main- valuable fruits, and for developing a taste for gardening. 1 A bill of Mr. Heusler's to Nathaniel Silsbee of Salem will give some idea of the trees planted in 1799, It is for six plum trees, two each of Semiana, Imperatrice, and Bonum Magnum; twelve peach trees, three each of Brattal's White. Early Purple, Red Magdalen, and Noblesse; three apricots; twelve Lombardy poplars; and twelve large-leaf poplars. The number of poplars will surprise those who do not recollect the long rows of the Lombard}' poplar, some rem- nants of which survived less than a generation since, and which were planted when it was a favorite above all other ornamental trees. The price of the trees was two shillings (thirty-three and one-third cents) each. 2 With the successful close of the American Revolution, the arts of peace had opportunity to flourish with new vigor. In the ad- vancement of horticulture, Washington set the example. lie was not only a practical farmer on the most extensive scale, but his nee exhibited every mark of the cultivated and refined country gentleman. He appears to have had considerable taste in ornamental gardening. He planted a flower garden, and decorated his pleasure grounds with much effect ; and his diary shows that he collected and planted a variety of rare trees and shrubs with his own hands, and watched their growth with the greatest interest. He employed skilful gardeners, and pruning was one of his favorite exercises. 8 A- <»ne of the results of the cessation from war, in 1785 the first step for the advancement of agriculture by associated effort was taken. The Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, and tin' Agricultural Society of South Carolina, both formed in 1785 (tin 1 latter incorporated in 1705), are still in existence. The Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, incorporated March 7. 1792, lias exerted an active and useful influence on horti- culture. Among its members we find the first men of the State in i Bulletin <>f Che Essex Institute, Vol. n. p. 22; Felt's Annals of Salem, Vol. n. p. 147. * Pi f the Essex Institute, Vol. II. p. 174. » nortli'uhurist, Vol. II. p. 237; Irving's Life of "Washington, Vol. IV. pp. 455, 404, MT.408. KEKRICK'S NURSERY. 33 the various professions ; such as John Lowell, who was its presi- dent from 1796 to 1804 ; his son, of the same name, who was presi- dent from 1823 to 1827, and was styled by Gen. Dearborn "the Columella of the Northern States ; " Thomas L. Winthrop ; Fisher Ames ; Timothy Pickering, previously secretary of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture; George Cabot; Theodore Lyman; 8. Parker, D.D. ; John Welles; Caleb Strong, who was president from 1802 to 1805 ; John Adams, president from 1805 to 1812 ; James Bowdoiu ; Elbridge Gerry ; Joseph B. Varnum ; and John Hancock. The Massachusetts Agricultural Repository, a periodical devoted to agriculture, and the first of the kind in the country, was commenced by this society in 1793. John Lowell, and other persons of equal eminence, and possessing a similar love for the cultivation of the soil, were constant or occasional con- tributors. 1 Even in the earlier years of this publication a portion of the articles were upon horticulture, though it was not until 1821 that a regular and urgent notice was taken in its pages of that branch of agriculture. 2 Among the leading writers on horticul- ture in the Repository were John Lowell, Timothy Pickering, John Welles, and John Prince. After the establishment of the New England Farmer, the publication of the Repository was dis- continued. In 1790 John Kenrick commenced his horticultural improve- ments at Newton by planting a quantity of peach stones. He was acquainted with the process of grafting ; but the method of propagating by inoculation was unknown to him, and the trees for his orchard were planted in their natural state. About four years later, having learned to bud, he began a commercial nursery, adding apples, cherries, and other fruit trees to his stock. About 1797 he commenced a nursery of ornamental trees, two acres being appropriated to the Lombard}' poplar, — the most salable tree at that time in this part of the country. Extending his assortment, as opportunity offered, by collecting all that could be procured from the gardens in the neighborhood of Boston, his nurseries finally became the most extensive, probably, of any in New Eng- land. In 1823 Mr. Kenrick associated with him his elder son, William, as we find from an advertisement in the New England Farmer of October 4 of that year. They offered a general assort- 1 Trans, of the Maes. Society for Promoting Agriculture, New Series, Vol. I. * Trans, of the Mass. Hort. Soc, 1842, p. 25. 34 INTRODUCTION. ment of fruit and ornamental trees, especially budded peach trees, of which the nursery was said to lie the finest in America, consist- ing of a choice collection of thirty of the best kinds for market or garden culture. Red currant bushes were also extensively culti- vated, being offered by the dozen, hundred, or thousand. In 1823 tiny made seventeen hundred gallons of currant wine ; in 1825, three thousand gallons, and. in 1S2G, thirty-six hundred gallons. 1 Mr. Kenrick continued in this business until his decease, in 1833. The old mansion in which he dwelt is believed to have been built in 1720, and it still promises to do good service for another century. His younger son, John A. Kenrick, continued the nursery business, and occupied the paternal mansion, until his death, in 1870. The grounds contain many choice specimen trees, among which is one of the finest weeping beeches in the country. William Kenrick's nursery at Nbnantum Hill, in Newton, established in 1823, con- tinued for twenty-seven years. During a part of this period Mr. Kenrick imported and disposed of more fruit trees, probably, than any other nurseryman in New England, besides a large number of ornamental trees. 2 The seed establishment of David Landreth & Son, at Phila- delphia, was founded by David Landreth, father of the present senior partner. He came from England to this country in 1784, and commenced growing seed soon after; being one of the first, if not the very first, to enter upon that work as a business in this country. Instead of the small tract of thirteen acres which he originally occupied, fifteen hundred acres are now cultivated under the personal supervision of the firm. For many years, the nursery business was carried on in connection with the seed business, the grounds being on Federal Street, about two miles from the centre of the city. The earliest collection of camellias in America was made by the Messrs. Landreth: and their collections of valuable plants and fruits, both native and foreign, were among the most extensive of their time. To them the city of Philadelphia is largely indebted for the early development of horticultural taste. 8 i Tlic currant appears to have been extensively grown by others for wine : for in 1824 E. ( Sopelond, jun., of Boston, advertised < troBeille wine, made by I>r. Benjamin Dyer of Provi- who cultivated In one field forty-five acres of currants. In 1826, however, we are Informed thai Moure Dyer & Co., who had previously manufactured currant wine in large quantities, had relinquished the business on account of the high price of sugar. Lor of John A. Kenrick to Joseph Brock, in 1S61; New England Farmer, Vol. IL 8; Vol. V. p ndreth'a Rural Register and Alumnae, 1873 and 1S74; Johnson's Dictionary of Gardening, Am. ed., p. i".7 ; Qovej '- Magazine, Vol. I. p. 202. COXE AND HAMILTON. 35 William Coxe of Burlington, N.J., was the pioneer pomologist of America. His orchards, especially of the apple, were very extensive, and he introduced into his collection all the best varie- ties of fruit from all parts of the United States, as well as from England and France. He was acquainted with the works of the leading pomological writers of Europe ; and his own work, a View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees, and the Management of Orchards and Cider, etc., the first American book on pomology, is very accurate, and still an authority among pomologists. From the record which it contains of his experiments in planting or- chards, we learn that they were begun as early as 1794. Although it treats only of apples, pears, peaches, plums, and cherries, it would appear, from an article contributed by him to the American Farmer, in July, 1828, l that he was acquainted with many varie- ties of grapes, both native and foreign, and had been very suc- cessful in grafting delicate foreign grapes, and superior varieties of our domestic grapes, on the more vigorous stocks of cultivated vines, or on the native vines of our fields. He engaged in the nursery business in connection with a partner, Daniel Smith, to whom he soon wholly relinquished it. 2 William Hamilton of Philadelphia was long well known to the lovers of nature for his exertions in cultivating rare and beautiful plants at his elegant residence, "The Woodlands." During a tour in Europe he collected many curious exotics, which he brought home with him : among others that once favorite tree, the Lom- bardy poplar, was introduced b}~ him in 1784. As early as 1800 this garden was extremely rich in all the fine species procurable either in Europe or the West Indies, and particularly so in rare and new American species. The Agave Americana flowered here in 1804. 8 Frederick Pursh, the author of the Flora Americas Sep- tentrionalis, was gardener here from 1802 to 1805, and here made his first collections of American plants. In 1828 the collection was broken up by the sale of the large specimen orange, lemon, and other trees; and since 1833 "The Woodlands" has been devoted to the sacred purpose of a cemetery. 4 Near the close of the last century, John Adlum of Georgetown, 1 Reprinted in the New England Farmer, Vol. VII. p. 34 2 Horticulturist, Vol. XI. p. 304. 3 It had bloomed in a garden in Charleston, S.C., in 1763. 4 Darlington's Memorials, p. 577; Hovey's Magazine, Vol. m. p. 4; Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, Vol. VII. p. 455; Preface to Flora America Septentrionalis, p. viii. INTRODUCTION. ]).('.. began planting vines with the intent to make wine. His vineyard was situated on the banks of Rock Creek, where he col- lect, id many foreign and native varieties of grapes. He published in 1823 a Memoir on the Cultivation of the Vine in America, and the Best Mode of Making Wine, of which a second edition appeared in 1828. After expending much time and money in un- successful attempts to propagate the foreign grape, he abandoned it for the native varieties. Among these the since widely known Catawba, which he found in Maryland, and introduced to public notice, was his favorite. 1 The French and Spanish settlers of Missouri brought with them grapes and other fruits, which were thence disseminated in Illinois. The settlers of Kentucky, from Virginia and the Carolinas, and those of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, from New England and the Middle States, in the latter part of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, carried with them the seeds of the dif- ferent kinds of fruits, grains, and vegetables they were accustomed to at home, prominent among them being the apple, peach, pear, and cherry, which were at first sown in garden-patches to be trans- planted in a year or two into the first few acres cleared. The soil and climate were congenial. The trees grew thriftily, and in a very few years yielded fruit. The favorite varieties were intro- duced as early as possible b} f grafting, and, after the planting of orchards, nurseries were established for the dissemination of the varieties. A method of propagating desirable kinds much used by emigrants from the South and "West was b}" suckers. Peaches were raised abundantly from seed, and cultivated without grafting or budding. The pear-blight, and the bitter-rot in the apple, appeared about 1820, and the peach also began to be diseased about the same time. As in the East, we find here few traces of ornamental horticulture among the early settlers. But it was not wholly neg- lected ; for a damask rose bush was living in 1859, which was brought from New Orleans more than a century before that time, and was the first rose bush that ever bloomed in Illinois. In 17G9 the French settlers on the Illinois River made upwards of one hundred hogsheads of strong wine from the wild grape. 2 In 1799 an association was established near Lexington, Ky., for the purpose of cultivating the grape, and manufacturing wine. 1 Memoir; Xtw Engltod Farmer, Vol. II. p. 277. * Report of U. 8. Commissioner of Tatcnts, 1853, p. 298. FRUIT CULTURE IN THE WEST. 37 The leader of this enterprise was John James Dufour, a native of Switzerland, — a man remarkable for intelligence, industry, and zeal in the cultivation of fruit. With much labor he gathered about thirty-five varieties of grapes, and a choice and valuable collection of other fruits. He established a nurser}*, and stimulated a taste for the improvement and cultivation of fruit. The wine-making enterprise, like all others depending on foreign grapes, was unsuc- cessful, and the little band of cultivators was broken up. They afterwards joined themselves to another colony of their country- men, who had commenced the cultivation of the vine at Vevay, Ind., in 1802, but met with so little success that they were forced to abandon it. These abortive attempts, as well as those of the French settler, Meneusier, at Cincinnati, attracted the attention of Nicholas Longworth of the last-named cit}', who took much inter- est in horticulture, and who, with the aid of his German tenants, attempted the cultivation of the grape, but with little satisfaction, until, about 1820, he noticed an account of the Catawba, of which he immediately procured plants from Major Adlum. His success with this variety, and the impetus which it gave to the cultivation and improvement of the native grape in the United States, are too well known to need recapitulation here. The Roxbury Russet apple was introduced into Ohio, in 1796, by Israel and Aaron Waldow Putnam, who got the scions from their father, Gen. Israel Putnam, at Pomfret, Conn. It was culti- vated under the name of Putnam Russet, and was for many years without a rival as a market fruit in Ohio, whole orchards being planted with it. The settlers from North Carolina brought the Rawles' Janet or Neverfail, the Horse, and Limber Twig. Among other interesting evidences of the early interest in horti- culture in the West was the largest pear tree on record, known from the name of the owner, Mr. Ockletree. It was a seedling, brought from Pittsburg, Penn., in 1804, and planted near Vin- cennes, Ind. In 1837 it produced one hundred and forty bushels of pears, the largest crop recorded from it. In 1855 it meas- ured ten and one-half feet in circumference at the smallest place below the limbs, seventy-five feet across the top, and sixty-five feet in height. In 1867 it was split down by a tornado, and seven or eight years later the trunk also died. The fruit was of inferior quality. Silas Wharton, a native of Bucks County, Penn., and an ac« 38 INTRODUCTION". quaintance of William Coxe the pomologist, emigrated to Waynes- villr. 0., in 1810, and established a nursery there. He procured from Coxe and Smith a large variety of fruit; his catalogue in 1824 containing the names of ninet3*-two apples and fifty-eight pears. To him, more than to any other person, the neighborhood of Dayton is indebted for the introduction of fine fruit. Others of the more prominent pioneers of horticulture in the West were Zebulon G-illett of Lawrence County, O., Lewis Sanders of Grass- hills, Ky., Joseph Curtis of Edgar County, 111. (the inventor of root-grafting), Dr. Samuel P. Ilildreth of Marietta, 0., and Dr. Jared P. Kirtland of Cleveland, who gave special attention to the improvement of the cherry, which he commenced previously to the year 1X24. ' Dr. Ilildreth and Dr. Kirtland were honorary mem- bers of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. An eccentric character, commonly known as " Johnny Apple- seed." I nit whose real name was John Chapman, a native of New England, was the first to propagate fruit trees in North-western Pennsylvania and Ohio. He had a passion for rearing and culti- vating apple trees from seed, and would clear little patches of land suitable for his purpose, and where he thought apple trees would be wanted at a future day. He procured seed from Alleghany County, Penn., sowed it at the proper time in his little clearings, enclosed it with brush fences, and gave some attention to their cul- tivation, but never secured a title to the land, or grafted any trees. As his first-planted orchards bore, he took seed from them, always choosing the most ameliorated fruits, and, as the population in- creased, his operations were carried farther westward. They com- menced near the beginning of the ccntur}', and continued about thirty years. 2 The early French and Spanish settlers of Louisiana introduced the peach, which soon grew spontaneously. Professor Nuttall found it naturalized through the forests of Arkansas in 1819. At Natchez he found the peach, fig, pear, and quince succeeding ex- tremely well ; and apple trees introduced from Kentucky met with nearly equal success; but the cherry, goosebeny, and currant, though thriving, scarcely produced fruit at all. The pomegranate and the myrtle grew and fruited almost as in their native climate; ' Transactions of the Ohio Pomological Society for 1859 and 1863; Transactions of the Dllaoll Horticultural Society for 1370; Horticulturist, Vol. II. p. 420; Letter from S. Burnet of Vlnoennea, I ml. » HoTey'a tfagailne. Vol. XTI. p. 133; Ilarper's Magazine, Vol. XT.TTT . p. 830. FRUIT CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 39 while the orange and the lemon required some shelter. Grapes succeeded only tolerably ; and the olive, which was early introduced by the French, was entirely lost. In the neighborhood of New Orleans he saw beautiful orange groves, orchards of figs, and other productions of the mildest climate, but neither the olive, date, nor grape. In the city of New Orleans, however, grew a date palm, more than thirty feet high, with a trunk nearby eighteen inches in diameter, but, being a staminate plant, it produced no fruit. 1 In California the grape, palm, olive, and other fruits, of which venerable specimens still remain, were early planted at the various missions. The olive is said to have been planted about the year 1700. Among the most noted plantations, though dating back only to about 1810, was the great pear orchard of Santa Clara College, which sixty years later produced several thousand bushels of fruit. A grape vine at San Buena venture attained an enormous size, as did also pear, date palm, English walnut, and olive trees. But most famous was the great grape vine at Santa Barbara, the trunk of which, four feet and four inches in circumference, was exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. The vine, when growing, covered more than an acre of space, and produced annually from five to six tons of fruit. Its age was variously stated at from fifty to a hundred }'ears. It was of the Mission variety, introduced from Mexico, but probably originally from Spain. 2 As early as 1799 Solomon Lufkin, and, a few years afterwards, Christopher Osgood, both of Salem, were noted for their attention to the cultivation of plants and trees. In 1807 greenhouse plants were advertised for sale at the store of David Swasey in Chestnut Street, Salem. 8 Ezekiel Hersey Derby of Salem inherited the horticultural tastes of his father, Elias Haskett Derby, and having, about 1802, taken possession of the family estate in South Salem, he transformed it into a delightful residence, with an extensive garden and pleasure grounds, greenhouses, orchards, and belts of forest trees, many of choice foreign varieties. He was one of the founders, and for many years a trustee, of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agri- culture ; and the garden and grounds which he planted retained a portion of their well-deserved fame until within a few years. 4 1 Journal of Travels into the Arkansa Territory. 2 Letter of E. J. Hooper. a Felt's Annals of Salem, Vol. II. pp. 148, 150. * Bulletin of the Essex Institute, Vol. II. p. 23. 40 INTRODUCTION. The tomato was introduced into Salem, about 1802, b} r Michele Felice Corn6, an Italian painter; but he found it difficult to per- suade people even to taste the fruit. 1 It is said to have been intro- duced into Philadelphia, by a French refugee from St. Domingo, in 1798. It was used as an article of food in New Orleans in 1812, but was not sold in the markets of Philadelphia until 1829. 2 It did in »t come into general use in the North until some years after the last-named date. In 1801 a movement of great importance to the science of hor- ticulture was made by the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture. A vote was passed subscribing five hundred dollars for the establishment of a professorship of natural history at Cam- bridge ; and a committee wasappointed to procure subscriptions for its permanent endowment and for the support of a botanic garden. This movement resulted in the establishment and endowment of the Botanic ( larden now connected with Harvard University. The subscription was completed in 1804, and the garden was laid out in 1805, under the care of Mr. Bell, an English gardener, and was for many } - ears successfully managed by William E. Carter. Contributions were from time to time made to the support of the garden from the funds of the society which originated it, and it doubtless exerted a direct influence in cultivating the taste which led to the formation of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, since many of the oldest members made their first purchases of plants from it. 8 The Elgin Botanic Garden was established in 1801, by Dr. David Ilosack, on the road between Bloomingdale and Kingsbridge, about three miles and a halt* from what was then the centre of New York City. It occupied about twenty acres of land, and included an extensive conservatory and two spacious hot-houses, exhibiting a front of a hundred and eighty feet. In 1807 the garden was placed under the direction of Frederick Pursh, the botanist.' 4 At the be- ginning of the year 1805 it contained fifteen hundred species of American plants, for the collection of which it was principally in- tended. 6 The second edition of the catalogue, published in 1811, enumerates a total of more than twenty-two hundred species. The 1 lYIt'x Annals of Salem, Vol. n. p. 631. - Prmlrle Parmer, June 28, 1876. » Trim*. Ma-*. Boo. for Prom. Ag., New Scries, Vol. I. p. 28. « Preface to I latalogne of the Elgin Botanic Garden. New York, 1811. 5 Statement <>f facta relative to the establishment and progress of the Elgin Botanic Gar- den, by David Ilosack, M.D., p. 10. New York, 1811. DR. HOSACK. — GRANT THORBURN. 41 garden was in 1810 sold to the State of New York, but has long since wholly disappeared, as have also the botanic gardens estab- lished previously to 1810 in Charleston, S.C., and in the State of Maryland. 1 Dr. Hosack was the most distinguished amateur and patron of gardening, in every sense of the word, of his time, in the United States. His own residence, Hyde Park, on the Hudson, was celebrated as one of the finest specimens of landscape gardening in the country. The estate comprised about seven hundred acres ; and with its park, large, well-wooded, and intersected by a fine stream, a handsome and well-filled range of greenhouses and hot- houses, extensive lawn, shrubberies, flower and kitchen gardens — the whole kept in the highest order — was for a long time the finest seat in America. Dr. Hosack was well known in the literary and scientific world, and his acquaintance abroad enabled him to intro- duce many new fruits and plants. Some of our finest native fruits were placed in the hands of horticulturists in Europe through his means ; among others the Seckel pear, trees of which were sent by him to the London Horticultural Society in the autumn of 1818. 2 The seed and flower establishment of Messrs. Thorburn has long been a prominent point of horticultural interest in the city of New York, and was of great service in diffusing a taste for floricultu- ral pursuits. Its founder, Grant Thorburn, in 1801 sold a rose geranium, which he had planted in a pot on his counter to draw attention to some flower pots that he had for sale in his grocery store ; and from this insignificant beginning the establishment has grown to a complete museum of every thing that can be required in the practice of horticulture. The seed business was added in 1804, with a stock of seeds of the value of fifteen dollars. For many years Messrs. Thorburn maintained a large greenhouse, through which was the passage to their store, and in front of this a large flower bed, which was gorgeous with hyacinths, tulips, dahlias, etc., attracting the attention of every passer. 8 In the year 1800 Michael Floy came from England to New York, bringing with him a plant of the Double White camellia, for John 1 Darlington's Memorials, p. 22; Dr. Hosack's Statement, etc., p. 32. 2 Hovey's Magazine, Vol. III. p. 5; Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, Vol. VIH. p. 282; Downing's Landscape Gardening, sixth ed., p. 29. s Hovey's Magazine, Vol. I. p. 282, Vol. HI. p. 4; Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, Vol. II. p. 345, Vol. IV. p. 275. 42 INTRODUCTION. Stevens of Iloboken, N.J., who had two or three years previously imported the Single Red. The camellia must have been soon after introduced into New England; for in 1806 John Prince received from -Joseph Barrel! of Charlestown a small plant of the DouMe White. 1 Mr. Floy afterwards established nurseries in New York, al the corner of Broadway and Twelfth Street, and at Har- lem, which he carried on in connection with his sons, giving special attention to the camellia, and originating several fine varieties ; among them that magnificent kind, the Floyii, the original tree of which is now in the collection of Marshall P. Wilder. One of the earliest writers on horticulture in the United States was Bernard M'Mahon, whose American Gardener's Calendar, giving directions for all gardening operations in every month in the year, is still an authority on the subject. The first edition was published in 1806. To him we are mainly indebted for the dissemination of the novelties collected by Lewis and Clarke in their journey to the Pacific. His garden and greenhouses were near the < rermantown turnpike, between Philadelphia and Nice- town. The nursery was purchased in 1830 by Hibbert & Buist. At this period, large importations of the fruits of highest repu- tation in Europe were sometimes made by wealthy amateurs, with the hope of increasing the number of superior varieties ; but these hopes were to a great extent disappointed. From among one hundred and fifty varieties imported into Boston b} - Eben Preble, about 1805, the only additions to the list of desirable kinds were two cherries — the Black Tartarian and White Tartarian — and a single pear.- At the meeting of the New York Horticultural Societ}- July 9, 1822, a member presented a catalogue of fruit trees which he had purchased in Europe, comprising, in all, seven hundred and eighty-four varieties. 8 Among the most noted gardens in the United States in the early part of the present century, besides those already mentioned, were the seat of Judge Peters, near Philadelphia, famed for its gardens and pleasure grounds, in which are a chestnut tree, planted by \\ ashington, producing the largest and finest fruit, and a grand old avenue of hemlocks, planted nearly a hundred and fifty years ago, many of which are now venerable specimens a hundred feet 1 Hovcy's Magazine, Vol. I. p. 14. • Letter of William Konrick to Gen. Dearborn, Feb. 6, 1830. » Boston Palladium, Sept. 9, 1822. FRUITS IN 1814. 43 high, whose huge trunks aud wide-spread branches are densely wreathed and draped with English ivy, and many other interesting features, the whole estate being now included in the new Fair- mount Park ; Clermont on the Hudson, the show place of the last age, then the seat of Chancellor Livingston, partaking of the French style ; the manor of Livingston, near the city of Hudson ; and Montgomery Place, near Barry town, N.Y., originally the resi- dence of Gen. Montgomer}', the hero of Quebec, and afterwards of Edward Livingston, with its grand natural scenery, arboretum, conservatory, and one of the most perfect flower gardens in the country. 1 A writer in the Massachusetts Agricultural Repository a fur- nished the following list of the best varieties of fruits, and re- marked, that as much greater encouragement had been given in the metropolis to the raising of good fruit than previously, and as the inhabitants of our great towns began to discriminate the varieties, and to pa} r liberal prices for the best, it was hoped and expected that greater attention would be paid by cultivators to the quality of the fruits which they raised. It was thought that there was then in the State nearly every good variety of the pear known in France. Peaches, Early Ann, White Magdalen, Red Magdalen, Noblesse, Old Newington, Swalch, Catherine, Lemon Clingstone, Vanguard, Blood. Cherries, Mayduke, English, Black Heart, Bigarreaus, Black Tartarian. Apples, Rhode Island Greening, Red Nonsuch, Nonpareil, New- town Pippin, Roxbury Russet, 3 Spitzenberg, Baldwin. 4 Pears, Little Muscat, Catherine, Jargonelle, Summer Bergamot, Brockholst 5 Bergamot, Brown Beurre, St. Michael, Monsieur Jean, Rousseline, "Winter Good Christian, Virgouleuse, Colmar, Chaumontelle, St. Germain. The last is described as the most profitable, the most uniformly good, and the best for keeping. 1 Downing's Landscape Gardening, sixth ed., pp. 26-33. 2 Vol. HI., 1814, p. 92. s The Roxbury Russet probably originated in Roxbury soon after the settlement of the country. The first settlers of Stonington, Conn., went from Roxbury as early as 1649, and tradition states that they brought this apple at a very early date. It has been more largely planted in Eastern Connecticut than any other variety, and there are trees a hundred years or more of age still standing there. — Letter of Rev. W. Clift of Stonington. 4 The Baldwin had then recently been brought into notice. The original tree 6tood, probably, in Wilmington, though one account locates it in Tewksbury. It first fruited about the middle of the last century. 5 Brocas? 44 INTRODUCTION. Three-quarters of a century ago, or later, many decaying pear trees could be seen near ancient cellars in this section of the country, and in pastures by old cart-paths. The fruit of these \ aried from small to large in size, and, in character, from the hardest, fit only for cooking (and not for that without something to counteract its acidity and astringency) , to that which was then called good eating fruit. At that period there were comparatively few orchards of apple trees in which there was a single grafted tree, (he great object then being the production of cider; and, if a good eating apple appeared among the numerous seedlings, it was not known, in most cases, beyond the farm where it originated. In two centuries from the settlement of the country very little progress had been made in horticultural science. Seedling plums, pears, peaches, and cherries, as well as apples, were to be found in abundance, when there was any market, and a portion of them were very good ; but, down to 1820, we do not find the record of fruit trees or scions having been imported or disseminated to any considerable extent. 1 Dr. Thacher, in the dedication to his American Orchardist, dated Plymouth, July, 1821, sa}-s, "It is a remarkable fact that the first planters bequeathed to their pos- terity a greater number of orchards, in proportion to their popula- tion, than are now to be found in the Old Colony." The progress of horticulture was checked by the last war with England; but, as the country recovered from the effects of that conflict, there began a new era of horticultural improvement. As the close of the Revolution was followed by the formation of the Philadelphia and other agricultural societies, so the close of the later war was speedily followed (in 1818) by the organization of the New York Horticultural Society, the first society of its kind in the United States. It was incorporated in 1822, and included among its founders and members the most eminent scientific and practical horticulturists in the vicinity of the city of New York ; such as Dr. Ilosack, who was for some 3'ears its president, Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill, Messrs. Thorburn, Prince, Floy, Thomas Hogg, Andre Parmentier, William "Wilson, and others. The plans of the society were comprehensive, including a garden of from ten to twenty acres, to be devoted to horti- culture and botany, but more particularly to the culture of fruit trees. It was proposed also to have a hall for public lectures, a 1 Recollections of Joseph Breck. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 45 library, a botanical cabinet, and a professor of botany and horti- culture. For many years the society was conducted with much energy; but later, the interest in it declined, and about 1837 it ceased to exist. Dr. Torrey, the eminent botanist, was the last president. 1 The next horticultural society in the United States was the Pennsylvania Society, organized at Philadelphia on the 20th of November, 1827, and chartered by the State on the 24th of March, 1831 ; its first schedule of premiums having been adopted January 4, 1830, and the first annual display held in the autumn of the same j-ear. More fortunate than its predecessor in New York, it has gone on with increasing prosperity until the present day ; so that it is the oldest horticultural society now existing in the coun- try — too well known to need any thing said here, beyond express- ing the hope that its progress, and its beneficial influence on horti- culture, may be even greater in the future than in the past. Two other horticultural societies were formed in the United States previously to the organization of the Massachusetts society, — the Domestic Horticultural Societ}', at Geneva, N.Y., in 1828, having for its field of operation ten counties in Western New York, 2 and holding its meetings and exhibitions alternately at Geneva, Lyons, and Canandaigua ; 8 and the Albany Horticultural Society, formed in 1829, but a short time before the formation of the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Societ}-, of which Judge Buel was the first president. 4 Neither of these two societies existed more than a few years ; but the Domestic Society held an exhibition at Geneva, Jul}' 3, 1835, 5 and a fine autumnal show of fruits, flowers, and vegetables at Canandaigua on the 30th of September of the same year. 6 In the By-Laws of the Massachusetts Horticultural So- ciety, adopted in 1836, the Committee on the Synonymes of Fruits was directed to facilitate an exchange of specimens with the Albany as well as with the Philadelphia and New York horti- cultural societies, for the purpose of establishing their synonymes. It would be unjust to pass over the inception of horticultural societies in the United States without some allusion to the proto- 1 American Journal of Science and Art, Vol. VIII. p. 398; Hovey's Magazine, Vol. II. pp. 391, 401, Vol. III. p. 389; Letter of John J. Thomas. * New England Farmer, Vol. VII. p. 174. 3 Hovey's Magazine, Vol. V. p. 12. « New England Farmer, Vol. VII. pp. 207, 245. 8 Hovey's Magazine, Vol. I. p. 311. « Ibid., p. 431. 46 INTRODUCTION. type of all such societies, the Horticultural Society of London, which was organized March 7, 1804, and chartered in 1809, and for twenty-seven years, from 1811 to 1838, was presided over by Thomas Andrew Knight, whose unrivalled combination of scientific knowledge of vegetable physiology, and practical skill in horticul- tural operations, were, during all that time, directed to promoting the interests of the society, and. through it, of horticulture every- where. Professor John Lindley was assistant secretary from 1822 to 1858, and secretary from 1858 to 1SG2. giving to the manage- ment of the society his great talents and inexhaustible energy. 1 In 1825 Gov. Clinton and Dr. Hosack of New York were mem- bers of the society ; and Messrs. Floy, Hogg, and Wilson, of New York. Jndge Buel of Albany. William Prince of Flushing, David Thomas of Cayuga County. N.Y., William Coxe of Burlington, X.J.. Mr. Diek of Philadelphia, and John Lowell and Samuel G. Perkins of Boston, were corresponding members. - N 3 oized body has ever imparted such a stimulus to cultiva- tion as this society. It was many year- ago remarked that it had accomplished more since its foundation than China had done in a thousand years. What it has effected is best told in a report of the Council, made May 1, 1837, from which we quote : — •*It has minutely examined and reduced to order the names of fruit trees and of esculent plants ; it has directed the attention of scientific as well as of practical men to the improvement of the arts of cultivation ; it has introduced at much cost great numbers of exotic plants to decorate our gardens ; it has published many volumes filled with important treatises upon almost every subject in which the gardener is interested ; it has formed a very extensive D and orchard, in which have been collected from time to time numerous plants valuable for their utility or beauty ; it has given a great impetus to cultivation by its public exhibitions of garden produce ; it has been a school from which have sprung some of the Dgnished gardeners of the present century; and it has given away to its fellows and to public establishments above a million and a half of plants, packets of seeds, and cuttings. In effecting all, this about £250,000 has been expended, of which £40,000 has been consumed in the creation of the garden, more than £2,000 in forming collections of drawings, models of fruits, 1 Book of the Uoyal Horticultural Society, pp. 9, 11, 25, 27. 1 New England Fanner, Vol. HI. p. 83. AGRICULTURAL JOURNALS. 47 etc., £13,000 in the mere cost of procuring new plants and seeds, while above £20,000 has been applied in the form of medals and money prizes for the encouragement of horticulture." ' The societ} r is best known in the United States by its Catalogue of Fruits, which is the foundation of all accurate penological nomenclature ; but a reminder of its energy is seen in every garden which contains the Wistaria Sinensis, 2 the Weigela rosea, or the Dielytra spectabilis, the most popular of the many beautiful plants that we owe to the society. The Caledonian Horticultural Society was formed in 1809, and that of Paris, in 1826. In 1819 the American Farmer was established in Baltimore, and it is now the oldest agricultural periodical in the United States which has had a continued existence in some form to this day. In 1822 the New England Farmer was established in Boston, under the conduct of Thomas Gr. Fessenden, author of the New American Gardener, who continued editor until his death, on the 10th of November, 1837. In 1828 the words Horticultural Jour- nal were added to the title of the paper ; but articles on horti- culture had from the commencement frequently appeared in its pages from Mr. Lowell, Gen. Dearborn, John Prince, John Welles, Gorham Parsons, S. W. Pomeroy, Samuel G. Perkins, and Jesse Buel of Alban}-, as well as the editor. In November, 1826, Joseph R. Newell, who had previously kept an agricultural warehouse at No. 108 State Street, removed to No. 52 North Market Street; and in January, 1827, the office of the Farmer was removed to the room over Mr. Newell's establishment, where John B. Russell, the publisher from September 4, 1824, to November 28, 1832, opened a seed-store. 3 The close combination of the Farmer office and seed-store with the agricultural warehouse attracted agriculturists and horticulturists from all parts of the country ; so that the office of the Farmer became an exchange for the discussion of all matters of interest to cultivators. 4 It was here that the subject 1 Book of the Royal Horticultural Society, p. 43. 2 The first living plant of Wistaria (formerly Glycine) Sinensis was sent from China in 1818, by John Reeves, and was still growing in the garden at Chiswick in 18G3. Trobably this is the plant mentioned in the Botanical Register as covering eighteen hundred square feet of wall, and producing six hundred and seventy-five thousand flowers in 1840. 3 In August, 18D6, Joseph Breck & Co. purchased the Farmer and seed-store, and, a year later, they added the agricultural warehouse of Mr. Newell. They were the publishers of the Farmer until its discontinuance in 1S46, when they became interested in the Horticultu- rist, then commenced at Albany, N.Y. 4 MS. of Joseph Breck ; Advertisements in New England Farmer. 48 INTRODUCTION'. of forming a horticultural society was discussed ; and. when such a society was formed, the Farmer naturally became its organ, and continued to be as long as it existed. The nursery established by Jonathan "Winship, at his residence in Brighton, in 1816, was, next to that established by John Kcnrick, the oldest near Boston. That, however, was confined to hardy plants, while the Winship nursery comprised a collection of green- house plants. In 1824 Capt. Winship associated with him his brother Francis, and the firrn had finally thirty acres under cultiva- tion. Special attention was given to ornamental trees and plants. In 1823 Robert Manning of Salem commenced the formation of his pomological garden, with the design of collecting speci- men trees of such varieties of fruits, both native and foreign, as were hardy enough to endure the inclemency of our winters, identifying, and testing them, and selecting for propagation such as proved worthy. In pursuing this object, he soon, in connection with William Kenriek, opened a correspondence with Dr. Van Mons of Belgium (receiving from him the many fine varieties which he had originated), and with Robert Thompson, the head of the fruit department in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, and author of their Catalogue of Fruits ; the scions received from the latter source being taken from the trees carefully identified by Mr. Thompson. Trees and scions were also drawn from all the prominent nurserymen and other cultivators in Europe and America. Though the obstacles to importing trees and scions, independent of the difficulty of obtaining the newer and choicer varieties from sources to be depended on, were much greater than at present, owing to the slowness and irregularity of communica- tion, yet Mr. Manning pursued his chosen work with such ardor, that, at the time of his death, in 1842, his collection of fruits was far larger than had previously been made by any American pomolo- :. mounting to nearly two thousand varieties of apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, and apricots ; pears, which were his favorite fruit, forming by far the larger part. lie also established a nursery for the propagation and sale of such varieties as proved worthy of general cultivation. To him more than to any other one in his day — perhaps it would be just to say more than to all others — were the public indebted for the introduction of new and choice fruits, for the identification of the different varieties, for the correction of their nomenclature, and the testing of their qualities ; KNIGHT AND LOWELL. 49 and he was acknowledged to be the highest authority in regard to the names and synonymes of fruits. His work was taken up at his death by his son, of the same name, who for some years con- tinued to identify, test, and disseminate the valuable fruits collected b}- his father and himself. 1 In 1823, also, John Lowell published an interesting notice of Thomas Andrew Knight, president of the London Horticultural Society, his experiments, and his presents to the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture. These presents consisted of trees and scions of the new varieties of fruit originated b} r Mr. Knight, or introduced from the continent of Europe, which were confided to Mr. Lowell, as president of the Agricultural Society, for propagation and distribution. To this source we are indebted for the first introduction of some of our finest fruits ; the first parcel received from Mr. Knight comprising, among others, the Urban- iste, Marie Louise, Napoleou, and Passe Colmar pears, the Black Eagle, Elton, Downton, and Waterloo cherries, and the Coe's Golden Dropjilum. Mr. Lowell continued for some years to re- ceive from Mr. Knight trees and scions of new fruits, and, when the Massachusetts Horticultural Society was organized, he freely offered scions of these improved varieties to its members." At about the same time, Judge Buel of Albany also imported from Mr. Knight and from the London Horticultural Societ}* choice new varieties of fruits ; 3 and Samuel G. Perkins of Brookline offered to give strawberry plants, and scions of new pears and plums, which he had received from the London Horticultural Society and other sources, to such persons as would call or send for them. 4 It will be remembered that Messrs. Lowell, Buel, and Perkins were corresponding members of the London Societ}'. It was at about this time that the decay of the fine old varieties of the pear was noticed. In 1826 Mr. Lowell stated that the Chaumontelle, Virgouleuse, St. Germain, Summer and Winter Bonchretiens, and St. Michael, were generally in a diseased or des- perate state. The grounds of Henry Pratt, at Lemon Hill, near Philadelphia, which were for a long time considered the show garden of that 1 Book of Fruits, p. 5; New England Farmer, Vol. XXI. p. 164; Bulletin of the Essex Institute, Vol. II. p. 24; Horticultural Register, Vol. I. p. 290, Vol. H. p. 249. » Mass. Ag. Repos., Vol. VII. p. 331, Vol. VIII. pp. 140, 344, Vol. X. p. 205; New Eng- land Farmer, Vol. II. p. 217, Vol. VI. p. 331, Vol. VH. p. 401. » New England Farmer, Vol. III. p. 291. « Ibid., Vol. IV. p. 22. 50 INTRODUCTION. city, were in the height of their beauty from 1820 to 1825 ; and the proprietor, opening them freely to the citizens, contributed in a great degree to improve their taste, and to inspire them with a desire to possess the more beautiful productions of nature. The grounds were laid out in the geometric mode, and were the most perfect specimen of this style in America. 1 They now form a part of the great Fairmount Park. Walt ham House, the seat of Gov. Gore, and afterwards of Theodore Lyman, about nine miles from Boston, was also at this time one of the most beautiful places as regards landscape gardening, with a fine level park a mile in length, enriched with groups of English elms, limes, and oaks, watered b}* a fine stream, and stocked with deer. Here, also, the finest varieties of fruit were cultivated, the trees being trained on walls, in the English method : and there were also a grapery, greenhouse, and hot-house. This and the Woodlands were the two best specimens of the modern style, as Judge Pctcrs's seat, Clermont, and Lemon Hill, were of the ancient style, in the early period of the history of land- scape gardening in the United States. 2 In 1823 Samuel and John Feast began cultivating trees, plants, and vegetables in Baltimore, on the Frederick road, and were the first to offer plants for sale in the public markets of Baltimore. 8 In 1827-28 the garden of Dr. Thomas Young, at Savannah, claimed superiority over every other in the South, being filled with rare plants from every part of the world. The garden of Dr. Wray, at Augusta, was rich in bulbs, native herbaceous plants, and succulents. Major Le Conte's garden, at Riceborough, also contained a superb collection of bulbs. At Charleston, S.C., M. Noisette, brother to the Paris nurseryman of the same name, had an extensive establishment, chiefly in the culinary line ; but his grounds contained many fine camellias, Cycas revoluta, Noisette roses, etc. These and the gardens of Dr. McRce of Wilmington, N.( .. and Mr. Oemler of Savannah, were long considered inferior to ii" private collections in the Union. 4 In 1828 Judge Buel enumerated. 5 as among the principal nur- series in the United States (besides those already mentioned in 1 II ■ine, Vol. III. p. 4; Downing's Landscape Gardening, sixth ed., p. 27. > Downing*! Landscape Gardening, sixth ed., p. 28. * Gardi d< r'a Monthly, Vol. XX. p. 384, « Lou. 1. iii's Gardener's Magazine, Vol. IV. p. 464; llovey's Magazine, Vol. III. p. 7. 8 Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, Vol. IV. p. 193. PAEMENTIER AND THOMAS. 51 this sketch) , the Blooclgood nursery, at Flushing, which was espe- cially distinguished for its well-grown fruit trees ; 1 Wilson's nur- sery, at Greenwich ; and Hogg's nursery, at Bloomingdale, Mr. Hogg being, probably, the best cultivator of exotics in New York ; 2 Buel and Wilson's nursery, at Albany ; Sinclair and Moore's, at Baltimore, Md. ; and the nursery of Andre Parmentier, at Brooklyn, N.Y. The last-named establishment was situated at the junction of Jamaica and Flatbush turnpikes, where is now the most thickly settled part of the city of Brooklyn. The proprietor was the brother of that celebrated horticulturist, the Chevalier Par- mentier, mayor of Enghien, Belgium, and was the first practitioner of the art of landscape gardening, of any note, in this country, to which he came about 1824. In his nurseries he gave a specimen of the natural style of la}ing out grounds, combined with a scien- tific arrangement of plants, which excited public curiosit} 7 , and contributed much to the dissemination of a taste for a natural mode of landscape gardening. He frequently visited other parts of the country for the purpose of laying out the gardens and pleasure grounds of such gentlemen as desired his services. 8 David Thomas of Aurora, Ca}-uga County, N.Y., was the pio- neer horticulturist in the western part of that State, which has now become the nursery garden of the country. He did much towards introducing new and valuable fruits during the early part of the present century ; and from the year 1830, and for ten or twenty years afterwards, he had probably the most extensive and valuable collection of bearing trees west of the Hudson. He was even more interested in floriculture and botan} 7 than in pomology, and made a very extensive collection of native as well as exotic ornamental plants, and was elected a corresponding member of the London Horticultural Society and of the Linnaean Society of Paris. 4 In his horticultural pursuits he associated with him his son, John J. Thomas, author of the Fruit Culturist, and horti- cultural editor of the Country Gentleman, and well known as a most accurate, systematic, and conscientious horticulturist. In October, 1828, John A. and Samuel Wilson of Derry, N.H., advertised in the New England Farmer a stock of more than 1 Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, Vol. VIU. p. 280. 2 Hovey's Magazine, Vol. III. p. 4. 3 Downing's Landscape Gardening, sixth ed., p. 24; New England Farmer, Vol. VI. pp. 215, 391, Vol. VII. p. 84. * Letter of John J. Thomas. 52 INTRODUCTION. fifty thousand fruit trees of different kinds in their nursery, which had been established for more than thirty years. It would appear, that, notwithstanding the increase of commer- cial nurseries, the neighborhood of Boston was far behind other parts of the country in its ability to furnish the trees and plants needed in a garden, or to supply the market with choice fruit, and that the advance in horticulture was confined mainly to private gardens, but that the latter were not excelled in any part of the country. A private garden at Jamaica Plain, that of John Prince, produced for dessert, in August, 1825, eleven varieties of pears, four each of plums, apples, and grapes, and two of apricots, be- sides oranges, mulberries, and muskmelons. Yet it was thought that there were not at that time more than twenty market-farmers in the vicinity of Boston who gave much attention to fruit as a source of profit. 1 In 1S22 Mr. Lowell said, 2 "We are utterly destitute, in New England, of nurseries for fruit trees on an exten- sive scale. "We have no cultivators on whom we can call for a Bupply of the most common plants of the smaller fruits, such as strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, of the superior kinds ; we have no place to which we can go for plants to ornament our grounds ; we have not a single seedsman who can furnish us with fresh seeds of annual flowers on which we can place a reliance." A year later, he asked, 8 " Shall it be said, that from June to Sep- tember in our scorching summers, a traveller may traverse Massa- chusetts, from Boston to Albany, and not be able to procure a plate of fruit, — except wild strawberries, blackberries, and whor- tleberries, — unless from the hospitality of private gentlemen? " A sketch of the histoiy of horticulture in this country would be incomplete without some mention of the literature of the subject. Here, also, as might be expected, we find agriculture preceding horticulture, the first work, the Essays upon Field-Husbandry, by the Rev. Jarcd Eliot of Killingworth, Conn., begun in 1747, but barely alluding to fruit culture. Eliot, who was a grandson of the apostle Eliot, introduced the white mulbeny into Connecticut, and wrote a treatise on the mulberry tree and silk-worms. The New-England Farmer, or Georgical Dictionar}-, of Dr. Samuel Deane, was published in 1700. The American Gardener, by 1 Now Knclan.l Farmer, Vol. IV. p. 60. i tCaos. kg. Repos., VoL VII. p. 137. » rbld., Vol. VII. p. 320. HORTICULTURAL LITERATURE. 53 John Gardiner and David Hepburn, was published at Washing- ton, D.C., in 1804. M'Mahon, in the preface to the American Gardener's Calendar, published in 180G, says that in writing this treatise he had had recourse, besides other authorities, to the best American publications ; but, unless a large number have escaped notice, these must have been scant}' at that time. The American Practical Gardener, by "An Old Gardener," was published at Baltimore in 1819 ; and William Cobbett's American Gardener, at New York, in the same 3-ear. The Gentleman's and Garden- er's Kalendar, by Grant Thorburn, was also published at New York in 1821. The calendar appears to have been a favorite form for a work on gardening in these and earlier days. The American Vine Dresser's Guide, by Alphonse Loubat, was published in New York in 1827. The New American Gardener, by Thomas Green Fessenden, and a Treatise on the Cultivation of Flowers, by Roland Green, appeared at Boston in 1828 ; and the Economy of the Kitchen-Garden, Orchard, and Vinery, by William Wilson, at New York in the same year. The works of Martha Logan, Coxe, Prince, Adlum, and Thacher, have been mentioned in the course of this chapter, as have also the Massachusetts Agricultu- ral Repository, the American Farmer, and the New England Farmer. Various European works on agriculture and horticul- ture were republished in this country ; and several agricultural magazines, as well as transactions of agricultural societies, among which we mention only the Memoirs of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture, were published and discontinued before the formation of the Massachusetts Horticultural Societ}- ; but no exclusively horticultural periodical was published until after that time. From the time of Jacques Cornutus, in 1G35, the botany of North America received frequent attention from scientific writers ; but the first strictly American botanical work, written and printed in this country, by a native, is believed to be the Arbustum Americanum of Humphry Marshall, — a description of the forest trees and shrubs of the United States, printed in 1785. A mere allusion to the man}* botanical works which have followed it must suffice. We have thus, as briefly as possible, while doing proper justice to the subject, reviewed the progress of horticultural improvement in this countiy for more than two centuries. We have seen that the first settlers from England, France, and other European coun- 54 INTRODUCTION. tries, and the emigrants from the older to the newer States, brought with them a love of horticulture, and, as early as practicable, planted gardens, orchards, and nurseries. During the greater part of this long period, the advancement of horticulture was compara- tively slow, and the enjoyment of its choicer productions — most even of these being muoh inferior to those of our own time — was confined to the wealthier portion of the inhabitants, the great majority knowing few except seedling fruits; for the art of grafting was understood by few. l>ut from the beginning of the present century, or earlier, the improvement was more rapid, as is shown by the following remarks with which Mr. Lowell concluded an address before the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agricul- ture in 1824 : 1 "As to horticulture, the field is newly explored. From a barren wilderness, it has become a fertile garden. In my short spine of residence in this mutable world, I remember when the Mayduke and the sour Kentish Cherry could alone be seen in our market ; and there is not now a market on earth better sup- plied than ours with every variety of the most delicious chi I remember when our strawberries were only gathered from the grass-fields. I recollect the first boxes of cultivated strawberries ever sent to Boston market: they are now in profusion, and of excellent quality, but still susceptible of vast improvement. Who ever heard of an English or Dutch gooseberry or raspberry at market twenty-five years since? The Geniting, Cattern, Minot, and Iron pears, some of them execrable, were often seen; but not a single delicious variety was known out of the garden of the rich connoisseur. There never was a more rapid progress in any coun- try than that which we have made in horticulture, and yet there is no one point in which we are so defective: I hope and believe, however, that we shall soon supply this defect." Perhaps Mr. Lowell, iii these closing words, had in mind the formation of a soci- ety to supply the defect which he pointed out; but, however this may have been, we cannot doubt that the increased rapidity in the progress of horticulture Led its Lovers to consider the best means of Its further advancement ; and their views, discussed on various occasions and in various places, ultimately took shape and form in the organization of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 1 Mass. Ag. Repos., Vol. VEX p. 216. HISTOET MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. CHAPTER I. THE OEGANIZATION AND OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY. We have seen how the way was gradually prepared for the formation of a horticultural society in the State of Massachusetts. It has often been observed, that, when the time is ripe for the development of an idea, it occurs simultaneously to many minds ; and it is not easy now to prove who first suggested the establishment of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Gen. Dear- born twice states, in written prefaces to volumes of his works which he has left to his family, that " a number of gentlemen in Boston and the surrounding towns had long considered it desirable that an association should be formed for advancing the science and art of horticul- ture ; and, after several informal meetings, a public one was held in the city, on the 24th of February, 1829, when it was determined to organize a society." In the winter of 1828-29 a letter was received by John B. Russell, publisher of' the New England Farm- er, from Judge Buel of Albany, who asked, " Why do not the Boston gentlemen start a horticultural society ? " 55 56 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. and added, " There is more talent iu Boston and vicinity for such an association than in any place in the United Stales." Acting on this hint, Mr. Russell suggested to the numerous visitors to his office the formation of a horticultural society, and it is believed that this was the first formal proposal of such an organization in Massa- chusetts. On Friday, the 9th of January, 1829, a communication appeared in the New England Farmer, written two days earlier by a zealous friend 1 of horticulture. As this was the first public proposition for the foundation of a horticultural society in Massachusetts, we give the article in full, as follows : — " The influence that has been so generally diffused throughout our State, by the institution of Agricultural Societies, is felt and acknowledged to be of immense importance to the interests of the cultivator as well as to the consumers of the surplus produce of his labors. Whatever has a teudeuc}* to promote this honorable, and useful, and independent branch of domestic industry, should be fostered and regarded. " It is equally gratifying to perceive that there is an excellent horticultural spirit awakened in our community, and which is not confined to the citizens of the metropolis, but pervades most of the neighboring towns and villages. We have witnessed with much pleasure the increasing interest, and ardent efforts of our citizens in this peaceful and healthful employment, and seen its visible effects, not only in the process of cultivation, but in its maturity. Our stalls and fruit-shops have been abundantly sup- plied the past season with better and greater varieties of fine fruits than heretofore. " The invalid must be grateful to those who thus administer to his enjoyments. The healthful will not be unmindful of the pleas- ure afforded by the display of the rich dessert with which his table is crowned. And the public will view with complacent re- gard the attention bestowed upon this branch of the ' American 1 Zebedee Cook, jun., of Dorchester. FIRST PUBLIC PROPOSITION. 57 System,' which needs no public act of doubtful expediency to insure its protection. "It cannot be expected, that, in our Northern climate, we should produce, even by untiring assiduity, or extensive outlay, all those fine varieties of fruit which are yielded spontaneously, or with comparatively little labor, in some sections of our highly favored country. Under all discouragements, however, it must be admitted, that much has been achieved ; and under the continued auspices of Heaven, and our native industry and perseverance, we may continue freeby to enjoy the healtlw and invigorating pleasures of the cultivator, and share the bounties a benevolent Providence awards to the labors of man. "Who, then, among us, is to give the impulse to more exten- sive and active exertions? To those who have been the modern pioneers in the resuscitation of this primitive employment of a portion of our race, who have labored with the mind and hands so industriously and efficiently in the vineyard, we must look for coun- tenance and instruction, for the enlargement and improvement of the system so successfully commenced, and so ardently and patri- otically pursued, by several of our distinguished fellow-citizens. "We have been led to a consideration of this subject at the present time for the purpose of calling the attention of experienced and practical horticulturists toward the founding of a society for the promotion of that useful employment, of extending its bless- ings, and increasing the efforts of those who feel an interest in such pursuits. " The citizens of Massachusetts have never been backward in promoting any object of public utility, and it is believed, that all that is now wanting to give an impulse to the plan here suggested is to present the subject to the consideration of your readers. " New York, Philadelphia, and some other of our sister cities, have preceded us in the good work. Let us go and do likewise." The editor 1 of the Farmer cordially approved the views taken in this article, introducing it to his readers thus : — " We fully concur in opinion with the writer of the above able article, from a respected correspondent, that a society for the pro- 1 Thomas G. Fessenden. 58 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTUKAL SOCIETY. motion of skilful and scientific horticulture, established in Boston, would greatly subserve the interests of the community, as well as furnish avenues to laudable distinction, and pure and praiseworthy enjoyment to the members of such an institution. A number of persons associated for a desirable object may furnish an aggregate of mind and means, which is much more effective for beneficial purposes than would be the isolated efforts of the same individuals. A Horticultural Society might introduce new and useful plants from various quarters of the globe ; import valuable and expensive publications, as well as form a repository for new and useful imple- ments, which would be be}"ond the powers of more numerous and wealth}- persons to accomplish without acting in concert." The proposed horticultural society did not fail of becoming a reality, for the idea was a practical one ; the institution had been needed for several years ; such asso- ciations had been eminently successful in this and other countries ; and the idea had become popular in Boston and the neighborhood by occasional hints in the periodi- cals of the day on the subject, by the conversation of eminent horticulturists, and especially by the example of successful agricultural societies. We are not surprised, therefore, to learn, that in about six weeks from the time the above article ap- peared in the Farmer, agreeably to a request, published in the same paper of February 20, to such gentlemen us felt favorably disposed toward the institution of a horticultural society, to meet at the insurance office of Zebedee Cook, jun., on Tuesday, the 24th, at noon, for the purpose of taking measures preliminary thereto, — similar printed requests being also addressed directly i<> gentlemen interested in horticulture, — a meeting of sixteen gentlemen, the first public one of the kind, convened at the time and place mentioned, although the day was bitterly cold, and a remarkable snow-storm had FIRST PUBLIC MEETING. 59 just filled the streets to the depth of five or six feet in the city, and much deeper in the country towns. To give character to this preliminary meeting it was deemed quite an object to have the Hon. John Lowell, who then stood at the head of the horticulturists of Massachusetts, preside. His health being feeble, he had felt but little hope that he should be able to be present. One of his neighbors on Colonnade How, Cheever Newhall, how- ever, called on him that morning, with his sleigh and extra blankets, and induced him to wrap up and come down, to the great gratification of the company. 1 A few appropriate remarks on the object of the meeting were made by Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, when he proposed its organization, which was effected by choosing Mr. Lowell moderator, and Zebedee Cook, jun., secretary. It was then voted that Messrs. Henry A. S. Dearborn, Zebedee Cook, jun., and Samuel Downer, be a committee to prepare a constitution and by-laws for the government of the society, and to report the same at a future meeting, to be held at the time and place the committee might designate. It was also voted that Messrs. John B. Russell, Enoch Bartlett, Zebedee Cook, jun., Samuel Downer, and Cheever New- hall be a committee to obtain subscribers to the society, after which the meeting was adjourned. Besides Mr. Lowell, who presided at this meeting, Mr. Cook the secretary, Gen. Dearborn who opened the meeting, and Mr. Russell who lives to tell us of the occasion, it may safely be concluded that Messrs. Downer, Bart- lett, and Newhall, who were appointed on commit- tees, were present. Robert Manning and John M. Ives came from Salem, as is stated by Mr. Ives, and 1 Reminiscences of the Mass. Hort. Soc. by John B. Russell in Tilton's Journal of Horticulture, Vol. VII. p. 88. GO MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Andrews Breed and his brother Henry A. Breed came from Lynn. To the best of the recollection of the last- named gentleman the other five founders of the society were William Kenrick, Jonathan Winship, Robert L. Emmons, Benjamin V. French, and William H. Sum- ner. Messrs. Russell and Ives, and the two Messrs. Breed still survive. The number of the New England Farmer contain- ing an official account of this meeting has also a com- munication, over the signature " Dorchester," from which we give the following extract : — ""We are pleased to learn that the meeting of the friends of hor- ticulture in this city on Tuesday last was numerously attended, 1 and that the occasion afforded the most conclusive evidence that a society for the improvement of this branch of our domestic indus- try will be established under auspicious circumstances. ' ' For ourselves we have long felt a strong interest in this mat- ter. "We have seen in other sections of our country the beneficial influence of institutions devoted to the practice of horticultural pursuits, and heard more of its ameliorating effects upon the varie- ties of fruits heretofore cultivated with partial success. " The association of men of taste, of influence, and industr}', has effected, in some of our neighboring cities, a wonderful improve- ment in the qualities of indigenous fruits, and a great increase of the varieties of foreign, of every kind, susceptible of successful culture in our climate. Here individual efforts have generously and patriotically contributed to collect the finest varieties of fruits, and not onby to distribute gratuitously the plants or the scions, as the case may be, for extended culture, but, what renders the favor more valuable, to impart from their rich stores of practical knowl- edge a portion for the benefit of the uninitiated." An adjourned meeting of the subscribers for a horti- Eultural society was held at the same place on Tuesday the 17th of March, three weeks from the time of the 1 Sixteen persons, considering the state of the roads, and other circum- stances, might be termed by a warm friend of the meeting a numerous attendance. FIEST BOARD OF OFFICERS. 61 first meeting. In the absence of Mr. Lowell, who was prevented from attendance by illness, Gen. William H. Sumner was chosen moderator. The committee appointed for the purpose of prepar- ing a constitution and by-laws for the government of the society made a report of their proceedings, which was unanimously adopted. The constitution was drawn up by Gen. Dearborn. 1 At the same meeting, after the Constitution and By-laws had been read and adopted, the Society was organized by the choice of the following gentlemen as officers : — President. HENRY A. S. DEARBORN, Roxbury. Vice-Presidents. Zebedee Cook, Jun., Dorchester. Robert Manning, Salem. John C. Gray, Boston. Enoch Bartlett, Roxbury. Treasurer. Cheever Newhall, Boston. Corresponding Secretary. Jacob Bigelow, M.D., Boston. Recording Secretary. Robert L. Emmons, Boston. Councillors. John Heard, jun., Boston. Thomas Brewer, Roxbury. Samuel Downer, Dorchester. William Worthington, Dorchester. J. W. Webster, ~M.T>., Cambridge. Aaron D. Williams, Roxbury. Malthus A. Ward, M.D., Salem. Joseph G-. Joy, Boston. T. W. Harris, M.D., Milton. Oliver Fiske, Worcester. Benjamin V. French, Boston. Samuel Ward, Roxbury. J. M. Gourgas, Weston. L. M. Sargent, Boston. Thomas NuttaU, Cambridge. Joseph Curtis, Roxbury. Hovey's Magazine, Vol. XVIII. p. 235. 62 .MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Gharlea Tappan, Boston. Thomas Dowse, Cambridgeport. J. <;. ( ogswell, Northampton. Daniel Waldo, Worcester. Jonathan Winship, Brighton. William II. Sumner, Dorchester. John li. Russell, Boston. Elias Phinney, Lexington. Charles Senior, Roxbury. , Henry A. Breed, Lynn. Augustus Aspinwall, BrooJcline. Samuel Jaquesjun., Charlestown. William Lincoln, Worcester. J. P. Leland, Sherburne. William E. Carter, Cambridge. Benj. W. Crowninshield, Salem. William Jackson, Plymouth. E. Hersey Derb}-, Salem. Jacob Tidd, Roxbury. Nathaniel Davenport, Hilton. William Kenrick, Newton. John Lemist, Roxbury. Thus the Massachusetts Horticultural Society was fully organized on the 17th of March, 1829, in the city of Boston, and at the office of one of its vice-presi- dents. At this meeting it was announced that upwards of one hundred and sixty persons had become subscrib- ers ; while in the first publication of the Society, a pam- phlet printed in August, 1829, are the names of two hundred and seventeen members ; and the list, when the account of the first anniversary, September 10, 1829, was published, had increased to two hundred and forty-nine, including the names of many of the scientific and opulent citizens of Boston and vicinity, as well as a considerable number of the most respected practical cul- tivators. Indeed, the Society began its career half a cen- tury ago under the happiest auspices. The praiseworthy objects of the association, the urgent demand for it to represent the horticultural enterprise and taste of New England, and the high character and attainments of its officers and members, were sure guaranties that it would be, as it has been, eminently successful. On the 7th of April the Council appointed Dr. Jacob Bigelow Professor of Botany, Dr. John W. Webster Professor of Horticultural Chemistry, and Dr. Thad- deus William Harris Professor of Entomology. CONTEMPORARY PERSONS AND EVENTS. 63 On the 28th of April the Society voted to petition the Legislature for an act of incorporation, which was ap- proved by the governor on the 12th of June, and accepted by the Society on the 28th of the same month. 1 It may be of interest to say a word of persons and events contemporaneous with the formation of the So- ciety. Boston had then been an incorporated city for only seven years. Hon. Harrison Gray Otis was its chief magistrate. The city contained not far from 60,000 inhabitants, or about one-sixth of its present popula- tion. In area it has now increased more than tenfold, and includes the residences of many, then deemed coun- try gentlemen, who were active in forming the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society. The valuation of the city has increased from $80,000,000 to eight times that amount ; and that of the State, which was then $200,- 000,000, has increased in nearly as great a ratio. The population of the State has grown from 600,000 to three times that number. This community was then earnestly discussing the subjects of building the West- ern Railroad, completing Bunker Hill Monument, and the founding of an institution for the instruction of the blind. The Hon. Levi Lincoln, a practical horticul- turist, was the Governor of Massachusetts ; and John Quincy Adams was near the close of his term of office as President of the United States, Andrew Jackson having been elected to succeed' him. Jacob Lorillard was president of the New York Horticultural Society ; Zaccheus Collins, of the Pennsylvania Society; and Thomas Andrew Knight presided over that of London. 1 Of this Act Mr. Loudon said (Gardener's Magazine, February, 1830), " There is something grand and refreshing in the simple form of the Act of Incorporation, as compared with the highly aristocratical royal charters of the London, Paris, and Berlin societies." The Act, with several Acts in addition thereto, may be found in Appendix A. G4 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. That peculiar feature in the organization of the Soci- ety, the " Council," copied from the. London Horticul- tural Society by the New York as well as the Massa- chusetts Society, deserves a moment's notice ; for almost all the general management of the property and busi- ness in the intervals between the stated meetings of the Society was delegated to it. By the original constitu- tion and by-laws all papers or communications were to be referred to the Council ; all rewards to such members as had advanced the objects of the Society, and all pre- miums for new inventions or discoveries in horticulture, or for the growth of new or excellent fruits, flowers, or vegetables, were to be awarded by it ; and it was its duty before every election to recommend a list of persons as officers of the Society for the ensuing year. By an amendment to the constitution, adopted in June, 1830, the duty of electing all members, honorary and corre- sponding, as well as ordinary, who had previously been chosen at the stated meetings of the Society, was de- volved upon the Council. This does not appear to have worked well ; for in a few months we find members chosen by the Society, and others by the Council ; but the provision was not formally changed until 1834. The Council was authorized to meet at such times and places as it might deem expedient, and to establish by- laws and regulations for its government, subject to the approval of the Society; and the corresponding secretary waa charged with the duty of keeping a record of its meetings. A portion of these records are printed in an appendix to the Transactions of the Society for 1870. The object of conferring such powers upon this body was, apparently, to avoid the necessity of frequent general meetings of the Society when travelling was THE COUNCIL. 65 much more difficult than now. It will be noticed, that, in accordance with the provisions above mentioned, the committees on Nurseries, Fruit Trees, and Fruit, on Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers, on the Products of the Kitchen Garden, on the Library, and the Execu- tive Committee, are in 1829, 1830, and 1831, spoken of as Standing Committees of the Council, while in 1832 and 1833 they are said to be anointed by the Council ; but the members of these committees were not necessa- rily members of the Council, though a large majority were. In the by-laws adopted in 1835 it was provided that all standing committees should be chosen at the annual meeting of the Society : indeed, this course seems to have been pursued on all occasions after the 24th of March, 1827, when they were established and appointed by the Council. The Committee on the Synonymes of Fruit was established and appointed by the Society on the 20th of June. The Council itself was found so cumbrous, that at a meeting on the 5th of December, 1829, it was resolved " That an Executive Committee of the Council be chosen, to consist of five members, with authority to exercise all the powers of the Council ; and said committee to convene at such times and places as may be deemed expedient, and to make report of its proceedings to the Council at the stated meetings of that board, and at such other times as may be required." Originally the Council consisted of not less than twenty- four members, besides the president and all other offi- cers of the society, who were members ex officiis ; but, by the by-laws of the Society adopted in 1835, the num- ber was fixed at not more than twenty-four, in addition to the officers. The constitution adopted in June, 1841, made no provision for a Council. 66 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. At the meeting of the Council on the 24th of March, 1829, a committee was appointed to cause a diploma to be prepared for the Society ; but it was nearly two years before it was ready for distribution. The design was a landscape view, with growing flowers, and gathered fruits and vegetables, and horticultural implements, in the fore- ground, and a mansion and trees in the background, and it was lithographed in the best style of art then known. The present elaborately engraved diploma was adopted in 1841. The committee charged with procuring it was also instructed to procure a seal, the Society having previously had none, and the beautiful design now used was adopted ; but the legend was not added until 1847. The Society, immediately after its organization, faith- fully devoted itself to its proposed objects as announced in the constitution. Several other meetings of the Council, and of the various committees, 1 were convened at Mr. Cook's office, until a hall was secured for the use of the Society. John B. Russell was appointed the gen- eral agent of the Society, and as such superintended the hall, and took charge of all books given as the nucleus of a horticultural library, which soon began to flow in in considerable numbers and of a valuable character. Liberal premiums were offered for the finest specimens of fruits, flowers, and vegetables. The hall was fur- nished with the leading horticultural and agricultural periodicals of the time, and was open at all hours of the day. for the accommodation of the members. Seeds, scions, trees, etc.. were also deposited in the hall, for distribution among the members. Weekly horticultural exhibitions were speedily insti- tuted at the hall every Saturday, which were open to 1 For the members and duties of these committees see Appendix B. PEOGRESS OF THE SOCIETY. 67 all, and served to effectually advertise the Society, and to render it popular. The following September the first annual exhibition was held, — a great display for the time, — accompanied with an address by the presi- dent, by a dinner attended by toasts, the reading of letters from eminent invited guests, and a horticultural song prepared and sung for the occasion. Honorary, corresponding, and other members, many of them of the highest eminence in horticulture, were elected. The New England Farmer, by formal vote, was authorized to publish the proceedings from week to week, which honor it gladly accepted ; a correspondence was at once established with the principal horticultural societies at home and abroad ; and thus the infant society grew in favor with the people, and soon had a name and praise throughout the world. In all these labors to establish firmly the foundations of the infant society President Dearborn was foremost ; and to him more than to any other person is the Soci- ety indebted for the prestige and importance which it so early attained. In the report on the expediency of establishing an Experimental Garden and Cemetery at Mount Auburn, drawn up by him in June, 1831, he gives a summary of the work then accomplished by the Society, with which we close this chapter : — " The kind disposition which has been generally evinced to ad- vance the interests of the Society has had a salutaiy and cheering influence. Many interesting and instructive communications have been received, and valuable donations of books, seeds, and plants, have been made by generous foreigners, and citizens of the United States. A liberal offer of co-operation has been promptly ten- dered in both hemispheres, and great advantages are anticipated from a mutual interchange of good offices. "A library of considerable extent has been formed, containing G8 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. many of the most celebrated English and French works on horti- culture several of which are magnificent ; and the apartments for the accommodation of the Society have been partially embellished with beautiful paintings of some of our choice native varieties of fruits. By weekly exhibitions during eight months of the year, of fruits, flowers, and esculent vegetables; by awarding premiums for proficiency in the art of gardening, and the rearing of new, valuable, or superior products; b}' disseminating intelligence, and accounts of the proceedings of the Society at its regular and spe- cial meetings, through the medium of the New England Farmer; and by an annual festival, and public exhibition of the various products of horticulture, — an interest has been excited, and a spirit of inquiry awakened, auspicious to the institution, while a powerful impulse has been given to all branches of rural industry, far beyond our most sanguine hopes." CHAPTER II. MOUNT AUBUEN PUECHASED BY THE HOETICULTUEAL SOCIETY, AND AN EXPEEIMENTAL GAEDEN AND CEME- TEEY ESTABLISHED. About the year 1825 events occurred which were to have an important influence upon the prosperity and usefulness of the Horticultural Society, though it was then scarcely projected, and only spoken of occasionally by a few persons. At that time Dr. Jacob Bigelow — then a young physician of Boston — had his attention called to certain gross abuses in the practice of sepulture as it existed under churches and in other receptacles of the dead in that city. A love of the country, cherished by the character of his early botanical studies, had led him to desire the institution of a suburban cemetery in the neighborhood of Boston, which might at once lead to a cessation of the burial of the dead in the city, rob death of a portion of its terrors, and afford to afflicted survivors some relief amid their bitterest sorrows. Animated by such philanthropic motives, Dr. Bigelow invited several gentlemen to meet him at his residence in Summer Street to consult together on opening a suburban cemetery, nothing of that kind then existing in the United States. The persons present at this meet- ing, which was assembled in 1825, were Jacob Bigelow, John Lowell, William Sturgis, George Bond, Thomas W. Ward, John Tappan, Samuel P. Gardiner, and Nathan 69 70 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Hale. Other gentlemen invited 'to attend the meeting expressed their concurrence in its design, but were not present. A plan of a cemetery such as Mount Auburn now is was submitted by Dr. Bigelow to the persons assembled, and met with their approval. " A committee, consisting of Messrs. Bond and Tappan, was appointed to look out for a tract of ground suitable for the desired purpose, after which the meeting was dissolved. This committee fixed their attention on an estate in Brook- line, which afterwards proved to be unattainable ; and here the subject rested, without definitive action, for several years." The preceding account, given by Dr. Bigelow in his History of Mount Auburn, of the first attempt to establish a rural cemetery in this country, agrees with the statements of other writers on the subject. In an Account of the Proceedings in relation to the Experimen- tal Garden and the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, writ- ten, it is believed, by Gen. Dearborn in 183:2, arc found these words: 1 " A rural cemetery had claimed the atten- tion of several distinguished gentlemen some ten years since ; but no definite measures were taken for accom- plishing an object of such deep interest and general solicitude among all classes of society. Among the originators of that laudable yet fruitless attempt, Dr. Jacob Bigelow was conspicuous for his zealous efforts to insure success ; and. although disappointed in his expec- tations at that time, he never abandoned the hope of an ultimate triumph over the numerous obstacles which were to be encountered in the achievement of such a momentous project." We have further proof that the rural cemetery had 1 Transactions of the Mass. Ilort. Society for 1S32, p. GO. THE CEMETERY LONG CONTEMPLATED. 71 long been in contemplation, from the words of the Hon. Edward Everett, 1 published in the Boston papers at the time such a place of burial was proposed in connection with an experimental garden under the auspices of the new Horticultural Society. Mr. Everett said, " The spot," referring to Mount Auburn, " which has been selected for this establishment, has not been chosen without great deliberation, and a reference to every other place in the vicinity of Boston which has been named for the same purpose. In fact, the difficulty of finding a proper place has been for several years the chief obstacle to the execution of this project." He said again, " This design, though but recently made pub- lic, has been long in contemplation, and, as is believed, has been favored with unusual approbation. It has drawn forth much unsolicited and earnest concurrence. It has touched a chord of sympathy which vibrates in every heart." Judge Story, in his address at the dedication of the cemetery at Mount Auburn in 1831, argued the im- portance of rural cemeteries, from the customs of the ancients and from the general feelings of mankind in regard to the burial of then- friends. He added, " Con- siderations like those which have been suggested have for a long time turned the thoughts of many distin- guished citizens to the importance of some more appro- priate places of sepulture. There is a growing sense in the community of the inconveniences and painful associations, not to speak of the unhealthiness, of inter- ments beneath our churches. The tide which is flow- ing with such a steady and widening current into the narrow peninsula of our metropolis not only forbids the 1 Transactions of the Mass. Hort. Soc. for 1832, p. 70. 72 M \SSACnUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. enlargement of the common limits, but admonishes us of the increasing clangers to the ashes of the dead from its disturbing movements." Although the enterprise was delayed by the difficulty of securing a suitable tract of land, it was not aban- doned; but inquiries continued to be made, and negotia- tions attempted, for various grounds advantageously situated in the vicinity of Boston. Overtures were twice made by Dr. Bigelow to Augustus Aspinwall for the beautiful estate held by his family hi Brookline. Negotiations were also attempted for land on either side of the Western Avenue, on the branch leading to the Punch Bowl. These and other attempts failed, either from the high price at which the land was held, or from the reluctance of the owners to acquiesce in the use proposed to be made of the premises. A tract of land situated in Cambridge and Water- town, and known as " Stone's Woods " (the title to the land having remained in the Stone family from an early period after the settlement of the country), but more familiarly to the students of Harvard College, by whom, in common with other admirers of rural scenery, it was much frequented, as " Sweet Auburn," — a name be- stowed upon it by Col. George Sullivan and Charles W. Greene, 1 when college students, — had been pur- chased in 1825 by George W. Brimmer, who after- wards enlarged the original purchase by adding to it several pieces of front land intervening between the wood and the public road on which the gate now stands, so that the whole estate included about seventy- two acres. Dr. Bigelow, who had often visited the 1 Col. Sullivan belonged to the class of 1801, and Mr. Greene to that of 1802. PURCHASE OF SWEET AUBURN BY MR. BRIMMER. 73 place, both in company with Mr. Brimmer, and before his purchase, proposed to him in 1830 the purchase of the whole for an ornamental cemetery ; and notwithstand- ing his attachment to the place, which he had learned to love while in college, visiting it as he often did in company with his fellow-students, 1 so anxious was he to advance the science and art of horticulture, and to encourage the foundation of a rural cemetery, that he liberally offered to surrender the whole estate for these purposes, at the original cost to himself, although the land had risen in value, and could probably have been sold, at no distant period, for a large advance. Dr. Bigelow, hi his History of Mount Auburn, states that Mr. Brimmer was prompted to the purchase by his appreciation of the beautiful in nature, to preserve from destruction the trees and other natural features of that attractive spot, until some appropriate use should be found for it. The Account of the Proceedings in rela- tion to Mount Auburn, in the Transactions of the Hor- ticultural Society, differs. "The land," it says, "had been purchased by Mr. Brimmer, with a view of appro- priating it to a country residence, and he had planted out many ornamental trees, and opened several exten- sive avenues, which rendered it a favorite resort for the students of the university, and the inhabitants of the town." 2 The latter statement is doubtless correct ; for it was corroborated by David Stone of Watertown, who sold the land to Mr. Brimmer. Mr. Stone added that Mr. Brimmer went so far as to have the land staked out 1 Mr. Brimmer graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1803. Among his classmates were the late Rev. Drs. Edward Payson and Samuel Willard, Professor John Farrar, James Savage, LL.D., and Benjamin Bussey. 2 Transactions of the Mass. Hort. Soc. for 1832, p. 61. 74 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. on which to place his house and stable. But for some reason he did not build, and hence became an active agent in opening the first extensive rural cemetery in the United States. At the time of these events there was no ornamented rural cemetery deserving of notice in the United States, nor even in the world, on the scale of Mount Auburn as it now is, and the idea of such an one was entirely new. In some cases it met with lukewarmness, in others with prejudice, and in others with direct opposition ; for the inhabitants of Boston had been accustomed to bury their dead within the city, or in the village graveyards ; but now they were asked to convey the precious dust of their loved ones to the recesses of what seemed to them a distant wood. It appeared to Dr. Bigelow, that, if these prejudices were to be overcome, it could best be done by enlisting in favor of the change the co-opera- tion of a young, active, and popular society ; and to what society would he more naturally look than to the Horticultural Society, of which he was corresponding secretary? The Hon. John Lowell, who presided at the first meeting called to establish the Society, was also one of the eight gentlemen who attended the first meet- ing at Dr. Bigelow's house in behalf of a rural ceme- tery, and the tastes and associations of the members of the Society generally were such as to make them favora- bly disposed toward the plan. And, if there were any who questioned the propriety of a participation in such a movement by the Society, their doubts must have been removed by the eloquent words of Gen. Dearborn, probably intended to meet any objections on that score, in which he described the custom of sepulture outside of cities, in gardens and groves, among the Jews, the CEMETERY PROPOSED IN MR. COOK'S ADDRESS. 75 Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans, the Eastern Chris- tians, and the Turks, and from the times of the patri- archs down to onr own day. Dr. Bigelow first commnnicated Mr. Brimmer's prop- osition to the officers of the Horticultural Society, and engaged then co-operation as private individuals in his efforts. The proposition, says Gen. Dearborn, became a favorite theme of conversation among the members, and at the close of the address delivered before the Society on its second anniversary (September 10, 1830), by Z. Cook, jun., was commended to the attention of the public in the following words : — " The improvement and embellishment of grounds devoted to public uses is deserving of especial consideration, and should interest the ingenious, the liberal, and tasteful in devising ways and means for the accomplishment of so desirable an object ; and I deem this a suitable occasion to direct the attention of our citizens to a subject I have long wished to see presented to their consideration, with an eloquence that could not fail to awaken, and with arguments that will not fail to insure the influence of all in its execution. I refer to the establishment of a public cemetery similar in its design to that of Tore La Chaise in the environs of Paris, to be located in the suburbs of this metropolis. . . . " I would render such scenes more alluring, more familiar, and imposing, by the aid of rural embellishments. The skill and taste of the architect should be exerted in the construction of the requi- site departments and avenues ; and appropriate trees and plants should decorate its borders ; the weeping-willow, waving its grace- ful drapery over the monumental marble, and the sombre foliage of the cypress, should shade it ; and the undying daisy should mingle its bright and glowing tints with the native laurel of our forests." From the first establishment of the Horticultural Society, an experimental garden had been considered indispensable to the full development of its purposes. It 70 .MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. was provided for in its charter, and was especially urged by (Jen. Dearborn. It was often the subject of anxious inquiry and interesting discussion ; and the only cause of delay in commencing the important work on an extensive scale was the deficiency of adequate means. "When Mr. Brimmer's proposition was communicated by Dr. Bigelow to the officers and members of the Society, and their aid invoked in establishing the cemetery, they perceived the advantage of connecting it with the desired experimental garden ; and it was believed not only that the benefit to the two departments would be mutual, but that the whole would ultimately offer such an example of landscape gardening as would be credita- ble to the Society, and assist in improving the taste of the public in this highest branch of the art of horticul- ture. By invitation of Mr. Brimmer, Gen. Dearborn visited the proposed site of the cemetery to ascertain whether it would answer the desired purpose. After a thorough examination of its varied features and advan- tages, they were perfectly satisfied that it was impossible to make a more admirable selection in the vicinity of the metropolis. To further the plan, it was determined that President Dearborn should draw up a memoir ex- planatory of the objects for which the land could be advantageously used, and the means of accomplishing them. The account given by Gen. Dearborn of the first suggestion that the experimental garden and cemetery be combined, is, that it was made by Dr. Bigelow ; but the latter gentleman, referring to this statement, ex- pressly Bays that it is only in part correct. " The ceme- tery was suggested by Dr. Bigelow; but the experi- mental garden was a suggestion of other officers and members of the Horticultural Society." MEASURES TAKEN FOE THE PUECHASE. 77 Mr. Brimmer's proposition to sell " Sweet Auburn" was formally communicated to the Horticultural Society at a meeting at the Exchange Coffee House, on the 27th of November, 1830, when Thomas H. Perkins, John Lowell, H. A. S. Dearborn, Jacob Bigelow, George W. Brimmer, George Bond, and Abbott Lawrence, were appointed a committee " to inquire into the expediency of purchas- ing a piece of ground in the vicinity of Boston for a garden of experiment and a rural cemetery." During the following winter and spring nothing was done to promote the object, except that, as the season opened, many persons were led to visit " Sweet Auburn," and to become acquainted with the charming scenery, as well as to study its advantages for its proposed use. Numerous meetings were held by the committee, and several articles appeared in the newspapers of the period explanatory of the views of the projectors of the experi- mental garden and cemetery. But the Society had not, at this time, the means of purchasing land for a garden and cemetery, however desirable these objects might be ; and therefore, at a meeting of the Society on the 4th of June, 1831, the president stated what measures had been taken by the committee having the subject under consideration, and offered a resolve, which was adopted, that the committee be authorized to in- crease then numbers, and to ask the aid of such other gentlemen not members of the Society, as in their opin- ion would forward the objects desired, by being asso- ciated with them. Accordingly, the committee called a meeting on the 18th of June, at the rooms of the Horticultural Society, then in Joy's Building, of gentle- men who were favorably disposed to the enterprise. Judge Story was called to the chair, and Edward Everett 78 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. was appointed secretary. There was a good attendance, and much interest was expressed by various speakers in reference to the proposed purchase of " Sweet Auburn " in behalf of the Horticultural Society. The plan agreed upon was to purchase the estate of Mr. Brimmer as soon as one hundred subscribers for lots in the cemetery could be obtained, at sixty dollars each, which would give the required sum. The following-named persons were elected members of the committee: Joseph Story, Daniel Webster, H. A. S. Dearborn, Charles Lowell, Samuel Appleton, Jacob Bigelow, Edward Everett, George W. Brimmer, George Bond, A. H. Everett, Abbott Lawrence, James T. Austin, Franklin Dexter, Joseph P. Bradlee, Charles Tappan, Charles P. Curtis. Zebcdee Cook, jun., John Pierpont, L. M. Sargent, and George W. Pratt. The committee unanimously re- ported on the 18th of June, through Gen. Dearborn, who drew up the report, in which the advantages of the proposed experimental garden and cemetery were fully and eloquently set forth. That part of their re- port relating to the method of raising subscriptions for the experimental garden and cemetery was as follows : — 1. That it is expedient to purchase for a garden and ceme- tery a tract of land, connnonby known by the name of " Sweet Auburn," near the road leading from Cambridge to YTatertown, containing about seventy-two acres, for the sum of six thousand dollars ; provided this sum can be raised in the manner proposed in t lie second article of this report. 2. That a subscription be opened for lots of ground in the said tract, containing not less than two hundred square feet each, at the price of sixty dollars for each lot, the subscription not to be binding until one hundred lots are subscribed for. 3. That, when a hundred or more lots are taken, the right of choice shall be disposed of at an auction, of which seasonable notice shall be given to the subscribers. EEPORT OF COMMITTEE. 79 4. That those subscribers who do not offer a premium for the right of choosing shall have their lots assigned to them by lot. 5. That the fee of the land shall be vested in the Massachu- setts Horticultural Society, but that the use of the lots, agreeably to an act of the Legislature respecting the same, shall be secured to the subscribers, their heirs, and assigns forever. 6. That the land devoted to the purpose of a cemetery shall contain not less than forty acres. 7. That every subscriber, upon paying for his lot, shall become a member for life of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, without being subject to assessments. 8. That a garden and cemetery committee of nine persons shall be chosen annually, first by the subscribers, and afterwards by the Horticultural Society, whose duty it shall be to cause the necessary surveys and allotments to be made, to assign a suitable tract of land for the garden of the Society, and to direct all mat- ters appertaining to the regulation of the garden and cemetery ; five at least of this committee shall be persons having rights in the cemetery. 9. That the establishment, including the garden and cemetery, be called by a definite name, to be supplied by the committee. The report was accepted, and the committee was authorized to proceed in the establishment of the gar- den and cemetery in conformity thereto. Subscription papers were at once put in circulation through the committee ; and in a short time seventy-five lots were taken, and the remaining twenty-five subsequently found buyers, chiefly through the exertions of Joseph P. Bradlee, a member of the committee. Thus by the 3d of August, 1831, the one hundred lots were taken by responsible subscribers, and the success of the long conceived plan of an ornamented rural cemetery on an extensive scale was made a certainty. The subscription paper is now in existence, contain- ing the names of the persons who purchased the first hundred lots, and who were thus largely instrumental 80 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. in establishing an institution so important to humanity, so interesting in a horticultural view, and so intimately associated with the Christian religion. The entire number of subscribers was ninety-one, of whom ninety took a single lot each, and George W. Brimmer ten lots ; thus making the one hundred requisite for the purchase. 1 On the 23d of June, 1831, an Act authorizing the Horticultural Society to hold land for a rural cemetery, and to lay it out and dedicate it for that purpose, was approved by Gov. Lincoln. This Act was accepted by the Society on the 2d of July. 2 On the 3d of August, at a meeting of subscribers for lots in the cemetery, held at the rooms of the Horti- cultural Society, the following named persons were elected members of the garden and cemetery committee, agree- ably to the eighth section of the terms of subscription : Joseph Story, Henry A. S. Dearborn, Jacob Bigelow, George W. Brimmer, Edward Everett, B. A. Gould, Charles Wells, G. W. Pratt, and George Bond. At this meeting it was announced that one hundred lots in the cemetery had been taken ; so that, by the terms of the subscription, it became obligatory. At the same time a committee, of which Judge Story was chairman, was appointed to consider the propriety of consecrating the cemetery by public religious ceremonies. This committee reported to the Horticultural Society on the 10th of September, recommending that such consecra- tion services be held at Mount Auburn on Saturday, the 24th of September, in the afternoon, and that the exercises for the occasion be an introductory prayer, an 1 For the names of these subscribers see Appendix C. 2 For this and a supplementary Act see Appendix D. PLACE OF CONSECRATION. 81 address, and a closing prayer, with an original hymn, to be sung by the assembly, and other appropriate music. This report was accepted, and a consecrating commit- tee of nine members, viz., Hon. Joseph Story, II. A. S. Dearborn, Charles P. Curtis, Rev. Charles Lowell, Zebedee Cook, jun., -J. T. Buckingham, George W. Brimmer, George W. Pratt, and Z. B. Adams, was chosen to make the arrangements recommended. Messrs. Curtis, Buckingham, and Pratt were appointed a sub-committee to invite the orator and clergymen, and to provide an appropriate hymn and suitable music. The persons designated to prepare the grounds at Mount Auburn, and to make arrangements for the accommodation of the company, were Messrs. Dear- born, Brimmer, and Cook ; while Mr. Pratt and Mr. Cook were made a committee to appoint suitable mar- shals and other officers, and to arrange all matters of police for the occasion. The account of the place of consecration as printed at the time is as follows : — "The site selected for the performance of the consecration cere- monies was a deep circular dell, formed by the united bases of four beautiful hills, in the south-western portion of the cemetery grounds. In the centre was a small pool supplied by perennial springs, and from its margin the acclivities on three sides grace- fully rose for more than a hundred feet in extent, presenting a magnificent amphitheatre, sufficiently capacious to accommodate from six to eight thousand spectators. The flanks and summits of each eminence being covered with majestic forest trees, shrubs, and ' many a wood flower wild,' an area of more than six hundred feet in circuit, extending up the broad escarpments for at least seventy feet, was divested of the underwood, and lined with seven ranges of seats for the accommodation of the audience. Near the northern margin of the miniature lake a rostrum was formed, a few feet above the surface of the water, for the orator, clergy, and offi- 82 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ccrs of the Horticultural Society. This w:i> decorated with ever- greens, giving it the appearance of a natural bower open towards the south. On the declivity of the fourth hill, and on the right of the rostrum, ranges of seats were placed, as an orchestra, for the band of music, choristers, and the various committees of arrange- ments." "The day was cloudless, and the deep blue vault of heaven canopied the immense area with a dome of more resplendent gran- deur than all that genius can conceive, or art accomplish. Whis- pering zephyrs rustled the many twinkling leaves of those towering groves which crowned the surrounding heights ; the glorious sun gilded with his cheering beams the smiling landscape; while far and wide over the deep and expanded glen a thickened, flicker- ing shadow screened with balmy freshness the assembled multi- tude, who listened with intense and elevated thoughts to the fer- vent prayer, the eloquent appeal, the thrilling hymn of praise, and those swelling notes of music which pealed sublime through every vale and tufted hill of that sacred garden of the dead. Such was the solemn stillness, so motionless the surface of the dark, deep pool, that it mirrored the steep, receding acclivities, and the innu- merable spectators who thronged the encircling seats. " At twelve o'clock, a procession was formed of the officers of the Societ}', as an escort to the orator and officiating clergy, which, preceded by the band, entered the rostrum through the eastern vale. The effect was grand and imposing, calling up vivid recollections of those solemn funeral rites which were performed by the patriarchs of old in the field of Machpelah, or the assem- bled Athenians in the venerable groves of the Ceramicus." The order of performances was as follows : — 1. Instrumental music, by the Boston Band. 2. Introductory Prayer, by the Eev. Dr. Ware. 3. Ilynin, written by the Rev. Mr. Pierpont. To thee, O God. in humble trust. Our hearts their cheerful incense burn For this thy word, " Thou art of dust, Ami unto dust shall thou return." For whal were life, life's work all done, The hopes, joys, loves, that cling to clay, All. all departed, one by one, And yet life's load borne on for aye ! CONSECRATION SERVICES. 83 Decay! decay! 'tis stamped on all; All bloom in flower and flesh shall fade: Ye whispering trees, when we shall fall, Be our long sleep beneath your shade ! Here to thy bosom, mother Earth, Take back in peace what thou hast given ; And all that is of heavenly birth, O God, in peace, recall to heaven ! 4. Address, by the Hon. Joseph Story. 5. Concluding prayer, by the Rev. Mr. Pierpont. G. Music,by the Band. Judge Story, in his address, thus spoke of the con- nection of the Society with Mount Auburn : — " The Legislature of this Commonwealth, with a parental fore- sight, has clothed the Horticultural Societ} 7 with authority (if I may use its own language) to make a perpetual dedication of this spot as a rural cemetery or buiying ground, and to plant and em- bellish it with shrubbery and flowers, and trees and walks, and other rural ornaments. And I stand here, by the order and in behalf of this Society, to declare that by these services it is to be deemed henceforth and forever so dedicated. Mount Auburn, in the noblest sense, belongs no longer to the living, but to the dead. It is a sacred, it is an eternal trust. It is consecrated ground. May it remain forever inviolate ! " The scene was thus described in the Boston Courier of the time, doubtless by Joseph T. Buckingham, the editor, who was one of the consecrating committee, and who entered into the full spirit of the occasion and of the enterprise. "An unclouded sun, and an atmosphere purified by the showers of the preceding night, combined to make the day one of the most delightful we ever experience at this season of the year. It is unnecessary for us to say that the address of Judge Story was per- tinent to the occasion ; for, if the name of the orator were not suffi- cient, the perfect silence of the multitude, enabling him to be heard with distinctness at the most distant part of the beautiful 84 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. amphitheatre in which the services were performed, will be suffi- cient testimony to its worth and beauty. Neither is it in our pow.r to furnish any adequate description of the effect produced by the music of the thousand voices which joined in the hymn as it swelled in chastened melody from the bottom of the glen, and, like the spirit of devotion, found an echo in every heart, and pervaded the whole scene." • • Mount Auburn has been little known to the citizens of Bos- ton ; but it has now become holy ground, and ' Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain,' — a village of the quick and the silent, where Nature throws an air of cheerfulness over the labors of Death, — will soon be a place of more general resort, both for ourselves and for strangers, than any other spot in the vicinity. Where else shall we go with the mus- ing- of sadness, or for the indulgence of grief; where to cool the burning brow of ambition, or relieve the swelling heart of dis- appointment? We can find no better spot for the rambles of curiosity, health, or pleasure, none sweeter for the whispers of affection among the living, none lovelier for the last rest of our kindred." Truly, the two thousand assembled on that day did stand on holy ground, and that which will remain sa- cred forever. They found it good, on that memorable day. to go to the house of mourning. It was a kind of sabbath, and fitted them for the approaching rest of holy time. Far-seeing men and women engaged in the solemnities of that day ; but their work has proved more interesting and important than their high expecta- tions pronounced it at that time, and wave after wave of interest swells over the silent and now populous city of the dead, and will thus continue until " the angel shall swear, by Him that liveth for ever and ever, that time shall be no longer." CHAPTER III. THE PROGRESS OF MOUNT AUBURN" UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, AND THE SEPARA- TION OF THE TWO INTERESTS BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT. The terms of subscription for a garden and cemetery close with the provision " that the establishment be called by a definite name, to be supplied by the Commit- tee." We have no record of the formal adoption of the name of Mount Auburn from that of the principal eminence in the grounds — which rises one hundred and twenty-five feet above the level of Charles River, and is now crowned by the granite tower erected from Dr. Bigelow's design — but it is first applied to the cemetery in the report of the Committee, made on the 10th of September, 1831, recommending a public consecration. At the first meeting of the Garden and Cemetery Committee, on the 8th of August, Gen. Dearborn, Dr. Bigelow, and Mr. Brimmer were appointed a sub-com- mittee to procure an accurate topographical survey of Mount Auburn, and to report a plan for laying out the grounds. At the annual meeting of the Society, Octo- ber 1, 1831, the committee, through then chairman, made a full and encouraging report. They stated that a skilful civil engineer had been employed to make an accurate topographical survey, and to locate the numer- ous avenues which were found necessary for conven- ience and embellishment. A map was so far perfected 85 86 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. as to be submitted for inspection, to exhibit the general outlines of the projected improvements ; but consid- erable labor was yet required hi clearing out the prin- cipal avenues and footpaths before the sites of the public and private cemetery squares could be definitely established, and designated on the plan. As the season for rural labor was far advanced, it was not considered expedient to commence the construction of the avenues before the spring ; but they could be divested of the underwood, and the whole of the grounds so far cleared up, as to give them the appearance of a park, within the autumn. It was thought that the lots might be assigned within twenty days. Models and drawings of the Egyptian gateway, and of a Gothic and a Grecian tower, one of which it was proposed to erect on the summit of the highest hill, were offered for examina- tion. The committee had been cheered in the dis- charge of its duties by the deep interest manifested for the success of an undertaking so important to the pros- perity of the Horticultural Society, and so honorable to the country. The report concluded with the statement of the plans of the committee for the rapid progress and speedy development of the cemetery and garden, in regard to both which they indulged the most sanguine expectations. At this meeting it was voted that the Garden and Cemetery Committee be instructed to ap- propriate such funds as might be realized from the sale of lots in the cemetery for the erection of such build- ings as they might see proper. Gen. Dearborn, the chairman of the sub-committee to lay out the grounds, devoted himself to this work most assiduously, spending the greater part of the autumn at Mount Auburn, in laboring with hands AVENUES AND PATHS LAID OUT. 87 as well as mind, without money and without price. The avenues and paths were planned, as far as possi- ble, to conform to the natural surface of the ground. Curved or winding courses were generally adopted, both for picturesque effect, and for easy approach to the lots. The avenues for carriages were made about eighteen feet wide, and the footpaths about five, the lots being set back six feet from the paths or avenues. The standard size of lots was fixed at twenty feet by fifteen, which size has never been changed. Alexander Wadsworth, the civil engineer employed to make the survey of Mount Auburn, in accordance with the plan of Gen. Dearborn, approved by the other members of the sub-committee, in the autumn of 1831 staked out the avenues and paths in that part of the grounds sit- uated east of a line drawn north and south through where the chapel now stands, with the exception of the north-eastern part, which was designed for the ex- perimental garden. Gen. Dearborn transplanted from his nurseries in Roxbury a large number of young forest trees, which he distributed through the entire front of the cemetery. A part of these have since been moved and re-arranged, and they are now among the most beautiful ornaments of the place. In view of this and other services ren- dered by him, the Garden and Cemetery Committee, on the 2d of December, 1831, at the instance of Mr. Brimmer, " Voted, That in consideration of the very acceptable ser- vices rendered by Gen. Dearborn at Mount Auburn, and for the assiduity he has manifested in carrying into effect the purposes and designs of the committee, the lot selected by him in the grounds appropriated to the cemetery be presented to him, in be- 88 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. half of the proprietors, and that the same shall be conveyed to him and his heirs in the manner prescribed by the Rules and Regulations of the Association, as a gratuity, and that Mr. Cook be requested to notify him of the same." While Gen. Dearborn, as the active working member of the committee, was engaged in laying out the grounds. Dr. Bigclow visited the place as often as the duties of his profession would allow. Mr. Brimmer was a fre- quent visitor, and Judge Story was often there, some- times spending hours, and manifesting a deep interest in the enterprise, as did also Samuel Applcton. Gen. Dearborn, having been elected a member of Congress, was compelled to leave for Washington the last of November, and was unable to return to his home until the following summer. But before his departure he addressed a letter to Mr. Brimmer, giving his views in regard to laying out the grounds, in a man- ner well illustrating his zeal for the speedy progress of the enterprise. After stating the importance of com- mencing the carriage-avenues and paths early in the spring, he gave minute directions for their formation, and for planting trees, shrubs, and flowers on their mar- gins ; for building a fence around the land ; preparing the ground for the experimental garden ; engaging a gardener, and building a cottage for him ; and building the Egyptian gateway ; and carefully noted the por- tions of the work most important to be first accom- plished, lie concluded by asking Mr. Brimmer to show his letter to Dr. Bigelow, and leave it with him if he went South; "for the doctor is an army iu our cause." At a meeting of the Garden and Cemetery Commit- tee, held November 3, 1831, it was voted, that Dr. CHOICE OF LOTS SOLD. 89 Bigelow be authorized to have a plan of the grounds of Mount Auburn lithographed, and to give names to such ponds, avenues, or places as required them ; also to alter any names before affixed. In the execution of the latter duty, similar to one previously ordered by the sub-committee, and for which his early studies and tastes had eminently qualified him, Dr. Bigelow adopted the beautiful and appropriate names of trees and shrubs for the paths and avenues ; and this course has since been followed, with occasional deviations, made to gratify the desire of parties interested. Mr. Wadsworth's plan of the grounds was submitted and accepted at this meeting, and afterwards lithographed on a reduced scale. At the same meeting a vote was passed to permit single interments to be made in the grounds by persons not proprietors. The enclosure, since named St. James's lot, on Cypress Avenue, was shortly after set off for the purpose, and surrounded with a slight fence. About one hundred lots at Mount Auburn having been surveyed, it was voted, in November, to offer at auction to proprietors, for a premium, the right of choice among the lots laid out. Liberal bids were made at this auction, the highest of one hundred dol- lars, by Samuel Appleton ; and the next, fifty dollars, by Benjamin Adams. The whole proceeds of the sale, after deducting auction expenses, were $944.92. It will be remembered that on the 3d of August, 1831, the one hundred lots necessary to be purchased to secure the grounds of Mount Auburn were disposed of. But such was the demand for lots, that, by the 18th of November of the same year, upwards of twenty additional lots were taken. On this last-mentioned 90 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. date the deeds, more than one hundred and twenty in number, giving the various purchasers a right to their lots, were signed by II. A. S. Dearborn as president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The original price of lots was sixty dollars for three hundred square feet ; and a certain number of lots were kept surveyed, in anticipation of sales at this price. It was, however, voted, November 8, 1831, that, " if an applicant choose to have a new lot as- signed to him, the committee may, if they sec fit, grant him a new lot on his paying ten dollars additional to his former dues." The addition subsequently required was twenty dollars. The price of a surveyed lot has been from time to time increased, the advance being founded on the greater value of the cemetery, and the difference in interest to early purchasers. On the opening of the spring of 1832, Gen. Dear- born again took hold of the work at Mount Auburn, so congenial to his taste, with the same unwearied energy and disinterested enthusiasm as in the previous year. John B. Russell, one of the founders of the Society, in his Reminiscences of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 1 speaking of Gen. Dearborn, says, " As the fimds at his command were limited, he hired only a few laborers, and superintended and worked with them him- self. I remember scemg him, hoe in hand, day after day. at the head of his laborers, levelling and grading the walks, taking his dinner with him, which he would step into the AYycth House across the road to eat." Similar recollections were expressed by Mr. David Stone, who sold the greater part of the land to Mr. Brimmer, and who worked many months with Gen. 1 Tilton's Journal of Horticulture, Vol. VU. p. 278. AVENUES AND PATHS CONSTEUCTED. 91 Dearborn, and by Miss Wyeth, who lived in the house where he dined, and was a constant witness of his un- requited toil, confirming the opinion of Mr. Russell, that the practical success of Mount Auburn is due more to the far-seeing, persistent, and personal labors of Gen. Dearborn than to those of any other person. His daily private journal, kept at this period, indicates, that, for more than one season, he spent the greater part of his time in active mental and physical service at Mount Auburn. Comparatively few of the avenues and paths laid out at Mount Auburn in the summer and autumn of 1831 were constructed at that time ; but in the following spring most of them were completed, affording a car- riage-drive of nearly three miles, and an equal extent of foot-walks, which rendered it the pleasantest place of resort in the vicinity of Boston. By midsummer carriages passed in great numbers to every part of the ground then owned by the Society, and ascended to the summit of the hill. Early in August the Garden and Cemetery Committee caused other avenues to be laid out and constructed, and a road to be made on the eastern side of the cemetery, which united the highways on the south and north-east of the grounds, thus completing the line of centre communication with the main road from Boston to Watertown, whereby a new and most interesting approach to the cemetery was opened from Brighton, Brookline, Roxbury, and other towns south of Charles River, as well as from Boston. In the month of May, Messrs. Cook and Bond were appointed a committee to decide upon the form of a fence to enclose the grounds at Mount Auburn. A contract was soon afterwards made for a substantial fence, seven 92 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. feet high, of rough sawed pales, which enclosed the whole ground. On the 1st of September, 1832, Gen. Dearborn, Dr. Bigelow, and Mr. Brimmer were appointed a committee to procure the erection of a gateway, with lodges for the porter and superintendent at the princi- pal entrance, the funds being deemed sufficient to erect one of wood with some reference to ornament. The design adopted was by Dr. Bigelow, in the Egyptian style, mostly taken from some of the best examples in Dcnderah and Karnac. This gateway was painted in imitation of granite, and stood until 18-12, when it was replaced by the present stone gateway, of the same design, which, from the size of the stones and the solidity of the structure, is entitled to a duration of a thousand years. In September of the same year, the success of the enterprise being no longer doubtful, it was deemed ex- pedient to secure the addition of about twenty-five acres of land on the westerly side of the cemetery, belonging to David Stone and others, and Ann Cutter. For this purpose the committee was authorized by the Society, on the 29th of September, to borrow a sufficient sum of money, to be reimbursed, with interest, out of the first proceeds of cemetery lots. This loan, to the amount of forty-four hundred dollars, was subscribed by indi- viduals who were proprietors of lots. It was secured by mortgage of the land purchased, and no lots were sold from it until the encumbrance was removed. By this purchase a valuable tract of land was secured, the sale of which has been an important element in the prosperity of both the Cemetery and the Horticultural Society. Other improvements effected during the year were FIRST INTERMENTS. 93 the excavation of the upper Garden Pond to a sufficient depth to afford a constant sheet of water, and the con- struction of an embankment and avenues, with a border for flowers all around it. In the centre an island was formed connected with the avenue by a bridge, and another bridge was thrown over the outlet. Arrange- ments were also made for excavating Forest and Con- secration Dell Ponds to a greater depth, and surrounding them with embellished pathways like those of Garden Pond. David Haggerston, who had previously carried on a commercial garden, known as the " Charlestown Vineyard," was engaged as superintendent and gardener of the experimental garden and cemetery. A cottage for his accommodation had been raised, and was ex- pected to be finished by the first of March, 1833, when he would enter upon his duties. A receiving-tomb, with walls formed of granite, and covered with massive blocks of stone, and several pri- vate tombs, had been constructed ; a number of superb marble and granite monuments had been erected ; and many lots enclosed by iron fences, or prepared for plant- ing trees, shrubs, and flowers. The first interment in Mount Auburn was that of a child of Mr. James Boyd, on Mountain Avenue, July 6, 1832; the second, that of Mrs. Mary Hastings, six days later. The first monu- ment erected was that to the memory of Hannah Adams, a native of Medfield, Mass., one of the first female writers of America, and of considerable distinc- tion for her historical works. The funds for erecting this monument were raised through a subscription, by ladies in Boston, and in view of their public spirit it was voted that the Committee on Surveys appropriate a piece of land for the purpose of depositing her remains ; 04 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. and on the 2d of December the treasurer was ordered to pay thirty-five dollars for an iron fence around her monument. The Horticultural Society from the outset exerted its whole influence to make Mount Auburn a model in all respects ; and the Garden and Cemetery Committee appended to their account of the work done in 1832, from which many of the preceding statements have been derived, some valuable Suggestions as to the Manner of Laying out and Improving the Cemetery Lots at Mount Auburn, designed to secure a general system in the mode of constructing tombs, enclosing lots, and ornamenting them with trees, shrubs, and flowers. It was desired that all monuments should be of marble or granite ; and that, when they consisted of slabs, they should be placed horizontally, and not hi a perpendic- ular position ; and that all railings or enclosures of lots should be light, neat, and symmetrical. It was a part of the original design, though not obligatory, that in- terments should be in single graves, rather than in tombs, the extent of the cemetery affording ample room for this method ; but recommendations were given as to the best mode of constructing tombs, as well as graves, when the former were preferred. It was advised that the area of the lots should not be planted with trees or shrubs, but left free and open ; that plants used for edg- ings should be of very humble character ; and that hedges should be avoided, as liable to become so filled with wood as to present a mass of branches with but little verdure, while the ground would be filled with roots, and the monuments would be hidden from view. Directions were also given for securing a verdant surface of turf, and for forming the borders for flowers and PEOGEESS OF THE CEMETEEY. 95 ornamental trees and shrubs. The committee sum up with the remark, that " the general appearance of the whole grounds should be that of a well-managed park, and the lots only so far ornamented with shrubs and flowers as to constitute rich borders to the avenues and pathways, without giving to them the aspect of a dense and wild coppice, or a neglected garden, whose trees and plants have so multiplied and interlaced their roots and branches, as to completely destroy all that airi- ness, grace, and luxuriance of growth, which good taste demands," — principles which, too long overlooked, are at last recognized as the only true grounds of proced- ure in the formation of rural cemeteries. In the autumn of 1831 orders were sent to London and Paris for such books as could be procured in rela- tion to cemeteries and funeral monuments ; and on the 8th of September, 1832, Gen. Dearborn made a report on three of these books which had been received, re- lating principally to the Cemetery of Pere La Chaise. A portion of the historical and descriptive account of that celebrated burial-place was translated by Gen. Dearborn, and appended to this report, in the belief that it would be interesting to the members of the Society and to all who had any part in, or had visited the simi- lar establishment at Mount Auburn. The following passage from this report will further illustrate Gen. Dearborn's zeal in behalf of the garden and cemetery : — " It will be perceived, from the accompanying account of Pere La Chaise, that many years had passed by before that magnificent cemetery claimed public attention, and became a resort of the admirers of the arts, the opulent and enlightened, as well as the connnon place of sepulture for the most illustrious in letters, science, and arms, and of the humblest citizens of Paris. A year 96 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. has not vit elapsed since the consecration of Mount Auburn, and over one hundred and seventy lots have been purchased, which is more than were sold at Pere La Chaise in eight years from its foundation. As to the result of the undertaking there is, there- fore, no longer any doubt, and we should be encouraged in the most active and Liberal exertions for completely developing the entire plan in all its interesting and important departments." At this time the experimental garden was deemed as certain to succeed as the cemetery. The land ap- propriated for this purpose was the north-easterly part of the grounds, east of Central Avenue, and separated from the interior woodland of the portion set apart as a cemetery by the long water-course which expanded into Garden Pond, forming a natural boundary. Gar- den Pond is now transformed into a circular basin, and know as Halcyon Lake ; but its name for many years perpetuated the memory of the use to which this part of the grounds was devoted, as that of Garden Avenue still docs. Previous to 1856, this avenue was farther from the street than it now is, having probably been the main avenue in the garden. It was intended that the boundary between the garden and cemetery should be a line of demarcation, rather than of disconnection, and that the ornamental grounds of both should be ap- parently blended, and the walks so intercommunicate' as to afford an uninterrupted range over both, as one common domain. The area of the garden was about thirty-two acres, and at the time of the purchase by the Horticultural Society the ground was under cultiva- tion. In 180 2 it was laid out by Gen. Dearborn, the paths and avenues constructed, and bordered with turf, in readiness for cultivation and planting with fruit and ornamental trees. In his report on the 8th of Septem- THE EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN. 97 ber, 1832, Gen. Dearborn suggested, that as the funds which had been derived from the sale of cemetery lots had been appropriated for the purchase of land, the construction of avenues and fences, and other indispen- sable purposes, it might be expedient to raise a com- mittee authorized to obtain funds by subscription to enable the Society to hasten its improvements, instead of delaying them for even a few years until the pro- ceeds of the cemetery lots supplied the means, as a comparatively small sum, if then placed at the disposal of the Society, would enable it to present an advanced and interesting garden even during the next year, and to lay such a foundation for its gradual extension as would warrant the speedy realization of all the expecta- tions of the Society, and give great public satisfaction. In accordance with this suggestion, Joseph P. Brad- lee, George W. Pratt, and Elijah Vose, were appointed a committee to obtain by subscription funds for the immediate improvement of the grounds appropriated as a garden of experiment ; but it does not appear that this movement met with any success. The friends of the garden were not, however, discouraged by a lack of means, but went on to the best of their ability with the funds at command. From the commencement of the Society, frequent donations of plants and seeds had been received from lovers of horticulture and botany in foreign countries and in other parts of our own country, especially from the corresponding members, for which the Society made return, as far as in its power, in plants, scions, or seeds of native origin. These gifts had previously been distributed among the members ; but now they were retained for trial in the experimental garden ; the first instance of this disposition of such a 98 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. present being that of a box of seeds received from Pro- fessor Tcnorc of the Botanic Garden at Naples, through Capt. M. C. Perry of the United States Ship Concord, a corresponding member of the Society, and interested in botanical and horticultural pursuits, it being on the 22d of December, 1832, resolved that this box of seeds be confided to the care of Mr. Haggerston. Seeds of Magnolia acuminata, from Dr. S. P. Hildreth of Ma- rietta, O., an honorary member of the Society, on the 30th of March, 1833, received the same disposition, as did all similar donations as long as the garden remained in possession of the Society. On the 18th of May 1833, the president of the Society announced donations of seeds from David Porter, Esq., Charge d' Affaires of the United States at the Ottoman Porte ; J. Fay, gar- dener at the public grounds of the Capitol and Presi- dent's house, Washington, D. C. ; Alexander Walsh of New York ; Col. T. H. Perkins of Boston ; and the London Horticultural Society, all of which, by vote of the Society, were placed in charge of the gardener at Mount Auburn, for cultivation. Gen. Dearborn also added to this report the following statement concern- ing the Society's garden : — " I am happy to announce to the Society, that the plan of the experimental garden at Mount Auburn is in progress, and will soon be carried completely into effect. Mr. Haggerston. the gar- dener, moved into the cottage earl}' in the last month, and, with two laborers, has been constantly and most industriously employed in setting out over one thousand and three hundred forest, orna- mental, and fruit trees, planting culinary vegetables, and preparing hotbeds for receiving a great variety of useful plants, which are intended to be distributed over the various compartments of the garden, and on borders of the avenues and paths. Among the seeds planted are four hundred and fifty varieties which have been PRODUCTS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN. 99 sent to the Society from Europe, Asia, and South America. A porter has been engaged, who has charge of the main gateway, and who, being a skilful practical gardener, will aid in the labors of cultivation in the grounds of the establishment." On the 22d of June, 1833, according to the report of the exhibition in the New England Farmer, there were " furnished from the Society's experimental garden at Cambridge, by Mr. Haggerston, being the first fruits of the garden for the members, Rose Demi Longue Rad- ish, — seeds from the London Horticultural Society, tasted, and found to be very fine, and recommended for cultivation, — also Normandy Cress from the Soci- ety's garden." Mr. Haggerston further gave notice that there would be for distribution on the next Satur- day, at the hall of the Society, from their garden at Mount Auburn, plants of three varieties of cauliflower, and seven varieties of broccoli, seeds of which wer$ received from the London Horticultural Society and from the Botanical Society of the Kingdom of Naples ; and we accordingly find that on the 29th of June he sent for distribution among the members of the Society plants of Cauliflower di Palermo di Marzo tempo ; C. di Palermo Tardive, and C. Palermo Primitive ; Broccoli di Marzo tempo, B. Primitive, B. Tardive, and B. Ro- mana, from the Naples Society ; and Purple Transpar- ent or Glass Kohl Rabi and Knight's Broccoli, from the London Society. On the 20th of July specimens of seven varieties of peas were exhibited by Mr. Hag- gerston, from the seed received from Naples. Two weeks later the Committee on the Products of the Kitchen Garden reported the exhibition by Mr. Hag- gerston of twelve new varieties of peas, beans, and other vegetables, with remarks upon their qualities, the 100 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. seeds having mostly been received from Naples. In August and September the reports mention the exhibi- tion of many flowers, such as Schizanthus, Petunia, Coreopsis, Silene, Oenothera, Ammobium, Vicia, Agera- tum, Zinnia, Cacalia, Datura, Dolichos, Iberis, Hibiscus, Delphinium, Malope, Dracocephalum, and Thunbergia, of different species, and many varieties of Dahlias. At the Annual Exhibition, on the 18th of September, the floral decorations of the hall, " which did great credit to the taste of the committee," w r ere furnished, in part, from the Society's garden at Mount Auburn. Septem- ber 28 there were shown the " Cephalonia Melon, an oblong, pointed, yellow variety of the musk melon ; Beechwood melon, the seed from the London Horticul- tural Society, an oval variety of the musk melon, of a green color, flesh of a deep grass green, of a most deli- cious sweet and musky flavor ; also the Citron water melon, excellent for preserving, produced from seeds sent by Mr. Milne of New York." October 26, Mr. Haggerston exhibited Carotte Violette, the seed from the London Horticultural Society. On the 19th of July, 1833, Alexander Walsh of Lansingburgh, N.Y., in presenting to the Society a large parcel of seeds of the Corydalis fungosa, or Woad Fringe (now Adlumia cirrhosa, or Mountain Fringe), to be planted in Mount Auburn Garden, added, " I purpose visiting your splen- did garden," for which he was propagating trees and shrubs ; and in the New England Farmer, January 29, 1834, the place is spoken of as a " beautiful experi- mental garden." In 1834 J. W. Russell was appointed gardener and superintendent at Mount Auburn, Mr. Ilaixgcrston hav- ing taken charge of the extensive garden and conserva- FLOWEES FROM THE EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN". 101 tories formed by John P. dishing at Watertown. On the 2d of August Mr. Russell exhibited eight new va- rieties of Balsams, on the 9th Plectocephalus (Centaurea) Americanus, Asters, and Tropaeolums ; and on the 16th of August and the 13th of September bouquets are re- ported from Mount Auburn. At the Annual Exhibi- tion, held in Faneuil Hall, September 17, 18, and 19, elegant bouquets were contributed from the Society's garden, and some of the wreaths and cut flowers for decorating the hall were furnished from the same place. Even after the separation of the cemetery from the Horticultural Society, the child remembered its parent ; for we find the record of the exhibition, on the 5th of September, 1835, of a beautiful bouquet of new varie- ties of China Asters, tastefully arranged in pyramidal form, by Mr. Russell, and at the Annual Exhibition in the Odeon, September 16 and 17, of a profusion of cut flowers from Mount Auburn Garden. These notices of the products of the experimental garden, which we have gleaned from the reports of the Society's exhibitions in the New England Farmer, are sufficient to show that its friends were in earnest in founding and supporting it. But though its establish- ment was a leading motive in the purchase of Mount Auburn, 1 and though its advantages were set forth in reports and addresses, the Society had no funds spe- cially appropriated for its support, and most of the pro- prietors of cemetery lots probably felt an indifference, if not a positive aversion, to the idea of an experimental 1 An indication of the relative importance in which the two branches of the establishment at Mount Auburn were held by the Horticultural Society may be found in the fact that in their publications it is almost invariably spoken of as the Garden and Cemetery, the cemetery being very seldom placed first. 102 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. garden. 1 Whether it could have been carried on suc- cessfully in the face of these difficulties, if the union between the Society and the proprietors of lots had continued, cannot be told ; but the terms of separation of these two hit crests put an end to the garden, which was no doubt less regretted by those most interested in that department than it would have been, had not the experience of two seasons shown that the soil was not well adapted to the purpose of an experimental gar- den. And, if asked to assign a reason why the Society has not established such a garden since its means have been more ample, we should reply that at no time have they been adequate to the maintenance of such an es- tablishment as would be creditable to the Society ; * 2 and it has been felt that the improvement of horticulture could be better promoted by liberal premiums for the encouragement of individual efforts in horticultural art, by the provision of suitable halls for the exhibition of improved products, and by the collection of a horti- cultural library, than by embarking in an enterprise not only expensive, but extremely hazardous otherwise. The prizes offered by the Society have encouraged the establishment of not one, but many, experimental gar- dens. 1 The only action of the Garden and Cemetery Committee, specially relating to the garden, which we find on the records of the committee, is comprised in a vote on the oOth of August, 1834, appointing Messrs. Bradlee and Coot and such other memhers of the Society as they might see tit to associate with them, a committee to devise a plan for rendering the garden more productive, and to receive donations of plants, etc., and cause them to l»' sel "in in the garden; and in a vote, on the 27th of October of the same year, appointing Mr. Vose and Mr. Bradlee a committee to examine the garden and Garden Pond, and report what improvements ought in their opinion to be made therein to render the garden productive and profitable. 8 The London Horticultural Society's garden was commenced a1 the end of the year 1818, and up to May. is:>7, £40.000 had been expended on it. Tie' extent of the garden at Chiswick was about the same as of that at Mount Auburn. FIRST ANNUAL REPORT. 103 Soon after the proposal of Mr. Brimmer to sell "Sweet Auburn" for a rural cemetery, Gen. Dearborn drew up a Memoir explanatory of the great objects for which the land could be advantageously used, and the means of accomplishing them. Besides the Experi- mental Garden and Cemetery, the plan recommended hi this Memoir included a Botanical Garden and an Institution for the Education of Scientific and Practical Gardeners ; but it was not deemed expedient to com- mence the last two branches, from an apprehension that they might involve such an expense as would jeopar- dize the success of the experimental garden and cem- etery, which were considered of primary importance. Judge Story, as chairman of the Garden and Ceme- tery Committee, submitted at the annual meeting of the Horticultural Society, held on Saturday, September 21, 1833, the first regular annual report from that committee. From this report it appears that the whole quantity of land in the garden and cemetery, including the purchases during the year, was then one hundred and ten acres. The number of cemetery lots then laid out was about four hundred, of which two hundred and fifty-nine lots of different dimensions were sold, which, with the premiums paid for choice, amounted to the sum of $17,229.72, most of which was then paid in. The loan authorized by the Society amounted to $4,400, and the total receipts to $21,694.72. The committee paid out for the year ending Sep- tember, 1833, for land, house for the gardener, fence, gate, avenues, implements, tombs, and miscellaneous expenses, $18,521.65. There was then due to Mr. Cutter, David Stone, and to the hens of C. Stone, for land, twenty-six hundred dollars. Besides the receiving 104 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. tomb at Mount Auburn, another had been purchased, under Park Street Church in Boston, at an expense of two hundred dollars. The number of interments in the cemetery was forty. Judge Story stated further, in his report, that, for upwards of eighteen months, free access was given to all who desired to visit the cemetery ; but that, certain abuses arising, the committee adopted regulations deny- ing admission to persons on horseback altogether, admit- ting the proprietors of lots- in carriages, and opening the gates freely to persons on foot, as before. These regulations were generally acceptable. The report rep- resented the situation and prospects of Mount Auburn as highly flattering ; though the need of a small edifice in which the religious services at funerals might be performed was felt, and a hope was expressed that such a building might be soon erected. The eighth article of the Report of the Committee on the Method of raising Subscriptions for the Experimen- tal Garden and Cemetery provided for a garden and cemetery committee, who should " direct all matters appertaining to the regulation of the garden and ceme- tery." This committee, at a meeting, on the 3d of November, 1831, chose a secretary and a treasurer, the latter officer being styled, in the reports of the commit- tee, " treasurer of the cemetery," and recognized by a vote of the Society, on the -4th of October, 1834, that " all deeds relative to Mount Auburn shall be signed by the treasurer of the cemetery committee in addi- tion to the president " of the Society. The first report of this officer accompanied the report of the Garden and Cemetery Committee in 1833. The books of the treasurer of the Society contain no record of the re- SECOND ANNUAL REPORT. 105 ceipt or payment of any money whatever on account of Mount Auburn during the time when it was owned by the Horticultural Society. The committee reported their doings at the annual meeting of the Society, on one occasion asking authority to make a loan, and pur- chase land, and, at another time, asking authority to apply for amendments to the act of incorporation. With these exceptions, the finances and general management of the garden and cemetery seem to have been left entirely to the committee. We have no information that this course was in any degree the cause of the separation of the Society from the cemetery, but believe it is rather to be looked upon as an indication of that diversity of interests which ultimately led to the sepa- ration. On Saturday, the 2Qth of September, 1834, the second annual report of the Garden and Cemetery Committee was presented to the Society by Judge Story, the chairman. The committee congratulated the Society upon the continued improvement of the garden and cemetery, and the favor and encouragement which they had received from the public. They felt it to be their first duty, however, to correct an erroneous idea entertained by a portion of the community, — that the establishment was a private speculation for the benefit of the members of the Society. This notion they pro- nounced utterly unfounded, no individual having any private interest in the establishment beyond what he acquired as the proprietor of a lot in the cemetery, which every man in the community might acquire upon the same terms, the whole grounds being held in trust by the Horticultural Society for the purposes of a gar- den and cemetery. 106 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Judge Story, to show the success of the cemetery at that time, used this language : — " Mount Auburn has already become a place of general resort and interest, as well to strangers as to citizens; and its shades and paths, ornamented with monumental structures, of various beauty and elegance, have already given solace and tranquillizing reflections to man}' an afflicted heart, and awakened a deep moral sensibility in many a pious bosom." The committee expressed the hope, that, at a period not far distant, the Society might be able to enclose the grounds with a permanent wall; to erect a temple in which the service over the dead might be performed by clergymen of every denomination; to add extensively to the beauty and productiveness of the garden, and. above all, to lay the foundation of an accumulating fund, the income of which . should be perpetually devoted to the preservation, embellishment, and improvement of the grounds. They also suggested that arrangements for bringing water from Fresh Pond into the ponds of the cemetery, to be afterwards conducted into Charles River, would add to the salubrity of the ponds, as well as improve the effect of the scenery. The whole expenditure at this time amounted to upwards of twenty-five thousand dollars, and the proceeds of sales of lots fell short of this amount about two thousand dollars. The balance in the hands of the treasurer was over five thousand dol- lars ; and the committee were of the opinion that reliance might safely be placed upon the future stiles of lots to defray the expenses of the current year, and that a portion of the funds on hand might be applied to the reduction of the debts due for the REGULATIONS FOR VISITORS. 107 new purchases of land. The whole number of lots sold in the cemetery at that time was three hundred and fifty-one ; of these, a hundred and seventy-five lots were sold in 1832, seventy-six in 1833, and a hundred in 1834. There were ninety-three inter- ments the preceding year ; eighteen tombs were built ; sixteen monuments were erected; and sixty-eight lots were turfed, and otherwise ornamented. The committee further stated, that finding the grounds at Mount Auburn were visited by unusual concourses of people on Sundays, and that the injuries done to the grounds and shrubbery were far greater on that day than on any other, they had made a regu- lation prohibiting any persons, except proprietors and then families, and the persons accompanying them, from entering the grounds on Sundays, which had had the effect to give quiet to the neighborhood, and prevent the depredations complained of, as well as to enable proprietors and then families to visit their lots in more seclusion and tranquillity. They had also directed the gates to be opened at sunrise, and closed at sunset. At the annual festivals of the Horticultural Society there were frequent allusions to Mount Auburn. One of these festivals occurred three days before the consecration of the grounds, when a regular toast was offered as follows: "Eden — the first abode of the liv- ing, Mount Auburn — the last resting place of the dead. If the Tree of Life sprung from the soil of the one, Immortality shall rise from the dust of the other." At the festival on the 3d of October, 1832, the fourth regular toast was presented in these words: "Mount Auburn, — a fortunate conception happily bodied forth. While it adds solemnity and dignity to the attributes of death, it offers to grief its proper mitigations." 108 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The orator at the fifth annual festival of the Society, September 18, 1833, Hon. Alexander H. Everett, after expressing the hope that the sacred domain of Mount Vernon might be purchased by the people, and held as national property through the intervention of the Gen- eral Government, closed his address thus : — " In the mean time you have commenced on the smaller scale, corresponding with the wants and the resources of a single State, an establishment of this description, which promises to become one of the chief ornaments of the neighborhood, and of which the progress thus far does great credit to the discernment and taste of your Society. Superior in its natural advantages of position to the famous sepulchral grounds of the ancient world, we may venture to hope, unless the sons of the Pilgrims shall degenerate from their fathers, that Mount Auburn will hereafter record in its funeral inscriptions examples not less illustrious than theirs of public and private virtue. Even now, while the enclosures that surround it are scarcely erected, while the axe is still busy in dis- posing the walks that are to traverse its interior, this consecrated spot has received the remains of more than one whose memory a grateful people will not willingly permit to die. There was laid, by the gentle ministration of female friendship, as the first 1 tenant of the place, the learned, devout, and simple-hearted daughter of the Pilgrims, who has wrought out an honorable name for herself by commemorating theirs. There reposes in peace the young warrior, cut off like a fresh and blooming flower in the spring of his career. There, too, rests beside them the generous stranger, who, in his ardent zeal for the welfare of man, had come from a distant continent to share the treasures of his wisdom with an unknown people. 2 Around their remains will gradually be gath- ered the best, the fairest, the bravest, of the present and of many future generations. In a few short years, we too, gentlemen, who are now employed in decorating the surface of Mount Auburn, or describing its beauties, will sleep in its bosom. How deep the 1 Not the first, but one of the earliest. 2 The persona alluded to by Mr. Everett were Miss Hannah Adams, Lieut. Watson, and Dr. Spurzheim. DIFFERENCE OF INTEEESTS. 109 interest that attaches itself to such a spot ! How salutary the effect which a visit to its calm and sacred shades will produce on souls too much agitated by the storms of the world ! It was surely fitting that art and nature should combine their beauties to grace a scene devoted to purposes so high and holy." Mr. Everett was but thirty-three years old when he pronounced this beautiful address. How little he knew what was before him! Instead of sleeping in the bosom of Mount Auburn, " he lies buried on Dane's Island, near Macao in China, under a monument erected at the expense of the United States, he having died in office as resident minister to China, on the 28th of June, 1847, being the first person who had filled that office from this country." 1 In 1834 it was perceived that the interests of the proprietors of lots in the cemetery and those of the other members of the Horticultural Society were too unlike to be successfully united in one corporation. The most important point on which a difference of opin- ion and interest existed was the division of the pro-, ceeds of sales of lots between the two branches of the establishment, — the experimental garden and the ceme- tery, and it was not always easy of adjustment. On the question of legal and moral right it was found that the Horticultural Society held the fee of the land, and that to it was due whatever credit belonged to the inception of the undertaking. On the other hand, it appeared that the number of lot holders was rapidly increasing ; that from the condition of purchase, that, upon paying for his lot, every subscriber should be a member for life of the Horticultural Society, they would soon have a con- trolling vote in its affairs ; 2 that from them had been 1 Letter of the Hon. Edward Everett, dated March 8, 1862. 2 At the annual meeting of the Society September 21, 1833, a vote was 110 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. derived most of the funds of the establishment, and that they naturally felt that the greater part should be devoted to the improvement of the cemetery. The subject was much discussed both in and out of the meetings of the Society, considerable warmth of feeling being elicited among the friends of the two departments ; and it became evident that a peaceful arrangement was not likely to be made, except by a sale of Mount Auburn, by the Horticultural Society, to a new corporation, to be composed of the holders of lots. Accordingly, at a stated meeting of the Horticultural Society, on the 6th of December, 1834, on motion of Marshall P. Wilder, it was voted, " That a committee be appointed to consider the expediency of disposing of the interests of this Society in the garden and cemetery of Mount Auburn to the proprietors of lots in the cemetery, and to report the conditions on which a conveyance shall be made, if the committee shall deem the measure advis- able." It was further voted, " That said committee shall consist of seven persons, four of whom shall not be proprietors of lots hi the cemetery, and that Hon. Joseph Story, M. P. Wilder, C. P. Curtis, Thomas Hastings, E. Vose, J. A. Lowell, and E. Weston, jun., Esqs., be that committee." This committee held several somewhat excited sessions without arriving at any agree- m nt ; but finally, when an excited meeting at the office of (harles P. Curtis, in Court Street, was near break- . that, iu all future meetings of the Society, every proprietor of a cem- 1 t containing not loss than three hundred square feet, and. on the ■ of any proprietor, such representative of his or her lot as should lie deal -mated by the Society, should be entitled to all the privileges of mem- bership, and this provision was incorporated into a supplementary act of the Legislature, for which a committee was at the same meeting authorized to petition; thus making proprietors of lots in the cemetery not only life but perpetual members of the Society. See Appendix D. ARRANGEMENT OF 1835. Ill ing up without any practical result, a compromise was effected by the conciliatory efforts of Mr. Wilder, one of the committee ; and the parties came to an agree- ment, the most important point of which was, that the proceeds of all sales should be divided annually between the Horticultural Society and the new corporation, in such manner, that, after deducting fourteen hundred dollars for the expenses of the cemetery, one-fourth part of the gross proceeds should be paid to the Horti- cultural Society, and the remaining three-fourths should be retained by the Mount Auburn Corporation for its own use. The report of the committee to this effect was made by Judge Story on the 2d of January, 1835, and accepted by the Society ; and a committee, consist- ing of Marshall P. Wilder, John A. Lowell, and S. F. Coolidge, was appointed to carry it into effect. Immediate application was made to the Legislature for an act incorporating the proprietors of the cemetery, which was passed March 31, 1835 ; * and a deed of con- veyance, in which the conditions of the act were recited, was afterwards made out from the Horticultural Society to the newly incorporated proprietors. The vote of the Society to execute the deed was passed June 6, 1835, and the deed was dated June 19, 1835. The result of this arrangement has been highly au- spicious to both parties, which, since it was made, have been separately engaged, each in its own field of use- fulness. The receipts from Mount Auburn, added to its other sources of income, have given the Horticultural Society stability and vigor, and enabled it to accomplish a work beyond that of any similar society in this coun- try ; while the Proprietors of Mount Auburn have been 1 For Section X of this Act see Appendix E. 112 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. enabled to expend more than six hundred thousand dol- lars in the preservation, improvement, embellishment, and enlargement of their cemetery. Whatever of ill feeling had grown up between the proprietors of lots in Mount Auburn and the other members of the Horticultural Society was of short duration. At the meeting of the Society on the 17th of July, 1835, President Vose stated that one object of the meeting was to consider the expediency of inviting those gentlemen who had ceased to be members by the recent act of separation of the Mount Auburn Ceme- tery from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, to become subscription members of the Society. A com- mittee was appointed to invite these gentlemen to become members of the Society; and on the 27th of September, Judge Story, who had been chairman of the Garden and Cemetery Committee from the beginning, and was chosen president of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, and who, probably, shared as largely in the excitement attending the separation as any one, was chosen a life member of the Society. At the same time Benjamin A. Gould, who had been a member of the Garden and Cemetery Committee from the beginning, was chosen a subscription member. A further proof of the good will of the Society toward the new corpo- ration was shown in a motion to dispose the books in the library relating to cemeteries in such manner that thoy might be consulted by members of the Mount Auburn Corporation. For many years no occasion existed for new adjust- ments of the relations between the two corporations ; but gradually differences arose, which it was thought important to settle while some, at least, of the founders ADJUSTMENT OF 1858. 113 of Mount Auburn, who had been fully acquainted with the whole subject from the beginning, were living to assist in an amicable arrangement. The most impor- tant of these differences arose from the claim of the Horticultural Society to participate in the proceeds of sales of land purchased since the separation of the two interests. Another difference was in regard to the receipts for single interments, of which, also, a propor- tion was claimed by the Horticultural Society. The first step towards adjusting these differences was a communication from Dr. Bigelow, then president of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, to the Horticultural Society, requesting a conference with a committee from the Society. This communication was received at a meeting of the Society on the 7th of August, 1858, and, in compliance with Dr. Bigelow's request, it was voted that a committee of five should be appointed by the Chair, and that the president, Josiah Stickney, should be chairman of the committee, to confer with the Trustees of Mount Auburn. The president ap- pointed Marshall P. Wilder, Samuel Walker, Edward S. Rand, and Charles M. Hovey. The treasurer, William R. Austin, was added to the committee. The committee on the part of Mount Auburn consisted of the president, Dr. Bigelow, with Benjamin A. Gould and James Cheever. These committees met in confer- ence ; and, after a full statement and discussion of all matters of difference, a sub-committee was appointed, consisting of Dr. Bigelow and Mr. Gould on the part of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, and of Messrs. Wilder and Rand on the part of the Society, to con- sider on what terms and in what manner all such mat- ters could be adjusted. This sub-committee, after 114 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. several meetings, and a very full and careful considera- tion of the whole subject, reported to the committee of conference a plan for the settlement of all questions and controversies, which was unanimously adopted by the full committee, and by them reported to the Society on the 4th of December. This report was accepted, and Messrs. Rand and Wilder were appointed to carry the same into effect. This was done by an indenture between the two parties, which was read at a meeting of the Horticultural Society on the 18th of December, and, having been approved by the Society, was executed on the same day, and two days later was accepted and adopted by the Trustees of Mount Auburn. Some difficulties having arisen in regard to the construction of the provisions of the fifth article of this indenture, and the carrying into effect, it was deemed for the interest of the parties concerned that some ex- planation of it should be made. This was done by a supplementary indenture dated January 1, 1869. 1 Since these adjustments, the course of the two corpo- rations has flowed on smoothly, with little to call for notice here ; but there are two transactions mentioned in the records of the Society which should not be omitted. After the completion of the second Horti- cultural Hall, application was made on the 3d of Febru- ary, 1866, by Dr. Bigclow, in behalf of the Trustees of Mount Auburn, for the use of a room or hall in the building, wherein to hold the annual meeting of the corporation. The Society voted, that our relations with Dr. Bigelow and the Trustees of Mount Auburn being of the most friendly character, and desiring to continue and cultivate this friendly intercourse and mutual regard, 1 For these indentures see Appendix F. LETTER OF DR. BIGELOW. 115 their pecuniary prosperity being our prosperity, the free use of the Library Room or either Hall be with pleas- ure tendered for the purpose stated. This courtesy has ever since been shown to the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, and thus the child has once a year come under the parental roof. In September of the same year, Dr. Bigelow, feeling that the benefit which he had conferred on the Society, through his services to Mount Auburn, had not received due acknowledgment, addressed to the Society the fol- lowing letter, which it is but justice to " the only indi- vidual without whom Mount Auburn would never have existed " to include here, with the action of the Society upon it. To the President and Officers of the Massachusetts Horti- cultural Society. Gentlemen, — I have had the honor to be one of the earliest members and promoters of the Horticultural Societ}-, and a mem- ber of its first board of officers. I was the originator of the first plan for a rural cemetery in this country, and had prepared and submitted to various persons and meetings, previous to the incor- poration of this Society, the plan for a landscape garden containing private lots for family interments ; being precisely what Mount Auburn now is. After several years of inquiry for a suitable place, I succeeded in obtaining from Mr. Brimmer, for the desired purpose, the refusal of the land which has since constituted Mount Auburn, for the price of six thousand dollars. This overture I submitted to the officers of the Horticultural Societ}* soon after its incorpora- tion, and urged upon their notice the expediency of uniting an ornamental cemeteiy with their other objects, thus combining a public good with prospective pecuniary advantage to the new Society, which was then without funds, and had proposed no other objects than such as were strictly horticultural. My pro- posal was accepted by them ; and the results at Mount Auburn and in Boston are visible at the present day. 116 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. For thirty-six years I have officially devoted to the care and improvement of Mount Auburn Cemetery most of the leisure time which I had to spare from professional labors, and have gratui- tously watched over its interests as over those of my own child. The chief responsibility in its early and difficult stages was thrown upon me. The designs as well as contracts of all the public structures, such as the gate, the iron fence, the chapel, and the tower, it is well known were made and furnished by me. The selection of the subjects and the artists of the historical statues in the chapel was, by vote of the Trustees, referred to me alone, as well as the duty of importing and placing them in their present site. In questions of seemingby opposite interest, which have some- times arisen between the Horticultural Society and the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, I have invariably used my humble influence to prevent litigation, and to promote friendly co-operation between parties whose true interests were obviousby identical, and of whose eventual harmony the fruits are now sufficiently apparent. Conscious that I am the only individual without whom Mount Auburn would never have existed, nor the funds realized with which Horticultural Hall has been built, I have taken the liberty to call the attention of the Societ}' to the fact, that in all the late publications, discourses, and records of the Society, all notice of niy name has been avoided, and the credit given to other parties, whom I now gratefulby recall as friendly and efficient collaborators, but into whose minds the enterprise of Mount Auburn Cemetery, the first of its kind in our country, was, by their own testimony, first and solely introduced by me. I have the honor to be with great respect, }-ours, Jacob Bigelow. Boston, September 20, 1866. This letter was communicated to the Society at the annual meeting, October 6, when, after remarks by Marshall P. Wilder, commending the services of Dr. Bigelow, it was voted, on motion of Mr. Wilder, that a committee of three, of which the president should be chairman, be appointed to take into consideration the letter of Dr. Bigelow, and the recognition of his labors in connection with the Society and Mount Auburn ACTION ON DE. BIGELOW'S LETTER. 117 Cemetery. This committee, consisting of President Hovey, Marshall P. Wilder, and Charles O. Whitmore, made the following report on the 29th of December, which was accepted by the Society : — Wliereas, the Ceineteiy of Mount Auburn, founded by the Massachusetts Horticultural Societ}', has proved to be an enter- prise eminently advantageous to the welfare of the Society, of the highest sanitary importance to the public, a source of grateful consolation to the living, and a sacred resting place for the dead, showing that landscape art may be most appropriately devoted to the embellishment of rural cemeteries. And whereas, our esteemed associate, Dr. Jacob Bigelow, one of our first officers, and now president of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, was one of the first to open the question of Rural Ceme- teries, and the first who suggested to the Society the expediency and propriety of combining a cemetery with an experimental garden, and, by his aid and counsel, was instrumental in the formation of Mount Auburn Cemeter}', to which he has for thirt}'- six years devoted his services gratuitously in the improvement and embellishment of the grounds ; And whereas, "in questions of seemingly opposite interest which have arisen (in the past) between this Society and the Proprietors of Mount Auburn," Dr. Bigelow has, by his wise counsel and sagacious acts, contributed largely to the settlement of all points that prevented harmonious action between the two Societies : Resolved, That the Massachusetts Horticultural Society hereby acknowledges that its thanks are due to its early associate, Dr. Jacob Bigelow, for his eminent and persevering services in the establishment of Mount Auburn Cemeteiy, whereby he merits the gratitude of the whole community, as well as for his aid and coun- sel to this Society. Resol:ed, That this report and Dr. Bigelow's letter be entered ' upon the Records, and a copy of this report and resolutions be furnished by the recording secretar}^ to Dr. Bigelow. Respectfully submitted. C. M. HOVEY, MARSHALL P. WILDER, \ Committee. C. O. WHITMORE, 118 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The portion of the history of the Horticultural So- ciety thus reviewed is both interesting and important. For several years, the history of Mount Auburn was embraced in that of the Society, and, even though sepa- rated, they can never be wholly divorced. The Society must always be interested in the cemetery as a child of its own, and one that has for years added to the pros- perity of the parent. Mount Auburn, while it makes a liberal return for the care bestowed upon it in its youth, rejoices that a share of its annual income fosters one of the noblest of arts and sciences, and that, while it " scat- tereth, it yet increaseth." If the Society had done nothing more than to establish the oldest and one of the most important of the rural cemeteries of the United States, it would have accomplished no mean work in its existence of half a century. CHAPTER IV. THE FINANCES OF THE SOCIETY. We have seen that at the time of the organization of the Society, in 1829, there was some preparation in the public mind to welcome such an institution. But, though individual horticulturists and amateurs in rural pursuits had been for some time awake to the impor- tance of such an association, this feeling was not general in the community. The proposal for the new society met not only with indifference from many persons, but on the part of some, who deemed existing organizations adequate to cover the whole field of agriculture and horticulture, with positive jealousy and opposition. But the love of the founders of the Society for horti- culture, their belief that the best means of its improve- ment and advancement would be by the organization of a society devoted to that especial purpose, and their faith that an intelligent and wealthy community would supply the means for carrying out its objects, were suffi- cient to induce them to unite in the establishment of such a society, in spite of lukewarmness or opposition. Their views in regard to the financial management most likely to lead to success may be learned from the fol- lowing statement, which forms the beginning of the re- port of the committee appointed to inquire into the expediency of establishing an experimental garden and 119 120 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. rural cemetery, presented to the Society June' 18, 1831: — " When the Massachusetts Horticultural Society was organized, it was confidently anticipated, that, at uo very distant period, a garden of experiment would lie established in the vicinity of Boston : but, to arrive at such a pleasing result, it was deemed ex- pedient that our efforts should first be directed to the accomplish- ment of objects which would not require very extensive pecuniary resources ; that we should proceed with great caution, and, by a prudential management of our means, gradually develop a more complete and efficient s}*stem for rendering the institution as extensively useful as it was necessaiy and important. Public favor was to be propitiated by the adoption of such incipient measures a> were best calculated to encourage patronage, and insure ulti- mate success." Though the Society had then been in existence, and conducted in accordance with these views, but little more than two years, the committee were enabled to add, that " the kind disposition which had been generally evinced to advance its interests had had a salutary and cheering influence." Yet at that time the only resources of the Society, excepting a single donation of a hundred dol- lars, were derived from admission fees and assessments, the former being five dollars, and the latter two dollars a year ; or any member might compound for his future assessments by the payment of thirty dollars. By the by-laws adopted in 1836 the fee for life membership was reduced to twenty dollars ; but hi 1866 it was again raised to thirty dollars, and at the same time the admis- sion fee for annual members was increased to ten dol- lars. The annual assessment is limited by the Act of Incorporation to two dollars. The revenue derived from this source has fluctuat- ed greatly. During the connection of Mount Auburn GROWTH OF MEMBERSHIP. 121 Cemetery with the Society, it was much reduced by the admission to membership, free of all assessments, of purchasers of lots in the cemetery. The same effect was produced by the late civil war ; the sum received in 1862 being but little more than half that received in 1860. On the contrary, the completion of the halls erected by the Society in 1845 and 1865 was followed by a large accession of members ; the receipts from this source rising from $460 in 1843 to $1,356 in 1847, after which they gradually declined for several years. In 1866, the year after the completion of the present hall, they were $2,575.93, the largest sum ever received. The total amount received from this source to the close of the year 1878, is about $49,000. In this connection some notice of the growth of the membership of the Society will be appropriate. At the time of the first anniversary, in 1829, the list of members comprised 249 names. The admission of the purchasers of lots in Mount Auburn to membership raised the number to 657 in 1834; but, after the separation of the two interests in 1835, it fell to 350, and continued to decline until 1838, when only 246 names were borne upon the roll. On the completion of the hall in School Street it rose to 438 in 1846, and continued, though not without fluctuation, to increase gradually, until it reached 590 in 1863. In 1864 it rose suddenly to 705, and in 1865, the year of the dedication of the present hall, to 905, this being the largest increase in any one year. After that time it increased gradually, until in 1871 it reached 1,035, the highest number ever attained. It continued near that point until 1876, when, owing to the financial pressure, it began to decrease, and at the end of the year 1878 it was 900. A gratifying feature 122 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. of this growth is the constant greater increase of life members, the roll for 1837 showing 36 life and 306 annual members, while in 1878 there were 577 life and 323 annual members. How far the founders of the Society anticipated that it would be endowed by wealthy and generous men with gifts of money and legacies cannot now be told, though doubtless their hopes, if not their expectations, looked forward to such endowments ; nor were their hopes dis- appointed. The first of these donations, which has al- ready been alluded to, was from the Hon. John Welles, on the 13th of June, 1829, only a few months after the organization of the Society. This donation of a hundred dollars was intended to promote the improvement of the apple, and was offered in premiums for the fruit of seedling trees which should be brought into notice after the year 1829. In 1835 a donation of $1,000 was received from Am- brose S. Courtis, a merchant of Boston. Mr. Courtis, who died on the 27th of August, 1836, bequeathed to the Society the further sum of $10,000 ; but, the will being contested by the heirs at law, a compromise was made, by which the Society received, in 1839, one half the amount intended by the testator, whose benefac- tions were among the largest ever made to the Society, and coining in its infancy, when its funds were limited, may be considered the most important of all. In 1839, also, Thomas Lee of Roxbury, a lover and cultivator of our native flowering plants, offered *150 to encourage their growth, to be awarded in premiums during that and the succeeding four years. This gift was on the condition that the Society should offer an equal amount; and, on the same condition. Mr. Lee, GIFTS FROM HON. SAMUEL APPLETON. 123 the next year, offered a premium of $10 for the most successful method of destroying the rose slug. To this John P. Gushing afterwards added $50 on the same condition as Mr. Lee's gift, making a total premium of $120. The next gift was from the Hon. Samuel Appleton, who, in a letter to Marshall P. Wilder, president of the Society, September 15, 1815, said, " With the view of giving further aid to the Society in then very laudable exertions, I send you enclosed $1,000, to be invested as a permanent fund, the interest accruing therefrom to be appropriated annually in premiums for improvements in the arts to which the Society is devoted, in such manner as it shall direct, for producing trees good for food, and flowers pleasant to the sight." At the Third Triennial Festival of the Society, on the 22d of September, 1818, a letter was read from Mr. Appleton, in which, with his regrets that indisposition prevented him from attending the festival, and his wishes for the continued success of the Society, he sent $200, " fifty dollars of this sum, more or less, to be invested in a Bible, elegantly bound hi one, two, or three volumes, the remainder to be laid out in books of a religious, moral, scientific, or horticultural char- acter, as the Committee on the Library should think most beneficial to the Society ; the Bible, the best of all books, giving a graphic history of the first garden, of its fruits and flowers, its location, number of inhab- itants, then* character, and expulsion from Eden for disobeying the command given for their observance." The year 1846 brought to the treasury of the Society three liberal donations. On the 7th of February, the president stated that an eminent individual, who wished 124 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. his name withheld, had given to the Society $300 to be disposed of in premiums. This amount was appropri- ated in twenty special prizes for fruit, of $5 each, one third of the whole being awarded in each of the years 1846, 1847, and 1848. The time which has elapsed since this gift was made allows the statement that the donor was John P. Cushing of Watertown (now Bel- mont), a lover and munificent patron of horticulture. On the 27th of February, John A. Lowell addressed to the Society a note, in which he expressed his regret, that, from his avocations, he could not actively co-ope- rate with it in its successful exertions, which he had observed with much interest, to perfect the culture of flowers and fruit, and to diffuse through our State a knowledge of useful and ornamental gardening. Desir- ing, however, to promote its object, he sent $ 1,000, which he wished to have invested, and the income to be applied as the Society might determine. The Society voted that the interest of this fund should be awarded in medals, to be called the " Lowell Medals." On the 26th of August, the Hon. Theodore Lyman sent $1,000, which he wished to have "invested in a permanent manner, and the proceeds of the investment to be appropriated in the shape of prizes for the encouragement of the growth of such kind or kinds of fruit as the government of the Society might deem advisable." At his decease, which occurred on the 18th of July, 1849, Mr. Lyman left to the Society $10,000, the largest gift it has ever received. To commemorate these gifts a marble bust of Mr. Lyman, by Dexter, was procured by the Society, and placed in the hall. April 3, 1847, a communication was received from Josiah Bradlee of Boston, accompanied with his check LEGACIES OF HON. B. V. FRENCH. 125 for $500, for the purpose of being added to the per- manent fund for premiums on fruits and flowers. In the next year, on the 23d of September, Mr. Bradlee sent to the Society another gift of the same amount, which it was voted to add to his former donation, to be invested in the same manner and for the same pur- pose. At a meeting of the Society on the 7th of August, 1847, a letter was read from Edward Beck of Worton Cottage, Isleworth, near London, Eng., a corresponding member of the Society, and a successful amateur culti- vator of the pelargonium. As he did not wish to be merely a nominal corresponding member of the Society, he placed at the disposal of the Committee on Flowers £7, to form two prizes for the season of 1848, to en- courage the cultivation of his favorite flower. At the meeting of the Society, January 18, 1851, $150 was received as a donation from George W. Smith, to be appropriated to the purchase of books for the library. The Hon. Benjamin V. French, who was one of the founders of the Society, and long an officer, retained the deep interest which he always felt in its prosperity as long as he lived; and at his death, which occurred on the 10th of April, 1860, he left to it $500. It was voted by the Society, in consideration of the deep interest manifested by Mr. French in the cultivation of the apple, to invest the amount as a special fund, the income to be forever appropriated in prizes for the improvement of that fruit. A further sum of $2,511.13 was received from the estate of Mr. French on the decease of his widow in 1878. At the meeting of the Society June 6, 1863, the 126 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. president, Charles M. Hovey, read a letter from II. II. llunncwell, enclosing a mortgage bond of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, bearing interest at seven per cent per annum, for $500, the income of which Mr. Ilunnewcll desired to be applied in premiums and gratuities for the introduction and cultivation of new evergreen trees and shrubs, and particularly new va- rieties of hardy rhododendrons. The thanks of the Society were tendered to Mr. Hunnewell for this token of his interest in its welfare and usefulness, and it was voted that the gift should be called the " Hunnewell Fund." The next donation was from the same gentleman, but little more than a year later, and of much larger amount. It was announced at the meeting of the 2d of July, 1864, and consisted of two United States bonds of $1,000 each. In his letter accompanying it Air. Hunnewell requested, — "That it should be kept entirely distinct from all other funds of the Society, for the specific purpose here designated ; viz.. that the income shall be allowed to accumulate for periods of two, three, or more years, and distributed from time to time, after sufficient notice, under such regulations as may be deemed expedient, b} T a committee appointed for that purpose, in one or more prizes, to the owners of estates of not less than three acres in extent, who shall lay out and plant them with the most rare and desirable orna- mental trees and shrubs, in the most tasteful and effective manner, developing the capabilities of the locations in the highest degree, and presenting the most successful examples of science, skill, and taste, as applied to the embellishment of a country residence ; the trees to be under the most thorough cultivation, the grounds in high keeping, and the prizes to apply equalby in cases where pro- prietors take professional advice, as well as when acting on their own judgment in their improvements." Again, on the 31st of August, 1866, the same liberal GIFTS FROM H. H. HUNNEWELL. 127 patron of horticulture, in the hope of encouraging the cultivation of the rose in our community, and of increas- ing the attractions of the Society's exhibitions, asked its acceptance of a donation of .$260, to be awarded in prizes ; the careful specification of which showed not only a love of flowers, but a practical familiarity with them. The Rhododendron Show on Boston Common, in June, 1873, was one of the most noticeable events in the history of the Society. This beautiful exhibition we owe to Mr. Hunnewell, who conceived the plan, and, with the assistance of a few friends, provided the plants, making the show in the name of the Society, and guar- anteeing it against any loss, but giving it the benefit of any profit after payment of the expenses. The exhibition resulted in a profit of $1,565.28, of which $1,440 was invested by Mr. Hunnewell in two bonds of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, of the par value of $1,500, the income of this fund to be distributed in prizes for the encouragement of the culti- vation of rhododendrons and hardy azaleas, thus making three permanent funds, amounting in all to $4,000, established by this zealous and liberal friend of the Society, besides his donation for prizes for roses, of which the principal was intended to be awarded. The balance of $125.28 from the Rhododendron Show was added to the general fund of the Society. At the meeting of the Society on the 5th of Novem- ber, 1864, the treasurer, William R. Austin, announced a donation from William Thomas, of $100, for the fund of the Society, for which the thanks of the Society were presented to him. On the 3d of December, 1864, Josiah Stickney pre- 128 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. sented, in behalf of Dr. "William J. Walker of Newport, R.I., a certificate of ninety-seven shares of unpreferred stock in the Connecticut and Passumpsic Railroad, " for promoting the objects of the Society, and for encoura- ging the introduction and cultivation of superior vege- tables." The value of this donation to the Society was $2,354.43. The next donation was announced on the 6th of Feb- ruary, 1869, when a letter from Ex-President Josiah Stickney was read, in which he signified his intention to give the use of $12,000 for the benefit of the Library. The terms of this gift were stated in an Indenture dated February 5, 1869. They were, that the Society should hold the fund for thirty years from the first day of February, 1869, and should every year during that time appropriate from the income seven hundred dol- lars, to be expended solely under the direction of the Library Committee, in the purchase of books on botany, horticulture, landscape gardening, architecture in its connection with horticulture, and on other kindred sub- jects, such books to be designated as the " Stickney Library." Xo part of the income may be used for the purchase of newspapers, pamphlets, or periodicals, or for the binding of books, or the alteration or repair of the library rooms, or for the salary of the librarian or any other officer or employe of the Society, or for the care or preservation of the Library. Whenever the mortgage on the estate of the Society shall be dis- charged, the sum is to be invested in such securities as shall be approved by Mr. Stickncy's executors and trustees, as a separate fund, to be known as the " Stick- ney Library Fund." At the expiration of thirty years from the 1st of February, 1869, the principal is to be paid to the president and fellows of Harvard College. DONATIONS FOR PRIZES. 129 Levi Wkitcomb, a member of the Society, who died in 1866, evinced his attachment to it by a bequest of $500, to be available to the Society on the decease of his wife, which occurred in 1870. On the 5th of November of that year it was voted that the income from this bequest should be known as the " Whitcomb Premium," and that from it should be offered a prize of $200 for the best seedling potato which should be originated after January 1, 1871, and be exhibited before and tested by a committee of the Society for at least five years, and adjudged by the committee to be of superior quality ; the first premium not to be awarded prior to the year 1878. In each of the years 1872 and 1873 Charles S. Sar- gent offered prizes to the amount of $160 for Chinese azaleas and roses. In 1875 and 1876 William Gray, Jr., offered prizes to the amount of $100 in each year for pelargoniums, and in 1876 he offered prizes amount- ing to $80 for Hybrid Perpetual roses, and the same in 1877. Other gentlemen have at different times given less amounts to be offered as prizes for the objects in which they felt a particular interest, among whom were President Charles M. Hovey, Charles O. Whitmore, Elijah Williams, Peter Smith, and the Fruit Committee of 1867. The whole amount of the various donations mentioned, including the Stickney Fund, in which the Society has only a temporary interest, is a little more than $42,500. The financial prosperity of the Horticultural Society has resulted, in a great degree, from the foundation, in its early years, of Mount Auburn Cemetery, of which a full account has been given in previous chapters. By the terms of separation between the Society and the 130 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Proprietors of Mount Auburn, it was agreed that the latter should annually pay to the former one fourth part of the proceeds of sales of lots, after deducting $1,400 for expenses. The amount received by the Society under this arrangement has averaged about $3,700 annually. The largest item in the income of the Society is from the rent of the stores under its halls, and of the halls themselves when not needed for horticultural exhibi- tions. It w T as not, however, until the erection of the present hall that this item became so important ; the largest rent ever received from the School Street prop- erty, including the estate owned by the Society in the rear of the hall, having been $2,947.50 in 1858. The total amount received by the Society on account of rent of stores and halls is about $307,000. The Society would never have attained its present financial position, had not its affairs from its organiza- tion been economically administered, and its surplus funds carefully invested ; the first investment having been made January 16, 1835. At the meeting on the 7th of October, 1837, it was " Voted, That the Commit- tee of Finance be directed, whenever there be $200 on hand, and not wanted for immediate use, to have the same invested in such permanent stocks as they may think best." Although the letter of this vote may not always have been followed, the general policy indicated has been steadily pursued, the stocks having been ulti- mately sold to provide funds for the erection of the Society's halls. The income received by the Society in the form of dividends and interest has reached the total amount of $10,000 ; and so well have the investments been chosen, that no loss has been sustained on any of AMOUNT PAID IN PRIZES. 131 them, with the exception of the first investment, which was of comparatively small amount. Nor is it known that a single dollar has ever been lost through the unfaithfulness of any of its servants. The expenditures of the Society have been much more varied in then- nature than its income, and are consequently more difficult to describe ; but the largest annual item of expense has been the premiums and gratuities paid for the exhibition of superior horticul- tural productions, and, beginning in 1850, for the best planned and cultivated gardens, greenhouses, and orna- mental grounds. The sums annually offered hi the infancy of the Society were, of course, small, the first premium list, published in May, 1829, amounting to $153 ; but they gradually increased to $6,800, offered in 1876. This increase has, with few exceptions, been steady, though in 181:5, the first year of the occupation of the hall in School Street, the amount rose to $1,200 against $460 in 1844. "When the annual exhibitions became so. extensive as to be held under a tent, the amount of prizes was necessarily increased, after which it rose gradually until the civil war, when it declined ; but, with the opening of the new hall, it rose higher than ever before, and steadily increased until 1876. Since that year it has necessarily been dimin- ished. The whole amount actually paid in prizes and gratuities (not that offered) since the foundation of the Society, including those for 1878, is about $103,000. In addition to the prizes and gratuities for horticultural productions, it has been the custom of the Society to give a piece of plate to a retiring president, and some- times to other officers the same, or a gratuity in money, as a token of personal regard, and a slight reward for 132 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. valuable services rendered to the Society and to the cause of horticulture; which in the aggregate have amounted to a considerable sum. Apart from the large payments for prizes and gratui- ties, the exhibitions held by the Society have, on the whole, not been a source of profit, but the reverse. In the early days of the Society, when the labor of arran- ging and decorating for the annual exhibition could be performed by the members of the Committee of Ar- rangements, with the assistance of the porter in charge of the hall, a profit could be counted on, which formed an important item in the revenue of the Society ; but, since the exhibitions have grown more extensive, the expenses have frequently exceeded the receipts, the greatest deficit having been in 1857, when the former were $2,382.68, and the latter $1,372.50, leaving a deficiency of $1,010.18. The largest excess of receipts over expenses was in 1865, at the first annual exhibition in the present hall, the receipts having been $1,822, and the expenses $1,371.76, leaving a profit of $450.21. The expenses of the annual and semi-annual exhibitions have in the aggregate exceeded the receipts by more than $8,000. Until the opening of the hall in School Street, admis- sion to the weekly exhibitions was always free ; but at that time a small admission fee was required, the receipts from this source amounting during the season 527.13. The same course was continued, but with greatly diminished receipts, for several years afterwards, and occasionally since. The whole amount received at the weekly exhibitions was probably about $1,500, — a very small part of the cost at which they have been sustained. Doubtless a very different result would KOOMS AND LIBRARY. 133 have been reached, had this subject been looked at solely from a pecuniary point of view ; but the Society has justly considered that the object of these exhibitions is not to replenish its treasury, but to improve the art of horticulture, and to educate the public taste in this direction; and with this end in view they have been conducted. The holding of horticultural exhibitions involves the necessity of a place to hold them in ; and those occupied by the Society have cost in the aggregate a large sum. As appears from the treasurer's books, the rent of those first occupied was but the modest sum of $25 per quarter, but as the Society grew this expense necessarily grew also, and has amounted in all to more than $15,000. This sum includes only the rent of rooms continuously occupied, and not that paid for halls and tents hired for the annual exhibitions, which is included in the expenses of those exhibitions. To the rent may be added the interest paid by the Society, amounting, December 31, 1878, to $81,000, by far the greater part of this sum being interest on the mortgage debt incurred by the Society in the erection of its halls. The formation and maintenance of a horticultural library, to correspond with the character of the Society in other respects, was one of the first subjects which engaged the attention of the founders of the Society, and has every year been a source of greater or less expense. It is true that, particularly in its earlier years, many valuable books have been presented to the Society ; but the greater part of those which the library now contains have been purchased, and many of tlr large illustrated works at a very considerable expense. Of a total expenditure during the first two years of 134 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. the existence of the Society of $2,353.47, very nearly one-third ($765.42) is believed to have been on account of the library. The usual appropriation for this pur- pose was $150 annually, until 1859, when $400 was appropriated, and this was afterwards increased to $500, at which amount it remained until the establish- ment of the Stickney Fund, since which time the Society has appropriated, in addition to the annual income of $700 from that fund, from $200 to $300 for periodicals and binding. In the valuation of the Society's prop- erty December, 1878, the library is estimated at $18,- 067.45, which is probably less than its actual cost to the Society, and doubtless much less than the same books could now be purchased for, or than its intrinsic value for consultation or reading. The dissemination of horticultural knowledge through the publications of the Society has caused the expendi- ture of a considerable portion of its income. From 1847 to 1851 the Transactions were published in royal octavo, with colored plates of fruits and flowers, and copies were sold to the amount of several hundred dol- lars ; but, with this exception, all the publications of the Society have been distributed gratuitously to the members. The whole cost of this department of the Society's work, including catalogues of the library, is estimated at about $21,500 after deducting the amount received for publications sold. In the earliest years of the Society a porter, who re- ceived a small sum annually for the care of the hall, was its only paid servant ; but as the library became more important, and the business of the Society increased, nominal salaries were paid to the librarian, treasurer, and secretary, that of the treasurer being afterwards in- RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES. 135 creased as the funds of the Society accumulated. Small salaries were also paid to the chairmen of the com- mittees on fruits, flowers, and vegetables, as then duties grew with the growth of the exhibitions. Still later, when the care and letting of the stores and halls, and the other business of the Society, became sufficient to occupy all the time of the treasurer, it was necessary to further increase his salary ; and in 1874 a paid edit- or of the Society's transactions was appointed ; this office being in 1876 merged in that of secretary. Other expenditures have been the furniture and decorations of the halls (including the portraits of all the presidents), repairs, insurance, taxes (this item alone amounting in the fourteen years ending with 1878 to $48,060.05), labor, and miscellaneous expenses. The receipts of the Society from its formation to the annual meeting, September 19, 1829, to which time the accounts of the treasurer were made up, were $845, being wholly from admission fees and assessments, with the exception of Mr. Welles's donation, already men- tioned, of $100 ; and the expenses were $717.30. n 1830 the receipt s were . . . $736.50 expenses, $913.18 1840 a i< . 2,362.62 1,924.53 1850 a a . 7,003.01 " 6,593.04 1860 a a . 14,000.45 " 11,768.23 1870 (( it . 29,947.15 " 22,698.30 1876 k (( . 19,895.13 « 31,081.8s 1 These statements, which include only the ordinary re- ceipts and expenditures of the Society, will give some idea of its financial progress. # The cost of the first hall, erected by the Society in 1 The expenses this year were larger than before or since, over receipts was met by a temporary loan. The excess 136 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. School Street, at the time of occupancy, May 15, 1845, was. according to the report of the Building Committee, for the land SIS, 189.75, for the building $19,493.03 ; making a total of $37,682.78. The means for its erec- tion were derived from the sale of stocks in which the surplus funds of the Society had been invested ; from the Society's proportion of the proceeds of sales of lots in Mount Auburn, and from a loan, secured by mortgage. of $ 15,000, at five per cent per annum. In 1849 this loan was repaid, and a new one of $10,000, at six per cent, obtained from Josiah Bradlee. In September, 1852, the Society bought of Isaac B. Woodbury the estate in the rear of the hall, containing about 2.400 square feet, for $12,000, with the intention of at some future time enlarging the hall, which had become too small for the annual exhibitions. The payment was made in cash $2,500, and a mortgage of $9,500, on which $5,000 was paid February 14, 1854, and the balance of $4,500 in March, 1855. May 12, 1856, $5,000 was paid on the mortgage to Mr. Bradlee, redu- cing it one half; in January, 1857, $2,000 more was paid ; and January 6, 1858, the balance of principal and interest, amounting to $3,027.50. The Society was then free from debt, and a resolu- tion of thanks to Mr. Bradlee was passed for his loan, which he had renewed and continued from time to time, receiving payment as suited the convenience of the Society ; thus saving it from the payment of extra interest during a long period of money pressure. By the indenture with the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, dated December 18, 1858, the Society agreed to pay to that corporation the sum of $9,008.49, that being the estimated cost of one fourth part of the land SALE AKD PUECHASE OF REAL ESTATE. 137 added to the cemetery since its separation from the Society, with interest and other charges. Of this sum $2,879.34 was paid in 1859, being half the amount due the Society for sales in 1858. The balance, amounting, with a year's interest, to $6,496.90, was paid on settle- ment for the sales in 1859 ; and the Society was again free from debt. On the 5th of January, 1860, the Society consum- mated the sale of all its real estate in School Street, measuring 5,343 square feet, to Harvey D. Parker, at thirteen dollars per foot, amounting to $69,459. It received in payment a mortgage note for $60,000, at six per cent, the interest to commence on the 1st of April, when possession was to be given, and the balance in cash, less the interest to that time, being $9,317.12. Of this note $38,000 was paid at different times during the year 1864, and the remaining $22,000 on the 3d of January, 1865. In August, 1863, the Society purchased the Mont- gomery House estate for $101,000, paying $1,000 in cash, and giving a mortgage — payable in gold hi twenty years, with interest in currency at five and one half per cent per annum — for $100,000. On the 6th of February, 1864, the Society, on the recommendation of the Build- ing Committee, voted to erect a building on this land, at a cost not exceeding $105,000. The assets of the Society available for this purpose, consisting of H. D. Parker's note, received in payment for the School Street property, and of railroad stocks and other investments of the surplus income, were estimated at $100,054. On the completion of the hall, the cost, including land, building, and new furniture, was found to be $246,889 ; and the other property, consisting of the 138 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. library, furniture, and glass-ware, railroad stocks, and cash in the treasury, made a total of $266,241.54. Be- sides the mortgage debt of $100,000, the Society owed a floating debt of £41,355.55, making the net property $124,885.99. At the beginning of the year 1869 the amount of the floating debt was $11,000, which was paid in that year, together with $6,000 of the mortgage debt. At the close of the year 1875 the mortgage debt had been reduced to $60,000, at which amount it still remains. A floating debt of $12,000 has since been incurred, which, with the amount of the Stickney Fund, payable to Harvard College in 1899, makes the total debt of the Society at the close of the year 1878 $84,000. The property of the Society at the same time was estimated to be, in real estate, furniture, and exhibition ware, at cost, $256,585.56, library $18,067.45, and railroad bonds at par $1,500, making a total of $276,153.01, and leaving the net property $192,153.01. If we seek for the causes which have given this Society a financial position superior to that of any other institution of this kind in the world, we shall find that they arc mainly these two, — first, its fortunate connec- tion with Mount Auburn, which has been already men- tioned ; and, second, the integrity and skill with which its revenues have been administered by its finance com- mittees and treasurers. The Society, on its part, has testified its appreciation of the faithfulness of these officers by the long time during which it has continued them in service. The Finance Committee was estab- lished in 1835 ; and the first chairman, Elijah Vosc, held that position for ten years. Josiah Stickney served upon this committee from 1847 to 1857, and FINANCE COMMITTEES AND TREASURERS. 139 again from 1859 to 1866, nineteen years in all, during ten of which he was chairman. Marshall P. Wilder was a member of the committee for seventeen years, from 1849 to 1858, and from 1860 to 1866, and for ten years chairman. The present chairman, Charles O. Whitmore, has been upon the committee for seven- teen years, having been first chosen in 1862, and has been at its head for the last twelve years. The first treasurer, Cheever Newhall, who lived to the age of ninety years to rejoice in the prosperity of the institution which he assisted in founding, served from 1829 to 1833, and his successor, William Worth- ington, from 1834 to 1837. The next treasurer was Samuel Walker, from 1838 to 1848, when he was elected president of the Society. He was succeeded by Capt. Frederick W. Macondray, who had been in office but about six months when he removed to California. Capt. William Ii. Austin, the next treasurer, held the office until the 2d of June 1866, when he resigned, having served seventeen years. His successor, Edwin W. Bus well, still continues in office. It will thus be seen that the Society has had but six treasurers since its foundation, and that the terms of office of three of these, Messrs. Walker, Austin, and Buswell, aggregate forty years, four-fifths of the time of the Society's exist- ence. We cannot better conclude this outline of the finan- cial history of the Society than with the hope that it may always in the future have as able, faithful, and devoted managers of these interests as it has had in the past. CHAPTER V. THE ROOMS OCCUPIED BY THE SOCIETY, INCLUDING THE ERECTION AND DEDICATION OF THE FIRST AND SECOND HORTICULTURAL HALLS. As the reader has already learned, the first meetings with reference to the formation of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society were held in the office of Zebedee Cook, Jr., who was engaged in the insurance business at No. 7£ Congress Street, and there the Society was organized. Mr. Cook's office was on the first floor, and very convenient, and easy of access. Though the building still remains, it has been much changed since the Society was formed there. Three meetings of the Society, on the 7th and 28th of April and the 12th of May, were held at the same place, as were also the meetings of the Council on the 24th of March and the 7th of April. At the Council meeting March 24. John C. Gray, Z. Cook, Jun., and Samuel Downer were appointed a committee to procure a room for the use of the members " of the Council and of the Society;" and on the 9th of June the meeting of the Society was held at " the Society's room." Three days later the New England Farmer announced that " a very con- venient and spacious room has been fitted up, over the counting room of the New England Farmer. Xo. 52 North Market Street, for the use of the Society. The room is furnished with various agricultural, and other 140 ROOM IN NORTH MARKET STREET. 141 periodical journals, and is open at all hours of the day for the use of members. At this room will be deposited all seeds, scions of superior fruits, drawings of fruits, new implements of use in horticulture, books for the library of the Society, and all fruits, vegetables, or ornamental flowers that may be offered for the pre- miums of the Society." In the same number of the Farmer, the recording secretary, Robert L. Emmons, gave notice of a meeting of the Society on the next Saturday at " Horticultural Hall," and thus the Society was provided with a local habitation. We have mentioned in our introductory chapter the agricultural warehouse of Joseph R. Newell, and the office and seed store of John B. Russell, the publisher of the Farmer, over it, as the general place of gathering of the horticulturists and agriculturists in the vicinity of Boston, and where the discussions which led to the organization of the Horticultural Society took place. In January, 1829, the office of the Farmer was removed from the third to the second story, in the same room with the agricultural warehouse ; and nothing could be more natural than that the new society should occupy the room thus vacated, which had been the familiar haunt of so many of the members, with the agricultural warehouse and Farmer office still in close proximity. The room did not include the whole of the third floor of the building, but only the front part, looking out on Faneuil Hall and the then lately erected Quincy Market, and through Merchants' Row to State Street. It was very far from being what we should now call " spacious ; " yet it sufficed for all the ordinary purposes of the Society, — business meetings, exhibitions, library, and a business and conversational exchange. Here we 142 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. can imagine Gen. Dearborn presiding, surrounded by the founders and leading members of the Society, — Cook, Bartlett, Downer, French, Xcwhall, Manning, Kenrick, Phinncy, Williams, Winship, Emmons, Chand- ler, Richards, Haggerston, Walker, Yose, Shurtleff, Pratt, and others who have passed over the dark river, and Russell, Breed, Ives, Wilder, Gray, P. 13. Ilovey, Weld, and others who still remain to meet in the present magnificent hall of the Society, so different from the plain hired room which was then its home. At a meeting of the Council on the 26th of September, 1829, John Prince and Samuel Downer were appointed a committee to procure a pyramiclical set of shelves for the better exhibition of flowers, etc. ; and at the same time Gen. Dearborn and Messrs. Cook and Downer were appointed to procure accurate drawings of our native fruits. These paintings, which were obtained at con- siderable expense, were framed for the embellishment of the room, but were destroyed in the fire at the room in Cornhill, in March, 1836. After the Society removed, the room was again occu- pied by the agricultural warehouse, and has so con- tinued to this day ; the business having since 1836 been carried on by the firm of Joseph Breck & Co., of which the late venerable president of the Horticultural Society was for thirty-seven years the head. The room was rented by the Society of Mr. Russell, who had a lease from the owner of the building, Nathaniel Hammond, in possession of whose heirs it still remains. In less than a year from the time this room was occu- pied we find the Society looking out for new quarters. Probably it had grown so that this was too small ; and on the 13th of March, 1830, it was voted, " that it is ROOMS IN JOY'S BUILDING. 143 expedient to procure a suitable room in some central and convenient situation for the use of the Society ; " and B. V.French, Thomas Brewer, and Z. Cook, Jun., were appointed a committee to ascertain where such a room could be procured. In two weeks they reported that they were unable to find a room possessing the requisite conveniences, and were requested to make further inquiries. May 8 they were instructed " to petition the City Government for an apartment in the Old State House, or any other city edifice, to be used as the hall of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society." On the 27th of November a meeting was held at the Exchange Coffee House, " for the purpose of consulting upon and adopting measures in relation to the procur- ing a suitable room for the future meetings of the Society." At this meeting the committee to procure a room was discharged, and a new one appointed, with full powers to procure and furnish suitable rooms. They were, however, unsuccessful in finding a satisfac- tory place until the next spring ; but on the 7th of May, 1831, the meeting of the Society was held at the rooms in Joy's Building, which, as appears from an advertisement in the New England Farmer, were " Nos. 14 and 15 in the second gallery." These rooms were much more commodious than the one previously occu- pied ; but at the first meeting held there the Society voted " that the committee appointed to secure rooms request the owner of the building to enlarge, at his own expense, the passage way between the two rooms by cutting out another door, for the better accom- modation of the Society," and they were accordingly so connected, that, when desired, they could easily be converted into one large room. On the 3d of Sep- 144 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. tember, 1831, the thanks of the Society were presented to G. Thorburn & Sons for a bust of Linnaeus, which was probably destroyed by the tire in Cornhill, with the other decorations of the rooms. The rent of these rooms was *50 a quarter, just double that of the room in North Market Street, and was paid at first to Joseph B. Joy, and afterwards to the estate of B. Joy. This rent, which would now be thought very moderate, was deemed too high at that time ; and on the 17th of November, 1832, a vote was passed, " that the treasurer be authorized to give notice to the proprietor of this building that the Society will not consider themselves tenants after three months from this date, unless the said proprietor will consent to reduce the rent to $100 per annum." On the 22d of the next month a committee was appointed to procure another room for the use of the Society, and on the 23d of February, 1833, they were requested to continue their exertions, and to ascertain at what rate they could procure the room adjoining the New England Farmer office. On the 30th of March they reported, that, after diligent search, they could not find a room more com- modious than that then occupied by the Society. They were accordingly discharged, and the Society continued in the occupancy of the rooms, although the desired reduction in the rent had not been made. On the 12th of October a new committee was appointed, which was more successful ; and on the 1st of February, 1834, the Society met at their new hall, No. 81 Cornhill, which name had a short time before been given to what was previously known as Market Street. The room was in the second story, over the seed store of Messrs. Ilovey & Co., of whom the Society hired the rooms, they hav- FIRE AT THE EOOMS IN CORNHILL. 145 ing a lease of the whole building from the owner, Ebenezer Francis. It was while the Society occupied these rooms, that the separation between it and the owners of lots in Mount Auburn Cemetery took place ; and the meeting on the 4th of October, 1834, for the choice of officers, into which this question entered, was held at the Old Common Council Room, Court Square, to accommodate all who wished to attend. The meet- ing at which the report of the committee to arrange the terms of separation was made and accepted was held at the hall over the Tremont Bank, then, as now, at the corner of State and Congress Streets. On Tuesday, March 15, 1836, a special meeting of the Society was held at the store in Cornhill opposite to that formerly occupied by Messrs. Hovey, to take such measures as might be necessary in consequence of a fire, which, during the preceding night, had nearly destroyed the building in which was the Society's room. This was one of four incendiary attempts the same night, three of which were successful. The library was but partially injured (somewhat by water) ; but the pic- tures and ornaments of the room were mostly destroyed. The damaged books were rebound and cleaned; but some of them, among which are the costly folio vol- umes of the New Duhamel, still show the discoloration by smoke. The amount received in settlement with the company by which the Society's property was insured was $850. At this time another effort was made to obtain better accommodations, the Executive Committee being au- thorized to engage them if possible ; but they reported that, after diligent search, they had been unable to obtain a room, which, on all accounts, would suit the 146 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. purposes of the Society, and had therefore engaged the former room till the end of the lease. The room, after being repaired, was accordingly again occupied for the quarterly meeting on the 4th of June, the public being invited by an advertisement in the newspapers to visit the exhibition. While the Society was occupying these rooms, Llew- ellyn D. Jones, gardener to James Arnold of New Bed- ford, presented a rustic chair of his own manufacture, for which the thanks of the Society were voted on the 27th of September, 1834. It was ordered to be placed in the hall, for the use of the presiding officer, and will be remembered as having been so used for many years. On the 18th of June, 1836, a letter was read from John J. Low, announcing the donation of a painting of fruits, in an elegant frame, for the decoration of the hall. This painting, after following the migrations of the Society, is suspended in the present Library Room. The lease of this hall had not expired when it was vacated by the Society, and it was underlet by them for the remainder of the term. We find no further movement towards changing the quarters of the Society until the 2d of September, 1837, when the Executive Committee presented a report in relation to providing rooms better suited to the purposes of the Society. In accordance with their report, the committee was authorized to obtain the rooms at Xo. 23 Tremont Row (now No. 25 Tremont Street) ; the room last occupied not being sufficiently large to enable the great number of persons who wished to visit the shows to enter, or to allow of a fan* display of the many flowers sent for exhibition. The new room was in the second story of the building, lighted from both front HALL IN TREMONT ROW. 147 and rear, and far more commodious than any of those previously occupied by the Society, being sufficiently spacious for the annual exhibitions, which were held there until the completion of the hall in School Street. The hall was owned by William Appleton, and the rent paid was $500 a year and the taxes. It was at first hired for one year, at the close of which the Finance Committee reported that it might be had for another year at the same price. They were requested to look out for another hall, but on the 6th of October were authorized to hire the same hall for another year at the same rent. Soon afterwards, the Executive Com- mittee were authorized to let the hall for fairs, etc., on other days than Friday and Saturday, at ten dollars per day. The Society remained in this hall until the close of the year 1844. It is now divided into several rooms occupied as dentists' offices. The meetings of the Society in January and Febru- ary, 1845, were held in the " Committee Room in Tre- mont Temple." This was the granite fronted building, formerly the Tremont Theatre, which stood on the site of the present Tremont Temple, and was burnt in 1852. On Saturday, February 15, the Society adjourned to meet on the 1st of March in the " Committee Room in their new building on School Street." We cannot wonder, that, after so many removals, and unsuccessful attempts to obtain better accommodations, the Society should have desired to possess a building of its own. The first expression of this desire which has come under our notice is contained in a resolve passed at a meeting on the 27th of September, 1834, " That the Committee of Finance be authorized to make an investment of any unappropriated moneys in the treas- 148 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. urv. not exceeding one thousand dollars, in snek stock as they shall deem advisable, the same to constitute an accumulating fund, to be appropriated, whenever the amount shall be adequate thereto, to the purchase of a place for the meetings of the Society." In a report made by President Vose, March 4, 1837, on the general condition of the Society, after mention- ing the amount received for sales of lots in Mount Auburn, and the generous donations of Mr. Courtis, he said, — " I would beg leave to suggest for the consideration of the Societ}*, that, keeping constantly in view the ultimate establish- ment of that at which it has long been aiming, a garden of experi- ment, whenever its funds shall be deemed adequate to the object, it is of great importance that the Society be furnished with a place of meeting, and for its exhibitions, better suited to its purposes than it has heretofore been provided with. It is believed that no part of the efforts of the Horticultural Society has been productive of a more salutary influence than its weekly exhibitions : it is here that practical men exhibit the results of their experiments in every branch of culture ; here they interchange their views and opinions ; and it is here, too, that the public is attracted to witness the beauti- ful displays of flowers and of fruits, by which it is believed that the taste is not only improved but often acquired for this interesting pursuit. An investment of its funds in a suitable building in a proper location might enable the Society to reserve such part of it for its own use as would subserve its purposes ; and the rents accruing from the residue might be accumulating in aid of the ultimate objects of the Society." In his opening address at the fourteenth anniversary of the Society, September 16, 184*2, the president, Marshall P. Wilder, said, " The patronage of the com- munity has been so much augmented, that the Society feels itself straitened in its present location, 1 and has in 1 In Tremont Row. LATIN SCHOOL HOUSE PURCHASED. 149 contemplation at no distant day to erect an edifice suitable in elegance and convenience to the importance of the subject." Indeed, nearly a year previous to this time, on the 30th of October, 1841, a committee had been appointed to inquire after a suitable hall, room, or rooms, for the use of the Society, by purchase, lease, or otherwise. This was the first definite action on the part of the Society looking to the possession of a building of its own ; but the committee did not succeed in finding a suitable location. On the 19th of August, 1843, a committee, consisting of President Wilder, B. V. French, Elijah Vose, Samuel Walker, and Josiah Stickney, was authorized to contract in behalf of the Society for a building or building lot suitable for its purposes, if either should present itself, which it would, in the opinion of the committee, be for the interest of the Society to purchase. On the 6th of January, 1844, the president, in behalf of the com- mittee, reported that they had purchased for the Society the estate belonging to the city of Boston, known as the Latin School House, on School Street, containing 2,952 square feet of land, for the sum of $18,000. The report concluded as follows : — " Before closing this Report, your committee wish to name some of the reasons which have influenced them ..in their doings ; and first, they would state, that, in their opinion, the time has arrived when the wants of the Society demand better and more extensive accommodations than can be furnished in the present location ; that the funds now in the treasury, with its prospective resources, are such as to warrant an investment for this purpose, and that, after the Society shall have appropriated such part of the building as may be deemed necessary for its own convenience, there will then be a portion left which may be fitted up for stores or shops, and which will probably rent for a sum equal to the interest of any 150 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. loan which may be needed, in addition to its present funds, for the purchase and alteration, or the remodelling of the same. Your committee are also under the impression that the cost of the prop- erty corresponds better with the means of the Society than any other that they have met with, or that might offer itself at present, and is capable of being made commensurate with its growth and necessities for some years to come. And, further, that the estate. situated as it is in a central part of the cit}', where real estate must alwa} T s be valuable, cannot be a very bad investment, should the Society hereafter, for any cause, wish to dispose of it." The report of the committee was accepted, and a Building Committee was appointed to take charge of the alterations and improvements of the premises pur- chased, who were instructed also to apply to the Gen- eral Court for further powers to hold real estate. The President, in connection with the Finance Com- mitee, was authorized to borrow in the name of the Society, any amount not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, to enable the Society to complete the purchase. Architects were immediately employed to draw plans, and make estimates, for the alteration of the building so as to adapt it to the use of the Society ; but it was finally decided to erect a new building. At the meeting of the Society on the 14th of Sep- tember, the chairman, in behalf of the Building Com- mittee, presented a silver plate to be placed under the corner stone of the Society's new hall, with certain doc- uments. It was then voted to adjourn to the site of the new building, and that the president be requested to perform the duty of laying the corner stone, depos- iting the plate, documents, etc., and to offer such remarks as he might deem suitable to the occasion. The plate was of silver, six by eight inches, and bore the following inscriptions : — LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE. 151 [On the Obverse.] MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Incorporated the 12th day of June, A.D. 1829. PRESENT NUMBER OF MEMBERS, FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY. With a list of the Officers and Standing Committees of the Society. [On the Reverse.] THIS EDIFICE IS ERECTED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENCOURAGING AND IMPROVING THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF HORTICULTURE. THIS CORNER STONE LAID ON THE 14th DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1844. BUILDING COMMITTEE : Marshall P. Wilder, Samuel Walker, J. E. Teschemacher, Josiah Stickney, John J. Lo"w, Benj. V. French, E. M. Richards, Sam'l R. Johnson, C. M. Hovey, Cheever Newhall, Joseph Breck, H. W. Dutton, Fred. W. Macondry. ARCHITECT, RICHARD BOND. BUILDERS: GARDNER GREENLEAF, NATH'L ADAMS, C. W. CUSHLNG, WILLARD SEARS, AND JONAS FITCH. TO THIS SOCIETY THE COMMUNITY ARE INDEBTED FOR THE FOUNDATION AND CONSECRATION OF MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. Impressions of both these inscriptions were printed, one copy being placed in the archives of the Society, another presented to the Massachusetts Historical Soci- ety, and a third to the American Antiquarian Society. 152 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The documents and other articles mentioned as placed in the corner stone were the Transactions, Ad- dresses, etc., of the Society; a phial hermetically sealed, and incased in powdered charcoal, containing a great variety of flower, fruit, and vegetable seeds ; various horticultural, agricultural, and political papers of the day ; and a variety of the coins of the United States. The whole were sealed up in a leaden box, and deposited in the stone at the north-west corner of the building ; and the large column designed to stand upon it was lowered to its place. When the building was sold and torn down, this box was reserved, and de- posited, with another box, in the comer stone of the present hall. The stone being firmly secured, the presi- dent of the Society, Marshall P. Wilder, delivered an address, in which he referred to the presence of gen- tlemen whose names are borne on the charter of the Society, and congratulated them and the members gen- erally on the flourishing condition of the Society which admitted the erection of an edifice for the promotion and encouragement of horticulture. He adverted to the approbation and favor so liberally extended to the Society by an enlightened public ; to the signal favor which had attended its almost every effort ; to its influ- ence in creating and disseminating a taste for horti- cultural pursuits and rural life ; to the introduction of new and valuable varieties, and the unprecedented in- crease and improved character of fruits and flowers since its organization ; to the universal desire, diffused by the zeal and labors of its members, for gardening and ornamental cultivation ; and to the competition and laudable emulation excited by its exhibitions and pre- miums, all of which had greatly surpassed the highest MEETING IN THE NEW LIBRARY ROOM. 153 expectations of its warmest friends. In conclusion he alluded to the act of the Society in the foundation and consecration of Mount Auburn as a measure calculated to reflect honor upon any institution, and quoted from Judge Story's address the passage in which he spoke of the connection of the Horticultural Society with the cemetery. 1 These services were attended, not only by the mem- bers of the Society, but by many other citizens of Bos- ton. The meeting of the Society on the 1st of March, 1845, was held, agreeably to the adjournment before mentioned, at the committee room in the new building, when the president addressed the members in a few pertinent remarks, adverting to the condition of the Society at that day in comparison with that at the time of its organization in 1829 ; to its influence in dissem- inating a taste for gardening, and to the usefulness which it was designed to exert in the cause of horti- cultural improvement. On the 22d of March it was voted that the new hall belonging to the Society should be called Horticultural Hall, and that the lower back room should be known as the Library Room. Although the term "Horticultural Hall" had been sometimes applied to the rooms previously occupied by the Society, it was but seldom used, they being generally known as the " Horticultural Rooms." On the 19th of April the Building Committee reported that the hall would be completed, and in readiness for occupancy, on the 15th of May ; and in the evening of that day, eight months from the time when the corner stone was laid, it was appropriately dedicated to the 1 Ante, page 83. 154 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. uses of the Society. The services on this occasion were most interesting and inspiring ; and the character and ability of those who conducted them, the beauty of the hall, the season of the year, the floral decorations, and the brilliant assembly of ladies and gentlemen that crowded the hall, all combined to make the event one which will never be forgotten by any present. The floral decorations, arranged with admirable taste by David Ilaggerston, William Quant, and Alexander Mc- Lennan, made the hall glow like a garden, and filled it with their fragrance. Among them were superb specimen plants of acacias and fuchsias from the presi- dent of the Society ; splendid pelargoniums from Mr. Quant, gardener to Thomas H. Perkins, and from the conservatory of John P. Cushing, by Mr. Ilaggerston ; a gorgeous Madame Desprez rose tree ten feet high, and covered with hundreds of blooms, from Samuel Sweetser ; ericas, cactuses, and other small plants, from William Meller ; and baskets of flowers, and bouquets of great beauty and variety, from Miss Russell, Azell Bowditch, and others. The members of the Society generally, with their ladies, and various invited guests, filled the room. Among those upon the platform with the president of the Society were John Quincy Adams, ex-president of the United States ; Gov. George N. Briggs, Lieut. Gov. John Reed, Ex-Gov. Samuel T. Armstrong, Ex- Mayor Martin Brimmer, Hon. James Arnold, lion. Samuel Hoar, Hon. Samuel H. Walley, Jun.,and others. The exercises consisted of a brief introductory ad- dress by the president, Marshall P. Wilder ; reading from the Scriptures by the Rev. George Putnam ; prayer by the Rev. William M. Rogers ; an original song, MR. LUNTS DEDICATION ADDRESS. 155 " Flora's Invitation," by Thomas Power ; a hymn by the Rev. William C. Croswell ; and an address by the Hon. George Lnnt of Newburyport. Mr. Maeder presided at the piano, and was aided by Misses Stone and Emmons, and Messrs. Marshall and Aiken, w T ho sang with fine effect the poetry contributed for the occasion. In his oration, Mr. Lunt discoursed of the benevolent order of Nature ; of the rewards which she has for her students ; of the infinite variety of her manifestations, especially in flowers, with their domestic, public, and religious associations ; of the illustrious names connected with the history of gardening ; of the delight of child- hood and old age in a garden ; and of the influence of rural scenes upon the literature of a nation. The address abounded in classical and poetical allusions, and concluded as follows : — "It has been recently stated that the average value of the plants in a single horticultural establishment of London is esti- mated at a million of dollars. And oh, before this magnificent result had been reached from the comparatively trifling beginning of a few centuries ago, what infinite care and cost must have been expended ; what love for the generous science must have been fostered and encouraged ; what distant and unknown regions had been visited, and rifled of the glories of the plains and woods ! From solitary Lybian wastes and those paradises of Persia, the Land of Roses, so eloquently described by Xenophon ; from ' Isles that crown the iEgean deep,' to the boundless expanse of this bright heritage of ours ; from Tartarian deserts to prairies of perpetual bloom ; from the fertile breadth of fields beneath the southern skies to the strange con- tinents of foreign seas and verdant islands of the ocean, • ' Whose lonely race Resign the setting sun to Indian worlds.' " Combined with this adventurous spirit of modern discovery is another principle, which has proved eminently favorable to the 156 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. interests of horticultural science. The higher social condition of those softer companions of our garden walks and labors and gentle cares, the more liberal position awarded them under the influence of advancing civilization, our deeper interest in their moral and intellectual culture, and our more generous regard for their innocent gratification, have interwoven a thousand graces and refinements, once unknown, amongst the coarser texture of social life. Never, indeed, do the}' enter so intimately into our joys and griefs and affections, as in gardens and amongst flowers. For them, and not for ourselves, we reclaim the scattered blossoms along the wilder- nesses of Nature : we ask of them a more tasteful care in the cultivation of their beauties, and, for their pleasure and adornment, we mingle their glorious hues into innumerable shapes of grace and loveliness. " Welcome, then, for this, if for no other cause, the hall which 3'ou have thus prepared, and decorated and garlanded with the choicest treasures of the spring. Long, long ma}* it stand, an evidence of no vain or idolatrous worship. Unlike those grosser handiworks of cold and glittering marble, which crowned in ancient daj-s the baren cliff, or looked in lifeless beauty ' Far out into the melancholy main,' but touched with the spirit of every gentle and noble association, and consecrated by the soul of all our dearest affections, welcome, to them and to us, be this temple of the fruits and flowers." The building thus dedicated, and of which a view is here given, was, so far as is known, the first ever erected by a horticultural society for similar purposes. The front was of granite, of chaste Grecian style. The lower story was composed of four massive Doric piers ; the opening on the right being the main entrance to the hall, and the centre and left respectively the door and window to the store, which occupied the larger part of this story. Above the piers was a plain frieze and cornice, forming a base for the fluted Corinthian pilasters which ornamented the principal story, and which were surmounted by a suitable entablature and pediment. Hoi l Hall, School Street. Erccte DESCRIPTION OF THE HALL. 157 Between the pilasters were windows with a sunk panel over each. Back of the store, lighted from Chapman Place, was the Library Room, used also for the meetings of the Society, and committees. This room was at first entered directly from Chapman Place, and from a pas- sage way in the rear ; but in 1849 a door was cut con- necting it with the store, which was found much more convenient. In the rear passage way referred to was a door opening from Chapman Place, and at the opposite end stairs to the hall above. This was ninety feet in length, thirty-one in width, and twenty-five in height. It was decorated with Corinthian pilasters, with stylo- bate and entablature, to correspond to the front. The rear was semicircular in form, having on the right a door to the stairs leading to the room below, and on the left one opening into a closet for the exhibition ware. Between these doors was a stand with receding stages for pot plants. On each side of this stand was a pedestal, one being surmounted by a statue of Hebe, and the other by a statue of a Dancing Girl. Two long tables for fruit extended lengthwise of the hall, with another on the western side against the wall ; while against the eastern side and the northern end were stands for cut flowers. Two circular flower stands also stood near the northern end. The first public ex- hibition in the new hall was held on Saturday, May 31, 1845. A short time before the dedication of the hall, John J. Low addressed a note to the president, of which the following is a part : " Feeling an interest in our excel- lent institution, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and also a desire to add to the appearance of our beauti- ful hall, I have caused to be placed there a clock, which 158 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. will not only be in a degree ornamental, but also serve to prompt us all to make the best use of the moments as they so rapidly pass away." This clock is now over the stage in the lower hall of the present building. Soon after, Josiah Bradlcc presented a pan of large and elegant China vases, which not only served to orna- ment the hall, but, at the annual exhibition, contained a pan of large bouquets ; the " Bradlee Plate " being offered as a prize for the best. On the 21st of April, 18-49, George B. Jones presented a large and valuable china vase, and on the 27th of September, 1856, he added two more. On the 3d of March, 18-49, a letter was received from Dr. Samuel P. Hildreth, an eminent pomologist of Marietta, O., accompanied by a painting of fruits grown at that place, which was suspended in the Library Room, and is now in the present Library Room. The store under the hall was first leased to Samuel Walker, then to Walker & Co., and afterwards to Azell Bowditch, and was used by all for the sale of horticul- tural articles. During the winter season, and at other times when not wanted by the Society, the hall was let for various purposes. The possession of a home of its own, by making the Society and its objects more widely known, contributed greatly to extend its reputation and influence, and at this period, the Society began to take that prominent position which it has since maintained throughout the country. The building of which an account has been given was the abode of the Society for fifteen years of harmony and prosperity, and to it many of the mem- bers look back with the greatest interest. But, al- though ample for the weekly shows, the first annual A LARGER HALL NEEDED. 159 exhibition held in the new hall proved it to be hardly sufficient for the occasion ; and in 1848 the annual exhibition was held in Faneuil Hall. Indeed, this had been predicted by the writer of the account of the annual exhibition of 1844, who, after speaking of the large quantity of fruit contributed for which there was no room on the tables, and of the larger accommoda- tions when the new hall should be occupied the next year, added, " But we greatly mistake the signs of the times, if the contributions of future years will not increase to an extent far beyond our contemplated arrangements." In his annual address on the 4th of January, 1851, President Walker said, — ' ' The increasing taste for horticultural pursuits requires prompt and corresponding action to enable us to keep pace with the times. The question with us now is, not what can be done, but rather what shall be done first, to meet the demands of the community and the wants of the Society. An experimental garden, enlarged and more extended annual exhibitions under tents, etc., are sub- jects full of interest, and may well occiqrv the attention, and here- after require the deliberate consideration, of the Society. But gentlemen, a permanent Temple, of ample dimensions to meet all the wants of the Society and the wishes of the public, is the first thing that I would suggest for your consideration. Let us obtain a suitable location, a Home. For this purpose let us economize our resources, tax our time and our energies, and, if needs be, our fortunes, for this desirable consummation of the wishes of our friends and the founders of the Society. Many of them saw only through the vista with the eye of hope : it is our duty and our privilege to carry out their designs, and to fill up the picture as it once presented itself to the vision of the Lowells, the Stop's, the Lymans, the Brimmers, the Courtises, the Bradlees, and the Princes. Without a hall to exhibit to advantage all the specimens raised by horticultural efforts, we cannot fully accomplish our highest aim, — the dissemination of a knowledge of, and a love 1G0 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. for, horticulture. Imbue the public with this, and the emulation thai it will create between amateurs, and the competition among cultivators for the market, will be sufficient to fill, in a few years, the largest hall we could desire to possess. " Having expressed my views thus frankly on this subject, permit me to touch upon details by suggesting whether a hall in every way suited to horticulture might not be built and fitted up with reference to its soul-stirring kindred spirit, Music, where the warbling voice and the 'Bird Song' might be wafted, like the gentle zephyr, among the trees, the buds, the blossoms, and the flowers, to ravish the ear, while the eye should be charmed by the gems of lovely spring, or the golden drops and purple hues of gorgeous autumn." Not only was the hall insufficient for the annual exhibitions, but the Library Room was ill lighted and damp, rendering it unsuitable for a reading-room, as well as liable to injure the valuable books there depos- ited. Accordingly, when in August, 1852, the owner of the estate in the rear of the hall offered it for sale, it was purchased by the Society with a view of extend- ing the building so as to afford better accommodations. In the summer of 185-4 the subject of selling the Society's real estate to Harvey D. Parker, who was then erecting his hotel upon the adjoining land, was consid- ered ; but no sale was made at that time. An arrange- ment was, however, effected by which a narrow strip of land, with the right to use one half the western wall of the Society's building, was sold to Mr. Parker, the Society receiving from him the sum of $1,553.74, and the right to use the division wall to be erected by him, in case they should extend their building southward. On the 6th of November, 1858, Eben Wight, Samuel Walker, George W. Pratt, Edward S. Rand, Jim., and F. Lyman AVinship were appointed a committee " to PROJECT OF ALTERING THE HALL. 161 take into consideration the present insufficient accom- modations of the Society, to consider the expediency of disposing of the present estate, to ascertain what more suitable location can be procured, and the probable cost of erecting a building sufficient for all the wants of the Society ; also to consider the feasibility of so altering the present building by enlarging the same, or of re- building on the present site, as to afford adequate accommodations for the present, and also to meet the increasing wants of the Society." President Breck, in his annual address on the 1st of January, 1859, after alluding with approval to the appointment of this com- mittee, described the accommodations needed, as, in addition to a large exhibition room, one of smaller dimensions for winter, and other light and airy rooms for the library, and for meetings of the Society and of committees, and in connection with these, or a com- bination of them, the conveniences of a horticultural exchange, where the members might meet from week to week to hold social intercourse, and recount their successes or failures, discuss the merits of the last new fruit or flower, or communicate whatever might relate to the subject which they had so much at heart. On the 5th of March, 1859, the committee reported prog- ress, and were authorized to employ an architect to estimate and draught plans for such alterations in the building as they might desire. The estate on the north- erly side of Winter Street, then occupied by the Central Congregational Church, was brought to the attention of the committee, and designs and estimates for a build- ing on that site were procured ; but the idea was after- wards relinquished. On the 5th of November, 1859, the subject of dispos- L62 .MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ing of the property of the Society, and of procuring other accommodations, was referred to the Executive and Finance Committees. On the 17th of December, the joint committee made their report, from which the following is an extract : " A portion of your committee were in favor of rebuilding upon the present site; but, upon careful estimate's, it was found that a building such as could be erected upon our present property, though perhaps sufficient for our present wants, would not be such as would be creditable to the Society, or satisfactory to individual members, and also that a suitable build- ing would involve an expenditure of from twenty to thirty thousand dollars, without increasing the value of the Land in like proportion, or being such as would afford a large income to the Society." The committee further stated that they had received from Harvey D. Parker what they considered a most liberal offer for the property, and that they regarded the acceptance of it as greatly for the interest of the Society. At a meeting a week later, the Society voted to accept the offer of Mr- Parker, and to sell the property on the conditions men- tioned in the preceding chapter; and the site of the hall is now occupied by the ladies' dining room and adjacent corridor of the Parker House. In his annual address, on the 7th of January, 1860, Presidenl Breck, after alluding to the advantageous sale of the Society's property, said, "We shall leave this spot with feelings of deep regret; for here we have enjoyed many pleasant meetings. This is the place where we have first seen many new fruits and flowers, whore we have acquired much horticultural knowledge, and whore, for many years, the associations have con- tinued satisfactory and pleasant." PORTRAITS OF THE PRESIDENTS. 163 Before the time for vacating its hall, the Society had secured rooms at the corner of Washington and West Streets, with entrances from both streets. The rooms were all upon one floor ; and the largest, previously known as Amory Hall, was a spacious, airy, and pleas- ant room, sufficiently large for the weekly, though not for the annual exhibitions. The large room in the rear was well adapted for the meetings of the Society and its committees, as well as for the library and reading room. In some respects, the Society was better accommodated here than ever before. While occupying these rooms, the Society received from L. M. Sargent, December 15, 1860, the present of a painting, by Henry C. Pratt, of the Cereus giganteus, a cactus found in the hot and arid regions of New Mexico, which is now suspended in the library room. While here, also, the collection of portraits and busts of the presidents and other prominent members and benefactors of the Society, which now ornaments its halls, may be said to have been commenced ; the only one previously owned by the Society being the bust of Theodore Lyman. On the 5th of January, 1861, a committee was appointed to consider the expediency of procuring portraits of the past and present presidents, to be placed in the rooms of the Society. The commit- tee having reported, a month later, in favor of procur- ing such portraits, the sum of $1,000 was appropriated for the purpose ; and on the 5th of May they an- nounced that they had procured portraits of H. A. S. Dearborn and Marshall P. Wilder, by Miss Stewart ; Zebedee Cook and Joseph S. Cabot, by Brackett ; Eli- jah Vose, by Young ; Samuel Walker and Josiah Stick- ney, by Hartwell ; and Joseph Breck, by Pratt. 164 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. On the 31st of March, 1863, Charles O. Whitmore offered for the acceptance of the Society a marble bust, 1,\ Henry Dexter, of Marshall P. Wilder. In the letter conveying this offer, Mr. Whitmore recounted the ser- vices of Mr. Wilder to the country and the Society, — the latter then extending over a period of thirty years, — and especially his services upon the committee which arranged the separation between the Society and the Proprietors of Mount Auburn, when Mr. Wilder pro- posed the terms of settlement ultimately adopted. It was these last mentioned services which the bust was particularly intended to commemorate. Although these rooms were in many respects so con- venient, they were further south than was desirable; and at every meeting and exhibition all the members, and all the articles shown, were obliged to ascend two flights of stairs. Indeed, they were never thought of as a permanent home for the Society; and an effort in which the Society had engaged before leaving the School Street Hall, to obtain from the Commonwealth the grant of a reservation of land on the Back Bay, on which it might erect a building suitable to its pur- . was continued after its removal. This movement made in connection with the Boston Society of Natural History and other scientific and educational associations. It was believed, that, if these various institution'- could be congregated together, it would be not merely for their own benefit, but for the advan- of science, education, agriculture, and commerce throughout the Commonwealth and the Union. The Horticultural Society pledged itself, if the grant was obtained, to take possession of the land when filled and graded, and prepare the same for immediate plant- MONTGOMERY HOUSE PURCHASED. 165 ing, and, within five years from the time of the grant, to erect a crystal palace or conservatory for their own use, and for the growth of plants, commensurate with the wants of the Society and the progress of horticul- tural science, and honorable alike to the city and Com- monwealth. These efforts, though continued for two years, were unsuccessful; and on the 7th of December, 1861, the Executive Committee was instructed to be on the lookout for a location for the Society. The Finance Committee was soon after added to the Executive Com- mittee, and on the 5th of April, 1862, the joint com- mittee was empowered, if they should find a suitable location in Washington or Tremont Street, or the streets between these, not further south than Winter Street, to contract for it in the name of the Society. After reporting progress from time to time, the com- mittee made their final report on the 15th of August, 1863, which was, that they had purchased for the Soci- ety the Montgomery House estate on Tremont Street, which had generally been admitted by the members to be the most central and desirable location obtain- able. The estate was reported as containing about 6,300 square feet, the dimensions being 55 feet and 5 inches on Tremont Street, 123 feet and 9 inches on Bromfield Street, 120 feet and 7 inches on Montgomery Place, and 52 feet and 3 inches on the rear line. The conditions of the purchase have been given in the pre- ceding chapter. In their preliminary report, on the 7th of February, 1863, the committee stated that the only other estate within the prescribed boundaries which had attracted then notice was that known as the Tremont Temple, which they had learned might be for L66 RiASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. sale. They, however, regarded the Montgomery House estate as far preferable. The report of the committee was accepted, and the president and treasurer were authorized and directed to sign and execute all papers necessary to complete the purchase. In accordance with the recommenda- tion of the committee, the estate was placed in the charge of the Finance Committee until the Society should decide to erect a building upon it. At the annual meeting on the 2d of January, 1864, President Ilovey and Josiah Stickney, Charles O. Whit- more, Marshall P. Wilder, Joseph S. Cabot, "William K. Austin. II. II. Hunncwell, James F. C. Flyde, and Leander Wetherell were appointed a committee to con- sider the expediency of erecting a building on the site of the Montgomery House. This committee on the 6th of February made a unanimous report, from which the following portions are extracted: — •■ Your committee believe it is for the permanent interest of the Society to proceed with the erection of :i building, if it can be done within its means, or with safety :is an investment of its funds. The question of time is one to which they have given much atten- tion: and. Looking at it in all its aspects, they feel assured, with such a plan as they have had prepared, — should it meet the wishes ami approval of the Society. — a building can be erected at a reason- ably enhanced price, without detriment to its present interests or future welfare, which will afford a good income upon the outlay, and. what is of the most importance, place the Society in posses- sion of n hall of its own, where it can accommodate all the exhibi- weekly or annual, — a building that shall be an ornamenl to .,iii- city. • a fitting testimonial of our liberality,' and one which will enable us to carry forward the great objects of its founders, viz.. • Encouraging and improving the science of horticulture.' •• At an early stage «.f the action of the Society, a committee of fire was chosen to purchase a suitable site within certain limits: REPORT OF COMMITTEE. 167 and that committee, desirous of serving the interests and forward- ing the objects of the Society, which they believed to be to secure a handsome and appropriate building, selected the Montgomery House estate, and had plans and estimates, prepared by G. J. F. Bryant, placed before them and the Society. These estimates showed that the building could have been erected in 1862 for $85,000. This plan has been materially and essentially altered in its interior arrangements, while its exterior character has been preserved, and, it is confidently hoped, its architectural propor- tions improved, its fitness augmented, and its beauty of design much enhanced. It is now presented with the full belief that, after much study, it comes as near as possible to the wants and requirements of the Society both as regards its own uses and that equalby important one of income. It has had the earnest attention and deliberation of some of the committee, and is offered with the hope and expectation that it will be satisfactory to all." "The entire cost of the erection of the building, according to the estimates of Mr. Biyant now made to your committee, and pro- cured from responsible parties, and since revised, will not exceed $102,500 ; and, when the offers are open to competition, he believes it will be reduced. When your committee take into consideration the greatly enhanced value of the stocks owned by the Society over that of 1862, this excess over the estimates of the first plan is far more favorable than they were led to anticipate. "The income of the building, according to the best judgment of your committee, after careful inquiry as to the income of prop- erty in the immediate vicinity, will be fully equal to six per centum per annum on the entire investment. "To meet the cost of the erection of the building, your com- mittee herewith annex a statement of the assets of the Society available for that purpose, very carefully and accurately prepared by the treasurer, and believed to be correct, amounting to $100,054 on the 23d of January last. " To meet the payment of the mortgages upon the estate, paya- ble in twenty years from September 1, 1863, it is proposed by your committee to recommend to the Society, immediately upon the completion of the building, the creation of a sinking fund, which shall meet its liabilities in 1883. This proposition is to lay aside every year $3,500 from the income of Mount Auburn, which will, with interest, amount in sixteen years to $98,745. 1G8 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. •■ The deep interest which mil bo created by the erection of a new building, it is believed by your committee will greatly in- crease the Dumber of members, and the income from this source and it- exhibitions will probably be sufficient to pay the ordinary expenses of the Society ; and. should this hope be realized, a larger sum can be added to the sinking fund, should the Society so direct, which will enable it (if opportunity offers, which it is thought pos- sible it 1 1 1 .- 1 \ ) to pay off some of the mortgages (which are made to six parties) before the period of their expiration, or leave to the S ietj a much larger sum to encourage the objects to which it is especially devoted. •• Four committee cannot here omit to contrast the present con- dition of the Society with its condition in 1*1:;. when it decided to purchase the Latin Schoolhouse in School Street for the sum of ,000, with only $15,000 available funds for the purpose. It then almost unanimously voted to erect a building upon the site, which, with the land, would cost about 840,000. If the attempt to build dow can be termed a hazardous enterprise, with its increased means, much larger number of members, and the far greater public taste for horticulture and rural art, what must the action of the Society have Keen deemed in 1843? Its prospective income could not then be considered, at the outside, as more than $2,500, and the income from the building less than five per centum; and, to carry forward the work, it was necessary to execute a mortgage for $15,000, besides using a n the income from Mount Auburn for four yens. Yet it went on prosperously, meeting all its liabilities promptly, distributing very liberally of its means for the encour- agemenl of horticultural and pomologies] science: and. thanks to those who labored so faithfully, we are now receiving the benefit of the sound judgment and foresight, united with zeal and energy, of those w l„, laid the foundation of our success, and gave to the - aety more .Mended influence and the means of far greater usefulness. "In conclusion, your committee would advise the immediate erection of a building worthy of that art and science of which it shall be the home, and from which their benign influence shall spread throughout the land." The committee recommended that they be constituted OBSTACLES OVERCOME. 169 a building committee, and authorized to proceed with the erection of a building on the Montgomery House estate, according to the plans and estimates of Mr. Bryant, then submitted to the Society, and to make all necessary contracts and agreements ; and that the com- mittee having charge of the estate be directed to termi- nate the lease on the first of May. It was then unani- mously voted, that the whole matter of erecting a building be referred to the committee, with full powers ; and that such alterations in the plans and specifications, as they should suggest, be made under the superintend- ence of the architect, Gridley J. F. Bryant, and at a cost not exceeding the sum of $105,000. Though there had been but one opinion as to the eligibility of the site finally purchased over that of any other^ offered, in securing it the committee met with many obstacles, arising from the fact that the estate was owned by several persons, and from the fears entertained by many of the more timid or conservative members, that, in purchasing with the intention of building, the Society was assuming too great a risk. The committee labored long and assiduously to overcome these obstacles ; and their ultimate success is due to the persistent efforts of Charles O. Whitmore, one of the members. In like manner, the more cautious members of the Society were doubtful of the expediency of building at the time this enterprise was undertaken ; but the perseverance and determination of the president of the Society and chair- man of the Building Committee, Charles M. Hovey, triumphed over every hindrance, and carried the work on to success. On the 5th of March the committee reported, that, in accordance with the vote of the Society, they had made 170 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. and executed contracts with responsible parties for the entire construction of the building within the amount to which they were limited. In the plan submitted to the Society the Tremont Street facade only was of granite, and the Bromfield Street and Montgomery Place facades of brick ; but the committee had the pleasure of in- forming the Society, that, notwithstanding the very important alteration they had made, in substituting Concord granite for the two sides, the estimate for which was about $5,000, they had been enabled to secure for the Society a beautiful granite structure throughout for the sum of $104,630. On the 2d of April the Society voted to place all its available funds at the disposal of the president and Finance Committee, for the erection of the new building. At the meeting on the 7th of May, the treasurer stated that the Montgomery IJouse had been formally given up by the lessee. The demoli- tion of the old building and the erection of the new were commenced immediately after. By the loth of August the work had so far pro- gressed that a special meeting of the Society was called to make 1 arrangements for laying the corner stone. The president stated, that, while it was not the desire of the committee to make any ostentatious display, tin 1 importance of the building was such as to render it proper that the cornerstone should be laid with appropriate ceremonies. A committee was accordingly appointed to make the necessary arrangements, agree- ably to which his Honor Mayor Lincoln, and members of the City Government, the members of the Massa- chusetts Charitable Mechanic Association and of the Boston Society of Natural History, the trustees of Mount Auburn Cemetery, the members of the Massa- LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE. 171 chusetts Historical Society and of the Institute of Technology, the trustees of the Public Library, the members of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture and of the Boston Numismatic Society, with other invited guests, and the past officers and pres- ent members of the Society, met at the rooms in Amory Hall at 9 o'clock a.m. on the 18th of August, and thence, under the marshalship of Samuel Hatch, proceeded up West Street, through Tremont Street Mall and Tremont Street, to the site of the new build- ing, where a platform was erected for their accommoda- tion. After music by the Brigade Band, the president delivered an address, in which he alluded to the foun- dation of the Society, and its objects, which they were then assembled to promote by the erection of a building for its use ; to the laying of the corner stone of the first horticultural hall almost twenty years before; to the founders of the Society (some of whom were present), and especially to Gen. Dearborn ; to the progress and beneficial influence of the Society ; to its interest in Mount Auburn Cemetery ; to Samuel Appleton, John A. Lowell, Theodore Lyman, Josiah Bradlee, Benjamin V. French, and H. Hollis Hunnewell, as its benefactors, not forgetting the intelligent amateur and other cultivators, both among the living and the dead, to whom the Society is indebted for the invaluable services and unflagging zeal which have given it a renown second to that of no other horticultural associ- ation. At the close of the address the corner stone was laid by the president, who deposited under it a zinc box, containing a silver plate eight inches long and six wide with the following inscriptions : — 172 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [On the Obverse.] THIS EDIFICE IS ERECTED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, FOB TOE PURPOSE OP ENCOURAGING AND IMPROVING THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF HORTICULTURE, And this Corner Stone laid August 18, 1864, BY THE PRESIDENT, CHARLES M. IIOVEY. BUILDING COMMITTEE. 0. M. HOVEY. WILLIAM R. AUSTIN. JOSIAH 8TICKXKY. H. H. HUXXEWELL. UAROTTAT.T, p. WILDER. JOSEPH S. CABOT. C. O. WHITMORE. JAMES F. C. HYDE. LEANDER WETHERELL. ARCHITECTS: GRTDLEY J. F. BRYANT AND ARTHUR GILMAN. TO THIS SOCIETY THE COMMUNITY ARE INDEBTED FOR THE FOUNDATION AND CONSECRATION OF MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY. [On the Reverse.] MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Incorporated the 12th day of June, 1829. present number of members six hundred and eighty. PRESIDENT. CHARLES M. HOVEY. VICE-PRESIDENTS. J. F. C. HYDE. C. O. WHITMORE. H. HOLLIS HUNNEWELL. W. C. STRONG. TREASURER. WLLLIAM R. AUSTIN. CORRESPONDING SECRETARY. RECORDING SECRETARY. EUEX WIGHT. F. LYMAN WINSHIP. PROGRESS OF .THE BUILDING. 173 The box contained also the Transactions of the Soci- ety from 1843 to 1864; the publications of the Society, containing its History, etc., by Gen. Dearborn ; the Boston Almanac for 1864 ; Catalogue of the Proprietors of Mount Auburn Cemetery ; copies of Hovey's Maga- zine of Horticulture for 1864, containing the Reports of the Building Committee ; a copy of the Fruits of America ; Boston newspapers of August 18 ; a silver and a bronze medal of the Society, and an Appleton bronze medal ; and coins of the United States of the date of 1864. Beneath it was placed the box, with its contents entire, which was taken from beneath the corner stone of the old hall in School Street. Both boxes were placed in a cavity in the first vermiculated stone at the north-west corner of the building, on Tre- mont Street and Montgomery Place. After the laying of the corner stone an appropriate prayer was offered by the chaplain, Rev. Dr. Lothrop. The whole audi- ence then joined in singing Old Hundred, and the ceremonies were concluded with a benediction. The erection of the building progressed favorably during the summer of 1864 ; and early in January, 1865, it was roofed in, and ready for the interior finishing. A short time previously the Building Committee had been authorized to substitute granite for wood, as specified in the original contract, in the central attic of the Tre- mont Street facade forming the pedestal for the statue of Ceres, at an expense of not more than $2,500. On the 1st of July the building was so nearly completed, that the Building Committee was directed to make arrangements for its dedication. At the same time, the subject of discontinuing the weekly shows, on ac- count of the expiration of the lease of Amory Hall, 174 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. considered; but it was afterwards decided to hold them in one of the unoccupied stores in the new build- ing. On the 5th of August the meeting of the Society held for the first time in the library room of the new building, when the president delivered an address of welcome to the members, and congratulated them upon the possession of a new and elegant building. On Mie lGth of September the building was dedi- cated, the exercises consisting of prayer by the Rev. F. 1). Huntington, D.D.. an address by President Hovey, a song written for the occasion, and sung by Ball's Quar- tette Choir, and closing with a benediction. The exer- were interspersed with music by the Germania Band. In the opening of his address the president bade the members welcome to their new hall : — •• Welcome, then, thrice welcome, to this Temple of Fruits and Flowers which you have reared, over which Ceres, Flora, and Pomona shall preside. Here shall each hold high court, and all who worship at their shrine bring annually their chosen offerings, 'Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose,' wreathed and garlanded in all the fancied forms of grace and love- liness which cultivated taste may direct. Here bring your orchard treasures, — ' The wide projected heaps of apples,' 1 The Pippin burnished o'er with gold,' 1 The juicy pear In soft profusion scattered round,' ami make this ample hall like fair Pomona's arbor, ' With flowerets decked, and fragrant smells, — " ;i prophecy and an invitation which met a fitting re- sponse in the annual exhibition of the succeeding week. The address continued with an interesting summary PRESIDENT HO VET'S DEDICATION ADDRESS. 175 of the history of the Society, which, said the speaker, " is the history of horticulture in our country," and after mention of the progress of horticulture in Eng- land, the formation of the London Horticultural Soci- ety, and the introduction of American plants, con- cluded thus : — " If, through a period of more than thirty years, you have, by your devotion to the great purposes of the Society, followed it from place to place, cheered and encouraged by its onward prog- ress, until it has reached the elevated position it now holds, how great must be 3-our delight, and what deep emotions of grati- tude must spring up in your hearts, that you have found a perma- nent home ! In the contemplation of the past, as well as in the anticipations of the future, how much there is to awaken in us renewed feelings of joy, exultation, and pride, not in a vain or arrogant spirit, but humbly thankful, that, through the course of so many 3-ears, unvarying success should have attended your labors, harmonious action governed 3-our deliberations, and a judicious administration of }"Our affairs enabled you to erect this costly and beautiful edifice ! " But let not this prosperity decrease your ardor, or lessen your labors in 3-0111* favorite pursuit. Rather let it rekindle and fire 3 r our zeal for new conquests. Your duties and responsibilities have increased with 3'our growth. If 3'ou have pulled down, that 3-011 might build greater, if 3 T ou have grasped the prize of a life- long ambition, let not this result satisfy 3*ou. If 3011 are the possessor of a garden filled with beautiful trees or shrubs, to which 3'ou ma3 T retire from the turmoil of the crowded city, and among whose sylvan shades 3*ou take 3 T our daily walk, making them 3 T our companions and friends, come hither often with branch, or flower, or beriT, to inspire the same delight in others. Or, if 3 r ou are only the owner of a little spot of ground filled with the choicest flowers, whose constant nurture has occupied the moments snatched from life's busy scenes, and whose opening blossoms are daity eloquent with lessons of grace and loveliness, do not refuse to offer them here as tokens of your affection, and triumphs of 3'our art. And, if neither tree nor flower nor fruit can 3 T et claim 3 - our care, will not the recollection of youth's golden hours, when gath- 176 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ering the firsl snowdrop of spring or the last aster of autumn, touch as willi a vibrating chord that latent love for Nature which few do nol possess, awaken aspirations for things beautiful, and bring you into sympathy with the objects of our association? "Welcome, then, to us be this Temple of Flora ! Here come and bring your lovely flowers, gathered, it may be, fresh from the dewy fields and pastures, or plucked in early morn in the culti- vated border, the choicesl offerings of your tasteful care, arranged in innumerable forms, and sparkling with colors of every hue. From these walls may there ever irradiate that spirit of beauty which .shall not only draw within your extending circle every lover of nature or art, but whose glorious effulgence shall not be dimmed until the whole world becomes a garden! " Though this building is so familiar to the members of the Society, it may be well to give some description of it for those less acquainted with it, as well as for a record in the future. The external style and appear- ance are of a dignified and monumental character. The front, on Tremont Street, which faces westerly, is divided into three general divisions, the central division being decorated with an order of coupled columns, repeated in pilasters behind, and carried through the three stories. — Doric in the lowest, Ionic in the second, and Corinthian in the third story. A rich cornice crowns the whole facade, surmounted by a central attic as ;i pedestal for a statue of Ceres, cut in white granite. The windows have semicircular arched heads; those in the front being crowned with cornices, which in the second story are supported by brackets, while those in the third story have the spandrels enriched with carving. The angles of the front arc decorated with projecting piers cut with vermiculated quoins, and forming bases at the top of the entrance story for two statues, — that of Flora at the south-western, and that of Pomona at the Horticultural Hall, Tremont Gtreet. KEPOET OF THE COMMITTEE ON STATUES. 177 north-western corner. It is believed that this is the first instance in which statuary of a high order of excel- lence has ever been placed in similar positions in this country. The angles in the second and third stories are supported by Doric pilasters, the faces of which are cut in moulded panels. The facades on Bromfield Street and Montgomery Place are similar in style to the front, but much plainer, and are surmounted by a balus- trade. The material is Concord white granite. On the 4th of February, 1865, Turner Sargent, H. Hollis Hunnewell, Charles O. Whitmore, and Benjamin P. Cheney, were appointed a committee for the pur- pose of receiving donations for procuring and placing upon the centre crowning tablet, and on the north and south buttresses of the first story of the Tremont Street fagade, three statues respectively of Ceres, Pomona, and Flora ; and the committee were authorized, when the donations were sufficient to cover the cost of the statues, to cause the same to be executed. At the meeting of the Society on the 7th of July, 1866, the chairman of the committee reported, that, by the spontaneous and noble generosity of his associates, three colossal statues, — one representing the Goddess of Grain, one the Goddess of Fruits, and one the Goddess of Flowers, modelled by Martin Milmore, — had been executed in granite, and placed in their proper positions upon the building. The first or street story is divided into five stores, two of which front on Tremont Street, and three on Bromfield Street, two of the latter running through to Montgomery Place, while in the rear of the third is a staircase, which commences in the basement, and com- municates with each story above, and with the loft, for 178 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. storage purposes. The divisions of the basement are the same as those of this story, there being a cellar under each store; but that under the eastern store is occupied by the boiler for heating the building, and for the storage of fuel. The entrance to the part of the building occupied by the Society is by a flight of marble steps ten feet in width, carried up between the two stores on Tremont Street, and leading into a spacious vestibule. Here, on e perceived that less than half of these varieties would now be thought worthy of a place in a prize col- lection, and some have gone entirely out of cultivation. FRUITS FROM FRANCE, 1851. 295 The crop of plums and peaches was very abundant, and of superior quality. A dish of Early Crawfords, from John P. dishing, were probably the finest peaches ever placed on the Society's tables, measuring twelve or thirteen inches in circumference. The display of vege- tables was exceedingly fine. The " Railroad Jubilee," to celebrate the completion of the roads connecting Boston with Canada, was held on the same days as the annual exhibition, and, by vote of the Society, the distinguished strangers present in the city were invited to the exhibition. At the annual meeting on the 4th of October, several residents of Mon- treal were chosen honorary members, who were doubt- less introduced to the Society's rooms on this occasion. On the 11th of October the Champlain Valley Hor- ticultural Society exhibited a collection of twenty-eight varieties of pears, and fifty-three apples, of which the committee said, " This collection was one of much in- terest, not only in affording proof of the successful attempts to improve the horticulture of the valley of Lake Champlain, but in furnishing an opportunity for testing the fruits of that region, and thus better en- abling a decision of the question of the adaptation of particular varieties to general cultivation." Another collection was exhibited on the 1st of November, from Andre Leroy of Angers, France, consisting of one hun- dred and sixteen varieties of pears, and thirty-six of apples, besides crab apples, walnuts, chestnuts, etc., only a part of which, however (owing to the miscarriage and detention of the package), arrived in good order. This collection was of mudh interest, as enabling culti- vators not only to settle doubts as to the correctness of new varieties which had fruited here, but to learn the 296 .MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAX SOCIETY. value of others without waiting for the trees to bear ; and great satisfaction was felt that the introduction of ocean steam navigation had rendered the interchange of such collections possible. Among the pears was the Doyenne du Cornice, now widely known as a variety of superlative excellence. One of the most useful services rendered by the Soci- ety at this time was the work undertaken by the Fruit Committee of formally testing new varieties of fruits as presented from week to week, either from imported trees or native seedlings, and carefully comparing them with standard varieties ; minutes of their decisions being made at the time. The report of the committee for this year is fuller than any previous one, and gives the names of about forty pears of foreign origin which had been exhibited and tested for the first or second time ; and this list was not complete, but embraced only those which had particularly attracted the attention of the committee. Among the forty we do not find one now deemed " worthy of general cultivation." A large num- ber of new native pears had also been examined as well as of other fruits, large and small, native and foreign. At this time the Early Virginia, llovey's Seedling, and Jenney's Seedling strawberries, were thought, taking all circumstances into consideration, probably the most profitable, and best for general cultivation in this vicini- ty. The Christiana melon, raised by Capt. Josiah Lovett from a green Malta melon impregnated with a very early variety, it was believed had not been equalled. To mark their appreciation of its merits, and recom- mend it to growers, the Society awarded Capt. Lovett a piece of plate of the value of fifty dollars. Early the next year, a similar special award was made to John M. EXHIBITIONS IN 1852. 297 Ives, for the introduction of the Marrow squash, which, as before recorded, was shown by him at the annual exhibition of the Society in 1834. For some reason now unknown, the Society saw fit, in 1852, to return to the practice, which had been discon- tinued for two years, of charging an admission fee to the weekly exhibitions. At the exhibition on the 10th of January, Hovey & Co. exhibited fine specimens of Bignonia venusta. May 22, the Dicentra (Dielytra) spec- tabilis was shown by Winship & Co. for the first time. In July, H. Schimming, gardener to John P. dishing, exhibited fine plants of Clerodendron squamatum, C. pedunculatum, C. fallax, Allamanda grandiflora, Justicia carnea, Dipladenia splendens, with new alstrcemerias, calceolarias, etc. Of new fruits, the Coe's Transparent cherry was first shown June 26 by Azell Bowditch. The Sheldon pear was also shown by Hovey & Co. for the first time. November 13, Francis Dana exhibited sev- eral of his new seedling pears, among which was No. 16, now known as Dana's Hovey. The Beurre Clairgeau was shown by Samuel C. Pitman and Jonathan Fowler, its large size and rich color exciting much interest. Octo- ber 2, Frederic Tudor exhibited upwards of twenty varieties of pears of great perfection and beauty ; and the whole show of that day was one of the finest ever made in the Society's hall. During the autumn sev- eral specimens of Duchesse d'Angouleme were shown weighing twenty-four ounces each. The increased number of exhibiters, and the great variety of fruit, induced the Society this year to try the experiment of holding the annual exhibition under a pavilion, as had been done by the London Horticultural Society in its exhibitions at Chiswick. The tent was 298 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. two hundred feet long by one hundred feet wide, and was pitched in the Public Garden, then a much less at- tractive place than now, and was fitted up with six rows of tables, measuring in all more than one thousand feet in length. The two tables against the sides w r erc devoted to flowers and vegetables, and the other four to fruit. In the centre was a stage filled with beautiful plants. The sides of the pavilion were covered with evergreen trees, and the poles supporting the centre were wreathed with evergreens and flowers. The entrance was through an arch decorated in the same way. The crop of apples and pears was most abundant this year ; and the display of these fruits, especially the pears, was magnificent. Peaches, plums, and grapes were not so abundant, partly owing to the late season of the exhibition, when many of these fruits were past. The prizes for apples and pears in 1845, 1846, and 1847, were for the largest numbers of varieties, and the best grown ; but for the next four years they were offered for the best collections of twelve varieties. This year, however, there being ample room for the display of large collections, prizes were offered both for the largest collections and for twelve select varieties, with the result that the total number of dishes placed upon the tables exceeded three thousand and four hundred, amounting to more than a hundred bushels, about two-thirds of which were pears. Marshall P. Wilder exhibited two hundred and sixty varieties of pears; Ilovey & Co., two hundred and fifty pears, besides apples, grapes, figs, etc. ; and Benjamin V. French, one hundred and sixty pears, and one hundred and eighty apples. The display of plants was not very large; but many of the specimens were very beautiful, the most promi- REPORT ON GARDENS, 1852. 299 nent being a finely grown Nepenthes distillatoria, from John P. dishing, which attracted much attention. The exhibition of vegetables was large, and exceedingly fine in quality — indeed, the best ever made, — the accommo- dations for their display being better than ever before. The prize for the best display and greatest variety was awarded to the Hon. Daniel Webster. The Fruit Committee, in their report, remarked that " Delegations from the horticultural societies of several far dis- tant States were present, with many individuals, both of this coun- try and from Europe, who, from their high position in society, were well qualified to give opinion of weight ; and never was a horticul- tural exhibition in Boston examined by so numerous or so truly respectable a concourse of visitors as that of 1852. Never were more just or satisfactoiy expressions of interest and delight elicited ; never a more true assertion universally made than that it exceeded in numbers and varieties of fruit, as well as in beauty and perfection, every former exhibition of the kind yet witnessed by them in any part of the world." The Committee on Gardens reported visits to the greenhouse of Jonathan French in Roxbury, the green- houses, stoves, and graperies of Hovey & Co. in Cam- bridge, the fruit and vegetable garden of John Gordon in Brighton, the garden and grounds of John P. dish- ing at Watertown, and the fruit garden of Frederic Tudor at Nahant. The last mentioned place was partic- ularly commended by the committee as combining taste in the buildings, beauty of situation, and extensive views, with well arranged grounds, the most approved mechanical appliances, and a large collection of the choicest varieties of fruit trees. All the trees and plants were flourishing, notwithstanding the naturally adverse circumstances of the situation. In his address on the 1st of January, 1853, President 300 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Cabot recommended to the Society to hold occasional meetings for the discussion of subjects pertaining to horticulture. The suggestion was referred to a commit- tee, who reported favorably upon it; and accordingly an informal meeting was held on Saturday the 15th of Jan- uary, at half past nine a.m., at which the culture of the pear was discussed. Four other meetings were held at intervals of tw r o weeks ; the subjects being the advan- tage of heading in newly planted trees, the importance of mulching pear trees, and the value of wool waste as a manure. The opening exhibition of the season took place on the 14th of May. The weather was fine, and the show of plants in pots was unusually rich, varied, and beauti- ful, — finer than any ever before seen at the May exhi- bition. The summer was memorable for the exhibition, by John Fisk Allen, of the Victoria regia, or great water lily. On the 18th of June a leaf four feet in diameter was shown, and on the 16th of July one measuring five and a half feet. A flower was shown at a special exhibition, on the afternoon and evening of Thursday, August 4, to a crowd of admiring visitors. The committee recommended a gratuity of fifty dollars to Mr. Allen for the introduction and successful cultiva- tion of this rare and wonderful plant. On the 6th of August. Alvin Adams exhibited, besides other Califor- nia productions, bark and foliage from the gigantic redwood trees of California (Sequoia gigantea). The botanical relations of this tree were not then deter- mined, and it was described as " the mammoth arbor- vita 1 tree, said to be about three hundred feet high." \\ c have spoken of the interesting exhibitions of native plants in 1839, the result of the special prizes EXHIBITIONS IX 1853. 801 offered by Thomas Lee. After that time the interest in this class of plants declined ; but on the 3d of Septem- ber of this year, Dennis Murray presented a hundred species of native plants, and fourteen of fungi, all care- fully labelled with their scientific names. Mr. Murray continued these contributions to the close of his life, in 1864, he having been attacked while arranging his flowers in the stand for the annual exhibition, by an ill- ness which caused his death in a few days. Since then, this department has been well sustained by many zeal- ous collectors and cultivators. The crop of peaches this year was unusually large, and of excellent quality, and on the 3d of September a remarkably fine exhibition of this fruit was made by a large number of contributors : indeed, the whole show was one of the best ever made in the hall, and the same may be said of the show a week later. The twenty-fifth annual exhibition was held in a pavilion on Boston Common, near West Street, com- mencing on the 20th of September, and continuing four days. The pavilion was the same as that used the year previous ; but the whole space was floored over, making it much more comfortable. The roof was decorated with various colored flags and banners, giving a gay effect to the whole ; and a platform in the centre, sur- rounded with plants, was occupied by a band of music. The tent was brilliantly lighted with gas during the evening, when it presented a most beautiful appearance. Soon after the commencement of the exhibition, it was visited by a severe rain storm, which penetrated the canvas, and gave the fruits and flowers a thorough drenching. The weather for the remainder of the time was remarkably pleasant ; and crowds of people visited 302 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. the pavilion, the number being upwards of eight thou- sand, besides the members of the Society and invited guests. Pecuniarily the exhibition was one of the most profitable ever held by the Society. Although the fruit was so fine in 1852, it was even exceeded this year as regards pears, both in quantity and quality. Larger collections of this fruit were shown than ever before ; that of Marshall P. Wilder comprising three hundred and ten varieties, and that of Hovey & Co., three hundred. These numbers were not again reached for several years. The Beurre Diels and Flemish Beauties were eleven to twelve inches in circum- ference, and the Beurre d'Anjous and White Doyennes ten inches. Marshall P. Wilder exhibited the Beurre Superfin pear for the first time. E. W. Bull exhibited his new seedling grape, which, under the name of Con- cord, is now so generally cultivated throughout the coun- try. The apples were quite ordinary, this not being the bearing year ; but the grapes were much finer than the previous year. Many new contributors came in, carry- ing off the prizes from those who had received them for years. The display of plants was very beautiful, and embraced some exceedingly fine specimens. The show of vegeta- bles was good, and attracted much attention. The Committee on Flowers and Vegetables, following the example of the Fruit Committee, this year added to their list of awards a few interesting remarks on the most important objects exhibited, and the Committee of Arrangements made a formal report for the first time. The first award of a prospective prize was made this year to Hovey & Co., for their seedling cherry, the llovcy, which had been exhibited for five years. The EXHIBITIONS IN" 1854. 303 crop of plums, which was exceedingly abundant in 1852, was reported by the committee to be an almost entire failure this year. This was the beginning of that scarcity of plums, which, owing to the destruction of the trees by the black knot, has continued to the present day. The Garden Committee visited the grapehouse of M. H. Simpson at Saxonville ; the garden of Benjamin V. French at Braintree, where they found a great variety of strawberries under experimental cultivation ; the grounds of John D. Bates at Swampscott, the nurse- ries of Winship & Co. at Brighton, those of Hovey & Co. at Cambridge, and the extensive graperies of W. C. Strong at Brighton ; for all of which premiums were awarded. The spring of 1854 was cold and backward, and the drought in the months of July and August extremely severe, producing an unfavorable effect upon the exhi- bitions through the season. The display at the opening exhibition was quite meagre ; and the only object worthy of note here was a fine specimen of Cattleya Mossise, in flower, from John Fisk Allen. July 22, Ignatius Sargent exhibited bunches of Black Hamburg grapes, several of which weighed upwards of four pounds each, and the largest, seven and one half pounds. This was probably the largest bunch of this variety ever shown at any exhibition of the Society. September 9, John Fisk Allen presented specimens of the Allen's Hybrid grape, the first cross between the native and foreign species, the Rogers hybrids having first fruited in 1856. The arrangements for the annual exhibition, which opened on the 12th of September, and continued through the 16th, were similar to those of the preceding year; 304 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. and. notwithstanding the severe drought, it was one of the most successful ever made by the Society. The fruits from the largest contributors were not only as large, but equally as fair, as at any former exhibition ; while the smaller collections showed that an increased attention to the cultivation of fruit had been given by the newly enlisted members. The variety of pears was not so great as the previous year ; the largest collection consisting of two hundred and seventy-three varieties from Marshall P. Wilder. The apples were exceedingly fine, and the quantity was large, Benjamin V. French showing one hundred and fifty kinds. The grapes were remarkably good, comprising some superb clusters of the Syrian, from Mrs. F. B. Durfee, weighing about six pounds each. The Concord was shown in great perfec- tion. A large number of other native grapes, of every grade of quality, was exhibited ; and we may date from this time the general interest in the improvement of the native grape, which has already resulted in adding many valuable kinds to our catalogues. There was a grand display of pot plants, among them being a very finely grown specimen, the first in- troduced here, of the beautiful Cissus discolor, from Marshall P. Wilder. This was the harbinger of the infinite variety of Caladiums, Crotons, Dracaenas, Maran- tas, Agaves, and other ornamental leaved plants now so generally cultivated and admired. 1 The show of vegetables exceeded the expectations of the committee, the quantity being abundant and the quality excellent. Much interest was added to this occasion by the meet- 1 It should in>t be understood that ornamental foliaged plants were unknown before this time, for the Maranta zebrina was exhibited in 1831, but that the Cissus heralded the introduction of these plants in such num- bers as to form a Beparate class. AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 1854. 305 ing, on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of September, of the American Pomological Society, for which accommoda- tions were provided in the hall of the Society, while a place was set apart in the pavilion on the Common for the fruits brought by the members. These were not as numerous as was expected, showing that all parts of the country had suffered from the prevailing drought. They were mostly from New York and Pennsylvania ; the largest collection consisting of one hundred and ninety-five varieties of pears, and forty of plums, from Ellwanger & Barry of Rochester, N.Y. The impression which the exhibition of the Society as a whole made on the delegates may be gathered from the words of P. Barry of Rochester, in the convention: "I have visited a great many exhibitions of the kind, both in this coun- try and in Europe; but in tastefulness of arrangement, in interest and instruction, this surpasses all I have ever seen. The display of fruits on the tables has hardly been equalled in the world." Owing to the extreme drought, few places were vis- ited by the Committee on Gardens, and such as were examined appeared more or less to disadvantage ; yet they reported that they could not well overrate the high state of cultivation and general fine appearance of the grounds of Nahum Stetson of Bridgewater. They vis- ited also the grounds of T. P. Chandler of Brookline, the fruit garden of William R. Austin at Dorchester, and the garden of Parker Barnes in the same town. Premiums or gratuities were awarded for all these places. Two of the prospective prizes for new productions were awarded this year, — the Society's gold medal to Ilovey & Co., for their seedling camellia, C. M. Hovey, 30G MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. and the same to Martin Davis, for the Davis's Seedling potato. The exhibitions of 1855 showed an increased interest in every department. A new camellia, — now called Mrs. Anne Marie Ilovey, — producing pink, white, and variegated flowers on the same plant, was shown by Ilovey & Co. for the first time. June 19, John B. Moore exhibited twelve stalks of Victoria rhubarb, weighing twenty-four and a half pounds, the largest stalk weighing two pounds and seven ounces. July 7, M. H. Simpson presented specimens of grapes grown on vines from which crops had been taken in March, 1854, and again in December of the same year. C. F. Jones exhibited several orchids in fine bloom, including Dendrobium moschatum, and Stanhopca tigrina. Some of the displays of roses and other cut flowers were re- markably fine, being limited in extent only by the size of the hall. The seedling and other phloxes from Joseph Brcck, Ilovey & Co., and Parker Barnes, and seedling petunias from E. S. Rand, jun., were particu- larly noted. On the 1st of September eleven cultivators offered collections of asters for premium, the whole form- ing the finest display of this flower ever made in the hall. At the same time J. F. Allen exhibited Nelum- bium speciosum (the lotus of the Nile and the sacred bean of India), Nclumbium lutcum of the Southern States, and Nymphcea ccerulca, grown in the tank with the Victoria rcgia. The Myrsiphyllum asparagoides, now so popular for decorative purposes under the name of " smilax," was exhibited by Herman Grundcl, gar- dener to Ilovey & Co. The interest in the improvement of the native grape continued. Specimens of the Delaware were sent to ANNUAL EXHIBITION, 1855. 307 the Society for the first time by A. Thompson of Dela- ware, O. The Fruit Committee remarked the increased care bestowed on the cultivation of the pear, and ex- pressed the belief that this fruit succeeded as well or better in the vicinity of Boston than in almost any other part of our country, — a belief which the experience of later years has confirmed. Though the experiment of holding the annual exhi- bition in a tent had proved pleasant and successful in many respects, it was felt to be hazardous in our changeable climate ; and, on the completion of the new Music Hall, its large size and central situation com- mended it as the most desirable place for the annual exhibition, which was accordingly held there from the 18th to the 21st of September. An arch was con- structed over the main entrance, leading from Winter Street, and tastefully decorated with streamers, flags, and flowers. The main body of the hall was occupied by five tables for fruit, each seventy feet long and five feet wide. Under the side balconies were stands for flowers ; and the space under the north gallery was devoted to vegetables. The pot plants and designs were arranged on the stage ; and the whole, when viewed from the balconies, presented a beautiful panorama of the productions of Pomona and Flora. The display of fruits was superior to any former one, owing mainly to the very small number of inferior specimens. The flowers were superior, the dahlias especially surpassing those exhibited for the past four years ; and the display of pot plants was large and fine. Prizes were offered for floral designs, which added much to the appearance of the hall. They were much smaller than those exhibited in 1845 and 1846;, but the com- 308 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. mittco remarked that many of them could have been improved had Dame Nature been consulted oftener by the artists during their construction. The variety and excellence of the vegetables exceeded that of any former exhibition. A very remarkable con- tribution in this department was a collection of thirty- two varieties of squashes from Rev. A. R. Pope, which , he had kept from mixture by carefully covering the blossoms, and fertilizing them by hand. The only places reported on by the Garden Committee were those of Joseph Breck at Brighton, whose collection of hardy herbaceous plants was particularly noted, and who re- ceived the prize for the best flower garden ; and of Dr. Nathan Durfce at Fall River, who received the prize for the best fruit garden. The exhibition at the opening of the hall on the 1 7th of May, 1856, was marked by a display of numerous and finely grown pot plants. W. C. Strong exhibited twenty-eight pots of fuchsias, and cut specimens mak- ing up forty varieties, which are described as truly magnificent, and forming such a display of this beau- tiful flower as had been rarely seen. Edward S. Rand, jun., exhibited Clematis lanuginosa, now known as a parent of C. Jackmanni and other beautiful varieties, but which had never been seen here before, and was spoken of as by far the most showy of the tribe. On the 21st of June, the prize day for roses, owing to the lateness of the season the display was not great; but the prconics were just in perfection, and the exhibition was by far the finest ever seen in the room. A week later, a splendid exhibition of roses and other flowers was made from upwards of thirty contributors. July 5, II. II. Ilunncwcll sent a dozen beautiful specimens of ANNUAL EXHIBITION, 1856. 309 the Stanwick nectarine, which proved superior to any other variety the committee had ever tasted. Septem- ber 3 was prize day for asters ; and the display was superior even to that of the preceding year, there being nearly twenty contributors. October 4, Isaac Fay showed twelve Seckel pears weighing fifty-one and a quarter ounces ; and Samuel Kemp, an equal number weighing fifty ounces. The exhibition of pears on that day as a whole was unsurpassed at any weekly show, nearly every contribution being well grown, and of extra size. The annual exhibition was again held in the Music Hall, and, though superior in many respects, was not, as a whole, equal to some former exhibitions. The general arrangement of the hall was the same as the year previous ; but a greater profusion of evergreens and flowers was used in decoration. The ceiling was festooned with streamers of various colors, and the col- umns were prettily wreathed. On the railings of the balconies were the names of prominent botanists, hor- ticulturists, pomologists, and benefactors of the Society. The display of pot plants, though not large, was an improvement on that of the preceding year, and that of cut flowers was uncommonly good. Many floral designs were exhibited ; and, besides the successful competitors for the six prizes, twelve persons received gratuities for bouquets. The display of pears, which included many new va- rieties, was, as usual, large and fine, as was also that of apples ; while that of grapes was limited. Prizes were* offered this year for the best display of vegetables ; yet the show was not equal to that of some former years, many of the liberal and extensive contributors being 310 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. more or less engaged in carrying out the arrangements for the inauguration of the Franklin statue. J. Hyde & Son offered a collection of sixty-seven varieties of potatoes, explaining on the cards their relative value fcr culture. Several persons exhibited the Dioscorca Batatas (Chinese yam) and the Holcus saccharatus (Chinese sugar-cane), of which sanguine hopes were entertained that they would become valuable agricultu- ral products, — the former as supplementing the potato, and the latter as supplying sugar or syrup. The reports of the various committees continued to increase in fulness and interest. The Committee on Gardens gave a detailed account of the various places visited by them, the first being that of M. H. Simpson at Saxonvillc, where they examined his experiments in growing three crops of grapes in two years. The next was to the flower garden of Joseph S. Cabot, president of the Society, at Salem, to whom they awarded the first prize ; here also they visited the graperies and lily house of John Fisk Allen. The next trip was to the gar- den of Mrs. F. B. Durfee at Fall River, who received the premium for the best graperies, and whose gardener, Mr. Young, received a gratuity for the fine condition of the lawns and grass plats. . Charles Copcland's pleas- ure grounds at Wyoming were next examined, and received the highest award. Two of the oldest and most famed seats in Massachusetts, the Gov. Gore estate in Waltham, afterwards owned by Theodore Lyman, and, at the time of. this visit, by T. W. Walker, and Oakley Place, the estate of George W. Pratt in Watcrtown, next received the attention of the committee. To Mr. Walker was awarded the premium for the best vegeta- ble garden, and the second prize for a flower garden. REPORTS OF GARDEN AND FLOWER COMMITTEES, 1856. 311 Mr. Pratt's grapery and flower department were par- ticularly commended, and a gratuity was awarded for them. The last visit was to the grounds and nurseries of Hovey & Co. at Cambridge, who received a gratuity for their fine pears and strawberries and splendid bed of Japan lilies. The report concluded thus : — ''The committee cannot close this report without expressing their high approval of this portion of the Society's labors. A spur and new life have been given to horticulture, and a laudable ambition and emulation encouraged. The rich specimens of fruit which adorn our tables, and compete for the prizes, are now, in most instances, but fair and true representatives of the gardens from which they come, and need not be ashamed of the places where they grew. We are happy to believe that the pleasure and satisfaction of these visits have been mutual. Few persons are without the desire for praise or approval, which it is always a sat- isfaction to receive from those considered best competent to judge, and having official position. The awarding of liberal premiums, and a careful inspection, when invited, of the numerous and in- creasing gardens dotted over this Commonwealth, may be justly considered a good substitute for an experimental garden (one of the early objects of this Societ}*), and perhaps is the best method of expending our funds for the promotion of horticulture and im- proved gardening." The Flower Committee reported, that, " from the time of the opening of the hall to the annual exhibition, no weekly display has failed to be such as not only to attract and gratify visitors, but also to reflect credit upon contributors and the Society. From season to season the marks of improvement are visible ; and the production of seedlings, and the introduction of new plants, give evidence of a constantly growing and con- tinued progress on the part of cultivators." Special commendation was given to the seedling Japan lilies shown. The displays of roses, asters, phloxes, and dah- 312 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. lias, had also been fine. The change which a few years had wrought in some of these flowers was both striking and gratifying, and its extent might be in some degree appreciated by contrasting the prize asters of only half a decade since with the perfect and very beautiful specimens that this season filled the prize stands of the Society. Yet the committee regretted that no incon- siderable portion of this progress was due to the skill of foreign cultivators, and expressed the hope that liberal encouragement would be given by the Society to the production by our florists of new seedling flowers. The Committee on Vegetables also reported increased interest in every thing relating to that department. In fruits the committee mentioned the Washington Strawberry apple and the Rebecca grape, as new and promising introductions. The prospective prize of the Lyman plate was awarded to Isaac Fay for the best seedling strawberry, — the Jenny Lind. A very large number of new European strawberries was exhibited by Ilovcy & Co., among which the Admiral Dundas was remarkable for its size, eighteen weighing a pound ; while the Sir Harry received the first prize as being superior in flavor to any other variety of the season. The winter of 1856 and 1857 was of unusual severity, causing much injury to fruit trees ; and the spring was cold and backward, the fruit crop being much lessened by the unpropitious weather during the time of setting. The season was also unfavorable for floriculture, and tlie weekly shows consequently disappointed the hopes of cultivators. But, in spite of all discouragements, the displays were most gratifying in the growth of specimen plants and in the new and improved varieties of flow- ers. The shows were kept up as usual in the library NEW FLOWERS AND FEUITS, 1857. 313 room previous to the opening of the hall ; and we note the exhibition on the 2d of May, by T. G. Whytal, of the pretty Deutzia gracilis, which, though introduced three or four years earlier, was not reported as exhib- ited before. At the opening of the hall on the 16th of May, a collection of eight fuchsias from H. H. Ilun- newell were by far the finest ever exhibited ; some of the plants being over five feet high, and perfect masses of bloom. Joseph Breck & Co. and Hovey & Co. continued to introduce and originate new phloxes, each exhibiting a hundred or more kinds at once. The Ver- saillaise currant was first shown July 18 by W. C. Strong. The Lawton blackberry was exhibited and care- fully tested in comparison with the Dorchester (as the Improved High Bush was now called), the opinion being unanimously in favor of the latter. At the exhibition of September 5, the main attraction was a dish of Shanghai peaches, from N. Stetson, raised from a stone received from Shanghai. The peaches weighed twelve ounces each, and measured eleven inches in circum- ference. Although the plum crop generally was a failure, Henry Vandine exhibited, on the 12th of Sep- tember, a collection of twenty varieties. October 31, about a hundred varieties of apples and pears were exhibited from Dr. Pfeiffer of Bremen. The annual exhibition was again held in Music Hall, from the 23d to the 25th of September. The general arrangements of the hall were similar to those of pre- vious years ; but, agreeably to the recommendation of the last committee, all decorations around the walls were dispensed with, the hall being deemed sufficiently beau- tiful in itself; and the interest of the exhibition was allowed to depend wholly on the merits of the produc- 314 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. tions exhibited. A very handsome arch was, however, erected across "Winter Street, at the main entrance. The display of plants and flowers was, as a whole, better than usual, and there was also an improvement in the designs. Some Wardian cases, filled with plants in fine condition, were exhibited by II. A. Gracf & Son of New York, and were much admired. They were the first ever seen here. The apples and pears were not as good as in former years ; but the foreign grapes were excellent. The display of vegetables formed one of the most pleasing features of the exhibition, the variety being great, and the quality equal, if not superior, to that of former years. The squash was most richly represented. This exhibition was marked by the revival of a cus- tom which had been discontinued for twenty years, — the delivery of an address at the anniversary on some subject connected with horticulture. This was on the last evening of the exhibition, the fruits, flowers, and vegetables remaining in the places which they had occu- pied through the week, and the audience filling the bal- conies and the spaces between the tables. The speaker was Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, who was introduced by President Cabot as not only an eloquent preacher and orator, but as personally devoted to horticulture. It is impossible here to do justice to Mr. Beechcr's address, and we can only say that it was in his happiest manner, and that the numerous assembly were not disappointed. The report of the Garden Committee for the year is of unusual interest. They again visited the hothouses of M. II. Simpson at Saxonville, and examined the beautiful specimens of rare plants, and his novel experi- GARDENS, FRUITS, AND VEGETABLES, 1857. 315 merit in grape culture. Among other places visited later in the season were the estate of II. II. Ilunne- well at West Needham, now known as the most beau- tiful in New England, but which six years previously to the time of which we write was a pitch pine forest with a barren soil ; the trees and grounds of Woodlawn Cemetery in Maiden ; the grounds of William Whiting in Roxbury, the flower garden and fruit houses of C. S. Holbrook in East Randolph, the flower garden of William Wales in Dorchester, the pear orchard of John Gordon in Brighton, and the smaller fruit garden of Ariel Low in Roxbury. Premiums or gratuities were awarded for all these places. The Fruit Committee noted as a circumstance showing how complete was the failure of the apple crop, and which had not occurred before since the formation of the Society, that, on the prize day for winter apples, not a single dish was pre- sented. The Vegetable Committee commended the quality of the Hubbard squash, then just introduced to notice by James J. H. Gregory. Several measures were adopted by the Society during the year 1858, which, though not immediately connected with the exhibitions, had an important bearing on the progress of horticulture. The first of these was the appointment of a committee, of which J. W. P. Jenks, , professor of entomology, was a member, to investigate the habits of the robin, and the benefits or injuries caused by it to horticulture. A motion had been intro- duced to petition the Legislature for a repeal of the statutes prohibiting the destruction of this bird ; but, it appearing that no one possessed any definite and accu- rate information as to its food, Professor Jenks under- took an investigation of the subject, which resulted in 316 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ascertaining many interesting faets concerning the food of the robin. His reports were published in the Trans- actions of the Society, and gave strong evidence that the general impression that this bird is far more benefi- cial than injurious to the gardener is correct. Later in the year, the Society joined with the Natural History Society in a petition to the Legislature for the pub- lication, at the expense of the State, of a new edition of Dr. Harris's work on Insects Injurious to Vegetation. The Society also appointed, a committee to take into consideration the distribution of seeds from the I'ii tent Office at Washington. A full report on this subject — from the pen of John Lewis llussell, professor of botany, and a member of the committee — may be found in the Transactions for 1858. Professor Russell's conclusion was, that, with few exceptions, the seeds dis- tributed from the Patent Office were valueless for culti- vation in this State ; and that, " when we consider the unusual facilities enjoyed by our New England cities, especially those of Massachusetts, for the early introduc- tion of every valuable seed, whether of field or of garden culture, the zeal and enterprise manifested towards our gardens and fields provokes a smile at the ignorance of the friends of agriculture in the want of a considerate regard for our needs or possible necessities in this line of individual or social industry." Early in 1858 the Society voted to dispense with the regular weekly shows, and to substitute monthly exhibi- tions, at which a fee should be charged for admission. It was thought that this course might be of advantage, by giving better and fuller displays of both flowers and fruit. It was, however, found to be attended by one disadvantage : the perfection of certain flowers and FLOWERS AND FRUITS, 1858. 317 fruits either had not arrived, or had passed, on the day fixed for the award of prizes. The reports of the season show that many interesting exhibitions were made on the Saturdays intervening between the monthly shows, as well as before the opening of the hall. This oc- curred on the 15th of May, and was unexpectedly fine ; the specimen plants of azaleas, fuchsias, cissus, etc., being more numerous and better grown than ever before. Attention was awakened to the rhododendron ; and on the 12th of June IT. H. Hunnewcll made the first of those beautiful displays which he has continued every year until the present time. But the great feature of the season was the rose show, on the 25th and 26th of June, when every part of the hall was occupied by stands or bouquets of roses, both of the choicer and more common varieties ; and, both days being fine, the hall was thronged with visitors. The Gloire de Dijon rose bloomed profusely with several amateurs, and was pronounced the best Tea rose. Hollyhocks were very fine, and bid fair to become a popular flower. September 4, Hovey & Co. showed one hundred and twenty-five varieties of verbenas. Lili- putian dahlias from M. Trautman were thought worthy of special mention. A very fine display of fruit was made on the 21st of August, including twenty-five varie- ties of summer pears from Hovey & Co., besides foreign grapes, blackberries, apples, and plums. October 16, there was a dish of very remarkable Beurre Dicl pears, from J. Gooding, the largest measuring sixteen and one half inches in circumference, and weighing twenty-two ounces. The annual exhibition was this year confined to the Society's hall, this course having probably been adopted 818 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. in consequence of the heavy draft on the treasury, caused by the exhibition of 1857. All designs were excluded, and the number of pot plants was necessarily limited ; but we notice the first indications of the taste for ferns and lycopods, the beautiful forms of which are now found in every greenhouse. The prize collections of apples and pears were reduced from thirty (which had been the number for the last four years) to ten varieties ; and all specimens other than those offered for competition were excluded, except a limited number of such as were new or rare. Consequently, almost all those exhibited were extremely large and handsome, and together made a magnificent display. The vegeta- bles were exhibited in the store under the hall, as in 1850 and 1851. The most interesting feature was a collection of sixty varieties of beans, from various parts of the United States and Europe, especially France, cultivated by M. & F. Burr, for the purpose of deter- mining their relative value, as well as their synonymes, and all neatly exhibited, and correctly labelled. No entries were made this year in competition for the prizes for gardens, etc. ; but the committee visited several places, the first of which was that of John D. Bates in Swampscott, which they found had improved with surprising rapidity since their visit in 1853. A gratuity was awarded to Mr. Bates for the excellent taste and the neatness everywhere displayed, and the thrifty growth and beauty of his ornamental trees, espe- cially the pines. The Norway maples and Scotch pines were noticed as particularly adapted to sea-shore cultiva- tion. Gratuities were also awarded to William Bacon of Roxbury for his pear garden, which he had reclaimed from a salt marsh, and to Samuel Walker of Roxbury, EXHIBITIONS IN 1859. 319 for the neatness and successful cultivation of his nurs- ery of pear trees. The weather during the growing season of 1859 was extremely variable, and every month in the year was marked by frost. The effect of weather so unfavorable to vegetation could not fail to be noticed in the weekly shows of the Society. The absence of hot days, and the injury by high winds, added to the frequent frosts, made the season the most unpropitious to fruit growers since the formation of the Society. Plants cultivated in greenhouses are, however, exempt from such unfa- vorable influences ; and an unusually fine display of these was made on the 19th of February, consisting of Ericas, Epacris, Azaleas, Polyanthus, Cypripedium in- signe, etc. The opening exhibition continued for two days, and a finer display of pot plants had never been made in the hall : the chief difficulty was to find space for all the contributions. Many new and rare things were shown, besides superb specimens of the old favorites. Dennis Murray exhibited a very interesting collection of two hundred and fifty-six dried specimens of Lichens, all carefully named. At the rose show, June 23, 24, and 25, although the weather was rainy and cold, and the roses were not in so forward a condition as was expected, the display was very good, particularly of Hybrid Pcrpetuals, which were better than ever before. The Wilson's Albany strawberry was exhibited ; and the committee said of it, that " those shown were very large berries, of a conical shape, dark colored, and very acid, and did not, on trial, commend themselves for their quality." July 16, W. C. Strong presented a collection of eighteen varieties of gloxinias, which received higher praise than any shown before. On the 20th of August 320 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. the hall was filled with a remarkably beautiful collec- tion of flowers, Hovey & Co. contributing one hundred and thirty varieties of annuals, among which were many new and rare kinds. James Nugent exhibited black- berries of remarkable size, twenty-five weighing six and one-eighth ounces. September 10, W. C. Strong ex- hibited the first specimens of that very striking and now well known flower, Tritoma Uvaria. Plums were ex- hibited in much greater quantity, and of much better quality, than for several years. At the annual exhibition, which was held on the 20th, 21st, 22d, and 23d of September, the Society returned to the Music Hall, where the arrangements were very similar to those of former years. The plants in pots were the leading feature of the exhibition. The prin- cipal display in this department was made by Hovey & Co., and the variegated leaved plants in their collection attracted much attention. As this was the first extensive collection of these plants that had been exhibited, a list of the names is given here for comparison with those of the present day, — Agapanthus variegatus. Begonia Rex, B. splendida argentea, Caladium atropurpureum, C. pic- tuin. Cissus discolor, Coleus Blumei, Croton pictum, C. variegatum, DiefFenbachia maculata, Dracaena tcrmina- lis, Farfugium grande, Hydrangea Japonica varicgata, Ropala elegans, R. Skinneri. and Vinca major varicgata. The same gentlemen also exhibited the first of those collections of ornamental coniferous trees, which in later years have added great interest to the exhibitions. There were sixteen species and varieties including Cu- pressus Lawsoniana, Thujopsia borcalis, and Thuja Hoveyii. Owing to early frosts in many gardens, the number of contributors of cut flowers was small. FRUITS AND GARDENS, 1S59. 321 High winds and a severe storm a short time before the exhibition greatly injured the fruit ; yet the pears were very fine, the apples excellent, and the grapes superior to those of any exhibition for some years. The success of this department equalled the expectations of the most sanguine, and fully justified the attempt at so extensive an exhibition, which by some was deemed a hazardous experiment. The prizes for apples and pears were offered for collections of twenty, fifteen, ten, and five varieties, and so remained until 1876. The vegeta- bles were more select and of finer quality than at any previous exhibition. Unfortunately the weather was stormy during the entire week of the show, preventing that attendance of the public which the exhibitions of the Society usually commanded, and it was much regret- ted that so fine a show should not have been witnessed by a larger number of persons. The Fruit Committee in their report mentioned the gradual introduction of orchard house culture. The awards by the Garden Committee this year were to Edward S. Rand of Dedham, for the best kept and neatest grounds, and for special skill in the department of flowers and ornamental gardening ; to Woodlawn Cemetery at Chelsea, for good taste, neatness, and skill in every department ; and to Mrs. Franklin B. Fay of Chelsea, for good taste, industry, and economy in the cultivation of flowers. The year 1860 was as favorable to the pursuits of the horticulturist as 1859 was unpropitious. The crop of fruit of all kinds, except out door grapes, was un- usually large, and of very fine quality. The transition from the Society's hall in School Street had an unfavor- able effect in some of the earlier shows ; but at the open- 322 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ing exhibition in the new rooms at Amory Hall from the 23d to the 26th of May, in the words of the Flower Committee, " Never had we had a finer display of choice greenhouse plants, and never had the plants been more tastefully arranged. The new variegated plants were conspicuous and very numerous in all of the prize col- lections." By far the finest display and greatest variety was shown by William T. Merrifield of Worcester. His collection consisted almost entirely of variegated leaved plants and Lycopodiums. The display of fruit and vegetables, though small, was of very good quality. At the rose show, on the 25th and '26th of June, the Hybrid Perpetuals showed the re- sults of increased attention ; but the display as a whole, though very good, was not equal to that of the previ- ous year. The finest Hybrid Perpetuals shown were Gen. Jacqueminot, Lord Raglan, Auguste Mie, Sydonie, Cardinal Patrizzi, Etendard de Marengo, Lrclia, Jules Margottin, Lion des Combats, Portland Blanc, and Tri- omphc de Paris. On the 30th of June, Hovey & Co. exhibited La Constante strawberry, and Oliver Bennet fifty specimens of the Crawford's Late peach, which had never been surpassed, some of them measuring a foot in circum- ference, and all beautiful and high flavored. On the 4th of August the display of fruit was one of the best ever made so early in the season ; the apples being especially handsome, and the Red Astrachan, Early Harvest, Large Yellow Bough, and Williams, being shown in quantities. Two weeks later the display of cut flowers was exceedingly fine, embracing many new and beautiful acquisitions, especially among the phloxes, gladioli, and petunias. On the 1st of September both ANNUAL EXHIBITION, 1860. 323 fruits and flowers were exceedingly fine, particularly the asters. The thirty-second annual exhibition, on the 18th to the 21st of September, was held in the Music Hall, and was one of the most beautiful as well as most successful which the Society ever made. The hall was crowded with a throng of visitors the entire four days. The arrangement was somewhat different from that of pre- vious years : the centre one of the five long tables being exchanged for a platform only a foot high, on which the collections of plants were placed ; and this platform was intersected in the centre by a beautiful fountain. On the stage, where previously the plants were arranged, stands were erected for cut flowers, which were com- pletely filled ; and in front of these the rare specimen plants were placed. From this position the effect was magnificent, — the silvery plumes of the pampas grass towering up from among the plants, and on either side the caladiums, begonias, and other elegant variegated plants, forming a combination of silver, emerald, bronze, and gold, entirely novel in a horticultural exhibition. Among the most prominent plants were the Pteris argyraea and P. tricolor, Cyanophyllum magnificum, C. Assamicum and Gynerium argenteum, from Hovey & Co., Maranta zebrina, from G. G. Hubbard, and Maran- ta fasciata, from Evers & Comley. None of those monstrosities called floral designs were shown ; but in- stead, there were "a number of neat pretty little bas- kets, showing into what dainty contrasts flowers could be arranged, and what pretty effects could be produced by skilful fingers." The display of fruit was, without any doubt, the finest ever made by the Society up to that time. There were 324 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. in all nearly two thousand dishes of apples, pears, plums. peaches, and grapes, containing upwards of twenty thou- sand specimens. The pears were truly remarkable. A silver cup of the value of twenty-five dollars was offered by II. B. Stanwood & Co. as a prize for the best twelve specimens of the Bartlett pear ; and for this prize there wire fifty-five competitors, Alexander Dickinson being successful. The twelve specimens presented by him weighed eight and one-half pounds. Marshall P. Wilder and Iiovcy & Co. each exhibited three hundred varieties of pears, — a larger number than has been shown at any exhibition of the Society since. The display of vegetables was magnificent, the varie- ties being many, and the specimens grown in perfection. The Pomo Lesteriano, or Perfected tomato, was shown, of handsome appearance, and very solid. For the first time, fixed prizes had been offered for pot plants and cut flowers at each weekly exhibition ; so that the hall always presented an appearance creditable alike to the Society and the exliibiters. In their review of the season the Flower Committee mentioned a great number of new and rare plants exhibited at the weekly and annual exhibitions. Among those most prominent were the Caladium Chantini and Gymnogrammc chry- sophylla of William T. Merrifield ; Thyrsacanthus ruti- lans, Maranta regalis, and a variety of Begonias from Evera & Comlcy; Statice Holfordi, and Lilium Browni, from Iiovcy & Co. ; Dianthus Hcddewigi, from Martin Trautman; and Peristcria elata, from William Wheel- wright. The cut flowers were unusually fine. The dahlia, which had been so popular, seemed to be going slowly out of favor. Among the varieties mentioned for the first time by THE SEASON OF 1861. 325 the Fruit Committee are the Clapp's Favorite pear, which they speak of as " truly one of the most promising varieties that had come before them," and the Mount Vernon, orginated by Samuel Walker. The Garden Committee reported that, in the discharge of their duties, they had visited a greater number of places than the committee of previous years. These included Mount Auburn and Woodlawn cemeteries, and several greenhouses and fruit and flower gardens. Special mention was made of the orchard house of Gardner G. Hubbard at Cambridge, the only one in the State ; and a gratuity was awarded for it. Cherries, pears, grapes, apricots, peaches, and nectarines, were cultivated in it ; but the observations of the committee led them to believe that it was best adapted to the growth of fine peaches. The year 1861, so memorable for the beginning of the terrible four years' civil war, was memorable in the annals of horticulture as one of the most unfavorable ever known. On the morning of February 8, the thermometer, which at noon on the day previous stood at 40°, marked 21° below zero, and this in a sheltered situation in a town ; while in some places in the open country it was reported as several degrees lower. This was probably as great a degree of cold as was ever expe- rienced in the vicinity of Boston, if not the greatest. On the 3d of March the thermometer rose to 75°; but this unseasonable heat was, like the extreme cold, of short duration. On the 18th of March the mercury fell to zero. Not only was the fruit crop entirely destroyed in many places, but the trees, especially the cherry and peach, were killed, or severely injured. The blossom buds of that hardy fruit the currant were in a great measure 326 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. destroyed, which, as well as could be remembered, had not happened before for forty years. It was thought that the injury experienced was due rather to the extreme and sudden cold of February than to the sud- den change from heat to cold in March. Besides the unfavorable season, it was impossible that the absorption of all minds in the terrible conflict then raging should not exert an injurious effect on the exhibitions of the Society. Yet the members contended to the best of then ability against these adverse influences, and not wholly without success ; and in one department a very decided advance was shown — the number of new plants exhibited was far greater than ever before. The opening exhibition was held at the Society's hall from the 23d to the 25th of May. The display of plants and flowers, though limited in quantity, was far superior in richness and quality to any of preceding years. There were many fine and rare plants of which specimens had never been exhibited, and fine specimens of old favorites. The show of variegated plants was particularly rich. A collection of ferns from Gardner G. Hubbard comprised fifty species. Dennis Murray had nearly a hundred species of native ferns and lyco- pods, including the climbing fern (Lygodium palmatum), now so much sought after. By vote of the Society the proceeds of the exhibition, amounting to $62.50, were given to the fund for the relief of the absent soldiers of the State, to which was added the sum of $132, raised by subscription among the members. The annual rose show, on account of the little inter- est taken in floriculture in the troubled condition of national affairs, was limited to a few hours on Saturday, June 29. On that day the roses were in perfection. ANNUAL EXHIBITION, 1861. 327 The hall was filled with fine specimens ; and bushels of choice flowers were taken away because there was no room to exhibit them. The strawberry show occurred on the same day, and, in consequence of the offer of two silver cups by H. B. Stanwood and C. M. Hovey as prizes for this fruit, a very fine display was made. The cups were awarded for La Constante and Hovey's Seedling. The hall was crowded with visitors to its utmost capacity. The annual exhibition was held September 17-20, in the Society's hall, with the addition of a room on the floor below for vegetables. The stands for cut flowers occupied three sides of the hall ; a table for fruits, sepa- rated by a space sufficient for visitors, encircled the hall ; and all the room that could be spared in the centre was devoted to plants. The library was set apart for the grapes, which were numerous and excellent. The floral display was unusually fine, and never appeared to better advantage. The single specimens were remarkably excellent, and the display of ferns and lyco- pods was better than ever before. It was thought that the exhibition of fruit would be exceedingly meagre ; but happily this was not the case, though the specimens were not equal to those of the previous year. Pears were the principal fruit ; but the Seckel was the only one which came up to the average of 1860. There were very few apples, and of peaches and plums none except from orchard houses. Specimens of the Salway peach, from II. H. Hunnewell, were greatly admired : they were eleven inches in circumference, and beauti- fully colored. Two new foreign grapes, the Muscat Hamburg and Golden Hamburg, were exhibited by It. W. Turner, and carried off the prize over very 328 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. remarkable specimens of the older sorts. The season was very favorable for ripening native grapes; and some of the Rogers hybrids were shown before the Society for the first time. The display of vegetables had rarely if ever been excelled in quality. We have spoken of the great number of new and rare plants exhibited at the various shows through the season, which were far too numerous to be specified here ; but a few of the most conspicuous may be men- tioned. There were, from Evcrs & Comley, Eucharis Amazonica, in full bloom, and AUamanda Schottii; from Edward S. Rand, sen., Latania Borbonica, L. rubra, and Alocasia metallica ; and from Hovey & Co., " a fine specimen of that sparkling little gem of a plant, Cala- dium argyrites." Jonathan French exhibited a bloom of Lapageria rosea. Of garden flowers, Barnes & Washburn exhibited Stokesia cyanea, and James McTear, a spike of gladiolus Calypso, three feet in length, with thirty-two almost perfect flowers. The double hollyhocks had become very popular, and there was shown for the first time « a very fine double zinnia, as large as and fully equal to a dahlia." On the 13th of July, Jackson Dawson exhibited a plant of heather (Calluna vulgaris) found growing wild in Tcwksbury, Mass. This excited much interest; and the locality was vi sited and carefully examined by the Flower Com- mittee, who came to the conclusion that the plant was probably indigenous there. The committee re- marked, with some severity that, while on prize days the stands wore full, when there were no prizes offered tin' hall presented a long array of empty bottles and bare tables. The Fruit Committee reported, that, while the crop of REPORT OF THE GARDEN COMMITTEE, 1801. 329 pears was far below the average, this was to some extent compensated by the quality of the fruit pro- duced, which was with respect to some varieties superior to any before noticed. In the later exhibitions espe- cially, the specimens were exceedingly fine and beau- tiful. Among the varieties which showed the greatest superiority were the Urbaniste, Marie Louise, Belle Lucrative, Beurre D'Anjou, Beurre Langelier, Glout Morceau, and Josephine de Malines. The only cherries exhibited during the season were two baskets of very beautiful May Dukes, from the forcing house of John Fisk Allen. The Garden Committee reported that, while there had been less display and competition than usual during the season, a permanent and growing love of horti- culture had been manifested. Very few, if any, of the noted estates and gardens in the vicinity had suffered from neglect ; and in some cases, though to a less extent than in past years, new grounds had been opened, glass structures erected, and other improvements made. No places were entered for premium ; but a gratuity was awarded to Edward S. Rand of Dedham, for his neatly kept grounds and greenhouses, and superior collection of orchids. His collection of new and choice exotics generally, was reported as beyond question the finest in New England, and under the most perfect culture. A gratuity was also awarded to Edward S. Rand, jun., for the skilful and economical laying out and manage- ment of a new estate. The year 1862 was as propitious to the horticulturist as the preceding was unfavorable, the crop of fruit, especially, being even more abundant than in the plenti- ful year 1860. Nor was this abundance confined to any 330 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. particular fruit, but commenced with the strawberries, and closed only with the apples and pears, the two latter never having been larger, fairer, or better. The peach and cherry trees indeed had been so far either entirely killed or severely injured, that a large crop could not reasonably be expected ; yet, wherever a tree survived, it produced most bountifully. The crop of currants was remarkable, and can never have been sur- passed, the failure of the previous year having been more than compensated by the abundance of this, as if literally two crops had been produced in one. In many instances the crop would not pay for gathering, and in some places could not even be given away. Indeed, the wonderful plenty caused dull sales and low prices for all kinds of fruit, — a state of things which the Society had been laboring for years to bring about, that the poor, as well as the rich, might enjoy an abundance of the luxuries of the orchard and garden. A farmer who brought into Boston a quantity of 13artlett pears, and was unable to sell them, except at very low prices, took his load into State Street, and invited the newsboys to help themselves, doubtless feeling abundantly rewarded by the happiness he dispensed. The year was also remarkably prolific in floral treas- ures. So favorably were the supplies of sun and shade, of rain and heat, meted out, that in every locality the gardens prospered, and every class of plants flourished. In such a year it might have been expected that the exhibitions of the Society would have surpassed all earlier ones ; and though such an advance may not have been witnessed, owing to the civil war which continued to absorb all minds, the number of exhibitor ■•■ of fruit, and the quality of the specimens shown, proved a EXHIBITIONS IN 1S02. 331 continued and unabated interest in that department. Many new and rare species and varieties of greenhouse plants graced the weekly shows. Ferns and lycopods had become so popular as to be recognized by the offer of a premium, ximong vegetables the tomato particu- larly was shown in numerous varieties and a high de- gree of perfection. The Flower Committee having been greatly troubled by the ignorance as to what constitutes a perfect flower, a pamphlet describing the properties of plants and flowers was compiled by the committee, which was published by the Society, as the standard for judging. At the opening exhibition, on the 31st of May, although cut flowers were shown in considerable quan- tities, the plants were few, and contributed by a very small number of growers, and, as a whole, the exhibition was the smallest for some years. In 1858 and the fol- lowing years, four prizes were offered for the best spe- cimen plants at this exhibition ; but the names of the successful specimens were not recorded until this year, when the first and second were taken by Edward S. Rand, with Medinilla magnifica and Alocasia metallica ; the third, by Ilovey & Co., with Ropala Corcovadensis ; and the fourth, by Mr. Rand, with Maranta regalis. At the rose show, on the 21st of June, the number of contributors was much smaller than usual ; but the roses were never presented in finer condition. The Hybrid Perpetuals especially continued to increase in number, and grew in favor, as the improved kinds, of fine form and brilliant color, superseded the old varieties. The show of strawberries was very fine : six berries of Admiral Dunclas weighed four and five-eighths ounces. On the 12th of July, Spooner & Parkman exhibited 332 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. for the first time the Lilium auratum, which they had received directly from Japan. This magnificent lily was also shown this year in England for the first time, and everywhere its appearance was greeted as an event such as could occur but few times in the life of a lover of flowers. The same gentlemen also exhibited during the summer many new plants, especially variegated conifers and other plants from Japan, besides making the largest, most frequent, and finest general displays of flowers through the season. Very fine specimens of apples were exhibited on the 1st of November for the prizes from the fund bequeathed by B. V. French. Shel- don pears weighing twelve and three-quarters ounces each were shown at the same time by Hovey & Co. The annual exhibition was in the Music Hall, from the lGth to the 19th of September, the general arrange- ments being similar to those two years before. The show of pot plants was not as good as in some previous years ; but the cut flowers were splendid. The season was very favorable for dahlias, and they were shown in great perfection. II. II. Ilunncwcll sent a plant of pampas grass, with eight or ten full heads of its light and silvery flowers ; also Cupressus Lawsoniana and Sequoia (Washingtonia) gigantca. Three prizes were offered this year for the best specimen plants at the annual exhibition, which were taken by these three plants. Pears were never before exhibited in any thing like the quantity or perfection of the specimens shown this Mar. A dish of twelve Bartletts, from Josiah Stickney, weighed nine pounds and six ounces. The apples, also, were superior, especially the Gravenstcins. In a year so auspicious for fruit, great expectations had naturally AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 1S62. 333 been formed with respect to this exhibition, and, though it cannot be said that such hopes were disappointed, perhaps they were hardly realized ; the deficiency, if any, being, that some species, more particularly apples and grapes, were not exhibited in as great variety as was expected. The display of vegetables was satis- factory ; but some of the principal contributors were so over-burdened with their fruits, that they were un- able to bestow as much attention upon the vegetable department as they would otherwise have given. A collection of thirty-three named varieties of turnips, from John B. Moore, was of much interest. The ninth session of the American Pomological So- ciety, which was held in the Horticultural Society's hall during the week of the exhibition, imparted addi- tional interest to the occasion. The display of fruit by the members of the Pomological Society was very large, there being six collections of pears, comprising from one hundred to three hundred and forty varieties each, and four collections of apples of from sixty to one hundred and sixty-four varieties each. The awards by the Garden Committee were to Wil- liam J. Underwood of Belmont, for neatly kept grounds and skilful cultivation of flowers and fruits, and to J. V. Wellington, for the best culture of out-door grapes. Mr. Underwood's flower garden presented a particu- larly attractive appearance ; but the attention of the committee was especially directed to his strawberry beds, and they noted the astonishing abundance and superior quality of the crop. The committee also took the opportunity to examine the extensive fields devoted to strawberry culture in the vicinity, and derived much gratification from observing their thrift and productive- ness. 334 .MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The year 18G3 brought a season, which, though not so inauspicious as that of 1861, was unproductive in comparison with the propitious one of 1862. The weather at the commencement of the season was very dry, so that the annuals and bedding plants, especially verbenas and fuchsias, suffered materially, and there was not so great a profusion of flowers at the weekly shows as in previous years. The dry weather was also in- jurious to the strawberry, affecting unfavorably both the quantity of the crop and the quality of the berries. Of pears there was probably not more than a third or a half the crop of an average fruitful year ; and the quality was, on the whole, rather inferior both as to size and flavor, and the fruit was also more disposed to blight and crack than usual. The crop of apples was an entire failure; the deficiency that would in any event have occurred being, probably, increased by the fact that this was not the bearing year of the kinds most generally cultivated in Massachusetts, and in many places the trees had also suffered severely for some years from the canker worm. The crop of native grapes was good, and the quality above the average. The scarcity of labor, so many persons being directly or indirectly engaged in the defence of the country, pro' .ably exercised an unfavorable influence on the exhibitions, cultivators having less time to devote to them than they would otherwise have been glad to give. The vegetable department suffered more from this cause than the others. Some changes were made in the schedule this year, prizes being for the first time offered for specified varie- ties of strawberries, grapes, and pears, and for collec- tions and single specimens of variegated leaved plants. EXHIBITIONS IN" 1863. 335 The prizes for gardens were omitted. The Society, following the example of the Royal Horticultural and Royal Botanic Societies of London, voted to prepare Certificates of Merit of three classes, to be given for the exhibition of new, rare, and beautiful plants and flowers, and new fruits and vegetables, for seedlings of unusual merit, and for superior skill in cultivation. The opening exhibition, on May 30, was very good. The greenhouse plants were well grown, and attracted much attention. The first prize for the best specimen plant was awarded to James Comley, for Ananassa sativa variegata; the second, to James McTcar, for Aphe- lexis sesamoides ; the third, to Hovey & Co., for Coleus VerschafFeltii, which was shown for the first time ; and the fourth, to James Nugent, for Hydrangea Japonica variegata. Dennis Murray exhibited one hundred and ninety-four named species of fungi, several of which were discovered by him. The rose show, on the 27th of June, was one of the best ever made, especially for Hybrid Perpetuals. This year witnessed the commence- ment of those profuse and beautiful displays of seedling gladioli which now form so prominent a feature of our exhibitions through August and September. The prizes for this flower had previously been confined to collec- tions of ten varieties ; but this year there were added prizes for the best twenty varieties and for the best display. At the weekly exhibitions early in the season the shows of forced fruits — mostly grapes, with some peaches and cherries — compared well with those of previous years ; but later in the season the shows of fruits grown in the open air were not of an equally satisfactory character, either as to the number of ex- hibiters, the number of varieties, or the quantity of 836 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. fruit shown, and, though much was of fine quality, some was very indifferent. The annual exhibition was held at the Society's hall, with much the same arrangements as two years be- fore. The plants were all choice and fine — mostly well grown specimens of variegated leaved plants. The first prize for a specimen plant was awarded to C. M. Atkin- son, for Cissus discolor; the second, to James McTear, for Frenela Ventenatii ; and the third and fourth, to Ignatius Sargent, for Testudinaria elephantipes and Cissus discolor. The first prize for a variegated leaved plant was awarded to Ilovcy & Co., for Pandanus Javanicus variegatus ; and the second, to James Com- ley, for Croton variegatum. Among the ferns shown by Ilovev & Co. was the beautiful Pteris Cretica albo- lineata. The gladioli, Japan lilies, dahlias, and other cut flowers, were contributed liberally, and arranged with unusual taste. The show of fruit was satisfactory, as, though smaller than usual, it was more select. While some varieties of pears, such as the Louise Bonne of Jersey and Duchesse d'Angouleme, wore inferior, the Sheldon, De Tongres, Doyenne du Cornice, Beurre Bosc. and others, were remarkably fine. The display of native grapes was exceedingly interesting. Nearly two hundred plates were on exhibition in upwards of twenty varieties, em- bracing all the new sorts then lately brought to notice. Among foreign grapes, II. II. Ilunncwcll sent speci- mens of the Lady Downes, which were ripe on the '20th of September, and hung on the vines in excellent con- dition until the 30th of January, 1864, when they were exhibited. The winter of 1863-64. was remarkably uniform in EXHIBITIONS IN" 1S64. 337 temperature, so that trees and plants exposed to it came through without injury ; but the summer was extreme- ly dry, and unfavorable to the growth and blooming of plants, and consequently to the weekly exhibitions. The crop of strawberries was much injured by the drought, which was so severe that some fields were burned up before half the fruit was ripened ; and in some localities the grapes withered on the vines. The pear crop was up to the average ; but that of other fruits was small. Vegetables were checked in their growth by the drought ; but the rains of July brought them forward rapidly. At the opening exhibition on the 28th of May, we notice, for the first time, the new variegated honey- suckle from Japan (Lonicera aureo-reticulata), from two exhibiters. The display of hardy azaleas and rho- dodendrons a few weeks later, from H. H. Hunnewell and Hovey & Co., was unusually fine. The same may be said of the roses at the rose show on the 25th of June, especially the Hybrid Perpetuals, the specimens of which from Francis Park man were very large and per- fect. The shows of hardy herbaceous plants through the season were very extensive, and comprised a great variety, there having been added to the prizes for spring herbaceous plants, offered in former years, premiums for the best displays of named species and varieties in July, August, and September. The gladi- olus continued to be, in its season, the great feature of the weekly exhibitions. The 27th of August was prize day for this flower, when there was one of the finest displays ever made, including, besides a large number of prize stands, an immense number of seed- lings, many of them of the greatest merit. 338 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Forced peaches and grapes were shown in great abun- dance. ('. S. Ilolbrook exhibited on the 28th of May some of the finest Crawford's Early peaches that had ever been seen on the tables. In spite of the drought, a few good strawberries were shown : a basket of Hov- ey's Seedlings at the rose show, from Mrs. T. W. Ward, were of remarkable size and color ; and several new European varieties were exhibited by William Gray, jim., and Ilovcy & Co. The last-named gentlemen had for several years been zealous in testing every new variety of this fruit, especially the large English, French, and Belgian sorts. Of currants, the Versaillaise had become prominent on the tables, though the Red and White Dutch were still favorite varieties for gen- eral cultivation. The season, except on very dry soils, was remarkably favorable for native grapes, which con- tinued to attract much attention throughout the country. On the 19th of November there was exhibited a Duchcssc d'Angouleme pear, grown by Charles Hova of Los Angeles, Cal., seventeen and three-fourths inches in circumference, and eight inches in length, and weigh- ing four pounds, — the largest pear of which the Soci- ety has any record. The annual exhibition was held September 20-23, at Andrews Hall in Central Court, the use of this room having been freely offered to the Society by the pro- prietor. The arrangement adopted was similar to that in the -Music Hall. The centre table, filled with plants. pre cnted a very beautiful appearance, the numerous 'gated plants and ferns being backed by tall and handsome plants of various kinds. Large yuccas, palms, and choice evergreens in pots on the stage, formed an effective background for tables on which were placed ANNUAL EXHIBITION, 1864. 339 the bouquets and baskets of flowers. The last named feature had become very attractive ; and on this occa- sion there were eighteen or twenty, all contributed by ladies, and some of them arranged with exquisite taste. The first prize for a specimen plant was awarded to Hovey & Co., for Ropala Corcovadensis ; and the first and second prizes for variegated leaved plants, to James Comley, for Ananassa sativa variegata and Cissus discolor. The display of fruit surpassed expectation, it being thought that the extreme drought would tell severely upon the crop ; but, with few exceptions, the pears were fully up to the usual standard of excellence, and some surpassed it. The show of apples was limited, yet some of the specimens were superb. Peach trees, where healthy, produced abundantly, and there was a good display of the fruit. Of foreign grapes the exhi- bition was good, with some of extra quality ; and in native grapes the show was especially fine. W. C. Strong presented a very interesting and instructive col- lection of twenty-five or more varieties. The most noticeable kinds were the Delaware, Rebecca, Allen's Hybrid, Iona, Adirondac, Framingham, Creveling, Con- cord, Diana, and Isabella. Many new seedlings, includ- ing the Rogers hybrids, were shown. An unusual number of seedling pears were shown this year and the preceding, from Dr. S. A. ShurtlefF, Frederick Clapp, Francis Dana, and others. The show of vegetables was pronounced as good, under the circumstances, as any since the formation of the Society, if, indeed, not superior to any. A collection of one hundred and two named varieties of beans, from Lucy H. Brewer of Hingham, a young lady of thirteen, attracted much attention. 340 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. This brings us to the close of the second of the three periods into which we have divided the exhibitions of the Society, some of those of the next year having been held in the new Horticultural Hall. We have often, in the course of this chapter, spoken of the valuable reports made from year to year by the different com- mittees ; but it is due to the chairmen, upon whom the duty of drawing up these reports generally devolved, that some more particular mention of them should be made, and especially of those of Joseph S. Cabot, who filled the position of chairman of the Fruit Com- mittee for nine years, and whose reports are distin- guished by able and interesting discussions of various subjects connected with fruit culture. Mr. Cabot was also the first chairman of the Committee on Gardens, and held that position for four years of the period in- cluded in tliis chapter. The reports of Eben Wight, who was chairman of the Fruit Committee for six years, arc interesting summaries of the annual progress in this department. Edward S. Rand, jun., was chairman of the Flower Committee for six years ; and his reports, besides the record of newly exhibited plants, are en- riched with many valuable papers by himself and others on the cultivation of various plants. Joseph Breck was chairman of the Flower Committee for six years, and of the Committee nf Arrangements for an equal time. Francis Lyman Winship and P. Brown Hovcy each served as chairman of the Committee of Arrangements for five years. Daniel T. Curtis was chairman of the A egetable Committee for eight years, in each of which he rendered a full and faithful report. The reports of the Garden Committee by the chairmen and secretaries were of much interest. To all the gentlemen named, COLLECTIONS OF PEARS. 341 and to those who filled the same positions for shorter terms, and also to those associated with them on the various committees, the Society is much indebted for the success of the exhibitions during the period under consideration. It should be remembered, that, during this time, the amount appropriated for premiums was increased from $1,200 in 1845 to $2,800 in 1864 (not including the prospective prizes), and this notwith- standing the depression caused by the civil war, and the fact, that, in the last two years of this period, the resources of the Society were taxed to the utmost by the erection of their new building. In closing this chapter we cannot but glance back over the twenty years reviewed ; and although any sum- mary of it would be out of place, for the chapter itself is but a summary of the fuller records in the Trans- actions of the Society, the Magazine of Horticulture, and the Horticulturist, it may not be unprofitable to recall a few of the more prominent points in the progress of the Society. In reviewing the last chapter, we spoke of the interest in the cultivation of the pear, as shown by the zeal in collecting every variety ; and, though the work of collection progressed during the time covered by the present chapter, it will be seen that, towards the close of the period, the culminating point as respects numbers was reached, and that the work of selection — the only object of these immense collections — had well progressed ; and " select lists " might be found in every horticultural publication. It was during this period that two of our most valuable pears, the Dana's Hovey and the Clapp's Favorite, were originated by members of the Society, and first made known through its exhi- bitions. The seedling pears raised by Mr. Dana were 342 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. the first to show the incorrectness of the opinion gen- erally entertained, on the authority of Dr. Van Moras, that this fruit deteriorated when raised from the seeds of the best kinds, and that improved varieties could only be obtained by sowing the seeds of the wild pear through successive generations. What has been said of the pear is true in a less degree of other fruits ; though the strawberry and the grape rivalled the pear, if, in- deed, the grape did not surpass it, in the interest excited. We have chronicled the exhibition and testing of a large number of strawberries, especially of the European kinds, of large size, which, it is to be regretted, have proved too tender for our climate. We have noted the commencement of the excitement in regard to native grapes, and the advent of the Concord, the Allen's Hybrid, and other improved varieties which were early exhibited before the Society. Perhaps we cannot better estimate the advance in this fruit than by imagining our gardens and markets stripped of the Concord grape alone ; but in 1845 there were not only no Concords, but few grapes of any kind, except Isabellas. And not only was the Society diligent in promoting the improve- ment of fruit culture in Massachusetts, but by its share in establishing the American Pomological Society, and sustaining its meetings and exhibitions, two of which, in 185-1 and 186*2, were held in Boston under the au- spices of the Horticultural Society, it has been instru- mental in the advancement of pomology throughout the country. In the flower department we arc impressed by the sum' zeal in gathering and testing every new thing which we have witnessed in regard to fruit ; the rose being here as striking an example as the pear among NEW PLANTS AND FLOWERS. 343 the fruits. The collections of phloxes and other peren- nial plants, as well as of annuals, will also be remem- bered. It is to the enthusiasm of those who have spared neither pains nor expense in collecting every beautiful plant and flower that we owe the Dielytra, the Wiegelas, the Deutzias, and the Lilium auratum. These plants, now so popular, were all introduced within the period covered by this chapter, and, not to speak of many other less conspicuous examples now found in every garden, make it memorable. Among greenhouse plants, perhaps the most extraordinary of all is the Victoria regia ; and although, owing to the expensive arrangements which it requires, it is not now cultivated, such is not the case with the multitudes of variegated leaved plants, the introduction of which took place at about the same time with the flowering of the Victoria. The taste for these, both deciduous and evergreen, in the garden and the greenhouse, as also for ferns and lycopods, has been continually increasing as more beau- tiful varieties have been introduced. Among flowering plants we cannot recapitulate all the novelties exhib- ited, and can barely allude to the improvement in the fuchsia, the gloxinia, and the achimenes. In the gar- den we notice first of all the multiplication of beautiful roses, and especially the advent of the Hybrid Perpetual class, which have now superseded the June roses. Per- haps the gladiolus showed more improvement than any flower, excepting the rose ; but scarcely less was the improvement in hardy rhododendrons and azaleas, in tree and herbaceous pseonies, in the phlox, the aster, the petunia, the hollyhock, and the zinnia. Nor should we forget the revival of hiterest in the exhibition of native plants. The hardiness of the Japan lilies was not 344 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ascertained until the period embraced in this chapter. though they were introduced before. In new seedlings originated here the greatest advance was shown in the gladiolus; but the phlox continued to be a favorite subject for improvement; and the hardy rhododendrons, •Japan lilies, and petunias, and many others on a smaller scale, were the subjects of successful experiments. Closely connected with this department is the growth of a better taste in regard to the arrangement of flowers in bouquets, baskets, and designs. The establishment of the Committee on Gardens marks the progress, not only of improvement in the culture of fruit, flower, and vegetable gardens, but of taste in the laying out of ornamental and pleasure grounds with artistic effect. In the less showy but not less useful department of the kitchen garden, we have noted the zeal of cultiva- tors in testing large collections of potatoes, beans, squashes, and turnips, and the improved varieties ori- ginated or introduced. As, perhaps, the most striking instance of improvement, we may mention the tomato, now universally used, but in 1845 comparatively un- known. The only kind then generally cultivated was exceedingly irregular in form, and soft in texture ; but in 1864 some of the smooth and solid varieties which have superseded that had appeared. The Hubbard squash, which keeps so much longer and better than the Marrow, was one of the most important vegetables gained by our cultivators. Not only were many new varieties introduced, but the quality of those exhibited showed a marked improvement in cultivation. The twenty years from 1845 to 1864 were years of marked prosperity to the Society; and though the period includes several of the most inauspicious seasons ever PROGRESS SHOWN. 345 known to horticulturists, the number of contributors to the shows was so large, that the selection of even a small proportion of fruits or flowers or vegetables from the garden of each afforded, with those of greenhouse growth, which are not injured even by the most unfav- orable seasons, an exhibition interesting and instructive to visitors, as well as creditable to the Society. And if cold or drought caused the appearance of retrogression in any year, such an effect was but temporary ; and it was found, on the return of a more genial season, that all that was lost had been regained, and still more added to it. CHAPTER IX. THE EXHIBITIONS OF THE SOCIETY, 1865-1878. The third division of the Society's exhibitions, which forms the subject of this chapter, begins with the occu- pation of the present Horticultural Hall. But, though we include in it all the exhibitions of the year 1865, the halls were not actually used for exhibition until the annual show in September. The weekly shows were held in Amory Hall until the end of August, after which several exhibitions were made in one of the stores under Horticultural Hall. Doubtless this transi- tion state produced an injurious effect on the exhibi- tions, and, though the winter and spring were remark- ably favorable to vegetation, an exceedingly severe drought occurred in July and August, which further lessened the interest of the shows. The Flower Com-" mittee, in their annual report, complained of the lack of competition for a large number of premiums, and of the small attendance of members and their families, or of others, even though some of the exhibitions were of the highest order. Under these circumstances it will not be thought surprising that we find but one plant among those exhibited at the earlier shows, to note here, — the Bougainvillca spectabilis, from Brazil, •• a new and rare plant," shown by Mrs. T. W. Ward on the 18th of March. The Agriculturist strawberry was shown for tL< first 346 AKNtJAL EXHIBITION, 1865. 347 time. Peaches were exhibited more abundantly than for several years, and of the finest quality. The grape fever raged higher, and many of Rogers hybrids and other new varieties were tested. The show of apples was small. The pear continued to grow in favor ; and the Goodale and several seedlings from Dr. Shurtleff were shown. The prospective prize " for the best new seedling pear, after a trial of five years," was awarded for Dana's Hovey. The show of melons, both water and green fleshed, surpassed any in former years. The annual exhibition was held September 19-22 in the new halls, which had just been dedicated. In con- sequence of the long and excessive droughts, some doubts were felt whether all the space would be filled ; but these doubts were removed on the opening day. In the upper hall there were three tables running the whole length ; the centre one filled with a selection of the choicest variegated leaved plants, intermixed with Palms, Yuccas, Ropalas, and other noble specimens of tropical vegetation. The two outside tables were cov- ered with pears, and against the wall on each side was a table for cut flowers. The stage was fitted up with two tables, one of which was filled with beautiful flow- ering plants, and the other with begonias and ferns. On a semicircular table in front, choice bouquets of various styles were placed as a background, and the table was filled with peaches and pears. The ante- rooms and lobbies were also occupied with fruit tables. The lower hall was arranged like the upper, with five tables, of which the centre one was filled with apples and grapes, and the others with fine vegetables. On the platform were huge cockscombs, coniferous plants in pots, and miscellaneous plants. In the vestibule, 348 MASSACHUSETTS ITOriTirrLTURAL SOCIETY. at each side of the stairs, stood a noble Araucaria imbricata, ten feet high, the contribution of II. H. Bunnewell. The display of plants was the finest for many years, there being four exhibitors of collections of twenty plants, and in all upwards of three hundred plants. Among those from the Botanic Garden at Cambridge was Ropala Jonghei, nearly ten feet high, and Cyano- phyllum magnificum, six feet high ; from Hovey & Co., Ropala Corcovadensis, ten feet high, the new Hibiscus Cooperi, and many others; from W. T. Merrifield, a superb Ananassa sativa variegata in fruit; and, from Francis Parkman, a splendid collection of thirty-six evergreen trees and shrubs in pots. Six pineapple plants, exhibiting the fruit in different stages of growth, from inflorescence to maturity, attracted much atten- tion: they wc^re from the garden of William Sprague, Governor of Rhode Island. The prizes for the best specimen plant were awarded to John F. Rogers, for Ropala Youngi, and Thomas Hooper, for Lycopoclium Wildcnowii; and those for specimen variegated plants to Jonathan French, for Cissus discolor, and John F. Rogers, for Pandanus Javanicus variegatus. The drought was so severe that the cut flowers were not up to the usual standard, though some superb gladioli and asters were exhibited. In the fruit department there was a deficiency in the quantity and quality of the apples and native grapes ; but this was, perhaps, more than counterbalanced by the magnificent display of pears, which were generally acknowledged to surpass, by their uniformly large size and excellence, any previous exhibition of this fruit. The display of vegetables was undoubtedly the finest NEW FRUITS AND PLANTS IN 1866. 349 ever made by the Society, a very marked improvement being visible in the selection and quality of the various kinds. The attendance of visitors was very large, and, for the first time for many years, the exhibition gave a reasonable surplus into the treasury. The winter of 1865-66 was very severe ; but the suc- ceeding summer was warm, with abundant rains — very favorable for the growth of plants, but not for the ripen- ing of fruits. Vegetables nourished wonderfully, and such fruits as the strawberry, which require an abundant supply of water, were benefited, though the crop of this fruit was less than it would have been but for the drought of the previous year. There were no out- door peaches, and the season was unfavorable for native grapes. Very few apples were shown, this also being attributed to the drought of the two preceding years. The pears shown for prizes were not as large or as fair as in some previous years. That fine strawberry now known as the President Wilder was shown for the first time. Hovey's Seedling and Jenny Lind continued to be favorites. There were but two contributors of raspberries, both of whom showed Knevett's Giant; and five contributors of cur- rants, who exhibited three varieties, — La Versaillaise, Dana's Transparent, and Red Dutch. The number of new plants exhibited was much great- er than in 1865. April 4, George W. Pratt presented Clerodendron Thomsons, which was highly praised by the committee. James McTear showed the now popu- lar Deutzia crenata flore pleno, for the first time ; and Hovey & Co., the variegated Japan maize. At the opening exhibition on the 23d of May, Francis Park- man exhibited Aquilegia glandulosa ; and C. J. Power, MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Iresine Herbstii. A plant of Clerodendron Thomsons, from II. II. Ilimncwell, finely trained, and in profuse bloom, took the first prize as a specimen plant. June 13, Hovey & Co. presented Pyrcthrum roseum florc pleno, •• as full as a quilled aster, and much resembling it." At the rose show on the 27th and 28th of June, Hovey & Co. exhibited a hybrid lily, between Lilium lancifolium and L. auratum, combining the beauty of the former with the size of the latter. July 11, Francis Parkman showed Clematis Jackmanni, the first of the hybrids of which so many beautiful varieties have since been introduced ; and Sumner Downe, three stalks of Lilium candidum, six feet high, and having fifteen flowers each. Mrs. T. W. Ward was a frequent con- tributor of choice hothouse flowers, among which were Torenia Asiatica, Roupellia grata, Allamanda grandi- flora, Gardenia Fortunei, etc. August 15, James McTear exhibited Crocosmia (Tritonia) aurea ; and a deep rose-colored variety of the pond lily was received from Hyannis, and others in various shades, from deep rose to pure white, from Rochester, N.H. The day of the weekly exhibitions was this year changed from Saturday to Wednesday. The attendance generally was such as to indicate a fan- degree of interest in the objects of the Society. -The rose show was on a more extensive scale than usual, and an admission fee was required; but it was not favored with propitious weather. The latter part of the season, the exhibitions were a scries of triumphs, crowned by the annual show, which occurred September 18-22. The arrangements were similar to those of the preceding year, being only changed bo far as to place the plants on the two sides of the hall, and the stand for cut flowers in the centre, ANNUAL EXHIBITION, 1866. 351 with a table for fruit on each side. The grapes were exhibited in the library room. The weather was very unfavorable, and consequently the number of visitors was small, except on the last day. James T. Ames ex- hibited a plant of Alocasia macrorhiza fol. var., from Ceylon ; George L. Stearns, a splendid spike of Hedy- chium Gardnerianum ; and H. H. Hunnewell, one hun- dred species of hardy conifers. Notwithstanding the general impression that the pear crop was hardly up to the average, the show of this fruit was nearly equal to that of the preceding year. Large collections were not admitted for want of room ; but there were no less than eight competitors for the prize for the best twenty varieties. Many fine specimens of apples, particularly the Washington Strawberry, Grav- enstein, and Hubbardston Nonsuch, were contributed. J. W. Bailey of Plattsbnrgh, N.Y., sent some beautiful clusters of Adirondac grapes, which were the ripest natives exhibited. The show of vegetables was remarkably fine both as to quality and variety. The feature which particularly called forth the admiration of visitors was a splendid collection of cauliflowers, exhibited by eight competitors for special prizes of silver cups. The first prize was taken by James H. Smith, gardener to Francis Skinner ; and the second, by J. C. Converse. The Flower Committee, in reviewing the season, spoke of the growing taste for botany, as manifested in the very full and frequent displays of native plants and flowers by young lady contributors, and made the sug- gestion (which was adopted the next year) that prizes should be offered as a means of fostering this interest. The baskets of flowers showed much improvement, as a 852 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. result of the prizes offered for a few years preceding, and were raised to a standard above that of our sister cities. The progress of artificial hybridization was noticed, especially in the gladiolus, where it had rendered us independent of the French, and also in pinks, lilies, and other flowers. The displays of herbaceous peren- nial^ were more satisfactory than in previous years. Among the newer pears shown were the General Tod- leben, Emile d'Heyst, Conseiller de la (our. and Augus- tus Dana. A large number of seedlings came from Dr. S. A. Shurtleff, forty-five of which were described in the report of the Fruit Committee. The Vegetable Com- mittee made special mention of the Early Goodrich potato and Black Pckin egg plant, which were first shown here this year. The Garden Committee reported that they had accepted three invitations, — all from the government of the city of Boston. The first was to the Public Garden, where they observed indications of constant care and interest, and deemed it, when contrasted with its con- dition a few years before, a credit to the committee having it in charge. Yet they found much room for improvement, both in the plan and the keeping. The second visit was to the farm connected with the House of Industry on Deer Island- where the extraordinary crops of roots were the most prominent feature. The third visit was to Mount Hope Cemetery; and here every part of the grounds was in good order ; and the fine specimens of ribbon gardening were noticed with special commendation, for the skilful and happy blend- ing or distinct contrast of colors, and for freedom from the sameness and stiffness to which this system is liable. The winter of 1SG6 and 1867 was the reverse of that EXHIBITIONS IN 1807. 353 of 1865 and 1866, there being no very severe cold, though the average temperature was low, and the quan- tity of snow was very great. The growing months of 1867, especially August, were remarkable for the ex- traordinary quantity of rain. The season was most favorable for the growth of flowers, and the weekly ex- hibitions were good, though smaller than usual, in part owing to the many rainy exhibition days. There was a general lack of flavor in the fruits. It was noted that the growth of early vegetables under glass was becom- ing more and more an object of interest ; and the com- mittee recommended the offer of prizes for its encour- agement. The number of contributions of vegetables to the weekly exhibitions was not as large as usual ; but the quality of the specimens shown was so superior as to make this department particularly interesting. The time for the weekly exhibitions was changed from Wednesday to Saturday, on which day they had been held for many years. Indeed, it had become so fixed a habit with many of the members to visit Horticultural Hall on Saturday, that it seemed almost impossible for some of them to become reconciled to any other day. The shows were kept open this year until three o'clock, an hour longer than they had previously been, and the attendance showed a gradually increasing interest. Among the new or beautiful plants exhibited may be mentioned the Abutilon vexillarium, Sedum Fabarium, and a new seedling Iris Kaempferi, from Hovey & Co. ; Carolinea insignis, from E. H. Sawyer ; Marechal Niel rose, which it was thought would prove a great acquisi- tion, from William Wales ; Primus triloba rosea, from John C. Chaffin ; Aquilegia ccerulea, Malus noribunda, a double seedling Pyrethrum carneum, and two new 854 .MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. seedling delphiniums, from Francis Parkman; two Beedling tree paeonies, named Col. Wilder and E. S. Rand, jun., from Dr. J. P. Kirtland of East Rockport, ().. double Persian ranunculuses, from J. F. C. Hyde; Cypripedium spectabilis and Rhexia Virginica, from E. S. Rand, jun.; Styrax laevigatum, from J. J. Dixwcll ; eight gloxinia plants, each a perfect specimen, from. Mrs. T. W. Ward ; a fine spike of Lilium Canadense, from .lames Comlcy ; Imatophyllum miniatum, from George E. Nelson ; Eucharis Amazonica and Dendrobium no- bile from George W. Pratt ; and Celosia pyramidalis versicolor var. hybrida atrobruneis, from II. II. Ilunne- well. r riie rose show was larger and better than any previ- ous one for a number of years, and was financially successful. The exhibitions of native plants continued to increase in interest. The Fruit Committee reported a visit, on the 16th of January, to the fruit house of E. S. Converse in Maiden, constructed on the plan of Pro- fessor Nycc. Great hopes were entertained at this time that autumn fruits might be kept through the winter in perfection in such houses ; but these hopes were not realized. Several new tomatoes, among which were tin 1 Maupay's Superior, Foard. Eureka, and Boston Market, were exhibited for -the first time; and the McLean's Advancer and Carter's First Crop peas were reported as new and promising. The annual exhibition was all that could be desired, though for want of room the contributions were much crowded. The plants showed an advance over previous in size, beauty, and excellence of cultivation. The prize for the best specimen variegated plant was taken by II. II. Ilunnewcll, with Alocasia metallica THE SEASON OF 18G8. 355 A frost on the first night of the exhibition prevented some of the contributors from replenishing their stands of cut flowers. The pears and apples were very large and handsome ; but, owing to the wet and cool summer, the grapes were inferior, though some Concords from Daniel Clark, the finest ever seen, the bunches weighing sixteen and seventeen ounces each, formed a notable exception. The display of vegetables was in all respects good. The winter of 1867 and 1868 was more than usually severe ; and in many places the Bartlett and other pear trees were seriously injured, blackening and dying in summer from the effects of the winter's cold. The spring of 1868 was extraordinarily backward ; and on the first of June it was thought that the grape crop would not ripen. The whole period of the blossoming of the apple, pear, peach, and cherry, was excessively wet, and, in consequence, many varieties did not set a sufficient quantity of fruit ; yet the profusion of blossom, which was quite marked, especially of the apple, pre- vented any serious lack. Seldom has there been a more unfavorable season for the floral department. The cold and wet spring was followed by excessive drought from the first of July to the middle of August. On the 18th of September a heavy frost completely killed all tender plants ; and this was followed on the 1 7th of October by a snow storm and black frost so severe as to kill even chrysanthemums. Yet, notwithstanding all these ad- verse circumstances, the exhibitions at the Society's rooms were generally good, doing even more credit to the skilful horticulturists than in more favorable seasons. The prize for the best specimen plant at the opening exhibition was awarded to H. H. Hunnewell, for a MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Stephanotis floribunda. From the long list of new plants reported by the Flower Committee we select, as most worthy of notice, large and well grown plants of a new seedling Erica caffra, from John -Hogan ; from Hovey & Co., the Czar violet, Eurya latifolia fol. var., Thermopsis mollis, Viola cornuta, Brodiaea grandiflora, and Bignonia Chamberlayni ; from E. S. Rand, jnn., Magnolia Lennei ; from II. II. Hunnewell, Lapageria rosea, Gloire de Nancy (a new double-flowered Zonale pelargonium), Anthurium Scherzerianum, and Raphio- lepis ovatus ; A. J. Hillbourn, Exochorda grandiflora ; J. McTear, Rhynchospermum jasminioides, Ornithoga- lum aureum, and Schizostylis coccinea ; W. C. Strong, Thyrsacanthus Schomburgkianus ; James Comlcy, Gla- diolus Lyoni ; Gardner G. Hubbard, Cattleya Mossise, Dendrobium formosum, Brassia Lanceana, and Catase- tum triclcntatum ; Mrs. T. W. Ward, Combretum purpu- reum ; Francis Parkman, Lilium Browni, L. excelsum, L. supcrbum, and a seedling Rudbeckia laciniata ; Marshall P. Wilder, Stenocarpus Cunninghami ; and W. Cairns, Echeveria retusa. A very interesting feature of the exhibition on the 1st of August was a large and rare collection of cones of California trees, from J. Q. A. Warren, including Pinus Coulteri, P. Sabiniana, P. in- signis, P. pondcrosa, P. contorta, P. Lambcrtiana, Picea nobilis, P. grandis, P. bracteata, Cuprcssus macrocarpa, ('. Goveniana, and Sequoia gigantea. The next week Mr. Warren exhibited a collection of pressed California wild flowers, and also of Sandwich Island ferns and flowers, among which were many rare species. On the same day a large and interesting collection of everlast- ing and other flowers and fibrous plants was presented from the Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Society. FLOWERS AND FRUITS IN 1868. 357 Among these were many species of Helichrysum, Phce- nocoma prolifcra, Jimcus serrata, Malva, Mora?a, Carox- ylon, Cyperus, Amaryllis Belladonna, Corymbium stric- tum, and Myrica cordifolia. The rose show was reported as better than ever before, especially the Hybrid Perpetuals, doubtless owing to the special prizes offered by H. H. Hunnewell for this class. The prize for the best forty varieties was taken by John C. Chaffin ; and that for the best thirty, by Francis Parkman. A special Chrysanthemum Show was announced in the schedule of- prizes for the first time this year. It occurred on the 14th of Novem- ber ; but, owing to a snow storm and severe cold, it was an entire failure. Prizes were also first offered this year for Wardian cases. Few new varieties were reported by the Fruit Com- mittee which need be noticed here. The Jucunda strawberry, which was first shown in 1867, and then disappointed expectations, was this year regarded more favorably. The Wilson gained steadily, notwithstanding its poor quality. La Constante and Triomphe de Gand were kept for prizes, and the latter was by many retained for a general crop. The Agriculturist was generally condemned. The Philadelphia raspberry was condemned as an exhibition fruit ; and, though produc- tive and hardy, its size was against it, even for market. The display of apples was excellent, consisting mainly of the standard kinds ; but specimens of Grimes's Golden Pippin were exhibited, and regarded as promising. Though the season was so extremely unpropitious for the grape, the exhibition was fair. A bunch of the Eumelan was received from Dr. C. W. Grant of lona, N.Y., on the 11th of October, and was well spoken of 358 -MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. by the committee. The prospective prize was awarded for the Clapp's Favorite, as the best seedling pear after a trial of five years. The Vegetable Committee reported that their attention was called during the season to several new and valua- ble vegetables, the most important of which were the General Grant tomato and the Early Rose potato. The latter, originated by Albert Bresee of Hubbardton, Vt., was exhibited for the first time on the tables of the Society on the 30th of June, and again on the 11th of July, and was awarded the Society's silver medal. Prob- ably no other horticultural production ever attained so wide popularity in so short a time as this potato. The fortieth annual exhibition was held September 22d to the 25th, and greatly exceeded the anticipations of the members. The plants were very fine, and in-, eluded more novelties than usual, and showed higher culture than before. Hovey & Co. sent a Seaforthia elegans ten feet high, the rare Agave filifera, Panda- mis elegantissimus, 13ambusa Fortunei fol. var., Oplis- menus imbecilis fol. var., etc. W. C. Harding showed Anthurium regale, with superb foliage, the rare San- chezia nobilis, the equally rare Dalcchampia Roczliana, and others. Among those contributed by II. II. Ilunne- well were Dracaena australis and D. indivisa, six feet high, Yucca aloifolia variegata, Musa vittata, Stephcn- sonia Sechellamm, Dieffenbachia Barraquiniana, Also- phila australis, six feet high, and a leaf of Musa enscte twelve feet lon<7. o The display of pears was large and fine, and, though perhaps not equal to what had been seen in former years, would have been a credit to any state or country. The display of apples was extensive', and excellent in EEPOKT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GARDENS, 1S68. 359 quality. The show of grapes, though not equal to that of many previous seasons, was good. Stephen Underbill of Croton Point, N.Y., exhibited several hybrid seedling, grapes ; and the Walter was shown by Ferris & Cay- wood of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The exhibition of vegetables was one of the finest and most extensive ever made by the Society. A prom- inent feature was the numerous and fine collections of potatoes, embracing all the popular varieties in culti- vation. Albert Bresee exhibited four seedlings raised from the same seed ball as the Early Rose. This vari- ety was shown by a large number of growers. The report of the Committee on Gardens was of more than usual interest, the year having shown a very man- ifest progress in this department. The committee re- ported visits to Mount Hope Cemetery ; to the grounds of Edward S. Hand, jun., where the show of standard rhododendrons and kalmias was admirable, and the col- lection of native plants unequalled ; to the grounds of ex-president Joseph Breck at Brighton; and, on the same day, to the grounds of W. C. Strong in the same town, where they were shown an interesting experiment in the propagation, of the potato, a field of four acres having been planted from six pounds' of the Early Rose, and where they examined the " hillside greenhouse " lately erected by Mr. Strong. They also visited at this time the extensive pear orchard of Henry P. Kendrick in Brighton. Later in the season they paid a visit to W. C. Harding, in Boston Highlands, where they wit- nessed an example of subtropical gardening, the grounds being decorated with aloes and the sago palm, in view from the windows of the mansion, while here and there were fine specimens of Caladium bicolor, C. esculcn- 300 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. tin n. Ricinus, Celosia, Nicotiana, Canna Indica rubra, and Zea Japonica, the last three forming a background for Gladioli, Dracaena versicolor, and Amaranthus versicolor. At Forest Hills Cemetery the committee noticed a fine rosette of ribbon gardening. After leav- ing that place, they visited the grounds of Marshall P. Wilder in Dorchester. Another visit was to the orchards of Dr. G. II. Lodge in Swampscott, where the committee saw the most perfect example of the wine- glass type of pruning to be found in the State, every tree showing the most persevering care and attention, though many had evidently fared hard in storms. The last visit was to the garden of S. G. Damon in Arling- ton, planted mainly with pear trees and grape vines ; the dry location and shelter, with a light, warm soil, being particularly favorable to the latter fruit, and the collection including all the new and promising varieties. The season of 1869 was generally favorable to the horticulturist. The preceding winter was mild, and the summer months were remarkably free from very dry or stormy weather. But on the 8th of September occurred one of the most terrific gales on record, which not only destroyed all the annuals and bedding plants, but many of the finest trees, and left the gardens only wrecks of what they were but an hour before. The weekly exhibitions of flowers presented many fine displays of novelties, including a large number of hybrid seedlings. The committee noted with pleasure that artificial hybridization, so long practised by Euro- pean horticulturists with such gratifying results, was receiving the attention which it deserved. E. S. Rand, jnn., continued to exhibit rhododendrons in great variety, the best new kind being Mrs. John Glutton. PLANTS AND FLOWERS IN 18C9. 361 Orchids were shown more frequently than before ; John G. Barker, gardener to G. G. Hubbard, contributing quite regularly. The collections of native flowers were many and large, among the contributors being the bot- any class of Dean Academy. E. II. Hitchings exhib- ited native flowers on almost every Saturday from the first of May until October, many of the species shown being rare in this vicinity, and requiring long walks to procure them, and Mr. Hitchings's aim being to show only such as were worthy of cultivation. The opening exhibition was postponed from the time first fixed to the 16th and 17th of June, during the week of the " Peace Jubilee," and in extent and excellence was supe- rior to any openhig exhibition ever held by the Society. It was also successful financially. The three prizes for the best specimen plant were awarded to Mrs. T. W. Ward, for Rhynchospermum jasminioides ; H. H. Hun- newell, for Abutilon Thompsoni ; and Hovey & Co., for Pandanus elegantissimus. The rose show, though smaller than in the previous year, comprised a larger number of perfect specimens than usual. The exhibi- tion of asters was uncommonly fine. At the annual exhibition the plants were better than the previous year, though, as usual, somewhat crowded. The prize for the best new specimen plant was awarded for Aucuba Japonica, which was exhibited in fruit by H. H. Hunnewell. The female plant was introduced many years previously ; but it had never been shown in fruit before, as the male plant was not brought from Japan until 1861. The prizes for the best specimen variegated plants went to Hovey & Co., for Pandanus Javanicus variegatus, and H. H. Hunnewell, for Dracama regime. Other new or rare plants shown were, from Dr. G. R. 3G2 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Hull of Newport, R.I., the Retinispora pisifcra, which had proved perfectly hardy at that place, and Ailantus glandulosus with golden variegated foliage ; Stuartia pentagyna, from E. S. Rand, jim. ; Jasminnm Sambac florc plcno, from Mrs. T. W. Ward; Gymnostachyum argyroneureum and Iresine Lindeni, from W. C. Har- ding, the latter recommended as a fine bedding plant ; Allamanda nobilis, from II. II. Ilnnnewcll ; Latania Borbonica, Pandanns Linnci, and Vallota purpurea su- pcrba, from llovcy & Co. ; an elegant specimen of Cyanophyllum magnificum, from the Massachusetts Ag- ricultural College ; Begonia Pearcei, from W. C. Strong ; and Gynerium argenteum, from George Craft. The new seedlings which received awards from the committee were a fine herbaceous paeony, from John Richardson ; an improved Lilium lancifolium and coleus, from Marshall P. Wilder ; phlox Sultana, and delphi- nium Mrs. George Derby, from Francis Parkman ; Zonale pelargonium Miss Gertrude, from John G. Barker ; and. seedling gladioli, from J. S. Richards and. George Craft. Francis Parkman also exhibited a re- markable seedling lily, now known as Lilium Park- manni, a hybrid between Lilium auratum and L. lanci- folium. Among the most interesting objects in the fruit de- partment w r ere some very large specimens of Louise Bonne of Jersey, and Duchesse d'Angoulcme pears. from G. F. B. Lcighton of Norfolk, Va. ; a collection of California fruits, from Dr. J. Strentzel of Martinez ; another collection of the fruits of the same State, which had been exhibited at the meeting of the American Pomological Society at Philadelphia, and was shown here through the courtesy of the Pennsylvania Horticul- FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN 1869. 363 tural Society ; and a collection of twenty-five varieties of Nebraska apples, sent by Hon. It. W. Furnas, president of the Nebraska Horticultural Society. Among these the Fameuse was especially fine. Few new fruits were presented. The President Wilder strawberry appeared to as great advantage as in previous years ; the Jucunda was held in high and growing esteem ; and the Wilson gained steadily in the market. Raspberries of the Black Cap family were shown, and were condemned by the committee. The Wilson's Early blackberry was shown, and received the first prize. At the annual exhibition, the effects of the gale of September 8, on the pears and apples, were plainly shown ; but the grape tables were completely filled, and it was doubted whether a finer display could be made in any part of the country. The Delawares and Concords were particularly fine. Stephen Underhill of Croton Point, N.Y., exhibited his seedlings, Croton and Senasqua. The season was a remarkably favorable one for vege- tables. The committee reported that every year wit- nessed improvement in the cultivation of early vegetables under glass, and they noticed the erection, by way of ex- periment, of forcing houses heated with hot water, in the hope of saving the heavy cost of the manure used for hotbeds, as well as of the transportation and labor in handling. The committee had visited one of these houses, which, on the 22d of December, was filled with a fine crop of lettuce and radishes nearly ready for mar- ket. Among the new vegetables introduced were the Dwarf White Seeded Wax Podded bean and Egyptian beet, from Fearing Burr. The display at the annual exhibition was fully equal in quality to that of the preceding year. Perhaps the MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. most interesting feature was the very large and superior collections of potatoes ; and among these the centre of attraction was six seedlings from Albert Brcsee, the originator of the Early Hose. This variety was found in the smallest collections, and was thought by the com- mittee, taking into consideration its many good qualities, and the lengthened period to which it retains them, as a table potato from very early in the season until the time for planting again arrives, to be unrivalled by any other variety. Mr. Brcsce's success in originating so many new and superior seedling potatoes had stimulated other persons in various parts of the country to like efforts. The winter of 1869-70 was remarkable for uniform mildness, the thermometer falling to zero but once in the vicinity of Boston ; so that the fruit buds were unin- jured by cold. The spring and early part of the summer were warm, with an excess of rain ; while the months of July, August, and September, were above the average in temperature, with but little rain ; and the drought was consequently severe, causing the premature falling of leaves and fruit, and, in some cases, the shrivelling of the wood of trees. Yet, notwithstanding this unfa- vorable influence on fruits, flowers, and vegetables, the shows were excellent in all these departments. The Flower Committee reported that they were pleased to note a continuance of the lively interest taken by the members in the raising of hybrid flowers from seed, and mentioned as among the first triumphs in this direction the carnations originated by J. F. ('. Eyde, president of the Society, which were more robust. and flowered more abundantly, than varieties of Euro- pean origin, and were also perfectly hardy. Other seed- NEW PLANTS AND FLOWERS IN 1870. 365 lings which the committee thought worthy of particular mention were fourteen coleuses, from H. II. Hunnewell, the markings being very distinct and decided in color. E. S. Rand, jun., showed a seedling rhododendron, named Daisy Rand, which promised well ; and John Richardson, an herbaceous pseony, called Dorchester. Francis Parkman exhibited a double seedling delphini- um, named John C. Hovey, and a number of remarkable seedling lilies, somewhat resembling Lilium umbcllatum, but quite distinct. Hovey & Co. showed a new seedling variety of Lilium longiflorum, named longhiorum gran- diflorum, with both foliage and flowers larger than those of the common variety. George Craft and J. S. Richards continued the improvement of the gladiolus from seed, with good success. Among the plants introduced and exhibited for the first time the committee mentioned the Clianthus Dam- pieri, from A. G. Peck, flowers of which were shown later in the season, grown as an annual in the open ground, by Andrew Wellington. H. II. Hunnewell exhibited Tacsonia Van Volxemi, Begonia pcltatum nigrum, and Ficus dealbata, the last receiving the first premium for the best new pot plant at the annual ex- hibition. Mr. Hunnewell also presented a plant of Coleus Berkleyi, grafted with four different varieties. Francis Parkman exhibited Wistaria Sinensis florc pleno, from a plant supposed to be the first which had flowered in Europe or America. It was received by him directly from Japan. E. S. Rand, jun., exhibited Hcpatica angulosa, from Hungary, with single dark blue flowers three times the size of our native species. From Hovey & Co. came Lithospermum prostratum, Yucca angusti- folia, and Passiflora Decaisneana. George Everett ex- 366 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. fine spike of Lilium colchicum, or Scovitzianum, and a specimen of Brodhra congesta. Other new 01 rare specimens were tlic Franciscea confertifolia, from II. II. Hunnewell; Medinilla speciosa, from E. W. Wood; Lilium auratum, of open culture, and Rhus glabra laciniata, from E. S. Band, jim. ; the beautiful Viburnum plicatum, from J. J. Dixwell ; Campanula Medium rosea, from Ilovey & Co. ; Yucca floribunda, from Francis Parkman ; Ilumca elegans, from James Comley, and Lasiandra macrantha, from M. S. Scudder. A specimen of the Sarcodes sanguinca, or Californian snow plant, from Lake Tahoe, six thousand feet above the level of the sea. was exhibited by John F. Osgood, and attracted much attention. The displays of native flowers continued to be extensive, and comprised many rare kinds. Mrs. C. X. S. Horner's exhibition on the '20th of August was the largest ever made, numbering two hundred and sixty species and varieties. The display of petunias, gladioli, and asters, was injured by drought; but the collections of verbenas were re- markably fine for the season, and the zinnias were good. The display of baskets of flowers had come to form one of the most attractive features of the weekly exhi- bitions, and was uniformly good throughout the season. The display of cut flowers was smaller than usual, in iquence of the drought. The opening exhibition was not as good as usual, and only a small part of the premiums were awarded. The i prize for the best specimen plant was taken by Dracaena reginse, and the second by Croton longiflorum \ iriegatum, both from II. H. Hunnewell ; and the third, by the Ivy-leaved pelargonium L'Elegant, from C. M. oson. The display at the rose show was good, not- PLANTS AND FEUITS IN 1870. 367 withstanding a severe hail storm on the day previous. The annual exhibition was the best for several years, particularly as regarded pot plants. The arrangement of the larger hall was an improvement over that of previous years, the long central stand for plants being replaced by two smaller ones, between which, in the centre of the room, was a fountain having the basin ornamented with shells and aquatic plants. The prizes for the best speci- men plant were awarded first to Hovey & Co., for Pan- danus reflexus, and second to H. H. limine well, for Vriesia Glaziouana, and, for the best variegated plant, to Hovey & Co., for Hibiscus Cooperi. A prize for the best tree fern was this year offered for the first time, and taken by IT. H. Hunnewcll, with Cyathea dcalbata. The special chrysanthemum show, on the 12th of No- vember, was good both in quantity and quality. The exhibition of fruits commenced with fine speci- mens of forced strawberries ; but in other forced fruits there was a marked decline. The prize for the best four quarts of any variety of strawberries at the rose show was awarded for the President Wilder, the Jucun- da being a very close rival ; but a decided preference was given to the Wilder in point of flavor. A superb basket of La Constante strawberry was shown by John C. Park on the 2d of July, — the very acme in color, size, quality, and general beauty. The Charles Downing was shown by W. A. Parsons. Among raspberries the Northumberland Fillbasket, shown by John B. Moore, appeared for the first time, and took the first prize. It was first noted this year that the currant crop was seri- ously affected by the imported currant worm (Nematus ventricosus). A large number of seedling peaches were shown, many of which were equal to or better 868 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. than tlio named kinds. The exhibition of plums was. r several previous years, almost limited to two contributors. French prunes, both fresh and dry, were shown by Dr. Louis Tribus. Of apples the year was truly one of plenty, and in- deed of such superabundance as to cause discouragingly low prices in the market. The prize collections ex- hibited consisted generally of the standard varieties ; but on the 10th of September the first prize for a single dish was awarded to John G. Barker, for the Won Pippin. A new and promising seedling, called the Hunter's Pippin, was received from Francis L. Lee. O. ('. Gibbs exhibited a dwarf tree of the Keswick Codlin, filled with fruit of good size, indicating the possibilities with the apple in pot culture. Among early pears the Beurre Giffard was first, as it had been for several years. It was followed by the Clapp's Favorite, which had become generally cultivated, and took all the prizes in its season, having no compeer in size and beauty. At the annual exhibition the most noticeable specimens were the Flemish Beauty, from F. D. Atherton of San Mateo, CaL, one of the smallest measuring eleven and a half by ten and a half inches in circumference. The Duchesse d'Angouleme, from Stephen Hill, the Doyenne du Cornice, from J. 8. Fallow, the Mount Vernon, from Walker & Co., the Bartlett and Beurre Gris d'Hiver Xouveau, from Gor- ham S. Train, the Sheldon, from Davis & Bates, several dishes of Andrews, arrested attention as su- perior specimens. Henry McLaughlin of Bangor, Me.. sent specimens of the Eastern Belle, a new seedling variety originated by him. resembling the Belle Lucra- tive in appearance and quality. Messrs. F. & L. Clapp GRAPES IN 1870. 369 exhibited several seedlings, of which No. 56 was re- garded as promising. Previously to the annual exhibition, the Adirondac, Delaware, and Iona took prizes offered for native grapes ; but the Ionas were grown in a very sheltered situation. The committee thought it simple justice, and not boasting, to say of the display at the annual exhibition, that, in extent and quality, it was not sur- passed, if it was equalled, in the most favored sections for the grape. Not less than seventy varieties were on the tables, all fully ripe, and a large number of them superb specimens. The most attractive though not the most desirable was the Union Village. The Adi- rondac appeared well, but came from favored localities. Iona was fully ripe at this time of a propitious season. A profusion of fine bunches of Israella was noticeable. Most of Rogers's seedlings were present. Wilder (No. 4), Barry (No. 43), and Salem were most attractive. Very fine specimens of Rebecca were shown. The Eumelan gave general satisfaction this year. The most promising new seedling was one from Elijah F. Arnold. Another from N. B. White, called Amber Queen, was thought promising. Seedlings were shown also by James Comley, John B. Moore, J. Fisk Allen, and others. The display of foreign grapes through the season was quite limited. On the 20th of August A. G. Peck made a fine display of fruiting vines in pots. At the annual exhibition, the display was large and the quality excellent. In the vegetable department, choice specimens of forced and other vegetables were shown before the opening exhibition, among them being the Prince of Wales rhubarb, a highly colored variety, of superior 370 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. quality, from James Oomley. At the opening exhibition J. 13. Moon- presented four bunches of asparagus, of twelve stalks each, one bunch of which weighed fifty- three ounces. A bunch of Conovcr's Colossal, from New York, weighed but little more than two-thirds as much, Btalk for stalk. The season was not so prolific in novel- lies in this department as some of its predecessors; but the Trophy tomato was exhibited by William E. Baker and others, and thought to possess valuable points. The new introductions of the previous year continued to produce a favorable impression. The exhibitions of potatoes, both at the weekly and annual shows, were unusually fine and in great variety. For earliness, pro- ductiveness, and profit in the field and garden, the Early Rose took the lead of all others. This and the Peerless were considered the two best for general cultivation. The General Grant and Boston Market were the two leading tomatoes ; and on the 6th of August the former took all the four prizes offered. The effects of the severe and long continued drought were plainly visible in this department of the annual exhibition; but the show, though less in quantity than iu previous years, was, on the whole, much better than anticipated by the committee. The display of melons in all their varieties had rarely if ever been equalled. AVatenuclons were shown weighing from thirty-three to forty pounds, and in quality all that could be desired. The fruit of the cgs; plant was also shown in great per- fection ; but not a single cauliflower was offered. It is not often that we have the means of comparing a horticultural exhibition here with a similar one in Europe; but the annual show was this year visited by William Robinson, the author of the Parks. Prome- COMPAEISON WITH EUROPEAN SHOWS. 371 nades, and Gardens of Paris, and since well known as the founder and editor of the Garden, and whose impressions of the exhibition were published in the Gardener's Chronicle. After speaking of the Horti- cultural Hall, with its extensive and excellent library, which he thought perhaps the best collection of horti- cultural books he had ever seen, and its arrangements for the various exhibitions, he said that the floral de- partment of the show differed very little from that of a similar exhibition in England, and that " The marked feature of the show was its fruit. The hall had more the appearance of a special fruit show in France or England than an ordinary miscellaneous exhibition. The display of apples was remarkably fine ; long and wide tables being densely covered with large and handsome fruit. Man}' kinds were, however, in a green and imperfect state, inasmuch as the date was too early to see apples in perfection as a class. The pear show was also very fl no , — I think a few degrees better than we could display in England. It is the custom here to cultivate particular varieties to a much greater extent than in England ; thus the pear known to us as the Williams's Bon Chretien, and here as the Bartlett, is cultivated everywhere, both for use when ripe, and for preserving abundantly for use throughout the year. It attains a higher char- acter here than in England, generally has not the somewhat dis- agreeable musky flavor it has at home, and is often seen of a fine clear lemon yellow. One dish of twelve Bartletts weighed eight pounds and six ounces." Mr. Robinson thought the display of grapes very fine, both native and European kinds covering a large space. The latter were as fine as at an average English show, but not as well colored. The natives, though smaller, looked excellent, but were very objectionable to an English palate. Most of the autumnal vegetables of English gardens 372 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. — cabbages, turnips, beets, potatoes, etc. — were seen in fair condition, though the potatoes seemed more sappy, and less desirable, than in England. Tomatoes were a much more prominent feature. Melons, both water and musk, were very fine. Heads of Indian corn, so much eaten in the green state, formed an item in the prize lists, and were very large and handsome. But strangest of all to an English eye were the enormous fruits of egg plants. The Garden Committee reported that the long con- tinued drought had made all attempts at ornamental horticulture of such doubtful or inferior success, that few persons were anxious to exhibit their places, and that consequently the only one visited was the estate of Edward S. Rand, jun., known as " Glen Ridge," in Dedham. This place, which was entered in 1868 for the Ilunnewell Triennial Premium, was visited by the committee in that and the two succeeding years, the visit of 1870 being made in the first week in June, before the drought commenced. The committee, after speaking of the principles which should guide the owner of such an estate in laying out and improving it, and themselves in awarding the prizes offered, went on to note the principal features of Mr. Rand's estate. The first of these was the profusion and superb variety of Rhododendrons, intermixed with Azaleas, Kalmias, and Andromedas, most of which were in flower at the time of the committee's visit. Next the committee noticed the Agaves, Yuccas, etc., and other decorative plants, and the foliage plants, such as Carinas, Ricinus, Colocasias, Pelargoniums, Coleuses, and Ar alias, forming beds with borders of Alternanthera, Centaurea, and Golden Pyrethrum. As a cultivator of bulbs, Mr. Rand MEETINGS FOR DISCUSSION IN 1871. 373 had few equals, and his collection of native plants was one of the most complete. The lawns were orna- mented with beautiful specimens of the magnolia, cut-leaved beech, cut-leavecl weeping birch, and vari- ous species of Picea, Pinus, and other evergreens. The committee commented on the arrangement of the trees and shrubs, and on the laying out of the grounds, and, regarding the progress made in their embellishment and improvement, awarded to Mr. Rand the largest Hunnewell prize. We have spoken of the meetings held early in 1853, for the purpose of exchanging ideas on practical points in horticulture. Nothing further was done in this direction until President Strong, in his first annual address, on the 7th of January, 1871, after reviewing the work accomplished by the Society, suggested various means of increasing its usefulness, among which were the reading of papers and holding discussions on horti- cultural subjects. As the result of this suggestion, two meetings were held in the following summer, — the first on the 21st of June, the second day of the rose and strawberry show, when an interesting discussion on the culture of strawberries took place. The second was on the 15th of July, which was prize day for sum- mer lilies, and was appropriately devoted to the culture and hybridization of the lily. At the last meeting in the year 1871, the Society protested, in the name of horticulture, and also as tax- payers whose property would be thereby injured, against the indiscriminate removal of the venerable English elms known as the " Paddock Elms," opposite the building of the Society on Tremont Street, which had been ordered by the Board of Aldermen ; and appointed 374 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. a committee to present to the City Government a re- monstrance against their removal. This action, though it may haw delayed the destruction of these trees, could not wholly avert it. They were removed in February. 1874, a short time after another effort had been made to save them, the first one falling while the Society was engaged in a horticultural discussion. The Committee on Plants and Flowers reported that the exhibitions during the season of 1871 had been larger and better than ever before. While the general displays of cut flowers at the weekly shows had some- what diminished in numbers, those of specialties, novel- ties, and hybrid seedling varieties, both pot and cut specimens, had steadily increased, so as to form the most interesting and instructive part of the exhibitions. The opening and rose shows having been found to come so near together as to affect each other injuriously, the experiment was tried this year of making the rose show the grand summer exhibition, and proved entirely suc- cessful. It was held in both halls, which were filled with one of the largest and best displays of choice plants and flowers ever made by the Society. At the annual exhibition the display of both plants and flowers was good, especially that of plants, which were well grown and in great variety. Their arrangement on smaller and lower platforms was found to be an improvement. The committee recorded, as deserving of particular mention, the many rare orchids exhibited by. J. G. Barker, gardener to G. G. Hubbard, among which were Oncidium amictum, Cattleya elegans, Epidcndrum lancifolium, and E. atropurpureum roseum. James McTear exhibited Azalea Indica Souvenir de Prince Al- bert, Arabis lucida, and Campanula garganica. Francis NEW PLANTS AND FLOWERS IN 1871. 375 Parkman showed two new hybrid varieties of trumpet narcissus, the Emperor and Empress; a new seedling polyanthus, Golden Crown; and Anthericum liliago. E. W. Wood showed fine specimens of Medinilla magnifica; James Comley, a handsome seedling tri- colored Zonal pelargonium named President Hyde, and another double seedling variety; Hovey & Co., Spiraea palmata and Sciadopitys vcrticillata, new plants from Japan ; John Richardson showed another seedling pae- ony, Rubra Superba; W. K. Wood, Excsecaria Co- chinchinensis ; Louis Guerineau of the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Delphinium nudicaule, and Desmodium gy- rans, or telegraph plant ; C. M. Atkinson, a new seed- ling carnation, Lady Bird ; E. H. Hitchings, many rare native plants, among which were a clear white and a rose colored variety of Lobelia cardinalis ; and George Everett, Lilium tigrinum flore pleno. Charles S. Sar- gent exhibited the first forced plants of lily of the valley, which has now become so popular for winter blooming. From the Cambridge Botanic Garden came thirty species and varieties of hardy Sempervivums ; and from Waldo O. Ross, Pachyphytum bracteosum, Stapelia bufonis, and a variety of Sempervivums. These were the first collections shown of the "succulents" in which so much interest has since been taken. The prizes for the best specimen plant at the rose show were awarded to Francis Parkman, for Thujopsis dolabrata variegata; C. S. Sargent, for Cupressus Lawsoniana erecta ; and Hovey & Co., for Statice imbricata; and, for the best new pot plant at the annual exhibition, to Charles S. Sargent, for Phormium tenax variegatum. Although the fruit crop of 1871 was not as large as that of the previous year, the season was, on the whole, 376 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCEETT. favorable, the greatest deficiencies being in the apple and tlit- grape. An abundance of rain in June was so beneficial to strawberries, that the exhibition at the rose show was probably the finest ever made. The silver cup for the best four quarts was again taken by the President Wilder, exhibited by the originator. La Con- stante. from IIovcv and Co., was again superb. Several seedlings presented by John B. Moore for the second tim ■ were thought to sustain the promise of the previous year. Mr. Moore also showed a collection of new for- eign varieties, none of which in later years proved superior to the standard kinds, of which the exhibition, beyond these, mainly consisted. Cherries were more abundant, freer from the curculio, and more generally exhibited, than in any year since 1860, the trees having been injured in the spring of 1861. In the intervening years this fruit had been but little cultivated, and few new kinds had been intro- duced ; so that the exhibitions were mainly confined to the old standard varieties. Among raspberries, the Clarke appeared to be gain- ing in estimation ; while the Philadelphia, though enor- mously productive, was so deficient in si/.e and beauty. that it did not come into favor, and t lie same was the ci^e with the Black Caps. The Kittatinny blackberry was shown, and gained in favor as the season advanced, receiving the first prize on the 5th of August. The Smith's Improved gooseberry was shown, and pronounced of the first quality. Of plums, but a single dish was presented at the annual exhibition, while the weekly shows were not much better. — a strong but not pleasant contrast with the shows of thirty years previous. Peaches were mainly APPLES AND PEARS IN 1871. 377 represented by seedlings, of which many fine varieties .were shown. The Queen pineapple was exhibited in fruit by R. W. Turner. The falling off in the crop of apples is indicated by the fact, that, in 1870, eleven out of the twelve prizes offered for collections of apples at the annual exhibition were awarded, but in 1871 only four of the same. The finest display during the season was made by E. A. Colman of Lawrence, Kan., a former resident of Boston, who in October placed on the tables very fine specimens of more than a hundred varieties, many of which had seldom or never been shown here before. The display of pears was abundant and fine. Speci- mens of the Duchesse de Bordeaux, of the crop of 1870, were presented by H. Vandine, and gave promise of value as a late kind. Of summer pears, the committee remarked that the Doyenne d'Ete, Beurrc Giffard, and Clapp's Favorite, had so long taken precedence, that they must be set down as the best of their respective seasons ; and that the superiority of the Clapp's Favorite was so marked, that no other variety of the same season could compete with it. The committee visited the grounds of Messrs. Clapp when this variety was in perfection, and found the trees so fully and evenly hung with large, well formed, and well colored specimens, that they were more than ever impressed with its value. Many new and promising seedlings were also observed in fruit. At the annual exhibition more than one hundred and sixty dishes were offered for the twenty-two prizes for single varieties. The Beurre d'Anjou was found in fifteen out of sixteen collections, next in favor coming the Bartlett and Duchesse d'Angouleme. The prize for new varieties was awarded to Marshall P. Wilder, 378 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. who exhibited forty-two kinds never before shown, many of them possessing much merit, but not of such superior excellence as to supersede the old standards. A most extraordinary cluster of Beurre d'Anjous was sent from California by F. D. Atherton. Other varie- ties exhibited from California, notably the Seckel and Dana's I lovey. were found to have attained in that warm and dry climate a sweetness unknown here, though at the loss of the fine aroma and flavor which mark our best varieties. The crop of native grapes was most abundant, and under the warm, dry weather which prevailed until Sep- tember, gave promise of excellent quality ; and it was hoped that the two previous seasons, so favorable to this fruit, were to be followed by another equally propitious ; but these hopes were disappointed by severe frosts. Yet the display at the annual exhibition, though not equal to that of the previous year, was satisfactory. A very striking feature was the number of new seedlings shown, J. B. Moore exhibiting fifty-two. A collection of hybrids from Dr. A. P. Wylie of Chester, S.C., was placed on the tables by Marshall P. Wilder. Several hybrids were shown by N. B. White. The Eumelan continued to make a favorable impression ; but the Isra- ella had disappointed expectations. Two new foreign grapes, the Madrcsfield Court Muscat and Royal Ascot, were Bhown by Ilovcy & Co. The Committee on Vegetables reported continued improvement in that department. At one of the earlier exhibitions Fearing Burr made a very interesting dis- play of dandelions, — the French Large-leaved, Trench Thick-leaved, Red-seeded, and the American Improved, the Last being preferred. Fine samples of the early VEGETABLES IN 1871. 379 Wyman cabbage were shown, one, on the 29th of June, weighing twenty-eight pounds. James Carter & Co. of London presented four varieties of Italian onions, the bulbs weighing upwards of two pounds each. James Comlcy exhibited very fine specimens of three new sorts of lettuce, — All the Year Round, Monitor, and Little Pixie. The prospective prize for the best seedling early potato, after a public trial of three years, was awarded to Albert Bresee, for the Early Rose. The committee stated that great improvement had been made within the past few years in the several varieties of root crops, more especially the beet, and that finer or more uniform specimens of this vegetable had never been seen than were shown at this exhibi- tion. Besides the Egyptian, mentioned in a former report, the Dcwing's Improved and the Hatch were named as varieties to which these remarks would apply. The annual exhibition was thought, taking into account the quantity, variety, and especially the quality, of the specimens offered, to surpass any previous show. The cauliflowers, celery j egg plants, and melons were par- ticularly fine. The meetings for discussion were resumed in 1872, the By-Laws having in the mean time been so amended as to provide for a Standing Committee on Publication and Discussion, which was charged with the control of all discussions, lectures, essays, etc. The first meet- ing for the season, of this character, was on the evening of February 7, when Marshall P. Wilder delivered a lecture on Hybridization and the Production of New Varieties from Seed, which was published in full in the Transactions of the Society. Meetings were held in March, when essays were read by John B. Moore 380 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. on the Cultivation of the Strawberry; William C. Strong, on the Construction of Greenhouses, Hothouses, Propagating Houses, etc. ; and Charles Barnard. 2d, on Flowering Plants for Winter Blooming, each essay being followed by a discussion of the subject. The winter of 1871-7'2, following the droughts of 1870 and 1871, was remarkable for severe (though not extreme) cold at times, accompanied by high winds, little snow, and sudden changes. Thanksgiving Day, the 28th of November, 1871, was of unprecedented severity, the thermometer falling nearly to zero, and the wind blowing a gale. The temperature of March, 1872, was more than nine degrees below the average for about fifty years, the mercury early in the month falling below zero for several days, and the wind blowing heavily. So much injury was done to ever- green trees and shrubs, especially those with broad leaves, many being entirely destroyed, that a commit- tee was appointed to investigate the cause. This committee made an elaborate report (published in full in the Transactions), attributing the injury to the loss by evaporation from the leaves, which the roots were unable to supply from the ground, affected by the drought of the two previous summers, and deeply frozen by reason of the absence of snow, and also to sudden cold following comparatively warm weather, which had brought the leaves into as great action as was possible at the season. To prevent such disastrous results in the future, the committee advised the protection of trees and shrubs from the wind by shelter, and mulching the soil, which they considered almost as necessary in win- ter as in summer. Careful culture would also do much, l>\ rendering plants more healthy and vigorous, toward enabling them to withstand vicissitudes of temperature. PLANTS AND FLOWERS IN 1872. 381 But little harm was done to fruit trees, not even the peach buds being killed ; but grapes and strawberries received much injury, or were entirely destroyed, and the same was the case with blackberries and raspberries when unprotected. The summer, in extreme heat and excess of rain, was such as to recall the accounts of tropical climates. As regarded the exhibitions, the year was one of general prosperity in all departments, though a severe rain storm on the first day interfered somewhat with the annual exhibition. An exhibition of Indian azaleas was held this year for the first time, on the 1st of May. The prize for the best single specimen was taken by Mrs. T. W. Ward, with Princess Mary of Cambridge. The committee mentioned, as among the most interesting specimens ex- hibited from time to time, the seedling camellias, from Hovey & Co. ; the Climbing Devoniensis rose buds, from James Comley ; the Niphetos rose, from Joseph Tailby ; and at the annual exhibition, from W. C. Strong & Co., a collection of seventy varieties of ferns and mosses, including the finest plant of the beautiful Adiantum Farleyense that had then been shown. The displays of native plants at the weekly exhibitions were unusu- ally interesting and instructive, comprising many rare specimens, and were neatly arranged, and correctly named. The collection from E. H. Hitchings, on the 10th of August, was pronounced the best and rarest ever exhibited. The prize for native ferns also brought from the same gentleman a collection of forty-seven species and varieties, many of them very rare. Not as many new plants were shown as usual ; but we must not fail to mention the Aquilegia chrysantha from Louis 382 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Guerineau of the Botanic Garden, and the Chameleon colons from Henry E. Chitty of Paterson, N.J. At the rose show the first prize for a specimen plant was awarded to Charles S. Sargent, for Phormium tenax variegatum, and the second to Mrs. T. W. Ward, for Rhynchospermum jasmuuojdes. At the annual exhibi- tion the prize for the best specimen plant was awarded to William Gray, jun., for Papyrus antiquorum. By furnishing this plant with the richest alluvial soil, and watering it twice a day, Mr. Gray produced stems eight feet high, with tops finely expanded, and having a pro- fusion of narrow, gracefully dependent leaves. This specimen probably had no superior in the country. The second prize was awarded to Hovcy & Co., for Dasy- lirion glaucum. The prizes for the best specimen variegated plants went to C. S. Sargent, for Golden Queen holly, and W. Gray, jun., for Gynerium argen- teum fol. var. The chrysanthemum show, especially of pot plants, was quite small, owing to the epidemic affecting horses at that time, which deprived several intending cxhibiters of all means of bringing in their plants. In the fruit department we notice the exhibition of two new strawberries, the Colonel Cheney, shown 1>\ Warren Heustis, and the Nicanor, both of which n*(; MASSACHUSETTS nORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. and beautiful, and showing evidences of taste and care in all directions. The year 1873 was a cold one, nine out of the twelve months being below the average temperature. The month of December, 1872, which may properly be taken into account here, was the coldest since 1837, the mercury on Christmas Day falling to 10° below zero. On the morning of January 30, 1873, it fell to 15° below zero, rising the next day to 15° above. On the 3d of May snow fell to the depth of two inches. No injury was done to the fruit crop by these vicissi- tudes, except that the fruit buds of the peach were, in most places, wholly killed. The spring was generally cold and backward, with drought, commencing the latter part of May, of such severity as is rarely experienced so early in the season. The effect of the drought on the crop of strawberries was most disastrous, reducing it, as was thought, about one-half. From the same cause, the cut flowers, which had always been a prominent feature of the exhibitions, were much below the usual standard. The Flower Committee reported that the exhibitions in the early part of the year were of unusual interest, owing partly to the meetings for discussion, which largely increased the attendance, and encouraged growers to bring their plants and flowers for exhibition. The special azalea exhibition was much more successful than the previous year. The collections of spring herbaceous plants exhibited by E. S. Rand, jun., and James McTear, were uncommonly large and beautiful. E. II. Hitch- ings exhibited an exceedingly interesting collection of native plants, comprising, besides others, nine species of violets. At the rose show all the roses were unu- sually tine. The Ilunnewell special prizes for the best PLANTS AND FLOWERS IN 1873. 887 twelve of any one variety were awarded to C. S. Sar- gent, for La Reine, and Francis Parkman, for Auguste Mie. The pot plants showed that they had been grown by skilful hands. The prizes for the best specimen plants were taken by William Gray, jun., with Arabia pulchra, and Hovey & Co., with Buxus arborea. The baskets of flowers were of more than usual merit, the addition of graceful ferns greatly increasing their beauty. A very interesting and instructive feature of the exhi- bition on the 5th of July was a collection of twenty- two species of native sedges and grasses from Miss M. E. Carter. The magnificent orchids shown from time to time by Edward S. Rand, jun., added largely to the interest of the exhibitions. On the 26th of July Mr. Rand received both the first and second prizes for these plants. Special mention was also made by the com- mittee of the Dendrobium formosum giganteum, and the Acropera Loddigesii, var. aurantiaca or citrina, exhibited by him later in the season. The shows of balsams and petunias, and especially of asters and ver- benas, were unusually fine ; and the exhibitions gen- erally continued to increase in interest until the annual. The exhibitions of dahlias in October were remarka- bly beautiful. That from George Everett, on the 11th of the month, was thought the finest display ever made. There were sixty varieties, filling a large stand, and noticeable, not only for the beauty of the flowers, but for the harmonious arrangement of the colors ; the centre of the stand being deep velvety crimson, gradu- ally shading down to white at one end, and to buff at the other. The chrysanthemum show on the 8th of November was highly successful, all the prizes being awarded. Finer specimens had never been seen. Of 388 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. new seedling plants, the committee noticed with com- mendation the camellias of Marshall P. Wilder, Ama- ryllis vittata hybrida of Joseph Breck, a verbena from James Comley, a phlox from A. McLaren, and a del- phinium from Francis Parkman. The Fruit Committee reported that the exhibitions of forced strawberries had been more abundant this year than before, and also that on the 1-Ath of Juno straw- berries forwarded in cold frames were shown by Charles Garfield. This method of cultivating strawberries has since been employed by other growers. Notwithstand- ing the severe drought, many fine strawberries were exhibited. Among the new varieties were the Black Defiance, Kissena, and Champion. John B. Moore presented the Caroline, thought to be the most valua- ble of his seedlings, and the Belle, another seedling, which the committee believed to be the largest straw- berry ever placed upon the tables. The true Ox Heart cherry, a very large variety, which, though not new, has seldom been seen, was exhibited by J. E. M. Gillcy. The exhibitions of forced and orchard house peaches improved, while, as before remarked, the crop of out- door fruit was scanty, owing to the destruction of the fruit buds by the winter. Very fine specimens of Hale's Early were, however, exhibited by J. B. Moore. The crop of apples was generally inferior in quantity and quality. Specimens of several late varieties of the crop of 1872 were exhibited; among them, on the 10th of May, the Hunt Russet, from John B. Moore. The committee deemed this one of the most desirable of all apple-. At the November exhibition the King of Tompkins County, a variety highly esteemed in the State of New York, was presented by F. &. L. Clapp. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN" 1873. 389 The crop of pears was unprecedcntedly abundant and of excellent quality ; and the exhibitions of this fruit corresponded in character, yet they presented few points proper to be noticed here. Remarkably well kept Bcurre d'Anjous of the crop of 1872 were shown by Gardner Brewer on the 15th of March. The exhi- bitions of fall and winter pears in October and Novem- ber were unusually extensive and excellent : at the latter the Bcurre d'Anjous of J. II. Fenno, and the Winter Nelis of John L. Bird, were the finest ever seen of their kinds. The number of new varieties exhibited was less than usual. The seedlings from the Messrs. Clapp, B. S. Fox of California, and others, were again shown. The exhibitions of native grapes were fully up to the average. A large number of seedlings were brought to the attention of the committee, from J. II. Ricketts of Newburgh, N.Y., S. J. Parker of Ithaca, N.Y., E. W. Bull, John B. Moore, N. B. White, George Haskell, and John Fisk Allen. The show of forced grapes was better than usual. The Vegetable Committee reported that, owing to the dull and cloudy weather early in the season, the contri- butions of forced vegetables were much smaller than on previous occasions ; but some choice specimens were exhibited. The shows in May and June were unfavora- bly affected by the severe drought which prevailed at that time. Very interesting exhibitions of peas, com- prising many new varieties, were made through July, by G. A. Law. The William I. was regarded as one of the best varieties. The Canada Victor and Arlington toma- toes were shown for the first time. George W. Pierce exhibited a new variety of the egg plant, a cross between the Black Pekin and a large purple kind. 390 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. Two notable events in the history of the Society occurred this year, — the Rhododendron Show on Bos- ton Common, and the meeting of the American Pomo- logical Society. The Rhododendron Show was projected and carried out, with the assistance of a committee of the Society, by its constant friend, II. II. Hurmewell, who, while guaranteeing the Society from any loss, generously offered to give it the benefit of whatever profit might remain after the payment of the necessary expenses. The exhibition was carried out, as planned by Mr. Ilunncwcll, in a manner never before attempted in this country. It was opened on the 6th of June in a tent, about three hundred feet long by eighty feet wide, pitched not far from the centre of the Common. It was arranged on the plan of similar exhibitions in Eng- land; the plants, instead of being placed on stands in pots or tubs, were sunk or planted in beds of turf, as if growing naturally in the ground, the whole interior of the tent presenting the appearance of a garden. From the entrance at the eastern end a broad central gravelled walk, bordered by wide strips of grass ex- tending to the sides of the tent, brought the visitor opposite a mass of rhododendrons more than forty feet in diameter, forming the central feature of the exhibi- tion. The front of this bed was composed of a group of seedlings raised by Mr. Hunnewell. Here the path divided, passing around near the margin of the tent, but still with a border of grass between it and the can- vas, l lie two brandies uniting at the further end of the tent, and enclosing three irregularly shaped beds, the first containing the mass of rhododendrons already men- tioned, and the second a similar mass: the third was RHODODENDRON SHOW IN 1873. 391 planted with groups, and fine single specimens, at such distances as to display their full beauty. In the border were also single specimens of fine new varieties, many of them in standard form, as well as kalmias and hardy azaleas. The ground on either side of the broad main walk was planted with tree and other rare ferns, palms, Indian azaleas, Musa ensete, and other tropical plants, from the greenhouses of Samuel Ii. Pay son, Charles S. Sargent, William Gray, jun., H. F. Durant, and the Bussey Institution. A fine specimen of Seaforth- ia elegans, from Mr. Pay son, occupied a position in the centre of the main walk, being necessarily placed under the highest part of the tent. Mr. Payson also contrib- uted two very fine plants of Latania Borbonica, and a Phoenix dactylifera. Mr. Hunnewell contributed a Co- cos coronata, and a Seaforthia elegans, each fifteen feet high, a Chamoerops excelsa eight feet high, and an Areca lutescens ; Mr. Gray, a Dicksonia antarctica ; and Mr. Sargent, an Araucaria excelsa. There were also fine specimens of Aralia pulchra, Geonoma pumila, Cyathea dealbata, and Pritchardia Gaudichiana. All the rhodo- dendrons and hardy azaleas were from Mr. Hunnewell. That the scene might be more natural, the surface of the ground, instead of being brought to a uniform level, was made slightly undulating, the main path descend- ing with a very gradual slope to the middle of the tent, beyond which the ground rose more rapidly to the end, where the elevation afforded such a view of the whole interior of the tent as to tempt the visitor to rest on one of the seats placed there, and enjoy the scene. This was by far the most successful horticultural show ever held in Boston as regards the number of visit- ors. It closed on the 26th of June, after having been 392 MASSACHUSETTS HOKTICULTURAL SOCIETY. visited, as was estimated, by 40,000 persons, of whom 25,666 paid an admission fee. By Mr. Ilunnewell's desire many of the pupils in the public schools and of the inmates of charitable institutions received free tick- ets of admission. The total receipts were $7,3 10, and the expenses $5,744.72, leaving a profit of $1,565.28, which, agreeably to Mr. Ilunnewell's suggestion, was set apart from the funds of the Society, the income to be devoted to the encouragement of the cultivation of rhododendrons and hardy azaleas. The thanks of the Society were voted to Mr. Ilunnewell for his noble and generous efforts in the cause of horticulture, and for the deep interest manifested by him in the welfare of the Society, and more especially with regard to this grand exhibition. The fourteenth session of the American Pomological Society, being its quarter centennial, was held in Bos- ton on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of September, 1873, by invitation of the Horticultural Society, and brought to- gether a larger assembly of distinguished pomologists, and a greater display of fruit, than had ever before been gathered on this continent. Both of the Society's halls were filled with the fruit contributed. The upper hall was arranged with a very long and wide table in the centre, on which the fruit from Nebraska and Can- ada was placed, entirely filling it. Two tables on each side of this, and tables on the stage, the latter appropri- ated to the many seedling fruits presented, completed the arrangement. That of the lower hall was similar. Among the most important contributions presented was that from the Nebraska Horticultural Society ; consisting of two hundred and ninety-seven varieties, and that of the Kansas State Horticultural Society, consisting of one AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 1873. 393 hundred and ninety-three varieties ; much the greater part of these two collections being apples, which were remarkable for their size, beauty, fairness, and freedom from insects. The Fruit Growers' Association of Onta- rio, Canada, sent three hunched and ninety-eight varie- ties, including one hundred and twenty-two pears, fifty- one grapes, and fifty plums, — a greater variety of plums than had been seen in Boston for many years. The South Haven (Michigan) Pomological Society sent a very interesting collection, comprising apples, pears, and plums, peaches in quantity, thirty-four varieties of evaporated fruits, and fourteen varieties of canned fruit. There was a beautiful collection of one hundred and fifty-one varieties of apples from the Polk County (Iowa) Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Ellwanger & Barry of Rochester, N.Y., contributed three hundred and seventeen finely grown varieties of pears ; Marshall P. Wilder, four hundred and four varieties ; and Hovey & Co., three hundred and twenty-eight varieties. F. & L. Clapp had eighty-six varieties of seedling pears, and in the centre a large dish of Clapp's Favorite, which at- tracted much attention as the handsomest dish of pears in the room. James H. Ricketts of Newburgh, N.Y., and John B. Moore, had large collections of seedling grapes. The Deseret (Utah) Agricultural and Manu- facturing Company sent seventy-five varieties of apples, pears, plums, and peaches. There were oranges, shad- docks, and pomegranates from Mississippi, and oranges from California. The total number of dishes of fruit exhibited was more than six thousand, from every part of the United States and the British Provinces, from Nova Scotia to California. At an early hour on the morning of Thursday, the 11th, a majority of the dele- 394 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. gates, by invitation of William Gray, jun., visited his residence ; and, at the close of the afternoon session on the same day, a larger party visited the beautiful estate of II. II. Hunnewell at Wcllcslcy. These places offered peculiar attractions for a company of ladies and gentlemen, many of whom were experienced horticultu- rists and botanists, and at both they were hospitably entertained. The usual meetings for discussing the characters and cultivation of fruits were held during the three days of the session, in Wesleyan Hall, and the occasion closed with a grand banquet to the dele- gates on Friday evening in Music Hall. The annual exhibition of plants and flowers by the Horticultural Society was held at the same time with the pomological gathering ; but, both the Society's halls being filled with the fruit presented on that occasion, Music Hall was secured for the floral display, which proved to be the best ever made by the Society. The hall was fitted with low platforms for the plants, and these, being . smaller than had previously been used, afforded an excellent opportunity to display the plants, so that not one was crowded out of sight. These plat- forms were so arranged, like the beds in a garden, that, when all was complete, the visitors might have fancied themselves in a garden of tropical plants. Two tree ferns from S. R. Pay son, Alsophila australis and A. ex- celsa, from twelve to fifteen feet high, and the handsom- est pair ever exhibited, occupied the centre of the hall, and received the prize. Fifteen greenhouse plants exhib- ited by Edward Butler, gardener at \Yclleslcy College, received the highest prize for a collection, and among these none attracted more attention than a beautifully trained plant of Lygodium scandens. The prizes for ANNUAL EXHIBITION, 1873. 395 the best single specimen plants were awarded to S. R. Payson, for Cibotinm regale, and Hovey & Co., for Pandanus rccurvus ; for the best specimen variegated plants, to Hovey & Co., for Pritchardia aurea var., and H. H. Hunnewell, for Ananassa sativa fol. var. The prize for the best new pot plant was awarded to H. II. Hunnewell for a very fine plant of Phormium Colensoi var. The Palms, Marantas, and Draccenas were splendid. The ferns were remarkably fine, and, besides the large specimen plants, there was a collection from J. W. Mer- rill of one hundred and thirty native and foreign species and varieties. The newly established premiums for suc- culent plants brought out a collection of two hundred and sixteen species, from Louis Gucrineau of the Cam- bridge Botanic Garden, and one from Hovey & Co. of one hundred and fifteen species. Fine collections of caladiums, agaves, and lycopods, were shown. Among the cut flowers the gladioli were most prominent. Noth- ing seemed to please the visitors from abroad so much ; and nothing surprised them so much as to be told that almost all were seedlings raised by the exhibitors. The dahlia renewed its old time beauty ; those shown by George Everett being particularly fine.