y^L^c*- j£i^-%&~^ , S^f T J^^^ MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. m :jSoa <>er^ > ^ AN ADDRESS, PRONOUNCED BEFORE THE MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS SECOND ANNUAL FESTIVAL, THE 10th OF SEPTEMBER, 1830. BY ZEBEDEE COOK, J R BOSTON: PRIN1ED BY ISAAC R. BUTTS. 1830. 34 m£ u ADDRESS. ABBES Mr President, and Gentlemen of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, — The propitious circumstances under which we have assembled to celebrate our second?annual festi- val, must be gratifying to all who cherish an interest in the prosperity of our institution, and more particu- larly to those who have labored to acquire for it its present prosperous and elevated condition. The ex- periment has been fairly tested, and thus far its results are too apparent to permit even the most skeptical to doubt of either its utility or its final success. Its interests are too closely identified with the general good, as well as with individual comfort and happi- ness, to allow us to waver in our hopes, or to falter in our exertions to effect the original design of its creation. We have not come up hither to recount the ex- ploits of military prowess, or to mingle in the strife, or participate in the conquests of political gladiators. We come not to swell the paeans of the conqueror or to mourn over our prostrate liberties. We come not to indulge in the feelings which are incited by the contemplation of such objects, for we war not with the sword, nor seek to gather laurels in the field of hostile or fierce contentions. But we have come together at the ingathering of the harvest, to exhibit an acceptable offering of a portion of its bounties. We have come in the pa- cific and genial spirit of the pursuits we love to partici- pate in, the enjoyments the occasion imparts, and we have come to reciprocate the congratulations of the season, in the success with which our labors and our experiments have been crowned. The primitive employment of man was that of a tiller of the ground, and the garden of Eden, planted and ornamented by the hand of its Creator, was as- signed to the care of our great progenitor ' to dress and to keep it.' From the earliest period of the world to the present day, the cultivation of the ground has been viewed with special favor by all civilized nations. Even heroes, philosophers, and statesmen have sought in rural employments a temporary re- laxation from the cares and perplexities incident to their public labors. It is not necessary to explore the annals of ancient history for the names of individuals who have been thus distinguished. The records of our own times, and especially of our own country, and our own personal observations, afford instances of illustrious men who have been thus preeminent, and there are those now living amongst us, who, by their precept and example, by their scientific and practical knowledge and skill, and devotion to its interests, have imparted an impulse to the pursuit, that will be felt and acknowledged long after they have ceased to cheer us by their presence, or to influence us by by their personal illustrations. The pursuits of horticulture are peaceful. The cultivation of fruits and flowers is an unfailing source of pleasant and instructive occupation and amuse- ment. Labor is lightened, and care is recompensed, and industry is cheered in the contemplation of the expanding beauties of spring, in the delightful fra- grance and glowing and grateful anticipations of summer, and in the consummation of our hopes in autumn. The pursuits of horticulture are salutary to the physical and moral nature of man. They impart vigor to the body, and expansion and elevation to the mind. The plants that are everywhere scattered in his pathway, and around, above and beneath him, delighting the senses with their sweetness, their sim- plicity, their grandeur, and perfect adaptation to his joys and to his necessities, are silent but impressive emblems of the benignity of our heavenly Father, admonishing the recipient of his indebtedness, and claiming from him the return of a sincere and lively gratitude. Industry, intelligence, and skill are indispensable agents in the business of horticulture. A thorough acquaintance with the views of eminent scientific and experimental writers, as well as with the more legible and definite compositions of nature, are essential to the formation of an accomplished, and distinguished cultivator. The information we derive from study, as from the practical observations of the workings of inanimate nature, will administer to our success, and prevent in a measure the recurrence of errors which flow from inattention, or from the want of some established system of operation. A judicious selection of soil and aspect is necessary to the health of the plant, and will repay our care in the vigor of its growth, and in the improvement of the quality and quantity of its fruit. The opinions of foreign writers, however applicable they may be in practice to the mode of cultivation pursued in those regions of which they treat, are not always suited to the climate and soil of that which adopts them. That which is ascertained to be of practical utility in one country, under one climate, may be unfavorable to the production or maturity of the same variety of fruit or vegetables, or ornamental trees in another. In some climates, indigenous and exotic plants and fruits, that require the aid of artificial culture and great care in their preservation, are matured in others with comparatively little labor. Unassisted nature performs nearly all that is needful in their pro- duction, relieving man from the toil and anxiety of cultivation, and affording him, at the appropriate sea- son, a portion of her abundance. The present flourishing condition of horticulture in our country may, I think, be ascribed to the refined taste and liberality of its citizens, and in a measure to the improved condition of those whose ingenuity and industry is exerted in affording the means of gratify- ing that taste, and exciting that liberality. A laudable spirit of competition has been awakened among the practical and amateur cultivators in this vicinity, which I hope will be productive of great and useful results to this community. We have witnessed with no ordi- nary gratification the increasing variety of flowers, the introduction of new and valuable kinds of fruits, and the amelioration of those which have been long fami- liar to us. And among those fruits which we may, without the imputation of a violent presumption, con- sider as original native productions, the Baldwin Ap- ple, the Seckle, Gushing, Wilkinson, Gore's Heathcote, Lewis, Andrews, and Dix Pears, the Lewis or Boston Nectarine, and the Downer Cherry, may be classed among the most desirable of their kinds. It is true that the introduction of these several varie- ties of fruits was the result of accident ; this consid- eration does not diminish their value, nor should de- tract from the merit of those under whose auspices they were derived, or introduced to public notice. An opinion seems to be entertained by some of our most experienced cultivators, that few if any of the choice varieties of pears, considered by others as na- tive fruits, are indigenous to our soil. That this opi- nion is not well founded, I think has been abundantly demonstrated by the production of some in the in- stances to which I have before referred. Those fruits were discovered in isolated situations, in pas- tures or in the woods, or generally remote from habi- 8 tations, and where no traces of ' man's device ' could be discernible in their vicinity, or the ameliorating ef- fects upon the tree itself, by engrafting or inoculation. In some cases we have positive evidence, derived from the personal observation of the proprietor, that the tree originated in the place it now occupies, and has never been subjected to the operation of artificial change. The process of raising ameliorated fruits of this description is very slow, if we wait the develop- ment of the product in the maturity of the original tree. The first generation of fruit may afford the de- sired degree of amelioration, although the balance of probabilities may be against the fulfilment of that ex- pectation. A more summary mode of producing the desired result is to transfer a shoot or a bud from a young plant to a* thrifty mature tree, and to plant the seed of the fruit that it may produce, and thus proceed in the multiplication of chances by alternate planting and engrafting from the fruit and plant pro- duced, until the required quality is obtained. This, according to the theory of an ingenious modern writer, may be effected in the fifth or sixth genera- tion. The experiment, though it may require much time and labor, and demand no inconsiderable share of patience, is worthy the attention of those, whose views are not confined to the narrow precincts of a selfish and exclusive policy, but are disposed to imi- *It has been suggested to me by a distinguished Horticulturist, that this experiment would probably succeed better, if the shoot or bud were placed upon an old tree, or one of slow growth, as it would thus earlier develope the fruit. 9 Uite their predecessors in the liberal provision they made for their successors. But I make not this ap- peal to any who are actuated by similar feelings to those which were indulged by the enlightened legis- lator, who, in the discussion of a subject bearing some analogy to this, inquired, what has posterity done for us ! that we should be required to do this for our pos- terity ! The reflection that we may not realize the advan- tages of those experiments, should not deter us from making them. We should be influenced by more patriotic and liberal sentiments. Every generation of men is a link in the great chain that has been forming from the creation of the world, connecting the present with the past, and is to be lengthened out through succeeding ages. Be it our province then, as it is our duty, to preserve the brightness of this chain, that our appropriate division of it may loose nothing upon a comparison with all its parts, but that the period of which it is typical, may be regarded as one that was characterized by a suitable respect for ourselves, and as a stimulus to the coming generation to evince a like regard to the claims of those who are to follow. The agricultural interests of New England have been greatly promoted by the skilful, judicious, and generous exertions of the society long since instituted in Massachusetts for that purpose. To the ardor and zeal that has been unceasingly manifested by the distinguished men who have directed its efforts, this 10 section of our country is particularly indebted for the advances that have been made in this department of national industry, and which may not be inaptly termed a branch of the * American System.' They have given an impulse to the energies and the hopes of our yeomanry. They have instilled into their minds a portion of their sentiments, and have excited in them a spirit of emulation, and the advantages that have accrued, and still continue to follow their la- bors, are legible in every field, and are daily conspicu- ous in our market-places. The industry, and perseverance, and forecast of the people of New England, is. the basis upon which their prosperity and security must be sustained. Possessed of fewer natural advantages of soil and climate than are enjoyed in other sections of our country, we are happily exempted from many of the evils to which they are necessarily subjected, by cir- cumstances they cannot control. If we are denied the privilege of a milder atmosphere, and a more temperate climate, if we must submit to the rigors of our northern winter, and find no escape from the chilling colds of a protracted spring, we can do so without murmuring or repining. If Providence has been pleased to withhold from us, what in its wisdom it has seen fit to confer on others, it has given us much, and withheld from us much for which we should be grateful. The habits and peculiarities of trees and plants is a subject which should interest our attention, as a knowledge of it will tend to prevent much of the 11 confusion, and avert much of the disappointment, to which those are exposed who neglect it. The unskilful use of the saw and the pruning knife, is frequently detrimental to trees, not only in the ex- tent of their application, but in the unreasonableness of the operation. Winter pruning is sometimes prac- tised for the very cogent reason that it is a time of comparative leisure. Similar excuses have not been unfrequently resorted to, on other occasions, and the reminiscences of by-gone days may remind some of us of certain mischievous acts performed, for the equally commendable reason, that we could find no more rational employment for our time. It is thought by those who have given much attention to the subject, that the most appropriate time for such operations is when the sap flows freely, or from the latter end of April to the middle of May. This is un- doubtedly true in relation to the apple and pear tree, but in the opinion of some experienced, and distin- guished cultivators, the peach, nectarine,! apricot, plum, and cherry trees should not be pruned except in August or September. The latter should be sub- jected to this operation as sparingly as possible. Lop- ping off the leading shoots, or any other of the prin- cipal branches, should be avoided as much as practi- cable, and while they preserve their health and vigor, those parts should be suffered to remain entire, and only the smaller superfluous branches removed. The wounds caused by the removal of the greater or lesser branches should be immediately covered by a composition of adhesive and healing ingredients, 12 which will prevent the air and moisture from pene- trating, and as the juices are then in an active state, little or no injury may be apprehended. If this were practised more generally than it has been, we should not witness so much of premature decay that is seen so extensively in our orchards and gardens. I am unwilling to dismiss this subject without urging upon you the necessity of avoiding as much as possible, the removal of large and vigorous branches from your trees at any season. To secure success in the cultiva- tion of fruit trees, and to give them a tasteful and orna- mental, as well as useful form, with a view to produc- tiveness, and a simultaneous ripening of their fruits, pruning should be commenced the year after they are transplanted, and repeated every successive spring, by cutting out from the centre, and from the exterior all the small, and superfluous, and intersecting shoots, wherever they appear, leaving the interior of the tree in the form of a tunnel. By this method the fruit, on all parts of the tree, will be equally accessible to the influence of the sun, and will consequently be more equally matured, and of similar qualities on all its sections. Trees, like children, should be taught cor- rect habits while they are susceptible of good impres- sions, and as we are directed to train up the latter in the way they should go, that in maturer life they shall not depart from the precepts that are instilled into their minds in youth, so is it desirable in relation to the former, that we should cultivate the young plant with reference to the future tree, and prune and train it as we would have it to grow. 13 But this is not all that is essential to give efficacy to our labors. There is an evil to which many kinds of trees and plants are subjected, that demands our particular attention, and even when that has been patiently and zealously exercised, it has proved only partially successful. The numerous kinds of insects which not only produce incalculable mischief to the health, and beauty, and productiveness of the tree, but deprives us of no inconsiderable portion of their fruits, has hitherto eluded the vigilance and the in- genuity of man, in his efforts to provide either a pre- ventive or a remedy for the injury thus occasioned. The insidious mode of attack in which they arc guided by an unerring instinct, would seem to require the exercise of almost super-human skill, to avert or repress their ravages. Cleanliness is indispensable to the health, and beau- ty, and usefulness of fruit trees. The moss- covered wall is venerated as an object of antiquity ; but tho moss-covered tree excites no such reverential emo- tions. Nor is our respect for the sentimental cultiva- tor of caterpillars, elevated in the ratio of success he attains in the pursuit of his favorite art. It were well enough while it administers to his pleasures, and gratifies his taste, that he should enjoy the exclusive benefit of his labors, and far better if he would re- strain those objects of his regard within the limits of his own domain. If the propagation of those inge- nious architects is an interesting employment ; if he is gratified by the exhibition of their industry, and is impressed with the belief that it would be an act of 14 cruelty to demolish their dwellings, and devote the occupants to death ; that they would thus ' in corporal suffering Feel a pang as great as when a giant dies,' he must be indulged in the exercise of those kindred feelings, and in the unenvied possession of his vitiated taste. But the criminal disregard of the duties he owes to his neighbors, in the indulgence of such pro- pensities, whether they proceed from choice or in- dolence, deserve the most severe and unrestrained rebuke. Exudations, or any other unusual appearance of un- healthiness or unthriftiness in trees often indicate the proximity of the enemy, although such effects are pro- duced sometimes by unskilful pruning. An early and careful examination will lead to the detection of the assailant, and, if seasonably made, may preserve the tree. No effectual preventive against the injurious operations of the borer upon many of our fruit, and some of our forest trees, has yet been devised. The cankerworm and the curculio are the most extensively fatal, as they are the most crafty of the insect race, and no certain means have yet been dis- covered to induce the belief that an effectual preven- tive will be found to stay their annual ravages. The time, and labor, and experiments that have been de- voted to the attainment of this desirable object, or employed in the investigation of the subject, are deserving of more success than have resulted from those efforts. Much useful and satisfactory informa- tion as to their character and habits, has, however, 15 been elicited, but that most desirable end, the pre- vention of their devastating effects, has been but par- tially attained. 'It is a consummation devoutly to be wished,' that all who are interested would unite their efforts in the endeavor to arrest the further pro- gress of this scourge of our fruit trees. The energies of the whole agricultural world could not be concen- trated in, and applied to a more important purpose connected with the cultivation of fruits. Should any individual be so fortunate as to make the discovery that shall prove an infallible antidote to the incursions of this withering and blighting infliction, he will have the proud and enviable satisfaction of contribu- ting much to the prosperity of his country, and will richly deserve to be numbered among its benefactors. It must be obvious to those who have devoted their attention to the cultivation of fruits, that the same varieties will thrive better in one quality of soil, than in another. This is undoubtedly true even of some of the most hardy, and more especially of those of the more tender and delicate kinds. The russetting apple affords an example of this ameliorating effect, and will furnish a satisfactory elucidation of this po- sition. The most perfect are those which are pro- duced upon elevated or dry soils interspersed with rocks; while those which grow in low and moist lands, possess less of the distinguishing traits of that variety. I do not state this so much as the result of my own practical observations, as from those of more experienced cultivators. Such being the fact in re- lation to one sort of fruit, may it not be rationally in- 16 fcrred that it should be likewise true of many others ? The subject commends itself to our attention with peculiar interest, and I cannot doubt but that it will receive the consideration it merits, Associations directed to the promotion of horticul- tural pursuits are of comparatively recent date. It was reserved to that country, from whence the in- trepid band of Pilgrims came, to found an empire in this Western hemisphere, to become the pioneers in this acceptable work, as she had ever been in all others that had a tendency to shed a lustre upon her name, and to impart to other nations the influence of her beneficent and glorious example. The time has passed away, and with it the excitement, I trust, never to be revived, when to speak in commendation of the institutions of Great Britain, would subject the eulogist to the suspicion that he was distrustful of those of his native country. I leave to abler hands, and more gifted minds, the correction of those un- manly and illiberal personalities, that have degraded the literature of England in relation to our manners and habits, and the uncharitable and mistaken views of our government, and the administration of its laws, which have been furnished by itinerant book-makers, in return for the generous hospitalities of our country- men, and thus made the only adequate return of which they were capable. The Horticultural Society of London was estab- lished in 1805, under the highly flattering auspices of distinguished scientific and practical men, and was the first institution of the kind that had been founded 17 in Europe. It has developed a wide field of opera- tions, and extended its researches to almost every accessible part of the globe. Innumerable specimens of the riches of the natural world have been collected under its direction, and transferred to England. Asia and Africa, and America and Continental Europe, have contributed to swell the catalogue of rare and valuable plants, to enrich and beautify the rural re- treats of our father land. In 1809 the Caledonian Horticultural Society was formed in Scotland, and still numbers among its pa- trons the first of the nobility and gentry of that loyal nation. The Horticultural Society of Paris was instituted in 182G, and is rapidly increasing in numbers and in influence. Between the society of Massachusetts and that of Paris the most friendly relations exist, and are fostered. We have received the most conclusive evidence of their regard, and of their desire to pro- mote a reciprocal interchange of opinions and sen- timents upon the subject of our mutual pursuits. We have invited the cooperation of the several Horticultural Societies in our own country, to par- ticipate with us in extending the influence, and im- parting a taste for rural employments. We have ex- pressed a desire to be identified with them in the general design of our labors. We founded this insti- tution for purposes of public utility, and we wish to see its benefits become coextensive with the limits of our land. Whatever of good may result from our indus- try, or be achieved by our exertions, must be seen and 3 18 felt, and will, I trust, be ackowledged by the com- munity. A taste for rural pursuits and improved culture has been widely diffused through the influence and ex- ample of this society. An emulation has been excited which has been productive of highly gratifying results. The weekly exhibitions at our Hall the past and pass- ing season, have furnished undeniable evidence of the truth of this assertion. The increased varieties of beautiful flowers, and rich fruits, and fine culinary plants, have surpassed our anticipations, and more than all these, are the gratifying effects that have followed those exhibitions in the expressions of delight we have heard from those who have attended them. We cannot be insensible to the commendation of our fellow-citizens; we ask for their support and en- couragement ; and 1 feel assured that a generous and tasteful community can never be unmindful of the importance of sustaining an institution that contributes so essentially to the supply of their common necessi- ties, and administers so abundantly to the happiness of the healthful, and the solace of the invalid. The varieties of soil and of climates with which our country is diversified, are favorable to the growth of almost every plant, which nature yields to the wants or the tastes of man. The magnolia, the tulip, the judas, the laurel, and other flowering trees that may vie in beauty and fragrance with almost any of the exotic plants, are indigenous to our forests, and are improved by cultivation when transplanted to appro- priate situations. And we are indebted to the provi- 19 dent care of nature for the origin of many of our most valuable esculents which have become amelior- ated by culture, and which use has rendered in a measure indispensable to our convenience and comfort. In the interminable forests where the voice of civi- lized man has not been heard, nor the foot of civilized man penetrated, where the silence of nature has con- tinued undisturbed since the earliest dawn of creation, save by the howlings of the untamed enemies of our race, or the murmuring of waters rushing to their appointed destination in hidden meanderings, or glid- ing in silvery brightness through verdant meadows, and over rocky precipices, tumbling in wild and fear- ful confusion into the deep chasm, thence flinging their glittering spray upwards, mingling in sunbeams, and hanging midway in the heavens the transient beauties of the bow of promise! — there, where na- ture reposes in her lofty, but rude and simple gran- deur, in coming years, though perhaps remote, men from all sections of this vast country, and from nations beyond the sea, will be gathered together, and from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the far-off bor- ders of the Pacific Sea, under the protecting a?gis of our insignia of liberty, villages, and towns and cities will arise, and associations will be established where the cheering light of science and the arts shall blend their influence, and seminaries of learning will be founded, that shall give to mind its power and to man his merited elevation, and a taste for all that ad- ministers to the improvement of social life, and the diffusion of the means of social happiness, and God : r-- • 20 shall be worshipped in temples consecrated to His service in the simplicity, and truth, and power of His word. In this future vision, that is not destined to bless our sight, but is reserved to future generations to look upon, may we not hope that the influence of those principles we now commemorate may be implanted and widely diffused. It is a common observation of travellers, that in the interior portions of New England, remote from popu- lous towns, very little if any attention is given to the cultivation of good fruits, and it is equally true that many of our substantial practical agriculturists in those regions, deny themselves even the convenience or luxury of a kitchen garden. Mankind must be permitted to stint themselves in the enjoyments of the bounties of nature if such be their pleasure. If indifference or parsimony induce such self-denial, and they who practise it were alone inconvenienced, it is a matter with which a stranger need not inter- meddle ; but, inasmuch, as such a disuse of the boun- ties of heaven are detrimental to the public at large, we may rebuke the unpatriotic spirit by which they are influenced. It is worthy of remark, that in all parts of the conti- nent of Europe where fruits are abundant, and cheap- ly procured, a greater degree of temperance in the use of intoxicating liquors is prevalent among all classes of the inhabitants than elsewhere. This con- sideration alone, commends the subject most forcibly to the general favor, and in an especial manner to 21 those philanthropic men who are devising plans for the suppression of that debasing and destructive prac- tice of intemperance. Horticultural societies are in a measure auxiliary to this benevolent design, in ad- ministering an antidote to that baneful indulgence which makes havoc of the mind, by furnishing a sub- stitute in the wholesome beverage expressed from the apple, the pear, the grape and the currant, as in the solace to be derived from the natural and ordinary use of the fruit. Rural architecture may not inappropriately claim a passing notice on the present occasion. It has not hitherto, here, received the attention it deserves. One reason why it has not, is probably the unwilling- ness, or the apprehension of incurring an expensive outlay, without the immediate prospect of an ade- quate return. This, I think, it may be made apparent, is more imaginary than real. It is not to be denied trjat large sums have been injudiciously expended in the construction of some of our rural retreats, and more especially in the erection of the house, the pre- paration of gravel-walks, the construction of observa- tories, artificial caverns, fish-ponds, etc. Those who possess the means have an unquestionable right to gratify their tastes, and indulge their fancies, in such expenditures, but it does not follow that others, with more limited resources, may not procure as much satisfaction by a less conspicuous display of their tastes and their fancies. Durability in the materials selected, and convenience and simplicity in the de- sign and construction of the house, are all that is 22 essential for a country residence. A white exterior, which presents a pleasing contrast to the green vest- ments, the prevailing coloring of nature in her rural empire, is preferable to any other. The artificial embellishments of the exterior of the house are of secondary consideration. The honey-suckle, the big- nonia, the eglantine and the woodbine, intermingling and entwining their flexible branches, and attaching themselves by their tendrils, or other means with which nature has provided them, to any object that will afford them support, or artificially secured and tastefully arranged, will present a far more pleasing aspect than the ingenuity of man can devise, or the application of art accomplish. But it is upon the grounds that the taste of the proprietor should be ex- hibited, and this can be effected at comparatively little expense. Most of the native; and many of the foreign varieties of ornamental trees and shrubs, may be raised from seeds, and a nursery thus formed wjll in a few years afford a sufficient supply to occupy the borders or other places designed for their reception. Collections of many desirable kinds may be procured from the contiguous forests. The work of preparing the borders or divisions of the enclosure to be appro- priated to the location of the plants, may be done at intervals when leisure will permit, or when it will not interfere with more important duties. The gravel- ling of garden avenues may be dispensed with. The ordinary soil levelled, and laid smooth with the roller, will present an agreeable surface with less labor and cost than the former. Grass edgings arc preferable 23 to those of box, their symmetry can be preserved with less care, and are less obnoxious to the charge of the treasonable practice of affording shelter and suste- nance to myriads of insects which prey upon the de- licious products of the vine and other rare fruit. We have been too long accustomed to rely upon foreign nurseries for fruit trees and other plants. I am aware that to a certain extent this is unavoidable. But we should depend more upon our own resources, and learn to appreciate them. We have suffered too much of disappointment, and experienced too much of vexa- tion from the carelessness of others to submit with patience to a repetition of them. We have waited season after season for several successive years for the development of fruits that were sent to us under the imposing title of some rich and rare variety, and have found in the reality that the good consisted alone in the name. I would encourage the public nurseries in our own vicinity, not to gratify any exclusive or sec- tional views, but because we may thereby the more easily avoid the inconveniences which have long been the subject of complaint against others more remote. The fear of prompt and immediate detection and ex- posure, will have a tendency to render their proprie- tors more cautious, while the liberal support they would receive, would stimulate them to secure and retain the confidence reposed in them. The imposi- tion that was practised upon the patriarch Jacob, who was compelled to accept Leah as the reward of seven years of labor and toil, for R ebecca -? is somewhat /C*l-S<^JL> analagous to the case of manv of us. We, too, have 24 numbered full seven years in anticipation of the de- velopment of fruits under assurances as specious as those by which the patriarch was stimulated to the performance of his stipulated servitude', and, like him, on its termination, have found a Leah in the place of ' - M -' a RAeectt, and have again, like him, to accomplish another term of years ere we could realize the hopes we had formed in the acquisition of the object of our desires. The public nurseries and gardens of Middlesex and Norfolk are entitled to preeminence among those of New England, and Newton and Brighton, and Charlestown and Milton and Roxbury, are laudably competing with similar establishments in other sec- tions of our country for the general patronage. A familiar acquaintance with the synonymes, and their identity with the fruit, is essential to the conve- nience of all classes of cultivators, and indispensable to the proprietors of extensive nurseries. It will pre- vent much of the confusion which now prevails, and tend to correct the mistakes which frequently occur to those who have not attended to this subject. If it has been the prevailing fashion to underrate almost everything of domestic origin, and attach a value to exotics in proportion to the distance from, and the expense at which they were procured, it was no less true of the products of the soil, than of those of the workshop and the loom. Even the in- tellectual labors of our countrymen have, until within a short period, been received with the cold formality with which an indigent acquaintance is often re- 25 cognised. While everything that bore the impress of a foreign original was sought after, admired and eulogised without much regard to its intrinsic merits, But these antinational prejudices and predilections are fast receding before the beaming and unquencha- ble light of t intelligence and patriotism. I have "spoken of the influence that our association has exerted in relation to the primary objects of its institution. There are other subjects connected with its success and usefulness, to which I have adverted, and which should interest our attention. A practical acquaintance with the different departments of natural history will be found to be highly advantageous in the business of horticulture. I hope we may avail our- selves of the facilities that will be afforded us, to ac- quire a knowledge of this subject, when it will com- port with the convenience of the gentlemen who have been designated as professors and lecturers on botany and vegetable physiology, entomology and horticul- tural chemistry. I anticipate from those resources not only much intellectual gratification, but that, from their abundant stores of scientific attainments, we may be instructed and encouraged to persevere in obtaining a familiar intimacy with all that is essential to our pursuits. The protection and preservation of useful birds is a subject I would propose for your particular consid- eration. To those whose souls are attuned to the harmony of their music, who delight to listen to the warbling of nature's choristers, little need be urged to ensure them security in the peaceful possession of 4 26 their accustomed haunts. But if this consideration is not sufficient, there is another view in which the subject may be presented, that cannot fail to render them the objects of our care and watchfulness. We must either encourage them, or resign our gardens and orchards to the overwhelming ravages of innume- rable insatiate insects. We must preserve them, and consent to tolerate their minor depredations, or suffer them to be destroyed, and with them all hopes of pre- serving any portion of our fruits. It is asserted upon competent authority, that nearly all the food of small birds from the commencement of spring to the middle of June, consists of insects; and that a pair of sparrows during the time they have their young ones to provide for, destroy every week about three thousand three hundred caterpillars. By a wise and judicious enactment of the legislature of Mas- sachusetts, the protection of the law is extended to the preservation of certain kinds of birds that are enumerated, and a penalty provided for every infrac- tion of its provisions. Let this association unite in giving efficiency to the laws, by enforcing its opera- tions upon every violater, and thus shall we subserve the public interests, protect our property, and pre- serve those innocent and useful co-laborers, who am- ply repay us in the aid they afford, and in the grati- fication we derive from their presence, and in listening to their inspiring and animating melody. The pursuits which it is our object to promote, are not only subservient to the happiness of social and domestic life, in multiplying the resources of inno- 27 cent indulgence, and of the interchange of the kind offices of mutual good will, and not only tend to excite and elevate that taste for the beauties of creation, which almost of necessity leads to communion with its All- Glorious Author, but may be consecrated also to the holy purpose of rendering more interesting and attractive our final resting-place. The improvement and embellishment of grounds devoted to public uses, is deserving of especial consi- deration, and should interest the ingenious, the libe- ral and tasteful in devising ' ways and means ' for the accomplishment of so desirable an object ; and 1 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 elo- quence that could not fail to awaken, and with argu- ments 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 designs to that of Pere La Chaise in the environs of Paris, to be located in the suburbs of this metropolis. A suitable regard for the memory of the dead is not inconsistent with the precepts of religion or of our duty to the living. The place of graves affords to the serious and the contemplative, instruc- tion and admonition. It teaches us ' what shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue.' It is there that the heart is chastened, and the soul is subdued, and the affections purified and exalted. It is there that ambition surveys the boundaries of its powers, of its hopes, and its aspirations. And it is there that 28 we are constrained to admit, that human distinctions, and arrogance, and influence must terminate. I would render such scenes more alluring, more fami- liar and imposing, by the aid of rural embellishments. The skill and taste of the architect should be exerted in the construction of the requisite departments and avenues ; and appropriate trees and plants should de- corate its borders ; — the weeping willow, waving its graceful drapery over the monumental marble, and the sombre foliage of the Cyprus should shade it, and the undying daisy should mingle its bright and glowing tints with the native laurels of our forests. It is there I would desire to see the taste of the florist manifested in the collection and arrangement of beau- tiful and fragrant flowers, that in their budding and bloom and decay they should be the silent but expres- sive teachers of morality, and remind us that, although, like the flowers of autumn, the race of man is fading from ofT the earth, yet like them his root will not per- ish in the ground, but will rise again in a renewed existence, to shed the sweet influence of a useful life, in gardens of unfading beauty ! SECOND ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. The Second Anniversary of the Massachusetts Horticultural So- ciety was celehrated on Friday, the 1 Oth of September, at the Ex- change Coffee House, in a very splendid manner, notwithstanding the unpropitious state of the weather for several days previous, which it was feared would prevent so handsome a display of fruits as was made last year. The dining hall was very tastefully ornamented with festoons and vases of flowers, and the table loaded with nu- merous baskets of beautiful peaches, grapes, pears, melons, apples, &c, arranged in a very chaste and appropriate manner. Much credit is due to the public spirit of E. Edwards, Esq., of Spring- field, Mass., a member of the Society, who, in addition to the pleasure his own company gave at the dinner table, enriched it with ten baskets of beautiful peaches, plums, arid pears, the produce of his own and his neighbors' gardens. The trellis of grapes, raised in the open air by Mr Fosdick, of Charlestown, excited much atten- tion. The Hall of the Exchange was literally crowded with visiters from 12 to 2 o'clock. The Society was favored with an eloquent and interesting Ad- dress, by Z. Cook, Jr., Esq., of Dorchester, at the Lecture Room at the Athenaeum, at 11 o'clock, A. M. Among the fruits presented, were baskets of very fine Esperione and Black Hamburg Grapes, from Wm. Dean, of Salem ; from J- 30 W. Treadwell, Salem, Pears, Johonnot ; from T. H. Perkins, Grapes, St Peters, Muscat of Alexandria, white Frontignac, black do. ; black Hamburg, flame colored Tokay, Chasselas or Sweet Water ; Peaches and Nectarines, branches of Irish Ivory, from plants raised by Col. P., from cuttings taken by himself from Car- risbrook and Warwick castles, England, a beautiful vine, and per- fectly hardy ; from John Lowell, Grapes, black Hamburg, (one bunch weighing 32 ounces,) and white Tokay ; Peaches ; a plant in flower, of Musea Coccinea, has never been flowered before in this country; fromRuFusF. Phipps, Charlestown, Nectarines, and Andrews Pears; from Dr Webster, Cambridge, flowers, Dahlias, &c. ; from Dr Adams, Boston, magnum bonum Plums; from Thomas Whitmarsh, Brookline, Peaches; from John Heard, Jr. Watertown, Bartlett Pears ; from Dr. S. A. Shurtleff, Boston, St Michael's and Broca's Bergamot Pears, White Muscadine Grapes, open ground; from N. Clapp, Dorchester, Peaches, natural of the 6th and 6th generation, has never deteriorated from the parent fruit; from J. B. Richardson, Boston, Peaches; from E. M. Richards, Dedham, Summer Russet, Red Juneating, and Benoni (a native) Apples, and uncommonly fine natural Peaches; from David Fos- dick, Charlestown, White Muscadine Grapes, tastefully arranged upon a trellis ; from David Haggerston, Charlestown, black Hamburg Grapes and Flowers; from Eli sua Edwards, Spring- field, Peaches, natural, very large and beautiful, also large and beautiful Pears and Plums ; from John A. W. Lamb, Boston, Peaches; from Nathaniel Seaver, Roxbury, Bartlett Pears and Peaches ; from J. and F. Winship, Brighton, flowers ; from Messrs Kenrick, Newton, flowers; from Ebenezer Breed, Charlestown, Grapes, five clusters black Hamburg, (two weighing 2^ lbs. each, 1 weighing 2 lbs.) white Chasselas and Muscat, also flowers ; from S. Downer, Bartlett Pears, Porter and Ribstone Pippin Apples. Morris' White Peaches, four pots Balsamine, and two pots Snow- berry; from Ezra Dyer, Boston, Plums and Peaches; from John Prince, Roxbury, Ribstone Pippin Apples; Verte longue, An- drews, Bartlett, and green Catharine Pears ; yellow letter Melon, Royal D'Tours, Plums, a large branch of Datura Arborea, in flower, Dahlias, &,c. ; from Z. Cook, Jr., Dorchester, Bartlett 31 Pears, and flowers; from Hector Coffin, Newburyport, Bon Cre' tion Pears; from Enoch Bartlett, Dorchester, Peaches, and Bartlett Pears ; from S. R. Johnson, Charlestown, White Gage- and Bolmar's Washington Plums; from R. Toohey, Waltham, by E. W. Payne, Black Hamburg Grapes, Pears, Peaches, and Mel- ons ; from Wm. Stone, city farm, South Boston, a Muskmelon, weighing 19-1- lbs. ; from E. G. Austin, Boston, magnum bonum white Plums ; from Edward Sharp, Dorchester, very fine red Roman Nectarines; from Richard Sullivan, Brookline, black Hamburg Grapes; from Andrew Brimmer, Boston, White Gage, or Prince's fine white and Hill's native Plums, and a branch of Swan Pears, and a basket of Pears; from H. A. S. Dearborn, Roxbury, great mogul Plums; from G. W. Pratt, Waltham, laige Bouquets of flowers ; from Wm. Carter, Botanic Garden, Cam- bridge, natural Peaches, very large and beautiful, and flowers y from Elias Phinney, native Grapes, and Nectarines; from Che- ver Newhall, Dorchester, fine natural Peaches; from Nehemiah D. Williams, Roxbury, Porter and other Apples ; from O. Pettee,. Newton, Caroline Cling-Stone Peaches; from S. G. Perkins, a dressed basket of fruit, consisting of black Hamburg, black Cape, and Muscat of Alexandria Grapes; and the Alberge Admirable, Great Montague Admirable, Morris' White or Pine, and Landreth's Cling-Stone Peaches; from E. Vose, of Dorchester, beautiful Groose Mignonne Peaches, Bartlett Pears, Persian and Pine Ap- ple Melons, and large Watermelons ; from Henry A. Breed, of Lynn, Watermelons; from Peter C. Brooks, of Medford, by George Thompson, gardener, large clusters of black Hamburg Grapes, and fine Spice Apples ; from John Lemist of Roxbury, several varieties of beautiful flowers; Charles Senior, flowers; William Worthington flowers, in wreaths. At four o'clock the Society, with their friends and invited guests sat down to a dinner prepared by Mr Gallagher, when the following sentiments were drunk. regular toasts. 1. JVeu7 England— The hills that gave shelter to Liberty are now crowned with the blessings of Ceres. 32 2. The Constitution of the United States — The vigor of the slock will soon correct the saplings that may be engrafted on it. 3. Liberty — Having completed her Temple — we would entwine he stately columns with the peaceful vine. 4. Our Senator in Congress — Himself invulnerable ; he fur- nishes arms for the security of States. 5. Our Controversies with the Parent Country — Let them be manly struggles for a more honorable union on reciprocal principles- 6 Massachusetts Cultivators — May our efforts and success be in an inverse ratio to our climate and soil. 7. Golden Apples and Golden Fleeces — May they cease to be emblems of discord and disunion. 8. Nullification — A mode of re-dressing — highly destructive of the black and white sorts. 9. Horticulture and Floriculture — By which all climates and all soils may be compelled to concentrate their uses and beauties at the pleasure of man. 10. The practical and scientific Cultivator — A man who makes experiments in farming and in gardening for the benefit of his neighbor. 11. Diffusion of kind and of kindness — Our grapes can never be sour, for they will be within the reach of everybody. 12. Woman — The industry, science, and taste of man, is improv- ing the soil for a more extended dominion of Flora. 13. Thefruits of the Patriots of France — We would return them renovated and more grateful to the world by American adoption. 14. The monarcldcs of Europe — Vicious stocks must go to the wall for improved cultivation. 15. Cultivation in its tivo great branches, mental and manual — The latter without the former is an eddy in a stream — always moving, never advancing. 16. Novelties in cultivation — Never adopted without caution, nor rejected without trial — for although everything which is new may not be useful, yet everything useful was once new. 33 VOLUNTEERS. By the President, General Dearborn: Lafayette — ' Without fear and without reproach;' the illustrious Champion of Liberty in three Revolutions. By His Excellency Gov. Lincoln. The vine, under the shadow of which Freemen dwell securely— May its new growth be pro- tected in that country, where it requires rather training than heading. By his Honor the Mayor. New England — May every farm be- come a garden, every garden adorned with vines — and may it be the boast of our posterity, that their Fathers did not eat sour grapes. By the Chief Justice. Education — The culture of the mind, which always requites the faithful laborer with the sweetest flowers and the richest fruit. By Hon. B. W. Croioninshicld. The Apple and Plum — May we never eat of the apple of discord, and have plums enough to make smooth the way of life. By the Rev. Mr Pierpont. A Garden — The primitive and perpetual scene of all that makes man great— labor and serious thought; in which, having seen the smile of God in the heat, he may hear his voice ' in the cool of the day.' By Judge Chipman, of New Brunswick. The city of Boston — May it preserve its high character and its public spirit. Communicated by the Hon. John Lowell. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society — May liberality, without a tincture of jealousy, and cautious and scientific scrutiny, be its distinguished charac- teristic. By Zcbcdce Cook, Jr. Esq., 1st Vice President. The Press — Charles X. and his ' travelling Cabinet ' — the best modern com- mentary upon its power and influence when exerted in the cause of civil liberty and the rights of man. By the Hon. Edward D. Bangs, Secretary of the Common- wealth. Agriculture and Horticulture — Pursuits in which compe- tition excites no jealousy, and where ambition is often crowned with success. 5 34 By John C. Gray, Esq. The memory of Stephen Elliot of Soullf Carolina — The death of an accomplished botanist is the loss of the whole world. By E. Phinney, Esq., Vice President. Rural employment — 1 gives purity and freshness to the opening hud of youth — beauty and fragrance to the flower of manhood — and a wholesome soundness to the fruits of old age. By Dr Thacher of Plymouth. The noble achievements of Horticulture— Peaches and Pears big as pumpkins, and grapes in clusters like that borne on a staff by two men from the valley of Grapes in the wilderness of Paran. By Gen. Sumner. The Nullificators — South Carolina Borers — as nobody cares about them out of their own State, they ought to be dug out there. By Dr S. A. Shurtleff. Gen. Lafayette — The Hero of three Revolutions. Communicated by Judge Story, who was prevented by illness from attending the meeting : The pleasures of the day — The fruits of