58 



THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[I'ebruary, 



the ordeal, and knows what it is. Wm. A. Mau- 

 pay, the son of a well-known and, in his day, honor- 

 ed nurseryman, of Rising Sun, near Philadelphia, 

 was employed in the Park under Mr. Miller, but 

 for some reason or other was discharged. He 

 then brought charges against Mr. Miller, that he 

 had taken or sent plants from the Park, presuma- 

 bly in his own interest. The charges were re- 

 peated in every paper — petty and respectable— in 

 the city ; and by those who did not know Mau- 

 pay or Miller, Mr. Miller was thought to be in a 

 terrible plight. But on investigation it was found 

 that a system of exchanges, in vogue in every 

 public garden in the world, had long ago been 

 authorized here, and as all exchanges had been 

 faithfully recorded on books kept for that purpose, 

 as well as all receipts on account thereof, the 

 Landscape Gardener had simply to produce these 

 books. The whole transactions showed so much 

 in favor of the Park, that, instead of censure, the 

 result was the passage of a resolution unani- 

 mously by the Park Commissioners, thanking Mr. 

 Miller for his extremely good work in connection 

 with these exchanges. But thousands will have 

 read of the malicious charges, who will never see 

 the vindication ; but then it is worth remembering 

 that while malice makes enemies, it brings friends 

 also. Hundreds now know of Miller's good work 

 who before had no idea thereof. 



Good for Insects. — A correspondent of an- 

 other paper is puzzled at the answer the Editor 

 gave to her inquiry : What was good for insects ? 

 that he could not tell her unless he knew what 

 disease the insects were suffering from ? She 

 should tell him that they had eaten more than 

 was good for them. 



Col. M. p. Wilder. — It will, we are sure, 

 gratify the numerous friends of Col. Wilder, to 

 know that notwithstanding his advanced years, 

 he presided at the annual meeting of the New 

 England Geneological Society, and made one of 

 his usual brilliant addresses. This is we believe 

 the eighteenth consecutive term of his Presidency. 



Charles Downing. — The death of this distin- 

 guished pomologist, which occurred on the 19th 

 of January, closes a remarkable era in the history 

 of American horticulture. It is well known to 

 students of social philosophy, that the courses of 

 large bodies in the community are unconsciously 

 directed by a few remarkable men, who come to 

 be in a certain sense leaders and directors of 

 thought without cither the leader or the led having 

 the least idea of the current drift of things. In 



1 gardening we see this frequently illustrated. The 

 genius and influence of Thomas Andrew Knight, 

 ably seconded a few years later by Lindley, led to 

 the production of a race of thoughtful, practical 

 gardeners in England, the like of which the world 

 has probably never seen. On the continent of Eu- 



; rope. Von Mons, Decaisne, Du Breuil, and others 



j of that stamp, took a special interest in fruit cul- 

 ture ; and for many years the whole world had to 

 look to France and Belgium for most that was 

 worth learning in progressive fruit culture. Land- 

 scape gardening, flower culture, orchid collecting, 

 and many other lines of horticultural pleasures, 



!all owe their waves of popularity to the unselfish 

 genius of a few enthusiasts. Gardening never 

 goes down. From early Paradise till. now the 

 love exists, and will exist while time endures ; but 

 the peculiar directions the tide take depend on a 

 very few. 



The advent of the Downings — Andrew Jackson 

 and Charles — had this special influence here. A. 

 J. Downing was a rare lover of garden taste and 

 garden art, and he had the essential enthusiasm 

 that was catching to all who came into contact 

 with him. If he had lived no country would have 

 been more preeminent in landscape gardening than 

 America. But he died young ; and the young 

 plant with so brilliant a future faded when his 

 spirit fled. To-day, landscape gardening is al- 

 most a lost art among us, at least in comparison 

 to what it would have been had the great master 

 lived. The brother Charles' genius- tended more 

 to fruit culture. His love for trees and flowers 

 was not less than that of his brother, but fruit was 

 his chosen fancy, and to our mind it was the 

 genius of Charles Downing which led the way for 



! tj;ie vast preeminence in fruit culture which Ameri- 

 I ca enjoys to-day. Of course he has been ably 

 seconded by Warder, Barry, Wilder, Hovey, and 

 many others, just as in other lines other leaders 

 j have been ably seconded in their day ; but the 

 stream that was stricken from the rock was chiefly 

 in response to the rod of Charles Downing. 



Who will now tell us of what we want to know 

 of fruits ? Who will give the many hours in nam- 

 ing and identifying baskets of fruit from all parts of 

 the world to which he gave so many in the labor 

 of love ? Hours of time and piles of money, for 

 I that which was not of the slightest value to him, 

 except as might be the knowledge that he was 

 benefiting every one around him. Is there any- 

 thing in horticulture that makes a man unselfish ? 

 The lawyer, the physician, the clergyman even, has 

 a money value on time, and either in the shape of 



