482 Notes of a Visit, <^c. 



too are well pruned, and kept open to the sun and air, thus 

 aiding in the perfection of all the fruit. We are well satisfied, 

 that thorough cultivation has more to do in the production of 

 superior fruit, than the too generally imagined cause of local- 

 ity and climate ; and that the frequent complaint, which we 

 hear, that a particular fruit is adapted to the climate of New 

 York, and will not succeed in Massachusetts, is more to be 

 attributed to a want of judicious cultivation, than any pecu- 

 liarity of soil or season. 



We only regret that our limited time did not allow us an 

 opportunity to extend our observations ; but we hope another 

 time to do this, and to add something more to these brief notes 

 by the way, now given with a view to show the rapid ad- 

 vancement of horticulture, in a region so comparatively new 

 as Western New York. 



Buffalo, Sept. 5th. — Few cities in the country have so rap- 

 idly grown up as Buffalo. Twenty years ago, with only a 

 few hundred inhabitants, it now contains more than forty 

 thousand ; at the head of lake navigation, now become of such 

 great magnitude, it must eventually, with the increasing in- 

 tercourse with the great West, become one of the most popu- 

 lous cities in New York. Covering a nearly level surface on 

 the borders of Lake Erie, and having a deep and fertile soil, 

 the environs of the city afford admirable situations for cottage 

 and villa residences, and neat gardens ; and we were gratified 

 to see such good evidence of an increasing taste for horticul- 

 tural pursuits, as was exhibited in the well laid out and 

 clearly kept gardens, which already abound on some of the 

 main avenues of the city. Our time was so occupied at the 

 Fair, and our friends so much engaged in its arrangements, 

 that we did not have the opportunity to visit any of the flour- 

 ishing nurseries which are located here. Col. Hodge, of the 

 Buffalo nursery, has a large and extensive collection of fruits, 

 and has made great exertions to introduce many of the new- 

 est varieties of pears. The Horticultural Society, with Prof. 

 Coppock, a zealous and enthusiastic cultivator, at its head, 

 is doing much towards maintaining and disseminating a taste 

 for every department of gardening. 



Rochester Sept. 10th. — Many influences have combined to 

 foster and encourage a taste for horticulture, in Rochester, 



