TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 105 



The following toasts were then announced : — 



The Ladies, — Lilies and Roses in themselves, and always pinks of per- 

 fection ; to gentlemen their hearfs ease ; may they never be lack-a-daisy . 



The Clergy, — While their labors are confined to the cultivation of the 

 moral and religious affections, they are cheered with a rich hope of a plen- 

 tiful harvest for the future life, and enjoy more than all others the fruits of 

 the present. 



The Rev. Dr. Codman, in responding to the last sentiment, remarked 

 that the object of the association could not but commend itself to the min- 

 ister of the religion whose doctrines were peace on earth and good will to 

 men, for it led him to anticipate the glad day when men should beat their 

 swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and not 

 learn war any more. He had returned from a short tour in Europe, to 

 compare our magnificent sunsets proudly with the so much lauded "sunny 

 skies of Italy," and, after suffering much inconvenience from the late cold, 

 wet, and disagreeable season in England, which threatened great difficulty 

 in the ingathering of the harvest, he could not but feel with gratitude that 

 our lines were cast in pleasant places, and that we had a goodly heritage. 

 He highly appreciated the advantages of cultivation, and trusted that this 

 institution would bring the science of horticulture to its greatest perfection. 

 He concluded with this sentiment : — 



The Patrons of Horticulture, — Whose names adorn these walls. 

 They are entitled to the gratitude of mankind. 



The Chair called upon the clergymen present to respond to the previous 

 toast, and the Rev. Mr. Choules followed : — 



He observed that his profession was accustomed to calls ; this was one 

 he would decline ; but as he was not demanded to speak on probation, he 

 would, at the call of the Chair, offer a few remarks, simply to state an his- 

 torical fact. 



Mr. Shepherd, the accomplished conservator of the Botanical Gardens, 

 at Liverpool, is the authority for the following anecdote respecting the in- 

 troduction of that elegant flowery shrub, the Fuchsia, into the greenhouses 

 of Europe. Old Mr. Lee, a well-known Nurseryman and Florist, at 

 Greenwich, near London, about fifty years ago, was one day showing his 

 variegated treasures to a person, who suddenly turned and said, " Well, 

 you have not, in your whole collection, so pretty a flower as one I saw to- 

 day in a window at Wapping ! " " Indeed, and what was this Phoenix 

 like ?" " Why, the plant was beautiful, and the flowers hung down like 

 tassels from the drooping branches ; their color was the deepest crimson, 

 and, in the centre, a fold of rich purple." 



Particular inquiries were made as to the exact whereabouts, and Mr. Lee 

 posted off to the place, where he discovered the object of his pursuit, and 

 immediately pronounced it a new plant. He saw and admired 

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