NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Oct. 16, 1929. 



I anil Hcoin to excel more in tlicse il<|i!iitriicnt» tliun I wliicli, lii« own liands had ile|iot.itPd \h tlie wi 



[Ai the Inji moiulily incciii.g ofihe New York Horiicultiiral , "' ll'e kilL-lifii garden. ]u some kinds of Irnits, ! spot where it now grows, it si;emed to ine that 1 



jociciy, ilic li.llowiiiu leiicr was rcaa from Mr \\m. Wilson, las the Peafh and Melon, and |)<!rliii|>s most of the I disi>liiyf:d a di'ijroc of hearttelt i<ali>irn('li<iii ai 



ciilinury |ii'uductinnd of the garden, I do not ihinki coinjilai^atit enjoyment, that the |>o^se!<sioti ol'il 

 they e.\efl ii.s in the vicinity of New York. Uut I honors of a crown, or the wealth of nation.^ cou t 

 in the ciihivation of the grape vine and the pear, I never iiiipresg upon the goul of man. Sucb t 

 even in the open grouiiil, tlicy rather :'iirpass ug. nclnal source of the ino.-'t pure, elevated and r 

 As to the nuniher and ornanicntal htyle of the | fnii'd of all earthly joys is the art of llortirultui 

 coimiry seals in the vicinity of Uoslon, there is i And it is gratifying to relleri that the uniifd lul>o 

 nothing in the neigliborhood of New York to be of our Ilorticidiiiral Societies, are not only csic 

 compared to them, if we except one or two nt i hiled to increase the ijuanljiv and improve tl 



qualities of the most heautiful ns well as usel 



to 



VICINITY Ol' HOriTON. 



IC 1.1! 



Sociciy 



who had l)ccn appuiiiind a <lcl«-galc lo altend 'he laic aiiniver- 

 •ary diiiiitrol' liic .Ma»iachutciis lloriicullural .-^.Kiiiy] 

 To the President of Hit M'tw York JIurticuilural 

 Society. 



Sir As you did me the honor of appointing 



me a delegate to re|»resenl this Society at the late 



celebration of the Anniversary of ibe Slussacbn- 



BCtts Horticultural Society, and having, by that 



means had an oppoitunily of observing somewhat | Hloomiiigdale, and a very few on the banks of the 



of the style of tlieir horticiihur.il inipiovLiiieiils, I East Kiver. it is certain, however, that n very 



have, with a desire to benefit or entertain the i little additional <-xpense and labor, judiciously ex- 



menibers of this society, noted down the I'oUowing pended on the rural einhellishments of tlio.se nat 



iirally unparalleled sites that Hiirround the bay of 

 New York, which abound in all directions along 

 the gentle shores of the sound, and wliirh mark 

 with bold magnificence the elevated and romantic 

 banks of onr majestic Hudson, would add an in- 

 calculable degree of beauty and interest to that 

 natural richness of landscape scenery with which 



brief and hasty sketches. Owing to an impedi- 

 ment in the steam boat, I did not arrive in time to 

 obtain a \iew of the rich and interesting collection 

 of fruit and flowers e.xhiliited oti this occasion, 

 nor to reciprocate the good wishes of that liorticid- 

 tural fellowship, which, I trust, the two Societies, 

 as well as those in every other section of our 



country, will ever continue to cherish. This dis- ! this city is surrounded. — This is a sulijcc 

 ' appointment, however, was well compensated by i comes In me to all of us; it is fraught with con- 

 the kind otliccsof Samuel Dow.veb, Esq. a gentle- Isiderations that deserve the notice and attention of 

 man of great zeal and activity in the cause of hor- this Society — a Society that may well be |)rond of 

 ticulture, who was very instrument;il in liicililating the great and valuable horiiciiltural inqirovenienti 

 the means of my obtaining imicli (lo nio at least) which she has been .so inslnimenial in protnotinp 

 interesting horticullural iidiu-malion. I'roni the 

 President, Vice Presidents, and the other members 

 of the Society, to whom I bad the honor of being 

 introduced, I met with the most cordial reception. 

 The free, open hoarled feelings with which the 

 subject ol' my horticultural mission was at once 

 entered upon, showed that I was right in the e.\- 

 ' pectntions I had Ibrmed, that the intercourse 

 which they wish to maintain with onr Society is 

 of a more valuable and interesting stamp ilian that 

 of a formal etiipielte. The interchange of mutual 

 civilities, which they perform with a plain, unos- 

 tentatious dignily, stamps a sij;nificance upon hu- 

 manity, which does not permit the siilyects lo for- 

 get that tliey are men, or allow realities to be tri- 

 fletl with as if they were lint shadows. 



The face of the country to the south and west 

 of Boston, to a distance of many miles in extent 



productions of nature, but that the stiidv ol' hr 

 ticultural science tends, in an eir.inent degree, 

 impress the min<i with priiK-ijiles of the most b 

 iiign influence. WILLIAM WILSON. 



in some of the most useful deparlrneniV. — Would 

 it not now be well to direct a portion of her labors 

 for the improvement of our laud.scape scenery? 

 Our public .squares and avenues, in most instances, 

 display but meagre evidence of horticultural taste 

 orskill. Much of the beauty and grandeur of out 



United Stales ^Military Academy, West Point, 1 



September, 1829. 



To ibp Editor of the American. 



Agreeably to promise, I have the pleasure to a 



t which ' '^^'^''''^ '" )"" " '•^**' remarks on the vines and vir 



yards of America. This subject having cngag 



the attention of .American citizens and dist 



guisbcd foreigners with their experienced \igi 



rons during the past half century, and their co 



billed efforts having been unsuccessful, it is wort 



of our consideration to inquire into the cam 



which might have prevented their success. 



cording to my experience or knowledge of t 



siiliject, (having been brought up in the land 



vineyards, and been a resilient among you for t 



St twenty-seven years,) I think it my duty 



i 



bav, and the delightful view over it in every direc- "'"'"'P' '" ''^ "s^''""' '" r"l>li^liii'g "cw fact 

 tio'n from the Battery, is owing to the stately ver- ^"''J'>'=' «" emine.itly connected with the welfi 



dure of the woods and trees that everywhere 

 adorn the surrounding shores. Millions of dollars 

 could not produce such vast and magnificent land- 

 scape scenery, were the proprietors of these shores 

 to strip the banks of their umbrageous verdure. 

 Is it not owing lo mere accidental circumstances 

 that such a rich profusion of the greatest of all ih ; 

 beauties of inanimate creation siirronnds onr city 

 in every direction .■' In this respect we far excel 

 the almost naked shores of the north and eastern 



presents a beautiful aspect, and from the great va- environs of the city of Boston 



rieiy of its brnken, yet gently diversified surfiicc. It ought to be recorded to the itnntoital honor of 



presents, in all diiei-tion, the most cliarniing sites j the inhabita'its of Dorchester. Ho.xbiiry 



of our coniinon country 



I nni of opinion that two great errors ho 

 been committed, either of which was snflicient 

 frustrate the nnderlaking: the first was, in pla 

 ing the Eurojiean stock of \iiies, a delicate pla 

 raised in a milder Leinisphere, which to this c 

 can only be cultivated in the well sheltered sin 

 tions of our gardens, or the inclosed yards of < 

 cities. The severity of our winters, the 1 

 frosts, the sudden chang'-s in the atmosphere at 

 times of the year, and, I believe, a much grca 

 number of insect.s, nnist have destroyed tli 

 &c to I ''"I'*"* "f o yearly crop in open fields. 



for beautiful villus. The naliiial characteristic of | the south and west of the city, that the whole of 

 this part <d" the countrv may he jiisily termed tlialj ilie woods and trees with which that poiiinn of 

 of the beautiful — the, limits of the low ground no I the country is now so beaiilifiilly ornaniented, 

 where extending to such a degree as to lire the have been planted and reared by the present pro- 

 view, nor any of the high grounds arising lo that jirielors. The Hon. Mr Lowki.i., so ileservedly 

 de"ree of elevation or extent calculated to inspire celebrated liir his noble, )iublic spirited exertions 



emotions of magnificence or the sublime. The 

 soil in ijcneral appears lo be a light, warm loam, 

 of no jrreat depth, resting upon rather a gravelly 

 kind of bollom, and seems remarkably well adapt- 

 ed lor the growth of fruit and forest trees. The 



proporti' f woods uiid trees, it appears, hail at 



one time been very scanty. But this deficiency is 



fiir the cause of horliiiilinral improvcineni, in- 

 formed me, that when he commenced (about 

 thirty years ago) the improvement of his estate in 

 Uoxbiiry, it scarcely ciitnined a single tree.— 

 Some of his friends tlioiight he would never live 

 to enjoy the gratificHtion of seeing the niiimie 

 cfTecls of his well laid schemes. But his aciivi- 



now generally wellsiippli :d by ornanienlal plaiita- perseverance soon pioved what industry ond skill 

 tioiiH set out with Micli taste, and managed wiili could eflirct in a fi'W years; and |he ornanientnl 

 inch skill, as lo be produi'livi! of the finest elVect. I grounds and gardens of Mr LowKt.i, have been 



The Bostonians have most judiciously availed 

 tliemselves of ihe numerous and delighlfiil situa- 

 tions everywhere prc.senied in their vicinity for 

 forniing country residences. Their liioisos exhihil 

 rather a hlyle rif beauliliil simplicity than osienlii- 



tious grandeur. In the ilisposili if llieir grounds, 



they display u more refined lasre fur uriiaineiii.il 

 gardening, and the ciiltivalion of purliciilar fruits, 



long and jiKlly adniinci for Ibe great refinenienl 

 iif lasie displayed ill iheir arrangiNiient and sPilfol 

 ciihivation. Mr Lowci.t. still pos.sesses all thai 

 cheerfiil niagiiiininiily and vigor of life which is 

 idi.'oiicterislic of the high nieri.linn of a greal man. 

 .\ih1 whci 

 the plaiili 



The second, and not the least nnaccoiinta 

 error, is, the tolal neglect of those innumi 

 varieties of harily native vines which couM 

 been gathered on the rich and heaulifiilly iiihIuI 

 ted siirfiire of this happy land! What Ihr| 

 done, 1 shall recommend to the Anieiican — Su 

 and gnlher those \ines on which joii tram 

 everyiliiy — place in the grounil the .seeds of I 

 best — iiii|irove them all by good rultiirc, and 

 six or seven years yon will have o profitable vii 

 yard, and niake as many kinils of wine r 

 .nay hnxe varieties. If your Agricnlliiral, Hoi 

 cnhnral, or Temperate Socielies would caii.-e to 

 eslablisheil n nursery of native vines, of alu 

 len acres, in every county, and call n|>on its inlii 

 iiants to gaihcr and bring fiirwanl s.impleg 

 fruit, and mark the vine>, it would soon prove I 

 greotot sonre of happiness lo the hnsbandin 

 and the country. I commenced my collection 

 vines riglil years ago, from llie surrounding tnoi 

 lains of Wcsi Poini ; the fruit of tin of i 

 r pointed lo a majesiic liilip tree, at ' rieiies I had ihe honor to prt sent to the llnrtic^ 

 if which, he had hiin-elflieeii an ac- iiiriil Society of New York for tin ir annitenn In- 



live assistant, and to ii hciiuliful oak, lliu acorn of I dinner. It is not for 



to say if they Wf 



