GARDEN committee's REPORT. 3 



The borders being very rich, the vines have made great growth ; their pres- 

 ent appearance is very healthy and vigorous. Whether Mr. Davis will be 

 able to continue the development of good fruiting buds near the base of the 

 vines, is a matter of doubt to your Committee. We think he will certainly be 

 obliged to remove one half of the number at least, and further to check the 

 strong flow of sap towards the extremity of the vine, if he would secure a 

 uniform crop on the whole length of the cane. The lona, Adriondac, Rebecca, 

 Allen, and Union Village, were all bearing their first crop of fruit, and were 

 all good specimens of the respective varieties. Another season will give a 

 good opportunity to lest the comparative qualities of each.'''' 



Being now near the Garden of Mr. P. Brown Hovey, his son John C. invited 

 us to inspect his asters and flowers, which were well worth seeing, being 

 neatly kept and in thrifty condition. Mr. Story, of the Flower Committee, 

 furnished notes, from which I make extracts ; he says, " the Asters and Double 

 Zinnias made a fine display; the Asters filled ten long beds, and included 

 twelve distinct classes, each class divided into many varieties of colors, all of 

 which were kept separate under name ; some of the finest classes noticed 

 were the Pa;ony-flower8^, Paeony-flowered Globe, Imbricated, Pompon, Em- 

 peror, Boltze's new dwarf, and Dwarf chrysanthemum-flowered ; the last 

 variety grows but six inches in height and seems well adapted for bedding. 

 Mr. Hovey informs us that, with the exception of a fey/ new varieties, they 

 were all raised from seed of his ov/n growth, and the few mixed and poor 

 ones were pulled up. The Zinnias were very double, and showed much 

 improvement both in shade and variety of color ; some new colors were no- 

 ticed, as white variegated, and golden yellow ; a bed of Scarlet Verbenas, all 

 seedlings from the Decorator (some of them superior to the original), attracted 

 our attention, as also some ten other selected seedlings of much promise, and 

 many hardy herbaceous plants, of which Mr. Hovey has over seven hundred 

 varieties, and has received the first prizes at our Spring and Summer Exhibi- 

 tions." 



Besides the flowers, may be seen in this old garden a iev/ fine standard 

 pear trees, especially three large " Seckels," and a large " Glout Morceau,'* 

 in full bearing, showing that time and long waiting sometimes pays, with this 

 shy bearer ; and we had another proof that the Seckel thrives best left to its. 

 own slow growth, without much pruning, in fact it is impatient of the shears, 

 and does best as a standard in rich soil and an open situation. Having com- 

 pleted our inspection of these grounds, Mr. Davis, (who had not yet done with 

 us,) invited us to his home lot in another direction, where he showed us some 

 enormous "Crawfords" and more " De Tongres" of great beauty, and other 

 sorts ; after which we were invited to partake of refreshments, which, being 

 wholly unexpected, were not the less acceptable after a tramp in the hot sun 

 and just on the point of starting for the extensive nurseries of Hovey ^' Co. 



These Nurseries have been so often described, little new of them can be 

 said ; we took the usual rounds of the strawberry beds, lawn, flower beds 



