REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PLANTS AND FLOWERS. 105 



view from the balconies, where the whole scene could be witnessed 

 in all its beauty. So entertaining and interesting was this beauti- 

 ful sight, that the spectators left with much reluctance. 



We shall always owe a debt of gratitude to those gentlemen 

 who so constantly contribute their choicest plants and flowers to 

 our exhibitions, and whose constant and generous support has 

 done so much to bring our society up to its present high stand- 

 ard of usefulness and influence, which is second to none on this 

 continent, if in the world. Who can tell the influence of these 

 exhibitions on the great mass of people who visit the halls 

 each year, and what can be more refining and elevating than to 

 engage in the culture of these beautiful gifts which our Heavenly 

 Father bestows • upon us to make happy our pilgrimage here 

 below, and what pursuit can one be engaged in that is more cal- 

 culated to draw the mind of the creature to the Creator, the great 

 giver of all? for he has told us that even Solomon in all his glory 

 was not ai'rayed like one of these. May the same enthusiasm and 

 spirit which has made these exhibitions so successful not only ever 

 exist but constantly increase. 



Of Greenhouse Plants, rare and choice collections were shown 

 by William Gray, Jr., Hovey & Co., and F. L, Ames, comprising 

 many well grown specimens. In Mr. Gray's collection were fine 

 plants of Bonapartea gracilis, juncea, and Jilifera, Chamcedorea 

 eleganiissima, Dracama arborea, Phoenix redinata, Latania hor- 

 bonica, Cocos p/?i?nosa, Chamoerops excelsa, and Agave univittata. 

 Most prominent in the collection of Hovey & Co. were superb 

 specimens of Chamcerops Fortunei, Cocos coronata, Pandanus re- 

 flexiis, P. elegantissimus and Draccena VeitcJiii, the last a noble 

 specimen, at least fifteen feet high. In Mr. Ames' collection were 

 some of the best grown plants it has been our fortune to witness ; 

 especially so were tho Marantas, Agaves, and Latanias; indeed all 

 the plants in this collection were in a remarkably fine condition, 

 and showed that they had received the very best of care. 



Specimen plants, not variegated, were exhibited by William 

 Gray, Jr., who showed a fine Yucca recurva, and Hovey & Co., 

 who presented a splendid plant of Pandanus VandermeerscM. 

 For Specimen Flowering Plants, there was a finely trained plant 

 of Stigmap>hyllon ciliatum, a very handsome climbing plant, which, 

 when covered with its bright clusters of flowers, is a very charm- 

 ing object, contributed by Joseph Clark ; and from Hovey & Co., 

 a fine AUamanda Hendersoni. Of Variegated Leaved Plants, fine 



