45 



this inducement, yeunfif trees would still be worth their cost to 

 plant 0(jt as opportunities should occur. A principal reason 

 why good iruit is not more plenty, is, that few farmers think 

 they can spare the money to purchase trees, and to raise them 

 from the seed seems too slow a method. They seem to despair 

 of living long enough to derive any advantage from such labours, 

 and consequently spend a long life, destitute of many riches and 

 eomforts which they might have possessed. The best policy 

 for agriculturalists, as well as others, is always to act on benev- 

 olent principles. Let us plant these trees, should be their lan- 

 guage ; tliey will benefit somebody, if we should not live to 

 enjoy them ourselves. And, on a dying bed, it is what we have 

 done to promote the happiness of others that will afford us the 

 greatest consolation. 



Quinces, grapes, gooseberries, currants, &c. might be easily 

 cultivated in such quantities, as to supply our citizens with 

 wines, preserves and sweetmeats, equally palatable, and far 

 less injurious to healthj than such as are now at a great expense 

 imported. 



In looking over English books on gardening and cookery, 

 who is not surprised that so few of the esculent vegetables, es-^ 

 teemed valuable in Europe, are here cultivated ? The difficul- 

 ty of obtammg seed is probably the chief cause of this neglect. 

 May we not confidently hope, that one of the benefits resulting 

 from the establishment of this society will be the more general 

 distribution of rare and valuable seeds; and that, by exhibiting 

 at our annual shows the productionseither of uncommon plants, 

 or of new and better varieties of such as have hitherto been 

 cultivated, the attention of farmers will be attracted to means 

 of rendering the business profitable, with which they would 

 otherwise never have become acquainted ? Might not our an- 

 nual meetings in the month of February be rendered more use- 

 ful and interestmg, if the members generally would make it an 

 object to carry with them for distribution such seeds, roots, and 

 also scions of the best kinds of fruits for grafting ? 



It would also be good policy, I conceive, for American farm- 

 ers to endeavour to supply the market with such raw materials^ 



