STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 139 



and it was to his good management that the amicable separation of 

 the society and of the proprietors of the cemetery, accomplished in 

 1835, was due. He was elected President of the Horticultural So- 

 ciety in 1840, which ollice he held eight years, securing within that 

 time the erection of a fine building for the society on the present site 

 of the Parker House. This building was occupied until the need for 

 more commodious quarters became pressing, when it was sold at a 

 considerable advance on its original cost, and the corner stone of the 

 present building was laid in 1864. Mr. Wilder declined another re- 

 election as President of the Society in 1848, and his retirement was 

 the occasion of some very flattering tributes to the efficiency of his 

 administration, one of which was the gift of a silver pitcher valued 

 at $150. Since that time he has maintained an active connection 

 with the Society and has always been ready to work for the advauce- 

 ment of its interests. His studies and experiments in floriculture 

 have been interesting and have gained him a wide reputation. He 

 was especially successful in the cultivation of the camellia, and in 

 his honor two seedlings of that flower raised by him have been named 

 by the Horticultural Society the Camellia Wilderi and the Mrs. Abbie 

 Wilder, respectively. He was also awarded a premium of $bO. The 

 Camellia Wilderi was sold to J. L. F. Warren of Brighton for the 

 extraordinary sum of $1000. In 1853 he was honored by the Society 

 by the placing in its hall of a fine marble bust. 



VARIOUS PUBLIC SERVICES. 



As a presiding officer Col. Wilder has always been regarded as the 

 possessor of qualities which made his presence in the chair a matter 

 of satisfaction. He was frequently called on to officiate as Presi- 

 dent of the Day, notable occasions being in Boston, Oct. 29, 1852, 

 and the celebration of the 225th anniversary of the settlement of 

 Dorchester, July 4, 1885. 



A visit to Europe in 1867 was a pleasant event in his life. He 

 went to represent the United States Agricultural Society, and while 

 abroad he was appointed United States Commissioner at the Paris 

 Exhibition of that year. He returned Sept. 1, and immediately went 

 to St. Louis to attend the meeting of the American Pomological So- 

 ciety. During his visit to Europe he devoted much of his time to 

 investigating the condition of pomolog}^ and horticulture in England 

 and on the Continent, and received very kind attentions from the 



