320 



THE GARDENEIVS MONTHLY 



[October^ 



the society, and John B. Russell, all of whom ; 

 still survive ; and here to-day, nujch to oiu* joy, : 

 are the brothers Ilovey, who were present on that 

 occasion. Well do T renienihcr the toast of Gen- i 

 eral Dearborn — "lntellit:;ence and industry, the , 

 only true promoters of the public good" — a sen- 

 timent which deserves to be Avritten in letters of ! 

 living gold. I thank you, Mr. President, for your 

 kind allusion (o me as one who ha.s done something 

 to promote the interests and welfare of my fellow- ' 

 men. My friends, I have lived to see great pro- 

 gress and improvement in the agriculture and j 

 horticulture of our country, nnich of wiiich may i 

 be primarily traced to the enterprise and labors j 

 of Massachusetts men. Suffice it to say, that,' 

 from the day when Governor Endicott planted ! 

 his Pear tree at Salom, which still lives; from 

 the day that Perigrino White planted his Apple i 

 tree at Marshfield, Mass.; from the day when I 

 our society was formed it has stood prominently i 

 before the world as a leader and patron of agri- ' 

 cultural and horticultural science. How marvel- ' 

 lous the progress in our own day I How grand ! 

 the march of horticulture since the establish- 1 

 ment of our own society ! It is scarcely fifty I 

 years since the Massachusetts Horticultural So- j 

 ciety was formed. Then there were but few j 

 horticultural and agricultural societies in our 

 land; now they are counted by thousands, and 

 are scattered over the continent, all working j 

 harmoniously for the promotion of these arts, j 

 Then there was scarcely a nursery of any note 

 west, and only a few east of the Hudson river ; 

 now they are planted from one shore of our 

 country to the other, and among them many of 

 the largest in the world. Then Mr. Hovey had 

 not sowed the seed of his Strawberry and other 

 fruits, which have since immortalized his name, 

 or commenced laying out his extensive grounds 

 and building his houses in Cambridge. Then 1 

 had not planted a seed of the Camellia, the 

 Azalea, Pear or Grape, nor even attempted tlie 

 hybridization of a plant ; now our American 

 fruits and plants enrich the gardans and adorn 

 the catalogues of foreign lands. Then we had 

 no such splendid villas as those cf Hunneywell, 

 Payson, Gray and others, with their broad lawns, 

 extensive glass structures and magnificent plants, 

 which are such an honor to our land. Then we 

 had many old and fine homes and gardens, such 

 as Governor Gore's, Mr. Lyman's, Mr. Preble's, 

 Mr. Cushings's, (he Perkinses and others ; but 

 very little in the way of landscape gardening or 

 . in new or rare plants or fruits. Then our exhi- 



bitions were confined to a few days of the year, 

 and were for many years held in small rooms; 

 now many of our exhibitions are the best given 

 in any State in the Union. Then we had no 

 building of our own; now we possess the most 

 costly and magnificent temple of horticulture 

 that the world can boast. Then the American 

 Pomological Society, whose president, by the 

 mercy of God. in his 28tli year of service now 

 stands before you, had never been dreamed of — 

 a society that eminated primarily from the influ- 

 ence of the Massachusett's Horticultural Socie- 

 ty — a society that embraces not only our na^ 

 tional domain, but whose jurisdiction extend? 

 over our continent — whose catalogue prescribes 

 the appropriate fruit for fifty States, territories, 

 and districts, and at whose quarter-centennial in 

 this city, the far-off State of NebravSka, with her 

 Governor at her head, carried off triumphantly 

 the Wilder medal for the best collection of 

 fruits. Then there were few exports of fruits; 

 now we send 400,000 barrels of apples in good 

 years to foreign lands. Then the grape was 

 scarcely cultivated; now, in addition to all thai 

 are used for the table, we make 15,000,000 gal- 

 lons of wine, and wine, too, that took the first 

 prize at the World's Exhibition at "Vienna, in 

 1873. Then the statistics of oiu* fruit crop were 

 not thought worthy of record ; now it amounts 

 to $140,000,000, o^ nearly the average annual 

 value of our wheat crop. But I must bring 

 these remarks to a close. I thank you for the 

 kind references to me as a pioneer in rural af- 

 fairs. You do me no more than justice, for I 

 cannot, a.s I have told you before, remember 

 the time when I was not fond of the cultivation 

 of the soil. But, gentlemen, my labors are 

 mostly over. Soon I shall be resting in the 

 bosom of my mother earth ; but if I can believe 

 I have done anything to advance the great in- 

 terests of our land, and which shall contribute to 

 the happiness of my fellow men, I shall, so far 

 as this Avorld is concerned, die content, feeling 

 that I have not lived in vain. 



Mr. Wilder resumed his seat amid a storm of 

 applause. 



The Netv Jersey State Horticttltural 

 Society, — intend holding an Exhibition in con- 

 nection with the Burlington Co. Agricultural 

 Society at Mt. Holly, on the 8th, 9th and 10th of 

 October. The schedule of premiums is quite 

 large, and those desiring information can obtain 

 it from Mr. Jno. T. Lovctt, Red Bank, Mon- 

 mouth Co., N. J., who has sent us a schedule. 



