liv 
University acted as host, and nothing was left undone to insure 
the comfort and pleasure of the delegates, and the success of the 
meetings, conferences, and field trips. The Brooklyn Botanic 
Garden was one of thirty-six patrons of the Congress; these in- 
cluded 16 scientific and educational organizations and institutions, 
5 commercial concerns, and 15 individual contributors. 
EARLY HISTORY OF COMMERCIAL NURSERIES IN 
W YORK STATE 
After reading the article on André Parmentier in the Brooklyn 
Botanic Garden Record for January, 1926, Professor G. N. Lau- 
man, of the College of Agriculture, Cornell University, sent the 
undersigned a letter, reading in part as follows: “It was the 
reading of your remarks anent the André Parmentier celebration 
that led me to look up the earlier history of commercial nurseries 
in New York. Having had access to some data in the Newburgh 
Public Library, I find that the father of the Downings (A. J. and 
C.) had sold his carriage business in 1811 and ‘had been prepar- 
ing for several years previous for a change in his business and 
had been setting out and cultivating a large nursery of fruit trees, 
.’, (James W. Fowler in the Sunday Telegram, Newburgh, 
New York, March 25, 1894.) Some of this data is also to be 
found in Samuel W. Eager, An outline history of Orange County, 
1846-1847, pp. 175-177. Eager also mentions °. li! amuel 
Downing the father above mentioned) was the first in the busi- 
ness in this vicinity. We are aware that Mr. Noah Townsend 
near Seulalolacian in Cornwall, advertised nursery trees for sale in 
1805...’ pp. 175-177. I realize the difficulty of deciding where 
the Sone of a few trees leaves off and the commercial nursery 
Wee) but the Downing nursery was of the latter kind very 
ear 
Brom this information it would appear that the second com- 
mercial nursery in New York was not that of Thomas Hogg in 
New York City (1822), but either Townsend’s (1805) or Down- 
ing’s (1811), depending upon the circumstances, of which we 
have only meagre information. 
C. STUART GAGER 
