various other sections of our Union, and what a charming prospect does our fair land 



present I 



" Fellow Associates : In view of this auspicious progress, let us compare our experiencb 

 and results ; let us stimulate each other to still greater exertions for the advancement of our 

 common cause. Let us endeavor to disseminate the knowledge of the few among the many, 

 that we may improve the public taste, add to the wealth of our republic, and confer on our 

 countrymen the blessings of our favorite art. Thus shall we make other men happy, and 

 keep them so — render our own homes the abodes of comfort and contentment, and hasten 

 the time when the garden shall feel no blight, the fruitful field laugh with abundance, and 

 rivers of gladness water the earth." 



AMERICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The sixth biennial meeting of the American Pomological Society was held in Rochester, 

 September 24-26. Nearly all portions of our extended country, from Maine to California, 

 were represented (there being delegates from nineteen States), and we heard it repeatedly 

 remarked that a more respectable and intellectual body of men had never met in Rochester. 



The Genesee Valley Horticultural Society held their annual exhibition in connection 

 with the American Pomological Society and the Western New York Fruit Growers' Associa- 

 tion, and the show of fruits and flowers excelled anything we have ever before witnessed. 

 Had it not been for the partial failure of the apple crop in the West, the display would have 

 been truly gorgeous ; but what was lacking in apples and peaches was made up in pears. 

 The extent to which pear culture is attracting the attention of fruit growers in all parts of 

 the Union, was fairly indicated by the large number and excellence of the varieties shown. 

 The veteran pomologist, and President of the Society, Marshall P. Wilder, who has, in his 

 grounds at Dorchester, Massachusetts, over one thousand different varieties of pears, exhibited 

 one hundred of his best new sorts ; and that the Messrs. Hovey & Co., of Boston, exhibited 

 250 varieties. From this city, the show of pears was very large, and, in size, color, and 

 smoothness of skin, unsurpassed. Messrs. Ellwanger & Barry, Hooker & Co., Frost & Co., 

 and other leading nurserymen of Rochester, exhibited largely, as did also one or two ama- 

 teurs. John Hampton, gardener to Selah Matthews, Esq., showed thirteen varieties of pears 

 — among them a well-shaped Bartlett, weighing twelve ounces — and a fine collection of 

 greenhouse plants, roses, verbenas, grapes, &c. J. Salter, gardener to J. F. Bush, Esq., ex- 

 hibited eight varieties of exotic grapes. Mr. Messer, of Geneva, N. Y., also showed sevei-al 

 varieties of splendid exotic grapes — among them some enormous bunches of Muscat of Alex- 

 andria. A dish of pears, of the Louise Bonne de Jersey and Duchesse d'Angoul6me varieties, 

 sent by President Pierce, from the "People's Garden" at Washington, D. C, showed the 

 difference of the season here and at the South. They were fully ripe, while specimens of 

 the same varieties grown here were quite green and hard. Dr. Grant, of Newburgh, N. Y., 

 had a fine collection of native grapes, among them the Delaware — perhaps the earliest and 

 best flavored native variety in cultivation, but lacking size — and a new seedling white grape, 

 called Rebecca, which promises to be an acquisition. There were two fine collections of apples 

 from Iowa, and one from North Carolina, containing many varieties of Southern apples but 

 little known at the North. 



The American Pomological Convention was welcomed to the city by the Mayor of Roches- 

 ter, and, after some preliminary business, the President of the Society, Hon. Marshall P. 

 Wilder, delivered a most eloquent and interesting address (which wiU be found on another 

 l^age. — Ed. ) 



After the conclusion of the address, the convention proceeded to business. The Nomi- 

 nating Committee reported the following list of officers, which were unanimously elected : — 



President — Hon. Marshall P. Wildeb, of Boston. 



S. L. Ooodale, Maine, 

 H. J. French, New Hampshire, 

 Fred. Holbrook, Vermont, 

 Samuel Walker, Massachusetts, 

 Stephen H. Smith, R. I., 

 A. S. Monson, Connecticut, 

 Charles Downing, New York, 

 William Reid, New Jersey, 



Vice-Presidents, 

 Hartman Kuhn, Jr., Penna., 

 William C. Wilson, Maryland, 

 E. Tatnall, Jr., Delaware, 

 Yardley Taylor, Virginia, 

 Joshua Lindley, N. Carolina, 

 A. G. Summer, S. Carolina, 

 Richard Peters, Georgia, 

 C. A. Peabody, Alabama, 



Tliomas Afileck, Mississippi, 

 D. W. Yandell, Tennessee, 

 Lawrence Young, Kentucky, 

 A. H. Ernst, Ohio, 

 H. L. Ellsworth, Indiana, 

 C. R. Overman, Illinois, 

 Thomas Allen, Mississippi, 

 Rev. C. H. Byington, Ark,, 



YOL. VI. — NOYEMBEB, 1856. 



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