1436 



PRINCE 



an advertisement in the New York "Mercury" of March 

 U, 1774, which reads as follows: 



"William Prince, at his nursery. Flushing Landine. 

 offers for sale- ^' 



110 large Carolina Mag:iiolia (lower trees, the most 

 beautiful trees that fjrow in America, four feet hish. 



50 large CatHl|>ii rtowcr tr, ,'s: thov nre nine feet high 

 to the uiulii- |.:iit ..f th.- t.ii. :iiiii thirk as oue's lei' 



30or40Alm ■.■.•s i !,:,, L.-ir, t,. i.rar ' 



2,500 whiti'. r.,1 an. I l.ia.k Cunant l.ii.slu-s 



50 Fi- tr.-.-. 



■•■"^y '' ■' ' 'iili, large English and American 



I-'"" v^U:\. HI, I I.I black Mulberry trees. 



Also BarcL.|..na I'llbert trees." 



The establishment had attained such public im- 

 portance that when the British took possession of 

 Flushing, August 29, 1776, after their victory at the 

 battle of Long Island, the commanding officer. General 

 Howe, placed a guard orer the nursery to protect it 

 from depredations, and this was continued until all 

 danger was past. The extent of the busin.-.ss, as well as 

 the paralyzing effect of the \^:ir. i- h.mi, inini ai. 

 advertisement of Mr. Prince, -i, ;i r. , ,, r.,iiisli 

 occupation, offering 30,000 y...ii]:j ■ i , . - i,,,- -.;,{,. 



as hoop-poles, the only use "to win. h in., ...iil.i h.. init 

 during the Revolution. The lost. ..l il..iiiestic business 

 was largely compensated by the great demand for 

 American native trees and shrubs wanted by the ofiieers 

 of the British army to be sent to friends in England 

 and Germany. 



A return of peace brought with it increased trade, to 

 make good the depredations of the soldiery as well as 

 to re-stock the orchards of those who for seven years 

 past ha.l |)aid nior..- attention to the science of war than 

 to the |.iir-uiN ..i' li.„-i i.-ulu,,-.' ; an.i a ..atalogue of 1794, 



s''"l"'' -'■'■"■''■ l'"ll.^ -■'- iii.iiv varieties of fruit 



as "'"-• ■'!' - .i.n-.ri.^ ..I ih.- >.;,,■ 1<J00, over a cen- 

 tury la.i.i-; aji.' , ,111. 1 11..1 a ri ii.s . tor instance, each 



•being lV|n-es.-lil.'.| i.v I. 11 \aM.li. ... 



Not ouly wa. .v. ivilnim ..!' „,. ,it imported, but the 

 origination ..f n.^v i.n.ii.s l.y a .Mi-.tuI .selection of 

 seedlings was ,-i,i hiisia^n.-all v .■an-j.al ,,11. Two plums, 

 still well known, .late lr..ii, il,,^ i..ri.,.l. I'l-ince's \r-]],m- 

 Gage being originated in 17s:: ,,n.l tl,,- linp.iial i;,..,- in 

 1794. The "Treatise on IL.ri i.mltnr.- ■ m.a.i i,.n. il,ai in 

 1790 no less than twenfv-liv.- .|naii. ..f ^,-,...ii .•,,■.,.' i.n^ 

 were planted, from wlii.-h -.■.■.llm-, w.r.. .,l,ri,in. .1 ..i' 

 every ....I..!- ali.l ^ha|..-. il I., in- pr. .I..,l.|.. I h:it III.' Wa-li 



death ..r lln- Wi II ianT I'n 1 In- nni'-r'M l.ii.'in!',^ lia'.'l 



former on ii.-w grnuiul, calieil the Linnean Botani). 

 Garden and Nursery, and the latter at the original 

 place, called "The Old American Nursery." 



William Priiire, third proprietor of the Prince Nur- 

 series at Flushing, was born Nov, 10, 1706; marri.-.l 

 Mary Stratton, Dec. 24, 1794, and died April t IMJ 

 During his lifetime the Prince Nursery was one '..I iIm' 

 centers of horticultural and botanic inte'rest in Ani.ri.a 

 and reached the height of its fame. He continucil Hi.' 

 workof his father in the introduction of all foreign (ms 

 and plants of value, the discovery of unknown AmiTi. ■an 

 species and the creation of new varieties from s.. .1 

 One of the trees introilii.-cd t.i ereat p.ipularity in (h.. 



younger days of Willi. •im . >l,.. .econd was the 



Lombardy poplar, of win : , .;i.,.,i in 1798 no 



less than 10,000 trees In , i., 1,1 For Severn I 



years the Lomb.ar.,y p.,i. :, -.liiniSyXdi 



tree. Long ayfuuc-< ., ,, ., plant, .,] by the 



wealthy; and th.ii- I., , ■ 1 v aluabie for 



fodder. In IKOi; ih.- i. |, : ,. , . ., 1,, ■, '1 . 1'i t- ti,.* 



they harbored a p....... n,...,,,,,, il,.„' sa , is were 



cut down and l..irn..l "^"® 



!,"ni™^ ^'"'" ' '" ' ' ''' f™»i Bayard, LeRov 



andClarkson.i - 1 he north side of Bridge 



street in Plusl,,, ,,„ the old nursery, con- 



taining eighty a. .. , .,,,,1 p „,,, soon transformed Into 

 a place of arbor.al ia-aiity. For fully fifty years the 

 niirsery was carried on much less for profit than from 

 a love of horticulture and botany. It was designed to 



PRINCE 



contain every known kind of tree, shrub, yine and plant 

 known to England or America that possessed any hor- 

 ticultural merit. In Europe probably the only one of 

 the same character was that of the London Horticul- 

 tural Society. When the great Northwest was explored 

 by Lewis and Clark, many of the botanical treasures 

 found a home at the Flushing Nurseries. Among them 



1..- M.ihonia became very popular, the earlier specimen^ 

 ..'111- -..l.i at ^"Jd each, 



' ' ' ■ ' - from 1815 to 1850 ranked among tlic 



''■ ' ' "Ifiiral publications of the country. The 



I ' ■' •' 1. ties of fruits cultivated seems scarcely 



''"'II- I'll! "iiU- the trees or plants 



' ■ , : milted. The collection 



: ' 1. r 800 kinds; of dah- 



;-■ '' II. -.lions of camellias, of 



.f i;ra|.i.s wire enormous, while the 

 af the ordinary fruits can be seen 

 cal Manual." The"Treatise on Hor- 

 'I'-'f^-it tli-if timi- {in-2X} the nursery 



'' ' '■ ' ' ' ■ ' lira pes about 



peaches. 



In 1828 Mr. Prince wrote and 

 on Horticulture," which was thi 



produced in America, Mr, Pi-iine was a man nf .rrei 

 energy of purpos.-. .,r .-x.-. 11, ..i jn.l-ni.-nl. will, a"l..v 

 for scientific stndn l ■, 1, . . . .1 ,,f ,■, ni..-i amial.l 

 character, Byin.l.--; ; -' . -... I..- .n. -.-.-. .|.-.| in l'ia\ 

 ing roads and bri.!-. - i.ml- ..in.-i, .li.,i-i,.n.-,i ih,- ,ii< 

 tance to New York fully on, .half, and soon after the in 

 vention of steamboats he had a regular line of boats e,< 

 tablished between Flushing and New York, He was 

 zealous churchman, a ve.stryman of St, George's church 

 Flushing, as early as 1798, and continued in the vestr 

 .'i2 years, during 14 of which he was warden. In th 

 words of Mandeville's History of Flushing, he wa 

 "universally esteemed in life and regretted in death. 



