384 EEPOKT OF THE SECRETAEY OF THE 



lands, adorniug our homesteads, euhancing the vahie of real 

 estate, multiplyiug the blessings and comforts of life, and pro- 

 moting a great sonrce of national wealth, cannot be too highly 

 appreciated. The more I reflect upon the progress we have 

 made, the more am I confirmed in the belief that this branch of 

 culture will ere long become^ second only to the growth of the 

 bread and meat of our countr3% The enormous production of 

 strawberries and other small fruits, the millions upon millions of 

 baskets of peaches, — not to speak of the apples and pears and 

 other fruits that are now annually produced, — give promise that 

 the time is fast approaching when all classes of society may enjoy 

 this health-preserving condiment as a portion of their daily 

 food. Nor can I refrain from referring once more to the benign 

 influence which our employment has upon the moral and relig- 

 ious instincts of the heart, the refinement of taste, and the 

 welfare of society. Whatever pleasure may be derived from 

 other pursuits, there is surely none that has afforded stronger 

 evidence of a high and progressive state of civilization or a 

 more ennobling influence, than the culture of fruits. "This," 

 says General Dearborn, "must have been the first step in the 

 march of civilization, while the method of ameliorating their 

 character and multiplying the varieties may be considered as 

 taking precedence of all human efforts in the industrial arts." 

 From the day when God gave our father in Eden trees, 

 "pleasant to the sight and good for food," down to Solomon, 

 who said, "I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted in 

 them trees of all kind of fruits," and through the successive 

 generations of men, the cultivation of trees and plants has 

 been the criterion of taste and refinement. No object of 

 attachment is more naturally allied to the instincts of the soul, 

 and truly did Emerson remark, " He who knows the most, he 

 who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, and ho.w 

 to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man." 

 And what greater benefactions can you leave for posterity than 

 these memorials which shall live and grow, which shall tell of 

 your love of the most beautiful work? of nature, kindred, and 



