70 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



Another very useful branch of gardening which ought to 

 receive thorough attention at the College is the raising of 

 seeds of all kinds. The finest varieties of vegetables, grains, 

 grasses and flowers, ornamental shrubs and forest trees, 

 should be grown, and the seeds carefully saved for exchange 

 or sale, so far as there might be found a demand for them. 

 This practice would be a valuable means of education, and 

 Avould benefit the public by furnishing clean seeds of reliable 

 sorts, a most important matter to all cultivators of the soil, 

 but especially to market gardeners, and yield an income for 

 the benefit of the department. 



Finally, liberal provision should be made as soon as possi- 

 ble for planting and supporting a botanic garden. This 

 should consist of a tract of not less than thirty acres, taste- 

 fully laid out as ornamental grounds, and containing a large 

 collection of such trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants from 

 all quarters of the globe as will endure our climate in favor- 

 able situations with little or no protection. They should 

 illustrate as far as possible the general characters of the va- 

 rious groups of the vegetable kingdom, and should be arranged 

 with regard to the natural system of classification, and every 

 species and variety should be correctly and conspicuously 

 labelled for the benefit of students in botany. Besides these, 

 there should T)e special collections of those plants used in ag- 

 riculture, horticulture and medicine ; and a Massachusetts 

 collection, including every indigenous species of flowering 

 plants, and all the larger and more durable cryptogams. 



The proper maintenance and development of such collections 

 as have been named necessitate extensive nursery-grounds, 

 with suitable conveniences for propagation from seeds, bulbs, 

 roots, green and woody cuttings, as well as by layers, graft- 

 ing and budding. This, however, properly managed, would 

 be a source of revenue, and an indispensable means for the 

 thorough education of practical gardeners. 



What then remains to be done ? Why not go forward with 

 the work and complete this magnificent design ? With so 

 many wealthy, influential and appreciating friends, nothing 

 would be easier than to plant a few acres with interesting 

 species, and call the collection a botanic garden. But the 

 history of such enterprises, in this and other countries, shows 



