79 



long, in greater or less degree, to all choice selections of 

 flowers. 



Every flower should have beauty of color, or it will need much 

 to redeem it from our ban. We have seen dahlias, full petalled 

 and full quilled, with such a dead, mahogany hue as to repel any 

 thought of admiration. Destitute of fragrance, or rather having 

 a very offensive one, such an one should not find place in any, 

 much less any choice collections. 



Many beautiful flowers are inodorous, but a pleasant perfume 

 greatly increases the value of a plant. It is nearly the only pre- 

 tension of the mignionette, but it makes that unambitious plant a 

 favorite in every parterre. Of two roses, equal in beauty, that 

 which has fragrance is worth incomparably more than that which 

 lacks the quality. Continuance of flowering is an essential quality 

 of a flower. Some bloom and fold themselves up churlishly before 

 people are usually out of their beds, having no indulgence to the 

 infirmities of human nature. A flower, to be loved, must be seen, 

 and we have a high respect for those that can bear the day light 

 two or three days, the longer the better. Beauty is a fading 

 flower, but a fading flower is not a beauty. 



Deficiency of stem is deficiency of value. What can you do 

 with the balsams, but look at them where they grow ? No balsam 

 ever reached the honor of a bouquet, any more than a duck- 

 legged man ever reached the honor of enrolment in the Imperial 

 Guard of Bonaparte. 



Color, fragrance, durability, and strength of stem are all con- 

 siderations, and a few choice flowers combine them all. The rose 

 has each in perfection. The beauty of flowers in the garden de- 

 pends much on the character of the plant that bears it. The 

 plant of the poppy and the herbage of the dahlia are coarse and 

 unseemly, while some are beautiful in themselves, scarce needing 

 the flower that grows upon them. 



Your Committee rejoice in the manifestation of increasing in- 

 terest in flower culture. Many beautiful collections were pre- 

 sented that by themselves would excite admiration, and were only 

 lost in the profusion that prevailed around them. In awarding 

 the premiums of the Society there was greater difficulty in de- 

 ciding who ought not to receive them, than Avho were entitled 

 thereto. Using their best judgment, they award as follows : — 



Cat Flowers. 



First best collection, Barnes & Washburn, Dorchester, . $4.00 



Second " E. S. Rand, Jr., Dedham, . 2.00 



Third " T. G. Whytal, West Roxbury, . 1.00 



E. Stone, Dedham, gratuity, 1.00 



Hannah Mcintosh, Needham, gratuity, . . . 1.00 



