1883.] TRANSACTIONS. 25 



concede to us the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of our 

 Incorporation. A. D. 1892, is quite distant : and doubtless the 

 writer, with a moiety of .this audience, may be cultivating Eclec- 

 tic Strawberries ; or inhaling eternal and celestial fragrance, 

 from the Blue Roses of Jerusalem, the Golden. The alterna- 

 tive, not being even a plausible supposition, is not taken into the 

 account. That Lower Region, surcharged as it is with theo- 

 logical sulphurets ; exempt as it must be from mildew and every 

 form of fungoid growth; can be no perennial habitation or home 

 for the true Horticulturist, — all whose labors are exerted in the 

 promotion of a better and happier life. Rather, let it be re- 

 served for the Church-Member, who deliberately withholds from 

 Caesar the things that are indisputably his own ! Somewhat also 

 for the Civic Assessor ! who descries, in a sub-lease to the Pitcher 

 and Catcher ; not seldom to the lusty Stallion and his pro- 

 fessional server ; that degree of Education or Science, wherein, it 

 must be admitted, — the Florist and Pomologist are signally, or 

 sexually, at fault. But the members of this Society, a decade 

 hence ; enjoying freedom from debt, and possessing adequate 

 means; may well wish to show their clioice Library and the 

 complete, as unincumbered, structure which is their Horticul- 

 tural home; to their fellows of congenial pursuits and tastes 

 througiiout the Republic. No one need feel shame, save for his 

 own fault or negligence, should your prospective guests obtain a 

 furtive, if no better, view of Worcester and its suburbs — pol- 

 ished gems in its coronal of rural beauty. 



For it may as well be understood, — being above and beyond 

 denial ; that this Society is no — poor pussy ! — needing to have 

 its fnr stroked smoothly ; does not exist by patronage ; is grate- 

 ful for honest and hearty appreciation ; and peremptorily de- 

 clines to be relegated to a second, or inferior rank. In many 

 respects, it falls short of its avowed aims : it does not always seek 

 so much to increase and diffuse a knowledge of scientilic and 

 practical Horticulture, as to put money in its individual purse. 

 Yet, — when all is admitted in derogation, this fact presents 

 itself, salient and actual : that this organization of ours is throb- 

 bing with healthy blood ; that its vitality is unimpaired, old age 

 maintaining its clutch; and youth, of either sex, acquiring a 



