The Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 89 



Lowell preside. His health being feeble, he had given us but little 

 encouragement of being able to be present. One of his neighbors, on 

 Colonnade Row, however, Mr. Cheever Newhall, called on him that 

 morning, with his sleigh and extra blankets, and induced him to wrap 

 up and come down, to the great gratification of the company. He pre- 

 sided as chairman, and IMr. Cook acted as secretary. It was voted to 

 establish a Horticultural Society ; a committee of five was appointed 

 to obtain members, and another of three to draw up a constitution and 

 by-laws, to be considered at a future meeting, which meeting was held 

 at Mr. Cook's office on the 1 7th of ISIarch. An organization was then 

 effected, and General H. A. S. Dearborn elected president, and Z. 

 Cook, Jr., Enoch Bartlett, John C. Gray, and Robert Manning, vice- 

 presidents : Cheever Newhall, treasurer; Dr. Jacob Bigelow, corres- 

 ponding secretary, and Robert L. Emmons, recording secretary. All 

 these gentlemen have " passed over the dark river," except Mr. New- 

 hall, Mr. Gray, and Dr. Bigelow^ To interest as many as possible, 

 a " Council," composed of thirty-eight persons, in different parts of 

 the State, was also elected, of whom but five or six are living ; this 

 clumsy feature in the organization was supplemented, in a few months, 

 by an executive committee of five (Samuel Downer, Elias Phinney, 

 Cheever Newhall, Charles Tappan, and John B. Russell). J. B. Rus- 

 sell was appointed general agent of the society, and attended to all its 

 business gratuitously, and on the day of its organization reported the 

 names of one hundred and sixty members. 



Many of the old school of gentleman farmers, at first, gave a cold 

 shoulder to the project, but fell into line, and became members, after 

 it was evident that it w^ould be a decided success. Mr. Lowell, how- 

 ever, was its ardent friend from the start, and always contributed liber- 

 ally of his means and elegant plants to decorate its exhibitions. At 

 the quartei'ly meeting in June of that year, Mr. John Welles, a well- 

 known, genial, and generous gentleman, sent the society a check for 

 one hundred dollars, the first pecuniary gift it received. Donations of 

 books on horticulture were also made by Mr. Lowell, Robert Manning, 

 Gorham Parsons, General Dearborn, and several others ; seeds by 

 Drs. Mitchell and Hosack, of New York, and Ex-President John Q. 



