1885.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



349 



the only means to revolutionize and improve the 

 fruits of the earth. 



When we reflect on the improvement which has 

 been realized by cross-fertilization in the various 

 species of the vegetable kingdom, we can scarcely i 

 fix a limit to its potent influence for good on our | 

 fruits. And we may thus go on from one degree 

 of excellence to another until we shall produce 

 fruits as fine as were ever grown by our father in 

 Eden. Go on prospering and to prosper in this 

 most promising and beneficent work. You can 

 do nothing better for the generations that are to 

 follow us ; and so again, with hne upon line, and 

 perhaps for the last time, I leave with you my old 

 injunction : " Plant the most mature and perfect 

 seeds of the most hardy, vigorous, and valuable 

 varieties ; and as a shorter process, insuring 

 more certain and happy results, cross and hy- 

 bridize our finest kinds for still greater excel- 

 lence." Go on ! Go on ! while you live, and 

 when we are gone, others will rise up to chant our 

 old song : — 



Plant the best seeda of all your best fruit, 

 Good fruits to raise that some lands may suit ; 

 Fruits which shall live their blessings to shed. 

 On millions of souls when you shall be dead. 



Plant ! plant your best seeds— no longer doubt 

 That beautiful fruits you may create ; 

 Fruits which, perchance, your name may enshrine. 

 In emblems of life and beauty to shine. 



Thus have I summed up some of the most im- 

 portant considerations and suggestions of my 

 former addresses, thinking that I could do noth- 

 ing better than to call your attention to them again, 

 and reenforce them as principles upon which must 

 depend the successful prosecution of our work. 



And now, gentlemen, in conclusion, let me 

 again congratulate you on what our Society has 

 already accomplished. "The past is secure ;" but 

 the great duty still remains of extending, fostering, 

 and rightly directing the pomology of our country. 



Other societies have arisen, and will continue to 

 arise, and help forward our noble designs ; but 

 the American Pomological Society will still bring 

 together the most distinguished cultivators of our 

 land, and will be the great head, guardian, and 

 guide of the pomology of this western world. 

 When we reflect on what has been accomplished 

 in the thirty-seven years of its history, and think 

 of the immense territory in our favored land which 

 is yet to be occupied with fruit culture, and of the 

 increasing demand for these products so necessary 

 for the health and happiness of life, we feel the 

 great responsibility which rests on us as protectors 

 and conservators of one of the most important 

 branches of American husbandry. Let me then 



urge you to persevere in this work and preserve 

 our bond of union throughout the land. " Union 

 is strength ;" and in nothing is this better illus- 

 trated than in the associated efforts which have 

 given such influence and importance to our 

 Society. Perpetuate it, that the blessings which 

 it confers may go down to posterity, and grateful 

 millions shall bless the memory of those who laid 

 its foundations, and shall aid in carrying out its 

 benevolent designs. Think once more, my friends, 

 of the great blessings which you may confer on 

 mankind by the multiplication of good fruits. 

 Next to saving the soul is the saving of health, 

 and I know of no better means than an abundant 

 supply of ripe fruits. 



Fruits are the overflow of nature's bounty ; 

 gems from the skies which are dropped down to 

 beautify the earth, charm the sight, gratify the 

 taste, and minister to the enjoyment of life ; and 

 the more we realize this, the more shall we appre- 

 ciate the Divine goodness to us, and the duty of 

 providing them for others. 



Like morning's first light, that gladdens the sight. 

 So may the best fruits spread over the earth. 

 And \vhen we shall reach that still fairer land, 

 And round the life-tree in mercy shall stand, 

 May each pluck its fruit, and nevermore feel 

 The serpent's sharp tooth, once close at his heeU 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Pennsylvania Horticultural Society — 

 Fifty-sixth Annual Exhibition. — The marked' 

 improvement that continues to be seen in the 

 culture of plants, fruits and flowers, which this 

 Society has done so much through its long hfe to 

 foster, still continues in evidence from this year's 

 exhibit, and must be very gratifying to the mem- 

 bers of the Society. The art of growing things 

 well is supposed to be an European specialty, 

 which the gardener leaves behind "him when he 

 lands in America ; but many of the specimens 

 here were grown in a manner that even a prize- 

 master in the old world might envy. The chief 

 novelty was in the superior culture ; for of the 

 kinds of fruits or flowers there was scarcely any- 

 thing that attendants on former exhibitions had 

 not seen before. 



Passing through in our search for novelties, in 

 kind or culture, we were attracted by a plant of 

 Abutilon Sellowianum in its marbled and varie- 

 gated form, exhibited by John Nisbet, gardener to 

 Mrs.'D. Jayne. Though only about 9 inches by 

 9, it was a dense mass of foliage, with yellow 

 marblings on green ground. Most of the Abutilons 

 have a straggling habit. 



