AMERICAN INSTITUTE, 73 



Matj 17, 1858. 



Present — Messrs. Robert L. Pell, LeoBard Wray, of London; Solon 

 Robinson, Provoost, Vine Dresser, of Williamsburgh ; Fuller, Trcadweli 

 and Wm. Lawton, of New Rochelle ; Paine, of Brooklyn ; Doughty, of Jer- 

 sey ; Stacey, Chilson, Davoll, Butler, Van Vleck, Pardee, Leonard, Cham- 

 bers and others — -53 members. 



President Pell in the chair. Henry Meigs, Secretary. 



The Secretary read the following translations, made by him, from the 

 latest Paris works received by the American Institute. 



[Bulletin Mensuel, &c., Paris, February, 1858.] 



OPENING ADDRESS OF VICE-PRESIDENT M. DROUYN DE 



L'HUYS. 



" Buffon said, in 1764, ' We hardly make use of all the riches which 

 Nature offers us ; she gave us the horse, the ox, the sheep, and all other 

 domestic animals, to serve, to feed and to clothe us, and still there are 

 many other animals in reseroe which can supply the want of them, which 

 we have but to subject and make them supply our wants. Man does not 

 know sufficiently what Nature has done and can do, but he rather loves to 

 abuse what he does know.' BufiFon appealed to the Directors of the Jardya 

 des Plantes, in 1739, for the culture of useful plants, other than those 

 medicinal plants to which it then was vv^holly confined, A hundred years 

 ago nobody ever dreamed of any other use for that garden ! Without 

 abusing the garden, however, which was then called le Jardin RoijaJ des 

 Flaniea Mediciiiales, for that was then the name of the Mviseum of Natural 

 History, he desired that it should be consecrated to the theoretical and 

 practical study of all the vegetable productions of nature. 



" Without going back beyond historical times, the grape vine, which, 

 next to the cereals, holds the greatest and most beautiful rank in our cul- 

 ture, came to France from Asia Minor with the first Phocean emigrants. 

 After 700 years it was so little cultivated by the Gauls that Doraitian 

 flattered himself that he could destroy the whole of the vines ! and 200 

 years since that the Emperor Probus was unable to acclimate more vines. 

 But the net profit of the Roman conquests was the importation of new trees 

 and plants, which, for 2,000 years, have given so much satisfaction to the 

 wants and enjoym.ent of the western world. The last and happiest impor- 

 tation for us was the mulberry and silk worm from India, by the Emperor 

 Justinian. Soon after the dark ages invaded the Roman world — profound 

 night extended all over Europe. 



" If (said Bufi'on) you want examples of the power of man over vegeta- 

 ble nature, you have only to compare cur garden vegetables, flowers and 

 fruits of the same species with those of fiftj^ years ago. You can do it by 

 means of the colored drawings of them commenced in the time of Gaston 

 d'Orleans, and continued to this day. We then had two sorts of chicory 

 and two of lettuce, both bad enough ! now we have fifty sorts ! excellent. 

 Our nut and seed fruits are totally diff'erent from and superior to the old 

 ones, which they resemble only in name !" 



