BRIEF MEMOIR OF BERNARD M'MAHON. 



BERNARD M'MAHON was no common man. He sought the 

 American shores from political motives, as is understood, but 

 what these were has not been determined ; most probably it was 

 necessary to fly from the persecution of government. He found 

 American gardening in its infancy, and immediately set himself 

 vigorously to work to introduce a love of flowers and fruit. The 

 writer well remembers his store, his garden, and green-houses. ' 

 The latter were situated near the Grermantown turnpike, between 

 Philadelphia and Nicetown, whence emanated the rarer flowers 

 and novelties such as could be collected in the early part of the 

 present century, and where were performed, to the astonishment 

 of the amateurs of that day, successful feats of horticulture that 

 were but too rarely imitated. 



His store was in Second Street, below Market, on the east side. 

 Many must still be alive who recollect its bulk window, orna- 

 mented with tulip-glasses, a large pumpkin, and a basket or two 

 of bulbous roots; behind the counter officiated Mrs. M'Mahon r 

 with some considerable Irish accent, but a most amiable and ex- 

 cellent disposition, and withal an able saleswoman. Mr. M'Mahon 

 was also much in the store, putting up seeds for transmission to 

 all parts of this country and Europe, writing his book, or attend- 

 ing to his correspondence, and in one corner was a shelf contain- 

 ing a few botanical or gardening books, for which there was then 

 a very small demand ; another contained the few garden imple- 

 ments, such as knives and trimming scissors ; a barrel of peas, and 

 a bag of seedling potatoes, an onion receptacle, a few chairs, and 

 the room partly lined with drawers containing seeds, constituted 

 the apparent stock in trade of what was one of the greatest seed 



