248 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



shall P. Wilder, pelargoniums ; Joseph Breck, phloxes 

 and zinnias ; Samuel Walker, pansies ; and seedling 

 carnations and delphiniums were shown by other grow- 

 ers. Less was done in regard to seedling fruits ; but 

 Joseph S. Cabot showed several seedling pears possess- 

 ing valuable characteristics, and Thomas Mason a seed- 

 ling raspberry which was highly praised. The Welles 

 premiums for seedling apples, mentioned in Chapter IV., 

 were never awarded, no specimens of sufficient excel- 

 lence having been presented. 



The offer of premiums for 1839 was similar to that 

 for 1838. We find, however, a prize offered for the 

 first time for the best tomatoes. On the 22d of June 

 A. Aspinwall exhibited upwards of five hundred blooms 

 of roses, remarkable for their size and brilliancy, in 

 more than a hundred varieties. Hovey's Seedling straw- 

 berry was first exhibited on the 29th of June, and, in 

 the words of the committee, " promised well for the 

 cultivator to take rank with the most desirable," a 

 promise which it has fulfilled for forty years. At this 

 time the specimens took the premium for the best straw- 

 berries. . 



The exhibitions of native flowers this season were 

 much more extensive and interesting than previously, 

 owing to the premiums offered by Thomas Lee, as men- 

 tioned in Chapter IV. The principal exhibitors were 

 William Oakes, Ezra Weston, jun., and Francis Parker. 

 August 3, JohnTowne exhibited a Fuchsia gracilis six 

 feet high, and in full bloom. August 17, J. L. L. F. 

 Warren showed love apples or tomatoes of three varie- 

 ties, the common red, common yellow, and smooth 

 yellow. The shows of fruits were uncommonly good 

 this season. That of September 7 is spoken of in the 



