Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 391 



raised ujjon an elastic and elongated stem, may be scattered by the 

 winds; the down upon the willow seed serves as its ship in water, 

 and its balloon in the air; the hooks of the burr attach tliat to roving 

 animals; the elastic sprins; of the tonch-tne-not sends its seeds far 

 from the parent stalk — and yet work is left for the birds. They are 

 appointed to carry the seeds of many berries and flowers from val- 

 ley to valley, from mountain to mountain, and from river to river. 

 We of the periodical press have a work not unlike that of birds. 

 We are vvillin? to sow, if we can but jjet the seed: do notforjiet that 

 we can sow only what we first steal, and we would like to steal, un- 

 molfsted, the sweetest and best. 



"Hoping to induce you and your associates to furnish us more freely 

 with seed in future, I will name you in a toast, if 1 can remember it: — 



Members of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society — The gardeners whose 

 productioas migratory birds are most pleased to carry to the distant fields 

 which they visit. 



The President also called upon Mr. C M. Hovey, editor of the 

 Ma2;azine of Horticulture, who responded as follows: — 



"Mr. President, — I came here with a sentiment prepared for the oc- 

 casion, in honor of a distinffuished association, similar to ours, abroad. 

 I refer, sir, to the Horticultural Society of London. I was fearful 

 we miifht forjret our friends so far from us. You have, however, 

 alluded to that Society in your remarks: and a distiniruished ijentle- 

 man, who has preceded me, has not only quite unexpectedly s|5oken 

 of its establishment, and the j^ood example it has set, but has done 

 so in nearly the very words of my sentiment: nevertheless, sir, I 

 shall offer it, and, as preliminary, a few further remarks in regard to 

 that association. 



"It was established, as has been stated, about forty 5^ears aso, I 

 think in 1808, throutrh the exertions of the late Thomas Andrew 

 Kniirht, Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Forsyth, and other amateurs and 

 professional men of eminence. Mr. Knisjht succeeded Sir Joseph 

 Banks, as Presiilent of the Society, and held the office until his death. 

 The writini^s of this distiniruished physiological and practical horti- 

 culturist are familiar to all cultivators — they have formed the basis 

 upon which our present ideas of vegetable physiology are foumled. 

 The first object of the Society was the institution of exhil)itions sim- 

 ilar to our own. In connection with these exhibitions, papers and 

 essays were read from members, upon the cultivation and growth of 

 the specimens which were displayed for premium. These commun- 

 ications were collected together, and published as the transactions of 

 the Society, which now number several volumes. It was in these 

 volumes that Mr. Knight's papers were first given to the public; — 

 since his death, they have been collected in one volume, preceded by 

 a biographical account of his life. 



"The next act of the Society was the establishment of an experi- 

 mental garden, where the great number of fruits uiider cultivation 

 might be collected together and their qualities ascertained, their syno- 

 nyms delected, and their nomenclature corrected — this, indeed, con- 

 stituted one of the most beneficial acts of this association. 



"Collectors were also sent out to all parts of the world, for the dis- 

 covery of new plants, trees, and fruits. One of these collectors was 



