ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 



To the Alembers of the Worcester County Horticultural Society : 



The year that has just closed was, to the local Fruit-grower, one of 

 chequered fortune. While seed time and harvest did not fail, doubt 

 arose at times which would not be dispelled, whether the just and un- 

 just were actually served with rigid impartiality. Of what avail to 

 " pool our issues !" when no angel descends to trouble the pool I 



To him who toils beneath a burning sun, when clouds and rain are 

 required ; who beholds the fruit of his labors taken trom him by the 

 plague of insects, or the greater plague of birds ; and to whom blight 

 and frost are certain, as merciless visitants : moments of discourage- 

 ment are inevitable. Nevertheless the reward is sure, if slow, to the 

 true Terrae-culturist ; — the man or woman who tills the soil for the 

 very occupation and its ample returns. They may not make two blades 

 of grass grow where was but one before : yet robust health, a contented 

 spirit, and the pride of personal independence, constitute of themselves 

 solely a sutiicient remuneration. They may not share in the occasional 

 gain- of trade ; but they are exempt from its frequent losses, its inex- 

 plicable vicissitudes and its harassing anxieties. The old fable of An- 

 taeus, whose strength was renewed by contact with his Mother-Earth 

 — is easily comprehended in the light of these latter days. 



As a Society, — we have every reason to take renewed courage. The 

 labor of Exhibitions is monotonous, it must be confessed: yet is not 

 the tree known by its fruit ? What then if the lesson is not lost ? In 

 our own case, e.y., we lind what we cast upon the waters returning 

 after many weary days. The seed sown at our first weekly meetings 

 fell upon receptive soil. Varieties of Fruit, then recommended by our 

 aged and most experienced Members, but which had almost disappeared 

 from cultivation, are re-appearing, in force and perfection, at our Exhi- 

 bitions. A better taste resumes sway, — and garden and lawn are again 

 brilliant with those old-time shrubs and plants that should never have 

 been displaced. If our task now and then grows tiresome, bear in 

 mind its privileges, and press forward ! For it is a privilege, to any 



