150 MASSACHUSETTS IIOKTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The day was clear and the company large be3'ond expectation ; 

 a few ladies from a distance enlivening the partj\ As the multl- 

 tnde filed thron<rh the varions walks, and dilfused themselves over 

 the broad grounds, all radiant with delight, the siglit was truly 

 inspiriting. As vista after vista opened upon them tlirough the 

 rich foliage, disclosing the beauty of a vast velvet lawn or the 

 extended lake, expressions of astonishment and satisfaction were 

 heard on all sides. The Italian garden, the tropical grotto, the 

 wonderful hedge-work with walls of solid green, the exotics and 

 strongly-marked shrubs and plants, and the geometric, unique, and 

 ornamental styles of horticulture upon the steep water front, were 

 manifestly no less a novelt}'^ than a surprise and charm to many. 

 The choicely varied views of bays and points on tlie lake-shore, 

 and of forests and green fields be3'ond the lake, were fully appre- 

 ciated. The flowers and small fountains near the mansion, delicate 

 and pleasing, and the immense masses of bloom in the garden of 

 plants, with the almost endless variety of rare and curious objects 

 about the place, elicited much admiration. By the very generous 

 manner in which the proprietor opens his estate to the common 

 eye, he is doing a noble service to the countiy. 



It is needless to attempt any particular description of the place 

 in this report, or to enter into any details. The members of 3'^our 

 committee were there as individuals only ; but the visit was of such 

 a character, and its influence so directly connected with landscape 

 gardening, for which Mr. Ilunnewell has done, and is constantly 

 doing, so much, that they could not wholly ignore it. Our society 

 and the public are greatly indebted to liim f'»r the interest he has 

 taken in our behalf, and for tlie most liberal provision ma'le by 

 him for the accommodation and gratiflcation of our guests. 



About the same time an invitation was extended to your com- 

 mittee to exatnine tlie greenhouses and graperies of K. S. Kand, 

 Jr., Esq., at Dedham, which would have been gladly accepted, but 

 their attention had been so long occui)ied b}' other duties as to call 

 for a postponement ; and the violence of a storm afterwards pre- 

 vented the excursion. Mr. Rand, liowever, reports that his new 

 houses, described a year ago, have proved in all respects a success, 

 and he proposes to enter the same in competition for prizes the 

 coming season. 



All which is respectfully submitted. 



For the Committee, 



H. W. Fuller, Chairman. 



