MR. hovey's address. 73 



its exhibitions in former years, and from time to time up to a few weeks 

 previous to his decease. He served on various Committees, and was, with 

 Mr. Haggerston, one of the Council under the old constitution of the Society. 



Thus are the old members passing away. May those who fill their places 

 feel the deep responsibility which rests upon them to make good their loss ; 

 and may each and all do their share, as they did theirs, to keep the Society 

 on the solid foundation they so earnestly labored to secure. 



And now, gentlemen, let me pass to the congratulations of the season. 



First, let me congratulate you upon the large accession of members, much 

 more numerous than any year for a long period. Forty-nine new members 

 have been added, many of them life members, and six have died — making a 

 gain of forty-three. I see by the address of your late President, that in 1859 

 the total of members, both life and subscription, was 541, and in 1862, 

 563 — making a gain of only twenty-one members in four years. The gain 

 last year, deducting withdrawals, was thirty. 



I congratulate you upon having been the recipients of the fine work of art 

 which adorns our room — a lifelike bust of the Hon. M. P. Wilder — the gift 

 of C. O. Whitmore, Esq., a gentleman whose interest in our welfare and 

 progress has never waned, and whose aspirations are that we may never cease 

 our great work until a knowledge of horticulture becomes difiused throughout 

 our entire country. 



Fortunate indeed it is that this memorial of our friend and associate, and 

 former President, has been placed before us to remind us of his long devo- 

 tion to horticulture and pomological science, and especially to the highest 

 interests of the Society. Though prostrated by sickness, and long deprived 

 of his constant intercourse with us, his most ardent wishes are for our pros- 

 perity. It is the earnest hope of every member that he may soon be restored 

 to health, and again be permitted to give us the aid of his valuable services, 

 always so cheerfully rendered. 



I congratulate you upon the munificent donation which has been made to 

 our funds by H. H. Hunnewell, Esq., to encourage and promote the growth 

 and introduction of ornamental trees and shrubs, and particularly the Rhodo- 

 dendron and Azalea. How timely has this been made, and how deeply are 

 we indebted to his good taste in selecting the very plants which, of all others, 

 most merit encouragement, but which have been most neglected.' Let us 

 hope that the means which he has so liberally placed in our hands will be so 

 judiciously used as to effect the object of the donor, assured that the result 

 must be the diffusion of a taste for some of the most magnificent plants that 

 enrich our gardens and grounds. 



And, lastly, allow me to congratulate you, upon the purchase of the Mont- 

 gomery House estate for a new hall — a location one of the most advantageous 

 the city affords. Whatever views may be entertained regarding the erection 

 of a suitable building, there can be but one opinion as to the eligibility of 

 the site over any other which was offered, or was likely to offer. Your Cora- 



