REPORTS. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GARDENS, 

 Awarding Premiums for 1854. 



The Committee on Gardens respectfully Report that they have attended 

 to the duty assigned to them hy examining all the Grounds to which they 

 were invited agreeably to the rules of tlie Society. 



Owing to the extreme drought, during the summer, every place visited by 

 your Committee appeared more or less to disadvantage — but still they can- 

 not very well over-rate the high state of cultivation and general fine ap- 

 pearance of the Grounds and Graperies of Nahum Stetson, Esq., of Bridge- 

 water. The premises of Mr. Stetson including the buildings contains about 

 two acres, in which the Committee found 108 grape vines, of the choicest 

 varieties, in the grape-houses ; 207 standard and dwarf pear trees ; 33 

 peach trees ; 14 cherry trees ; also some plum, apricot and nectarine trees, 

 to which may be added a choice collection of all the small fruits, and a good 

 collection of flowering shrubs, roses, herbaceous plants, &c. The great quan- 

 tity of water on the premises, brought a considerable distance by the power 

 of an hydraulic ram, enables Mr. Stetson to give such a liberal supply of 

 water to every part that it is almost impossible for his Garden to suf- 

 fer materially from drought. The vines, trees, plants, indeed every thing on 

 the premises of Mr. Stetson, was in the highest state of cultivation, and 

 was very satisfactory to your Committee. 



Your Committee visited tlie Fruit Garden of Captain W. R. Austin, con- 

 taining about two acres, one half acre of which is occupied by buildings : 

 in the grounds were upwards of 600 trees — about 500 of which are dwarf 

 pear trees. I'he trees generally were loaded with fine specimens of fruit, 

 and, taken as a whole, your Committee believe no cultivator in the State 

 could exhibit so much fine fruit on the like number of trees of the same 

 age and size Your Committee consider Mr. Austin's grounds as a model 

 Fruit Garden. 



The Garden of Mr. Parker Barnes, of Dorchester, had suffered very 

 much from the continued drought, and the foliage of his roses much more 

 from the slugs ; his phloxes and pansies were among the best specimens. 

 Mr. Barnes' collection of shrubs, roses and herbaceous plants is quite exten- 

 sive, and if they had been seen under favorable circumstances would have 

 shown to much advantage. 



