18 



felty and will, I trust, ])e ackovvledged by the conr- 

 munity. 



A taste for rural pursuits and improved culture hag 

 been widely diffused through the influence and ex- 

 ample of this society. An emulation has been excited 

 which has been productive of highly gratifying results. 

 The weekly exhibitions at our Hall the past and pass- 

 ing season, have furnished undeniable evidence of the 

 truth of this assertion. The increased varieties of 

 beautiful flowers, and rich fruits, and fine culinary 

 plants, have surpassed our anticipations, and more 

 than all these, are the gratifying effects that have 

 followed those exhibitions in the expressions of delighS 

 we have heard from those w^ro have attended them. 

 We cannot be insensible to the commendation of our 

 fellow-citizens; we ask for their support and en- 

 couragement ; and I feel assured that a generous and 

 tasteful community can never be unmindful of the 

 importance of sustaining an institution that contributes 

 so essentially to the supply of their common necessi- 

 ties, and administers so abundantly to the happiness 

 of the healthful, and the solace of the invalid. 



The varieties of soil and of climates with which 

 our country is diversified, are favorable to the growth 

 of almost every plant, which nature yields to the wants 

 or the tastes of man. The magnolia, the tulip, the 

 judas, the laurel, and other flowering trees that may 

 vie in beauty and fragrance with almost any of the 

 exotic plants, are indigenous to our forests, and are 

 improved by cultivation when transplanted to appro- 

 priate situations. And we are indebted to the provi- 



