ADVANCE IN HORTICULTURE. 459 



hard working merchants and others of Boston to dwell 

 in the country, and spend a portion of each day in the 

 care of their gardens, to rejoice with their families over 

 the flowers, fruits, and vegetables produced in them, 

 and to be gladdened with the sight of sweet fields and 

 rich landscapes. It taught the community, that, if they 

 would cultivate the soil with as much system and energy 

 as they applied to commerce and navigation, they could 

 do it with more pleasure and with reasonable profit. 



As an index to the advance of horticulture, let us 

 compare the first annual exhibition of the Society with 

 some of those held in later years. In 1829 the whole 

 exhibition was made in the dining hall where the anni- 

 versary of the Society was celebrated; while in 1873, 

 1874, and 1875 the halls of the Society afforded room 

 only for the fruits and vegetables, and the spacious Music 

 Hall was added for the plants and flowers. We have 

 no complete list of the articles exhibited on either occa- 

 sion; but, if we had, it would doubtless show as great 

 an advance in variety and rarity as in extent. The only 

 plants specified in 1829 were an India rubber tree and 

 orange trees, and it appears probable that a large pro- 

 portion of the plants shown at the earlier exhibitions 

 were- of the genus Citrus, though the collection from 

 the Botanic Garden, and other places in 1834 comprised 

 a considerable variety. The only cut flowers particu- 

 larly mentioned are roses and the dahlia, the latter 

 flower being at that time, though much improved over 

 the original type, far less perfect than at present. But 

 the exhibitions at the Music Hall comprised palms of 

 many species, Cissus, Dracaenas, Marantas, Crotons, Alo- 

 casias, Caladiums, Pandanus, Phormiums, Tree ferns, 

 Agaves, and other ferns and succulents by hundreds, 



