458 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



public attention to the art it was designed to promote ; 

 fortunate in the selection of its first president and other 

 officers ; fortunate in being surrounded by an old and 

 wealthy community ready to appreciate whatever prom- 

 ised to be of benefit to the city, the state, or the coun- 

 try ; fortunate in having among its officers and members 

 many of the best professional and amateur gardeners, 

 nurserymen, farmers, and agricultural and horticultural 

 writers in the country ; fortunate in being early called 

 upon to perform a grand and philanthropic work in 

 founding the first rural cemetery in the country, which, 

 though not contemplated when the Society was formed, 

 proved to be one of its most important and honorable 

 achievements, and which laid the foundation of its prin- 

 cipal wealth ; fortunate in all the circumstances of its 

 origin and early history, it soon arose to be a star of 

 the first magnitude in its department. At its very 

 beginning the Society opened a correspondence with 

 the most intelligent horticulturists in the civilized world, 

 and not only became their pupil, receiving instruction 

 from the most learned teachers, but also obtaining trees, 

 shrubs, plants, and seeds for cultivation in the gardens 

 of the members. It established weekly and annual 

 horticultural exhibitions, which have been continued to 

 this day, and which have proved of incalculable service 

 in diffusing a knowledge of the best productions of horti- 

 culture, as well as in filling our gardens and orchards 

 with every tree pleasant to the sight or good for food. 

 It offered premiums for the best specimens of garden 

 products, which strongly stimulated the members to 

 procure the best varieties in every department, and cul- 

 tivate them to the highest perfection. It led to the 

 multiplication of gardens and nurseries, and called the 



