Vol. IX.— No. -20. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



203 



ot" ii|Miiioiis iiiul sentiments upon the subject of 

 _^ui innliiiil pursuits. 



\\ li.ive invited the cooperation of the several 

 il riuniltuial Societies in our own country, to piir- 

 licipato with us in e.xtendiiig the influence, and 

 mpartinga taste for rural cuiployuients. We have 

 jxpressed a desire to be identified with thoni in 

 iie general design of our labors. \Vc founded 

 :his institution for purposes of public utility, and 

 ive wish to sec its benetits become co-extensive 

 ,vith the limits of our land. Whatever of good 

 nay result from our industry, or be achieved by 

 )ur exertions, must be seen and felt, and will, 1 

 rust, be acknowledged by the community. 



\ taste for rural pursuits and improved culture 

 las been widely dift'used througli the influence 

 nd example of this society. An emulation has 

 een excited which has been productive of highly 

 ratifying results. Tlie weekly exhibitions at our 

 lall the past and passing season, have furnished 

 ndeniable evidence of the truth of this assertion, 

 'he increased varieties of beautiful flowers, and 

 ch fruits, and fine culinary plant.s, have surpass- 

 d oiu- anticipations, and more than all these, are 

 le gratifying effects that have followed those ex- 

 ibitions in the expressions of deliglit we have 

 card from those who have attended them. We 

 innot be insensible to the commendation of our 

 diow-citizens ; we ask for their support and en- 

 juragement ; anil I feel assured that a generous 

 id tasteful community can never be unmindful of 

 le importance of sustaining an institution that 

 mtributes so essentially to the supply of their 

 niMion necessities, anil administers so abund- 

 itly to the happiness of the healthful, and the so- 

 ce of the invalid. 



The varieties of soil and of climate with 

 hich our country is diversified, are favorable to 

 rowih of almost every plant, which nature 

 elds to the wants or the tastes of man. The 

 agnolia, the tulip, the judas, the laurel, and other 

 wering trees that may vie in beauty and fra- 

 ance with almost any of the exotic plants, are 

 digenous to our forests, and are im|)roved by 

 dtivation when transplanted to ajipropriate situa- 

 ■<ns. And we are indebted to the provident care 

 nature for the origin of many of our most val- 

 ible esculents which have become ameliorated 

 culture, and which use has rendered in a mea- 

 Te indisi>ensable to our convenience and com- 

 ;t. 



In the interminable forests where the voice of 

 ■ilized man has not been heard, nor the foot of 

 'ilized man |)enetrated, where the silence of na- 

 ro has continued undisturbed since the earliest 

 wn of creation, save by the bowlings of the un- 

 ,j ned enemies of our race, or the murmuring of 

 Iters rushing to their appointed destination in 

 ■Iden meanderings, or gliding in silvery bright- 

 5S through verdant meadows, and over rocky 

 cipiccs, tumbling in wild and fearful confusion 



the deep cliasra, thence flinging their glitter- 

 ; spray upwards, mingling in sunbeams, and 

 nging midway jn the heavens the transient 

 luties of the bow of promise ! — there, where 



ure reposes in her lofty, but rude and simple 

 mdeur, in coming years, though perhaps re- 



te, men from all sections of this vast country, 

 i from nations beyond the sea, will be gathered 



ether, and from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean 

 the far-offborders of the Pacific Sea, under the 



•tecting aegis of our insignia of liberty, villages, 



1 towns and cities will arise, and associations 



■' 



will he established, where the cheering light of sci 

 ence and the arts shall blend their uitlucuce, and 

 seminaries of learning will bo founded, that shall 

 give to mind its power and to man his merited 

 elevation, and a taste for all that administers to 

 the im|n-ovement of social life, and the dilFusion 

 of the means of social happiness, and Gou shall 

 be worshipped in temples consecrated to His ser- 

 vice in the simplicity, and truth, and power of 

 His word. 



In this future vision, that is not destined to bless 

 our sight, but is reserved to future generations to 

 look upon, may we not hope that the influence of 

 those principles we now commemorate may be im- 

 planted and widely difflised ? 



It is a common observation of travellers, that 

 in the interior portions of New England, remote 

 from jjopulous towns, very little if any attention 

 is given to the cultivation of good fruits, and it is 

 equally true that many of our substantial practi- 

 cal ag'.iculturists in those regions, deny themselves 

 eveit the convenience or luxury of a kitchen gar- 

 den. Mankind must be permitted to stint them- 

 selves in the enjoyments of the bounties of nature if 

 such be their pleasure. If indifl'erence or parsi- 

 mony induce such self-denial, and they who prac- 

 tise it were alone inconvenienced, it is matter with 

 which a stranger need not intermeddle; but inas- 

 much, as such a disuse of the bounties of heaven 

 are detrimental to the public at large, we may re- 

 buke the unpatriotic spirit by which they are in- 

 fluenced. 



It is worthy of remark, that in all parts of the 

 continent of Europe where fruits are abundant 

 and cheaply procured, a greater degree of temper- 

 ance in the use of intoxicating liquors is prevalent 

 among all classes of the inhabitatits than else- 

 where. This consideration alone, commends 

 the subject most forcibly to the general favor, 

 and in an especial manner to those philanthropic 

 men who are devising plans for the suppression of 

 that debasing and destructive practice of intem- 

 perance. Horticultural societies are in a measure 

 auxiliary to this benevolent design, in administer- 

 ing an antidote to that baneful indulgence which 

 makes havoc of the mind, by furnishing a substi- 

 tute in the wholesome beverage expressed from the 

 apple, the pear, the grape and the currant, as in 

 the solace to be derived from the natural and or- 

 dinary use of the fruit. 



Rural architecture may not inappropriately 

 claim a passing notice on the present occasion. 

 It has not hitherto, here, received the attention it 

 deserves. One reason why it has not, is probably 

 the unwillingnes.s, or the apprehension of incur- 

 ring an exjiensive outlay, without the immediate 

 prospect of an adequate return. This, I think, it 

 may be made apparent, is more imaginary than 

 real. It is not to be denied that large sums have 

 been injudiciously expended in the construction 

 of some of our rural retreats, and more especially in 

 the erection of the house, the preparation of 

 gravel-walks, the construction of observatories, 

 artificial caverns, fish-ponds, etc. Those who pos- 

 sess the means, have an unquestionable right to 

 gratify their tastes, and indulge their fancies, in 

 such expenditures, but it does not follow that 

 others, with more limited resources, may not pro- 

 cure as much satisfaction by a less conspicuous 

 display of their tastes and their fancies. Durabil- 

 ity in the materials selected, and convenience and 

 simplicity in the design and construction of the 

 house, are all that is essential for a country resi- 



dence. A white exterior, which presents a pleas- 

 iiig contrast to the green vestments, the prevail- 

 ing coloring of nature in her rural empire, is pre- 

 ferable to any other. The artificial embellish- 

 tuents of the exterior of the house are of second- 

 ary consideration. The honey-suckle, the big no- 

 nia, the eglantine and the woodbine, intermingling 

 and entwining their flexible branches, and attach- 

 ing themselves by their tendrils, or other means 

 with which nature has provided them to any ob- 

 ject that will afford them support, or artificially 

 secured and tastefully arranged, will present a far 

 more pleasing aspect than the ingenuity of man 

 can devise, or the application of art a<;compIisli. 

 But it is upon the grounds that the taste of the pro- 

 prietor should be exhibited ; this can be effected at 

 comparatively little expense. Most of the native, 

 and many of the foreign varieties of ornamental 

 trees and shrubs, may be raised from seeds, and a 

 nursery thus formed, will in a few years afford a 

 sufficient supply to occupy the borders or other 

 places designed for their reception. Collections 

 of many desirable kinds may be procured from the 

 contiguous forests. The work of preparing the 

 borders or divisions of the enclosure to be ap- 

 propriated to the location of the plants, may be 

 done at intervals when leisure will permit, or when 

 it will not interfere with more important duties. 



The gravelling of garden avenues may be dis- 

 pensed with. The ordinary soil, levelled and laid 

 smooth with the roller, will present an agreeable 

 surface with less labor and cost than the former. 

 Grass edgings are preferable to those of box ; their 

 symmetry can be preserved with less care, and 

 are less obnoxious to the charge of the treason- 

 able practice of affording shelter and sustenance 

 to myriads of insects which prey upon the delic- 

 ious products of the vine and other rare fruit. 

 To he concluded next week. 



Dr Franklin. — Charles Thompson, the secre- 

 tary of congress, said he well remembered the cir- 

 cumstance of the first introduction of broom-corn 

 into our country. Dr B. Franklin chanced to gee 

 an imported corn whisk in the possession of a 

 lady, and while examining it as a novelty, he es- 

 pied a grain of it still attached to the stalk. This 

 he took and planted, and so we at length have got 

 it in abundance among us. 



The yellow willow among us was introduced 

 from a similar accident, as told me by T. Matlack, 

 Mrs D. Logan, and Samuel Coates. All in our 

 state came originally from some wickerwork found 

 sprouting in a basket-state in dock creek. It was 

 seen by Dr Franklin, who took it out and gave 

 the cuttings to Charles Norris of that day, who 

 reared them at the grounds now the site of the 

 Bank of the United States, where they grew to 

 great stature. — Watson's Annals. 



Admonitory Sentence. — The late Rev. Dr Gar- 

 diner of Boston is represented in one of M. Car- 

 ey's essays on the charities of Philadelphia, as hav- 

 ing said — 'My dearly beloved Brethren, let me so- 

 letnnly assure you, that some of yoii inight appro- 

 priate five, some ten, some fifteen, some twenty 

 thousand dollars a year, for charitable and benevo- 

 lent purposes, and still retain enough to ruin your 

 children.^ Mr C. very justly remarks, ' What a lesson! 

 how little regarded by parents in general ! How 

 fully borne out by the career of a large number of 

 those who inherit independent fortunes, without the 

 necessity of attending to business.' 



