JVewj York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, ^c. 413 



in front, and a large stage running to the back wall occupies 

 all the room except the walk. The cost of the whole was 

 about twelve hundred dollars. 



The collection of green-house and hot-house plants has 

 been very much increased, particularly the family of camel- 

 lias, which Mr. Hancock appears to be quite partial to: he 

 already has small ])lants of most of the best American varie- 

 ties, and is now importing many of the more choice foreign 

 kinds. The collection of roses, particularly of tender kinds, 

 is very good. Among the hot-house plants, we saw, for the 

 first time, the pepper tree in fruit. Of rhododendrons and 

 azaleas he has several fine kinds, and is now making additions 

 by importation. 



In the open garden, the first objects which we noticed were 

 the dahlias; we found an excellent collection of all the best 

 kinds, and a hundred or more seedlings, saved from a!)out 

 thirteen hundred plants raised last year. One or two which 

 we saw promised to equal the Hero of Tippecanoe. 'JMie 

 plants had but just begun to bloom, but such flowers as were 

 expanded, were very beautiful; if they continue good to the 

 end of the season, they will be named. The Hero of Tip- 

 pecanoe is a first rate dahlia, but its prolific habit of flowering 

 is apt to unfit it as a show flower in the fall, unless precau- 

 tions are taken to have two crops of plants, one for early 

 blooming, and one for late. It flowers so very abundantly, 

 that those plants which commence blooming in July exhaust 

 themselves by September, so that the flowers are not perfect. 

 To those who grow this variety as a show flower, this hint is 

 important, in order that they may know when to depend upon 

 it for exhibition. 



The nursery we found in neat order, and the operation of 

 budding being extensively performed, as it was just the sea- 

 son. Mr. Hancock has considerably increased his stock 

 since 1639. He has a fine lot of peach and a|)ple trees: of 

 pears and plums his stock is quite limited. Among the orna- 

 mental trees, Mr. Hancock grows a great number of the sil- 

 ver leaved maple: it is a handsome formed tree, growing 

 considerably more rapid than the sugar maple, and decidedly 

 a fine tree for road-sides, avenues, and belts to plantations. 

 We would advise a more general planting of it in the vicinity 

 of Boston. 



Passing a fine field of water-melons, Mr. Hancock called our 



