ADDRESS. 



DELIVERED BY C. M. HOVEY, ESQ., PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY. 



Gentlemen of the 



Massachusetts Horticultural Society : 



We are assembled here to-day, agreeably to your direc- 

 tion, to take the first formal step towards the erection of a 

 building for the use of the Society, to more effectually 

 carry out its purposes of " encouraging and improving the 

 science and practice of Horticulture, promoting the ameli- 

 oration of the various species of trees, fruits, plants, and 

 vegetables, and the introduction of new species and varie- 

 ties." 



Such were the original objects of the Society, as named 

 in the act of incorporation, and such, I am happy to say, 

 they have always been, and I doubt not, ever will be, as 

 long as this beautiful edifice you are about to erect shall 

 endure. 



This is the second time that you have, in the course of 

 your organization, erected a building for the Society. It 

 will be just twenty years, on the 14th of September next, 

 since the Corner-Stone of Horticultural Hall in School 

 Street, erected on the site of the old Latin school-house, 

 was laid by your late President, the Hon. Marshall P. 



