AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



PUlilJSHED BY JOSEPH BREOK & CO., NO. 52 NOllTH M.llllCET STREET, (Aorioui-tural Warbhoube.j-ALLEN PUTNAM, EDITOR^ 



BOSTON, WEDNRSDAY EVENING, SEPTE.MBER '.]8, 1842. 



[NO. IJ 



N. E. FARMER, 



THE HORTICULTURAL FESTIVAL. 

 Thi; Courier, of Friday inoniinjf, contained a full 

 ccounl of the proceedings at the late annual festi- 

 al uf tlie Mass. Horticultural Society. .'\s we 

 annot give the proceedings entire, occupying as 

 ley would the whole space of one number of this 

 aper, we must content ourselves, though reluctant- 

 ,-, with an imperfect abridgement. 



The festival was held at Concert Hall, on the 

 vening of the 16th inst. The hall was decorated 

 /ith the most splendid contributions from various 

 ardens in the vicinity, and the tables literally op- 

 ressed with the weight of the grapes, pe.iches, 

 ears, apples, cakes, pastry, custards, ire creams, 

 nd other delicacies — lu.xurious but innocent, ex- 

 iliraling but not intoxicating. A tablet placed 

 ver the cornice at the upper end of the hall, bore 

 he inscription, " The Fourteenth Anniversary of 

 he Massachusetts Horticultural Society." Oppo- 

 ite to this, at the other end of the hall, was anoth- 

 r tablet, with this inscription — 

 "The world was sari — ihe garden was a wild, 

 And MA:-',the hermit, sighed, till woman smiled." 

 The members of the Society, having assembled 

 n the adjoining apartments, with their guests, 

 assed an hour in agreeable, social intercourse, and 

 iciprocating congratulations, suggested by the 

 lovelty of ladies being invited to participate in the 

 estivities of '_the occasion. At six o'clock, the 

 loors of the supper room were thrown open, and 

 he company — more than two hundred in number — 

 ook seats at the tables. The hall being brilliantly 

 ighted, the spectacle was truly magnificent. En- 

 ivened by music from a band in the orchestra, em- 

 lellished with the most glorious specimens of floral 

 igeiicy, and dignified by the presence of female 

 jrace and loveliness, the scene was altogether un- 

 laralleled, and seemed as much to outvie in splen- 

 Jor and taste the entertainmrmts of the Arabian 

 Nights, Qs in reality it exceeded the magnificent 

 snterlainments of the East in moral sublimity. 



The Rev. Mr VVinslow invoked the blessing of 

 the Creator upon the bounties he had provided for 

 his offspring, and upon his creatures, who were 

 there to participate in their enjoyment. After a 

 short time spent in partaking of the refreshments, 

 the President of the Society, M. P. Wilder, Esq , 

 rose and said : 



Gentlemen of the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society : Another period has in the course of time 

 elapsed, and assembled us together to celebrate 

 the Fourteenth Anniversary of this Society — to ex- 

 change mutual congratulations on the success of 

 our past efforts, and to crown the year with re- 

 joicing. 



At our last anniversary, I had the pleasure of 

 briefly adverting to the flourishing condition of the 

 Society, and to the progress of the science whose 

 object it has been to promote. And I am now 



During the past year there has been a greater 

 accession of members to the Society than in any 

 former one since its disconnection with the Mount 

 Auburn Cemetery. The increased number of con- 

 tributors, the improved character of the productions 

 exhibited, and the anxiety to posi=ess tn-os and 

 plants, give the most gratifying evidence of the 

 rapid advancement of the art, and the high rank 

 to which it has attained. 



The patronage of the community has also been 

 so much augmented, that the Society feels itself 

 straightened in its present location, and have in 

 contemplation, at no distant day, to erect an edi- 

 fice suitable in elegance and convenience to the 

 importance of the subject. 



The love of gardening, in which is comprised the 

 science of Horticulture, seems, to be an innate and 

 natural principle of the mind, congenial to, and 

 connected with, our ideas of happiness. From the 

 earliest ages, it has in all civilized nations held an 

 honorable^and distinguished rank, and to which man 

 has looked, not only as a source to which he might 

 apply his industry, but for amusement and gratifi- 

 cation. 



Solomon says, " I made me gardens and orchards, 

 and T planted in them trees of all kind of fruits ;" 

 and Cyrus, one of the Persian kings, we are in- 

 formed, boasted that ho had not only laid out and 

 designed his own garden, but had planted many 

 of the trees with his own hands. 



At the present time, there is a spirit of enter- 

 prise hitherto unknown, pervading the world in the 

 cause of Agriculture and Horticulture. Men of 

 talents and influence are more than ever giving 

 their attention to the subject, and enrolling their 

 names as its patrons; and there are few, if any 

 pursuits, so generally held in high esteem, and no 

 anniversaries or exhibitions so decidedly favorites 

 with the public, as those of Agricultural and Hor- 

 ticultural Societies. That these have had a happy 

 and powerful influence in disseminating a love for 

 those objects, I think cannot be doubted. A wri- 

 ter many years since remarked that the London 

 Horticultural Society had aooomplished more since 

 its formation, than China had done in a thousand 

 years ; and as an illustration of the popular fdvor, 

 allow me to read you an extract from a journal 

 giving some account of the patronage bestowed on 

 this Society at their exhibition in May last. 



" As early as four o'clock in the morning, the 

 notes of preparation for the Horticultural Socie- 

 ty's Exhibition were sounded in completing the 

 arrangement at the gates. Then succeeded great 

 numbers of carts, wagons, vans and other vehicles, 

 bringing multitudes of the finest flowers in the 

 world to the show. 



" As the day drew on, mounted and foot police 

 began to gather ; carriage after carriage slowly 

 dropped into line, which was extended to five miles 

 in length, and until seven o'clock, the arrival of 

 visitors was incessant. The three gates of admis- 

 sion were choaked up ; the greens, the lanes, the 

 roads, and every field that had an authorized inlet. 



happy to state that there has been no diminution of 



the zeal and intf .est so universally felt in the cause became crammed with horses, and all sorts of car- 



of horticulture. I riages, and, at last, thirteen thousand five hundred 



and' cightytwo visitors had passed into tie Gar- 

 den." 



But 1 will not trespass further upon the time, 

 which 1 am awae will be so mucli better occupied 

 with remarks and sentiments from our friends pre- 

 sent. Allow me, gentlemen, however to observe, 

 and to which I know your feelings will respond, 

 that it is a matter of the highest gratificaticm that 

 we are hcmored with the piesence of the ladies on 

 this occasion, and that woman, with her bright 

 smiles and cheerful looks, has come up to partici- 

 pate with us, and to chasten and reTine this Feast 

 of Fruits and Flowers. She it was, who was placed 

 in the principal garden to help dross and keep it, 

 and who has ever been, from the most elevated 

 ranks of society, to the humble cottage girl that 

 ornaments her window with a few favorite plants 

 and flowers, the distinguished patroness of the sci- 

 ence. 



Gentlemen of the Society : Permit mo to con- 

 gratulate you on the harmony and good feeling that 

 exists among us, and on the success which has 

 crowned your efl'orts thus far. Let this excite and 

 encourage you to attain to a still greater degree of 

 excellence ; and let ns rejoice that we are here as- 

 sembled under such happy and auspicious circum- 

 stances, to promote a cause which conduces so 

 much, not only to our own, but to the comfort and 

 happiness of mankind. 



Ladies and Gentlemen: Allow me to propose 

 for your cons. deration, the following sentiinent: 



Horticnltural Anniversaries — Nature's grand 

 Festivals ; at which she opens her storehouse of 

 plenty and crowns with rich profusion the labors of 

 her sons. 



The President then proposed the following senti- 

 ments : 



Our Country — A favored spot of earth, where 

 Liberty has taken root, and its fruits surpass in val- 

 ue the "Golden Apples" of antiquity. 



The Orator of the Day — Whether in the field, 

 in the laboratory, among the flowers of the garden, 

 or in the academic grove, ho is equally at home. 



To this sentiment J. E. Teschemacher, Esq., re- 

 plied : 



The liberal cultivation of reciprocal esteem and 

 friendship among nations — It is sure to produce tho 

 blessed fruits of peace. 



Woman — A '' Floral Lexicon," complete, as fol- 

 lows : 



Whate'er has beauty, worth or power, 



Or grace, or lustre, is a jloicer : 



WoM*t» 's a flower — in lier we trace, 



Some blossom of the mind or face. 



Does womin lead the country dance.' 



We hail the Flower of Ele.g/mce. 



Does fashion's wreath adorn her brow.' 



The Flower of Taste woman now. 



In woman's raien, in woman's mind, 



Tlie twin-born Fhwersof Grace we find. 



And in her blushing cheek, we see 



The Royal Rose of Dignity. 



The Lily, symbol of her youth. 



Blooms next her heart, ihe Flowr of Truth ; 



And more, the violet buds express 



The Flowerets of her tenderness! 



The President remarked that the i ext sentiment 



