THE RETROSPECT OF THE YEAR. 99 



made by the curator of art, and the number of persons 

 interested in this subject who consult this library is in- 

 creasing. Many of the volumes contain useful and valu- 

 able information which the student could not easily ob- 

 tain elsewhere. 



HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITION. The annual exhibition 

 of flowers and fruit opened at the rooms of>the Essex In- 

 stitute on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Although the display 

 was not so large as that of some previous seasons, the 

 collection was on the whole quite as interesting as any of 

 the society's exhibitions. The general arrangement of 

 the hall under the care of the curator of horticulture, Mr. 

 J. Endicott Peabody, was very tasteful, and the plants and 

 flowers were displayed to their best advantage. Amo^g 

 the most noteworthy exhibits were the collection of green- 

 house ferns and other pot plants of S. E. Peabody, the 

 fine collection of Coleus of H. W. Putnam, the beauti- 

 fully arranged bank of cut flowers of Mrs. L. P. Weston 

 of Danvers, the Ferns and Begonias of John Kobinson, 

 the seedling; Gladioli of C. A. Putnam, and the cut 



O 



flowers of Miss Mary Ropes. Fruit was exhibited by F. 

 Lamson, J. P. Cook, Wm. Mack and Wm. A. Ireland. Cut 

 flowers by Mary K. Robinson, George D. Phippen, and 

 others. A finely arranged basket of flowers was shown by 

 George W. Peabody, and a specimen of the cotton plant 

 by John Webster. 



Among the curiosities were the smallest fern grown in 

 America, the "Trichomanes petersii," from Alabama, con- 

 tributed by Mr, John Robinson ; an exceedingly curious 

 water plant, contributed by Dr. H. C. Merriam ; and a 

 cotton stock raised on the Red River in Louisiana, near 

 the Texas line, planted April 1, and taken up the latter 

 part of August, and presented to Mr. John Webster. 

 Mr. S. E. Peabody and Mr. John Robinson contributed 



