Vol. IX.— No. -27. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



211 



\1R, COOK'S ADDRESS. 



Concluileil from pnjo 203. 



AVo have l)eon too long nccustomcd to rely 

 upon lonigii iim-,SL-rics for fniit trees ami other 

 plants. I am aware that to a certain extent this is 

 unavoidable. But wc sliouKl depend more upon 

 our own resources, and learn to appreciate them. 

 We have suttVred too niueh of disappointment, 

 and experienced too much of vexation from the 

 carelesness of others to submit with patience to a 

 repetition of them. We have waited season after 

 season for several successive years for the develop- 

 ment of fruits that were sent to us under the im- 

 posing title of some rich and rare variety, and have 

 found in the reality tli.it the good consisted alone 

 in the name. 1 would encourage the public nur- 

 * series. in our own vicinity, not to gratify any ex- 

 clusive or sectional views, but because we may 

 thereby the more easily avoid the inconveniences 

 wliioli have long been the subject of complaint 

 against others more remote. The fear of promjjt 

 and immediate detection and exposure, will have a 

 tendency to render their proprietors more cautious, 

 while the liberal support they would receive, would 

 stimulate them to secure and retain the confidence 

 reposed in thera. The imposition tliat was prac- 

 ■• tiseil upon the patriarch Jacob, who was compelled 

 to acrept Leah as the reward of seven years of 

 labor and toil, for Rachel, is somewhat analagous 

 to the case of many of us. We, too, have num- 

 " bered full seven years in anticipation of the devel- 

 opment of fruits under assurances as specious as 

 Jjoso i)y which the patriarch was stimulated to the 

 jerformanco of liis siiptjlated servitude, and, like 

 jim, on its termination, have found a Leah, in the 

 olace of a Rachel, and have again, like him, to 

 iccomplish another term of years ere we could 

 realize the ho;ie3 we Iiad formed in the acquisition 

 of tlie object of our desires. 



The public nurseries and gardens of Middlesex 

 tnd Norfjik are entitled to preeminence among 

 faose of New England, and Newton and Bright- 

 iD, and Charlestown and Fdilion and Roxbury, are 

 BUdably competing with similar establishments in 

 tther sections of our country for the general pat- 

 (onage. 



A familiar accquaintance with the synonynies, 

 .nd their identity with the fruit, is essential to the 

 lonvenience of all classes of cultivators and inilis- 

 lensableto the proprietors of extensive nurseries. 

 It will prevent much of the confusion which now 

 irevails, and tend to correct the mistakes which 

 irequently occur to those who have not attended to 

 lis subject. 



If it has been the prevailing fashion to underrate 

 klmost everything of domestic origin, and attach a 

 alue to exotics in proportion to the distance from 

 md the expense at which they were procured, it 

 as no less true of the products of the sail, than 

 «f those of the workshop and the loom. Even the 

 Dtellectual labors of our countrymen have, until 

 vithin a short period, been received with the cold 

 formality with which an indigent acquaintance is 

 iften recognised. While everything that bore 

 lie impress of a foreign original was sought after, 

 .dtnired and eulogised without much .regard to 

 ts intrinsic merits. But these aittinational pre- 

 udices and predilections are fast receding before 

 he beaming and unquenchable light of intelligence 

 ind patriotism. 



I have spoken of the influence that our assooia- 

 ion has exerted in relation to the primary objects 

 >f its institution. There are other subjects con- 

 lected with its success and usefulness, to which I 



liuve adverted, and which shoidd interest our at- 

 tention. A practical acquaintance with the dif- 

 ferent departments of natural history will bo found 

 to l)e highly advantageous in the business of hor- 

 ticultiu'e. I hope we may avail ourselves of the 

 facilities that will be afforded us, to acquire u 

 knowledge of this subject, when it will comport 

 with the convenience of the gentlemen who have 

 been designated as professors and lecturers on bot- 

 any and vegetable physiology, entomology an 

 horticultural chemistry. 1 anticipate from those re- 

 sources not only much intellectual gratification, but 

 that, from their abundant stores of scientific at- 

 tainments, we may be instructed and encouraged 

 to persevere in obtaining a familiar intimacy with 

 all that is essential to our pursuits. 



The protection and preservation of useful birds is 

 a su'njcctl would pro|)OSe for your particular con- 

 sideration. To those whose souls are attuned to the 

 harmony of their music, who delight to listen to 

 the warbling of nature's choristers, little need be 

 urged to insure them security in the peaceful pos 

 session of their accustomed haunts. But if this 

 consideration is not sufficient, there is another 

 view in which the subject may be presented, that 

 cannot fail to render them the objects of our care 

 and watchfulness. We must either encourage 

 thetn, or resign our gardens and orchards to the 

 overwhelming ravages of innumerable insatiate 

 insects. We must preserve tlioai, and consent to 

 tolerate their minor depredations, or suffer them to 

 be destroyed, and with thera all hopes of preserv- 

 ing any portion of our fruits. 



It is asserted upon competent authority, that 

 nearly all the food of small birds from the com- 

 mencement of s|n'ing to the middle of June, con- 

 sists of insects ; and that a pair of sparrows dur- 

 ing the time they have their your.g ones to pro- 

 vide for, destroy e^ery week about three thou- 

 sand three hundred caterpillars. By a wise and 

 judicious enactment of the legislature of Mas- 

 sachusetts, the protection of law is extended to 

 the preservation of certain kinds of birds that are 

 enumerated, and a ])enalty provided for every in- 

 fraction of its provisions. Let this association 

 unite in giving efficiency to the laws, by enforcing 

 its operations upon every violator, and thus shall 

 we subserve the public interests, protect our pro- 

 perty, and preserve those innocent and useful co- 

 laborers, w!io amply repay us in tl;c aid they af- 

 tbrd, and in the gratification we derive from their 

 presence, and in listening to their inspiring and 

 animating melody. 



The pursuits which it is our object to promote, 

 are not only subservient to the happiness of soci^il 

 and domestic lite, in multiplying the resources of 

 innocent indulgence, and of the interchange of 

 the kind offices of mutual good will, and not only 

 tend to excite and elevate that taste for the beau- 

 ties of creation, which almost of necessity leads 

 to communion with its All-Glorious Author, but 

 may be consecrated also to the holy purpose of 

 rendering more interesting and attractive our final 

 resting-place. 



The improvement and embellishment of grounds 

 devoted to public uses, is deserving of especial con- 

 sideration, and should interest the ingenious, the 

 liberal and tasteful in devising ' ways and means ' 

 for the accomplishment of so desirable an object; 

 and I deem this a suitable occasion to direct the 

 attention of our citizens to a subject I have long 

 wished to see presented to their consideration, 

 with an eloquence that could not fail to awaken, 



and with arguments that will not fail to insure the 

 influence of all in its execution. 



1 refer to the establishment of a public ceme- 

 tery, similar in its designs to that of I'cre La 

 Chaise in the environs of Paris, to be located in 

 the suburbs of this metropolis. A suitable regard 

 for the memory of the dead ia not inconsistent 

 with the precepts of religion or of our duty to the 

 living. The place of graves aflbrds to the serious 

 and the contemplative, instruction and admonition, 

 It teai:lies us ' what shadows we are, and what 

 shadows we pursue.' It is there that the heart is 

 chastened, and the soul is subdued, and the uflTec- 

 tions purified and .exalted. It is there that am- 

 bition surveys the biuindaries of its powers, of its 

 hopes, and its aspirations. And it is there that 

 we are constrained to admit, that human distinc- 

 tions, and arrogance, nnd influence must terminate 

 I would render such rcenes more alluring, more 

 familar and imposing, oy the aid of rural embel- 

 lishments. The skill anl taste of the architect 

 should be exerted in the cohstruction of the requi- 

 site departments and avenues ; and appropriate 



trees and plants should decorate its borders ; the 



weeping willow, waving its graceful drapery over 

 the monumental marble, and the soaibre foliage of 

 the cypress should shade it, and the i.ndying daisy 

 should mingle its bright and glowing tints with 

 the native laurels of our forests. It is tliere I 

 would desire to see the taste of the florist manifest- 

 ed in the collection and arrangement of beautiful 

 and fragrant flowers, that in their budding and 

 bloom and decay they should be the silent but ex- 

 pressive teachers of morality, and remind us that, 

 although, like the flowers of autumn, the race of 

 man is fading from off the earth, yet like them his 

 root will not perish in the ground, but wUI rise 

 again in it rmiewed "existence, to shed the sweet in- 

 fluence of a useful lift, in gardens of unfadiitg 

 beauty ! 



Sole Leather. — We hear that Massachusetts Sole 

 Leather is in high estimation. — The Philadelphia 

 Leather is in higli repute ; but we understand that 

 many now give the preference to that manufactured 

 by Mr Tufts of Charlestown. — Palladium. 



[The generality of sole leather manufactured in 

 this state, is beliaved to be very bad, because it is 

 not sufficiently tanned. We have been informed that 

 some tanners turn their stock every three months. 

 We should like to see the opinion of an e,xperienced 

 physician as to the effect of loose, porous and untan- 

 ned solo leather in producing colds, coughs and con- 

 sumptions in this city.] — Mass. Jour. 



Palm Leaf Hats. — This manufacture has become 

 in Massachusetts, a business of importance. A friend 

 calculates that a million of these will be made for the 

 next season. Formerly they were imported from Cu- 

 ba, and sold we believe, for about two dollars each. 

 Now the raw materials is imported, and the hats 

 made here, which sell for three or four dollars per 

 dozen. 



JVew Bonnets.— in the State of New York very 

 beautiful bonnets have been made of hornets' nest. 

 The quality that makes this substance particularly 

 valuable, is that the hornet uses a kind of sizing 

 which resists the rain, like Roman cement. The nest 

 is colored to suit the fancy. Dr Mitchell of Nevy 

 York, suggests the prelection and culture of hornets. 

 All boys wage war against them now. 



Bohon Vjtas.-^An article reviving the old story 

 out tliis tree, is making the tour of the press. — 

 The Philadelphia U. S. Gazette informs that a phy- 

 sician of that city has actually visited the tree, the 

 gum of which is a strong poison, but not by any 

 means so destructive as has been represented, 



