44 INTRODUCTION. 



Three-quarters of a century ago, or later, many deca} r ing pear 

 trees could be seen near ancient cellars in this section of the 

 countr} r , and in pastures by old cart-paths. The fruit of these 

 trees varied from small to large in size, and, in character, from the 

 hardest, fit only for cooking (and not for that without something 

 to counteract its acidity and astringency) , to that which was then 

 called good eating fruit. At that period there were comparatively 

 few orchards of apple trees in which there was a single grafted 

 tree, the great object then being the production of cider ; and, if a 

 good eating apple appeared among the numerous seedlings, it was 

 not known, in most cases, beyond the farm where it originated. 

 In two centuries from the settlement of the countr} T very little 

 progress had been made in horticultural science. Seedling plums, 

 pears, peaches, and cherries, as well as apples, were to be found 

 in abundance, when there was any market, and a portion of them 

 were very good ; but, down to 1820, we do not find the record of 

 fruit trees or scions having been imported or disseminated to any 

 considerable extent. 1 Dr. Thacher, in the dedication to his 

 American Orchardist, dated Plymouth, July, 1821, says, k 'It is 

 a remarkable fact that the first planters bequeathed to their pos- 

 terity a greater number of orchards, in proportion to their popula- 

 tion, than are now to be found in the Old Colony." 



The progress of horticulture was checked by the last war with 

 England ; but, as the country recovered from the effects of that 

 conflict, there began a new era of horticultural improvement. As 

 the close of the Revolution was followed by the formation of the 

 Philadelphia and other agricultural societies, so the close of the 

 later war was speedily followed (in 1818) by the organization 

 of the New York Horticultural Society, the first society of its 

 kind in the United States. It was incorporated in 1822, and 

 included among its founders and members the most eminent 

 scientific and practical horticulturists in the vicinity of the city 

 of New York ; such as Dr. Hosack, who was for some years its 

 president, Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill, Messrs. Thorburn, Prince, 

 Floy, Thomas Hogg, Andre Parmentier, William Wilson, and 

 others. The plans of the society were comprehensive, including 

 a garden of from ten to twenty acres, to be devoted to horti- 

 culture and botany, but more particularly to the culture of fruit 

 trees. It was proposed also to have a hall for public lectures, a 



i Recollections of Joseph Breck. 



