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to the learned and the ignorant ; to the illustrious and the 

 obscure, while the simplest child may take delight in them. 

 They may also prove a recreation to the most profound 

 philosopher. Lord Bacon himself did not disdain to bend 

 his mighty intellect to the subject of their culture. 



The great men of our own age as well as those of the 

 past, have given in their verdict in favor of the great util- 

 ity of the practice of horticulture in refining and elevat- 

 ing the mind. I cannot refrain from alluding to some of 

 the remarks made by Daniel "Webster, Caleb Gushing, and 

 other distinguished guests at the remarkable and interest- 

 ing festival, held by the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety at Fanueil Hall, in September 1845. At this grand 

 festival six hundred ladies and gentlemen sat down to a 

 sumptuous feast. The tables, fourteen in number, were 

 arranged lengthway of the hall, while at the end was a 

 raised platform, where were seated the president of the 

 society, Marshall P. Wilder, with the numerous invited 

 illustrious guests. The tables were loaded with every del- 

 icacy ; but their crowning glory was, the great profusion 

 of delicious fruits and a magnificent display of gorgeous 

 flowers, and the absence of all intoxicating liquors. The 

 scene was exciting and brilliant, enlivened by a band of 

 music, interspersed by appropriate songs, while the elo- 

 quent remarks from the distinguished guests, with the nu- 

 merous sentiments in praise of horticulture, produced a 

 scene never be forgotten. 



The Hon. Daniel Webster made the following remarks : 

 "I congratulate you, Mr. President, that our flowers 

 are not 



" ' Born to blush unseen 

 And waste their sweetness on the desert air." ' 



" The botany we cultivate, the productions of the busi- 

 ness of horticulture, the plants of the garden, are cul- 

 tivated by hands as delicate as their own tendrils, viewed 



