320 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[ OctobfT, 



inp voted for Nrtshvillo. nnd on the subsequent 

 motion of Mr. Qiiiiin liiuiself tlio motion was 

 maili- and carriod " uiiaiuniously " to Niushville. 



A [jartii'ularly at,'reealtle incident of tlie mecl- 

 wa« a trip up (lie Cliestor Itivcr to Riverside, the 

 residence, and peach aiul jiear orc-hards of 

 Col. Wilkins. Few of the memhers ever had s(» 

 much in.strnction in tlie culture of these fruits 

 on a tremendous scale as this visit aMorded, an<l 

 many were the praises hestowcil on the Col. for 

 this jjenerous treat. Some two hundred and 

 eighty mend)ers went up. To help the Society, 

 the Maryland Horticultural Society spent several 

 thousands of dollars in erecting temporary ac- 

 commodations for the fruits of the Association, 

 placing the Pomological Society under lasting 

 obligations to them. 



Qo\. Wilder's address was regarded as emi- 

 nently practical, and one of Ids best elforts, and 

 we need ask no pardon from our readers, on 

 account of its length, for giving it in full in our 

 pages. 



ADDRESS OF MARSHALL P. WILDER. 



Gentlemen of the American Pomological Society : — 



This is the sixteenth session of our Associa- 

 tion. We meet here by the invitation of the 

 Maryland Horticultural Society, throush whose 

 courtesy and liberality we have been provided 

 with most ample accommodations for the occa- 

 sion. 



Most heartily do I rejoice in the privilege and 

 pleasure of taking by the hand so many with 

 whom I have associated in the past for tlie pro- 

 motion of the objects of this Association, and 

 from whom I have received so many expressions 

 of confidence, and so much assistance in the dis- 

 charge of my duties. 



Once more, through the loving kindness of 

 Him who hath again restored my healtl), I rise 

 to perform a service which the Constitution of 

 our Society devolves upon me. Almost a gen- 

 eration of men have passed from the stage of 

 action since its formation, but, thanks to a mer- 

 ciful Providence, some still live who assisted in 

 its organization, and are here to-day. To these 

 and all who have come here to co-operate with 

 us I extend a most hearty welcome. 



Amidst the strides of scientific research and 

 a higher state of civilization, which has distin- 

 guished the present century, in nothing is 

 progress more apparent than in the advance- 

 ment of pomological knowledge on this conti- 

 nent. I have spoken of this on former occa- 

 sions, but now, as we are entering on the second 

 century in the history of our republic, I have 

 thought that a review of what has been accom- 

 plished, even at the expense of repeating some- 

 thing which I may have uttered before, would 

 be both interesting and instructive. 



THE GROWTH, EXPANSION AND INFLUENCE OF THE 



AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY, AND 



KINDRED ASSOCIATIONS. 



Frequent allusion has been made to the 

 remarkable growth and influence of our Asso- 

 ciation. 



At the first meeting of the Society, in the year 

 1S4S, there were but twelve States represented 

 l)y delegates, while at our last session in Chicago, 

 ill lS7r), there were, as may l)e seen by tne 

 Rejtort on Credentials, twenty-eight States, Ter- 

 ritories and Provinces represented in person, 

 and nine by letters rjf correspcjndence, making a 

 grand total of thirty seven. In 1.S48 the attend- 

 ance was limited by the number of delegates 

 present from these twelve States, and the juris- 

 diction of tlie Society by the area which they 

 represented. Xow we have on our roll the 

 nanies of three hundred and thirty-eight mem- 

 l)ers,anil its field covers the entire territory from 

 Canada to Te.vas — from Nova Scotia to Califor- 

 nia. From nearly all of these States and dis- 

 tricts reports are regularly re<'eived of the 

 progress and culiure therein, with fruits for 

 iilentification and comparison, and with lists of 

 those adapted to their several localities. And 

 here let us acknowledge with gratitude the noble 

 and generous manner in which the various State 

 Societies and Fruit Growers' Associations have 

 co-operated with our institution to bring about 

 the grand results which we have witnessed. 



With the close of the present session the 

 Society will have held sixteen conventions, and 

 will have entered on the thirtieth year of its 

 existence. Three sessions of the Society have 

 been held in the citj' of New York, three in 

 Philadelphia, three in Boston, two in Rochester, 

 N. Y., one each in the cities of Cincinnati, 

 St. Louis, Richmond and Chicago, to which will 

 soon be added the city of Baltimore. These 

 sessions have been marked by evidently rapid 

 and most gratifying progress, both as regards 

 the information acquired and disseminated, as 

 well as by the improved workings of the Society, 

 and the character and usefulness of its publica- 

 tions. This progress has been essentially pro- 

 moted by the holding of its meetings in distant 

 cities of the United States. 



From this fact the Society has been called a 

 national institution. But it is more than 

 national. It is continental, embracing within its 

 fold not oniy the States of the Union, but the 

 British Provinces on our borders. Its latitude 

 extends over twenty-five degrees, aiid its longi- 

 tude the entire breadth of this continent. Its 

 area embraces almost every variety of soil and 

 temperature, where almost all of the fruits of 

 the various zones may be grown, from the 

 apples of Canada, and the oranges, figs and 

 bananas of Florida, Louisiana and California. 

 It is, therefore, properly styled an American 

 Society. Its field is not merely the American 

 Union, it is our continent. Its men and means 

 have been more effective than were ever before 

 used for the promotion of Pomology. The 

 capabilities and probabilities of its field for 

 progress were never surpassed by any country, 

 affording, as it does, ample scope for testing 

 the fruits adapted to the various climates, tem- 

 peratures and soils of our widely extended 

 domain. 



(To be continued in our next.) 



