236 



MASS. HORTICULTURAL FESTIVAL. 



gentleman is detained at liome by serious sickness, 

 and is tlierelore rather to be " pitied for tiiipcbanoe 

 than challeiiired for neglect ;'' and it is owing to 

 this misfortune, that I am tierG,longo intetvullo, to 

 supply his place. 



But. Mr. President, however incompetent I Way 

 be to meet the expectations which my absent friend 

 would have more than realized. I am at least able 

 to say that it liives me unmini^led satisfaction to be 

 with ynu on this mot,t interesting occasion. Turn- 

 inij a.side from tlie dusty path of controversy in 

 which it is my daily business to tread, and entering 

 upon tills scene of fragrance and of beauty— this 

 scene, prodigal in its disi)lay of God's best gifts, 

 and adorned by the presence of his fairest crea' 

 tures— this scene so eloquently described by Mr 

 Wintluops where the eye revels on the richest hues 

 and the most exquisite forms, and the sense of 

 smell derives delight from a thousand perfumes, 

 such as " may defy what Araby, with all its odors, 

 can against tiicm do," aiid the palate is tempted by 

 whatever is luscious or delicate, and the inner 

 sjiirit rejoices in the associations which all these 

 awaken—this scene, 



" As full of sweelres.« as the mniilh of May, 

 As Ror. tons as the sUn 21 mitlsuniiuer,'' 



I am thankful, deeply and gratefully thankful, for 

 the privilege which has been vouchsafed to me. 

 Yes. sir, this is, indeed, a spectacle admirable to 

 behold— ihi.s is, indeed, a gathering of which any 

 one might be proud to tbrm a part. Upon these 

 tables are spread the luxurious i)roducls of all other 

 climes, rendered by the skill and enterprise and 

 labor of you and your associates, oontributive to 

 enjoyment in our own ; around these tables are 

 seated wit and wisdom and loveliness — men emi- 

 nent in hall, in council, and in field, and VNoman, 

 bright with intelligence and beauty^ 



'• The expectancy and rose of llie fair stale, 

 Tlie glass of fashion and the n<ould of form "' 



And surely, sir, in such a presence, and at such 

 a time, it is enough to fill the amliition of a com- 

 mon man, that he should be, though but for a mo. 

 mi-nt, '' the observed of all observers." 



I congratulate you, Mr. President, and all other 

 practical horticulturists, on your superior good for- 

 tune — 1 ought rather to call it your superior good 

 sensc-Hn beginning where most great men end, 

 namely, in seeking happiness and ease among fruits 

 and flowers and tlie gentle toils which are required 

 to produce them. That is the true wisdom, lor it 

 is nature. Man drew his first breatli-^and it was 

 a breath of Paradise, in a garden, and the instinct 

 implanted at the creation has survived through all 

 the periods of his existence, and it is not wonder- 

 ful, tlierefore, that the master spirits of their age, 

 wearied with success, sick of glory, and even of 

 praise, should fly for refuge to the consoling culti- 

 vation of the earth. In pi oof of thiS we need not 

 go to the " dark backward and abysm of time" — 

 we need not refer to Dioclcsian at Salona. or the 

 earlier and nobler pictures of the eider consuls and 

 dictators in the retirement of (heir villas and farms, 

 improving the native vegetables of Italy, and ac- 

 climating liie exotic fruits of Africa and Asia. 



Our own country, from Washington at Mount 

 Vernon down to the present day, is pregnant in 



examples. Jackson had his ttermitajje. HaffisoH 

 his North Bend. The groves of Ashland sheltef 

 the declining years of the venerated Clay j and 

 near the banks of the Mississippi may be seen the 

 simple rustic abode of him whose deeds have ob« 

 scured the fabulous exploits of the oidtime ehi« 

 valry. Your own great statesman— '^^our own great 

 stateaman, for Penn.sylvania loves and honors not 

 le.»is than Massachusetts loves and honors your il« 

 liistrious citinen— -refreshes his mighty intellect in 

 the retirement of Marshfield Even the sage of 

 Lindenwaid. no longer satisfied with the production 

 of Kinderhook cabbages, has become so absorbed 

 in agricultural pursuits that he has not only devoted 

 his own whole mind, and heart and strength, but 

 has actually given iijg eldest born to the agitation 

 and discussion of a question of «o?7i 



In these tuhiultuary times, Mr. President, when 

 abroad, ihrnnes totter and royalties run, and the 

 spirit of progress, madly leaping across the chasm 

 of centuries, seeks to drag the palpable present 

 into the indistinct future j and, at home, we are in 

 the very tempest and storm of a presidential con- 

 test'^a violent triangular tornado, not to speak of 

 earthquakes in New«York and gold mines in Call- 

 Jbrnia -"-you, gentlemen honieulturists, can shut 

 yourselves up in your gardens, shutting out the 

 world with its bustle and turmoil, and shutting in 

 contentment and peace-'=-^careless, amid your dah- 

 lias and japonicas, whether Prussia circumvents 

 Austria, or as is most likely to be the case, each 

 cheat the other. The French anarchy has fallen, 

 but you, Mr. President, have raised a new variety 

 of pear-^and what is the extinction of an efTete and 

 ex})loded dynasty to the p» eduction of a delicious 

 fruit? Charles Albert beats Kadetsky 5 of how 

 little importance is that compared to the fact that 

 Mr. Hovey takes the first premium for flowers ; or 

 if Radetsky beats Charles Albert, it affords less 

 interest than to know that Mr. French's fruits carry 

 off the price from all competitors. After all, sir, 

 horticulture, ■^which may be regarded as philoso- 

 phy teaching by roses and apples-^is the only true 

 pursuit; and tetque quaturqtie bcati ; thrice and 

 four times blefesed are they, who, under its genial 

 influence, are tranquil in the midst of excitements, 

 and can aflbrd to smile when money is two per 

 cent, a month. 



But, sir, it is time this prattle should cease j and 

 now let me say, in sober seriousness, what in me, 

 who am but a lay member, not entitled to any 

 share of the praise, it may not be unbecoming to 

 say, that the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is 

 an institution of which in Philadelphia we are justly 

 proud. Composed as it is, for the most part, of 

 men eminent for character, liberality, learning and 

 knowledge— knowledge not alone of the science, of 

 if you so please to call it, the art, which they are 

 associated to promote, but also of all kindred and 

 dependent sciences ; and of women, whose daily 

 lives are not less beautiful than the gentle flowers 

 they nurture. It has exercised a wide-spread and 

 beneficial influence. It has refined the public tastej 

 while at the same time it has ministered largely to 

 the public enjoyment. By diflusing a love for the 

 graceful pursuits to which it invites, it has height* 

 ened the charm of eocial intercourse j and by bring* 



