HORATIO HOLLIS HDNNEWELL. (357 



Mr. Hunnewell returned to Boston disappointed, and, as he acknowl- 

 edged later, nearly broken-hearted. His optimism, the strong feature 

 of his character, soon asserted itself, however, and he began at once to 

 make a position for himself in the business community. His industry, 

 broad-mindedness, and astuteness, and his confidence in the future of 

 the country, soon brought him success and the attention of the group 

 of Boston capitalists who daring the last half of the nineteenth century 

 made this city an important factor in the development of the West. By 

 these men Mr. Hunnewell's advice was sought and respected, and with 

 them he acquired in building railroads and in other enterprises great 

 wealth and filled many positions of responsibility. 



Soon after his return from France, Mr. Hunnewell became actively 

 interested in horticulture, and for the remainder of his life he devoted 

 a large part of his time to the improvement of the estate in Natick 

 which had belonged to his wife's family and which has given the name 

 of Wellesley to a town later separated from Natick. This estate Mr. 

 Hunnewell lived to see one of the most famous and interesting in 

 America. He seems to have inherited his love of flowers from his 

 father, whose garden in Watertown was the most attractive in the 

 town: for the love of gardening, which was the passion of his later 

 years, showed itself early, and this man of great affairs boasted only of 

 his first financial transaction, — the successful sale of a number of young 

 cherry-trees which he had grafted as a boy just before he went to 

 France. Gardening taught Mr. Hunnewell the value of experiment 

 and the importance of science. It led him to test trees and other plants 

 not previously introduced into New England, and our knowledge of 

 the value in this climate of many plants, especially coniferous trees, is 

 based largely on his experiments at Wellesley. As a horticulturist 

 Mr. Hunnewell's most useful work was the formation of his collection 

 of coniferous trees, which now contains the best specimens of several 

 species to be found in this country and which is one of the largest 

 and the most interesting in America, and his experiments in the culti- 

 vation of rhododendrons, which have now become common garden 

 plants in this part of the country through knowledge obtained first at 

 Wellesley. 



His appreciation of the importance of science as a basis for good 

 gardening was shown in our associate's long-sustained support of the 

 botanical departments of Harvard University. For twenty years he 

 was an active member of the Visiting Committee of the Botanic Garden 

 and a generous contributor to the expenses of the Garden and the 



\ i)l.. xxxix — 1- 



