Evolution of Dorticuiture 



object for the above society. In the 

 early part of this century, there was 

 scarcely a garden that was managed with 

 horticultural skill, and much less were 

 there any farms which were conducted 

 on scientific principles, although efforts 

 in this direction were induced by the 

 formation of the Massachusetts Society 

 for Promoting Agriculture in 1792. More- 

 over, previous to this time, neither in 

 Great Britain nor in this country, had 

 any newspaper or magazine devoted to 

 agriculture been issued. 



By opening a correspondence with the 

 British and Continental societies, not 

 only many new ideas were received by 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society 

 in the cultivation of the garden, but also 

 fruits, seeds, plants, and everything per- 

 taining thereto. By the establishment 

 of frequent horticultural exhibitions, at 

 which suitable premiums were offered for 

 the best productions of the garden, a 

 powerful stimulus in the diffusion of 

 knowledge in this direction was brought 

 142 



