ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the Horticultural Society : — 



In attempting to address you on this occasion, I 

 have consulted my wish not to appear insensible to 

 the kindness of the request that brings me here, to a 

 greater extent, perhaps, than prudence would justify. 

 Though fully aware of the importance and attractive 

 character of the art which forms the object of your 

 institution, the nature of my pursuits through life has 

 been such as to deprive me of the opportunity of 

 obtaining more than a very limited acquaintance with 

 its details ; and in the absence of the resources of 

 imagination and eloquence which others might draw 

 upon to supply the want of actual knowledge, I must 

 throw myself, without reserve, on your indulgence. 

 Even the little practical information to which I might 

 pretend on the subject of fruits, flowers, and gardens, 

 relates chiefly to those that are found in other coun- 

 tries, where it has been my fortune to pass the 

 greater part of the mature period of my life, and may 

 not, perhaps, be applicable here. May I venture to 

 add, that there is one particular in which my experi- 

 ence, in regard to foreign fruits, diflers from that of 



