

he 



:.f the 



Ancient aud Honorabli- Ainll. i\ < .lui.ii H-' was a 



trustee of the Massacljn I ■ ' I' Ji"ln^y. 



At one time he was pn i ^> iiate. 



In masonry he held :iil .i.^i. . -, i.,mim- in. iliirty- 



third. It is said that whti. \\ lUU i wu., J7 Uicrc were 

 no horticultural societies ia America, aud that he lived 

 to see more than 1500 societies devoted to horticulture 

 and kindred sub.iects. 



In 1883 Marshall P. Wilder urged upon the American 

 Pomological Society the necessity of a reform in the 

 nomenclature of fruits. He tooli an active part in the 

 grcAt work that followed. 



Wilder's personality was most engaging, being char- 



WILD GARDEN 



cultural SiM-icty $1,000. to encourage the production of 

 new Ann ri.;in v:iri. li.^ of pears and grapes. Wilder 

 wrote no Ihm.k. l.iir In- occasional contributions and 

 presidpiiii;il Ml.lir--.- muke a notable body of writings 

 when gatin I. 'I i"i;. th. r into the bound volume presented 

 by him to Ihi- library ut' ihe Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society. "The Proceedings at a Banquet given by his 

 Friends to the Hon. Marshall Pinckney Wilder • • • 

 to Commemorate the Completion of his Eighty-fifth 

 Year," is a stately memorial of 116 pages published in 

 1883. The best account of him seems to be that by the 

 secretary (Robert Manning) of the society, in Trans. 

 Mass. Hort. Soc. 1887: 20-39, from which the present 

 article has been chiefly compiled. \y j[ 





ff X,' 



.4-% 



-ti^ • 



2723. A Wild Garden. 



acterized by geniality, <lignity, tact and conservatism. 

 Horticulturists r.nieiiilier with what graciousness he 

 met icihl rr,,,_'i,i .1 iIm y.Min^'er men of merit at the 

 meeliii ■ ■! ' . : .m I'.nn.. logical Society. He was 



by ii:ii ' I . .MM I in the early days when 



thecun:K. I , i -r iIh- Mnssaohusetts Horticnl- 



complicated : 

 this difficulty 

 wealth of tl 

 Wilder was a 

 ness it was h 

 the morning 

 of the <1;lv to 

 study. If. ■ 

 chil.in -. 



is life-long practice to rise early, devote 

 to books, garden and orchard, the middle 

 bu^^iness and the evening to family and 



:i^ III iiihd three times and had fourteen 



■ -r whom survived him. He was 



' !m line and engaged in conversation 



■ iiM I Ill instantlv. 



,, ,,, |,i,,, i„ PI,,.,: XT.I ,.,••,= ,.n,i = i<!erpd 



by Mr. Wilder 

 he left the An: 

 Wilder Medals 

 for general puri 



WILD GARDEN. Figs. 2723-28. Wild gardening is 



that form of flnriculture which is concerned with plant- 

 ing in aniitnri lil:, iiiininer colonies of hardy plants that 

 require a mi; in; i ,n . A wild garden is not to be 

 thought <r I '1111 wild, nor should it be con- 



fused wiih 'I I . I II- sowing of flower seeds. "No 



fnn,, of ,.:n i. Will. A. Stilcs, "gives greater 



iiii.l i. . 1 . 11. tlian that which aims to nat- 



II ' ' ' ti'ii's in positions where they 



M : I . , naturally and without the iri- 



I .;\ I ill I I I h. -Ill 'lull's art." A wild garden should 



lie so planted and fendiil as to give "that appearance of 

 untamed luxuriance, of careless and unstudied grace 

 which suggests perfect freedom." 



Both the idea and the name of wild gardening origi- 

 nated in 111! . ill, -. ,, iiii s witli William Robinson, of 

 London, tii ' : I i.. ( lard, n "and author of many 



important i ' : m nliiirc The idea came as a 



reaction a- i i. i ^m .l.nini,' in general and par- 

 ticularly the i.\u..wiL;ani use of tender bedding plants 

 to the exclusion of hardy herbs of less gaudy charac- 

 ter and of simpler and less expensive cultivation. The 

 idea spread rapidly in England and is steadily gaining 

 in America. It appeals to the wealthy amateur with 



