52 TRANSACTIONS, &c. 



The funds of the Society have been made up, with the exception 

 of a single donation, by Life-Membership, admittance money of vis- 

 itors of the exhibition, and the sale of fruits, flowers, and vegetables, 

 which have been generously surrendered by contributors, to ^he So- 

 ciety. 



The Hon. Daniel "Waldo, by his will, gave to the Society, a be- 

 quest of $3000. Let his memory be held in honor, not only for 

 this seasonable and effectual aid to a useful institution, but for the 

 far greater benefit, which this worthy associate of the strong men of 

 the last generation conferred on this City and County, in the charac- 

 ter of integrity, industry, economy, and public spirit, which he and 

 they, by precept and example, established as the criterion of re- 

 spectability and influence, in this community. 



The Society soon extended its circle of membership to those towns 

 of the county, whose proximity enabled cultivators to take part in its 

 proceedings. The whole number of members admitted, is now 561, 

 of whom 58 have died. 



A member of our Society, Vvho has rendered good service as one 

 of our officers, in an interesting sketch of the transactions of our 

 Society, published in 1847, expressed the despairing wish, that he 

 " could add ladies," in his description of the members of the Socie- 

 ty. Since that period, many ladies, and even those whose husbands 

 are members, have increased the funds and exalted the character of 

 the Society, by becoming members. And the influence of woman 

 has always been with us, as one of the most powerful elements of 

 our success. As it is recorded on one of the noblest triumphs of 

 architecture in the old world, in regard to its architect, " If you 

 ask for his monument, look around," so I would point you to the 

 hand-writing on these walls, where you may read, not in characters 

 of fear and warning, as at the Assyrian banquet, but in lines of 

 beauty, reiterated year by year. Woman is weighed in the balance 

 and never wanting. And, on these tables, the flowers present such 

 combinations of grace and beauty, as only her neat and cunning 

 hand can put together. 



In April, 1850, our funds amounted to $5126, and with this cap- 

 ital and the bank of faith in the liberality and interest in horticul- 

 ture, which exists in this part of our county, the Society had the 

 courage to purchase a lot of land for $6847.30, and elected a* Com- 



* The members of this Committee were Stephen Salisbury, Frederic "W. Paine, 

 •William M. Bidtford, William T. Merrifield, William Workman, Horatio N. Tower, 

 and D. Waldo Lincoln. 



