NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



162 



as a thing to keep and not to «•= ' ' J^^ ""' = . L,e,.si, reads the margin of the rivulet. We pos- 

 po..e«;onof whichistog.ve„«pleasue Ihe oves ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ 



tate not a moment to prefer the ph.nt °f «J^"^ Ittf^,.';!^,^,,,^^ ,,,,,,,,,„;,,,- ,,,,Hv, to entitle then, 



DECEMBER 3, 1S34. 



recommendation than that of rarity, to entitle then 



idLc ..v.. c. -.- . , I- ,„^s." recommendation tnan inai oi 1.11 iij,i"-— ■■• 



carnation, to a gold watcli set with ' «"'<;^ ; ,^ ^^„^ ^.,„, „,, „,„,i ,o,tly exotics. Witness the 

 If, however, the P'-od-'^t'ons of the g. U,ne^ o ^^^_^^,_.^^^ ^^ ^,^,^^,^1^ ,„,, u,e spicy 



labors are not to be placed in the same rank with 

 the works of the painter or sculptor, they possess 

 what, in our country, is a most impoilant advan- 

 tage over them, viz. that they are within the reach 

 of" the great mass of onr commnnity. 1 ictures 

 and statues are, even in older nations, 

 the precincts of cities, or the villas of the opt.lent 

 Not so with fine flowers. The proprietor of the 

 smallest farm in the country, or the ■"'"'''"^" °* 

 the humblest tenement in the city, may decorate 

 his house with ornaments, surpassing m richness 

 and delicacy, the .nost cosily productions of the 

 upholsterer. The furnishing of a single apar ment 



stately Rhododendrons of MedfieUI, and the spicy 

 Magnolias of Cape-Ann. What spectacle can bt 

 more magnificent than that presented by our woods 

 on the banks of the Connecticut, when their shady 

 nnnunity. r.^:u,..= recesses are absolutely illuminated with the bnl- 

 ions,' confined to liant and clusi^red blossoms of the Mountain Uu- 

 rel. Above all, what exotic can surpass our l-ond 

 Lily ?_a flower, rivaling in beauty the far-tamed 

 nio-ht-blooming Cerens,— possessing, too, a most 

 delicious fragrance, which is altogether denied to 

 its kindred in the Eastern world, and which is so 

 delicate and ethereal, that all the power of Chem- 

 istry is insufficient to arrest and retain it. 1 he 



■ , P :t2'';^ZZ^:^\ZLlJZ:.\o., denominated, by the consent 



in a style of very .nod ate ^1 |- '° ' \^ ^,^ ^i^i,,,,, ^„,,,, Uie queen ot flowers, and 



greater expense, than many fl«"-^« ^'^ A^^^^^ -^ f,.„„, ,,,, ,„ disparage her pretensions; 



stores and nurseries, during the whole corns ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^l^^ 



.tores and ■"--,;-^,;;,^'';;^,;;;.,:;;;;e;e7v;"en. Ihut if the choice were now to be nia.le, we might 



their lives. Well, tnen, uues n „„„,„;,.al ' — " i. =....> Hivl.lp nt least. 



couragement, in our republican and economical 



How few can hope for a reputation so extensive'^ 

 so enduring, and so enviable, as that which wit 

 be awarded, both in his country and ours, to 

 Thomas Andrew Knight. How long and how 

 highly shall we honor this high-minded English- 

 man, as the disinterested and unwearied benefac- 

 tor of our infant Hnrticiillnre ? How nobly has 

 he exemplified the great truths, that the firmest 

 loyalty to our own country is compatible with the 

 utmost liberality towards others ; and, that when 

 the culture of the soil is in question, our views 

 should know no other bounds, than those of the 

 great family of man. A few years, I trust, will 

 show, that there are those among lis who emulatt 

 his achievements, as I am sure there are man) 

 who partake of his spirit. I speak from high au- 

 thority, when I say, that the friends of Horticul 

 tiire in Europe are turning their eyes anxiously t< 

 our country. They are looking to our brigh 

 skies and fresh soil, for new varieties of deliciou 

 fruits, to supply the place of those, which, afte 

 centuries of existence, are at last passing nwa; 



To what I have said of its intellectual and moral 

 effects, 1 should add, that, were it generally culti- 

 vated, very much would be done for the advance- 

 ment of its kindred art, the most important, by fa , 

 of all arts. Agriculture. In our country, whe.e 



:! ':X ^'o ZL::; .L"::;: im^^s, hop. so ..t and reasonable, are surely not de 

 with this splendid nyuM-h of these western waters, nned to return voM 



In these remarks, I have confined myself to the 

 culture of flowers, because this is a branch of hor- 

 ticulture accessible to all. From the raising of 

 trees, most of the inhabitants of this city are alto- 

 gether debarred. Our few remaining aardens are 



nificent Common may be the only green spot in 

 our peninsula. Those of you who enjoy facilities 

 for the propagation of fruit trees, need no admoni- 

 tions from me to improve them. Few of us can 

 hope to render greater service to the community, 

 than those who are thus occupied. II he, who 

 makes two spires of grass grow, where one grew 

 before, is a public benefactor, what shall we say 

 of him, who introduces, of who disseminates a 

 new and delicious variety of fruit, and thus con- 

 tributes to the innocent and salutary pleasures, not 

 only of his contemporaries, but of multitudes yet 

 unborn ? The gratification thus ministered to 



of all arts, Agncu ture '";^''^^"'^J^^^ are rapidly vanishing before the spirit of in,provement. 

 land is cheap and ''>'^° f '^ts ov,r a larg^ '^ 



«rongly induced to ^1--"- ^^J^'^' • , ,1 „,,ssive structures of brick or stone, and onr mag- 



lurface, to cultivate a gieat exu-m. ui s - ■ - 



pedicia ly, rather than a smaller portion thorough ly. 

 This prac ice, if justified to some degree by the 

 ci umstances of the country, has been earned 

 n Ue too far for good taste, or even good economy. 

 Ti^g would t^nd more to check the evils con- 

 sequenron such a system, than the g-eral prac- 

 tice of gardening. It is in a garden, that we 



.hould learn those principles of neatness and orde. 



lat thoroughness in subdividing -'d -ric a^ 



the soil, that war of extermination -g--""^' J^'^^ 



and insects, and, above all, that v'S'l^n?-^ '" ^"'^ 



bracing precious and fleeting opportumues which 



a e be 'p.-on.inent characteristics of the thnv.ng 



farmer It is by this cultivation in nnnmture, so 



hos'e little things which, in agriculture as m eve y 

 thin- else, must ever be .luly regarded by all who 

 as ire to -reat results. If every farmer among ns 

 wT also,aflorist,-and every fanner may be 

 Zlo a Considerable degree,_the -----; 

 precision of his gardening operations, would soon 

 extend itBelf,-if not already existing '■'='•';.- ° 

 his field cultivation, and our villages would exli. hit 

 much of that exactness and elegance, so conspic- 

 uous and so pleasing in our Shaker s«"''='"'^"'^-^^^ 

 I repeat it,-every farmer, and I .nay almos 

 «av, every man in the commimity, "nay be, .t no 

 a distinguished, yet a skilful florist. One would 

 suppose that little else would be necessary to len- 

 der us so, than the contemplation of the splendid 

 «xample which nature has set us, in the profusion 

 with which she has scattered over our land the 

 «hoicest treasures of the vegetable world. Amer- 

 ica may be denominated the classic ground ot tne 

 botanist; and, as the painter or sculptor visits 



I have thus endeavo.-ed to state some of th 



principal motives which should excite us to tl 



pursuit of Horticulture. There has been muc 



unsaid, and, probably, much untbought of on n 



part, which your own refiectio.is may leadily su 



gest to you. I have detained you longer than 



Tntended ; but I should be obliged to make a lar 



additional demand on your patience, were I 



bestow even a passing notice on many importt 



and appropriate topics which I have passed o\ 



in silence. I have said nothing, for instance, 



the raising of ornamental trees, nothing of tl 



most interesting spot, the Cemetery at Moi 



Auburn. These omissions are of the less con 



qnence, as so much has been said on these topi 



and so well said, on former occasions. And n 



let me ask those of you who are parents, one sim 



question. Is there a taste for any ornamental p 



suit which you would behold springing ui) in 



minds of your children, with more pleasure, i 



with less apprehension, than a taste for Hortii 



unborn? The gratincation ii.us ■■nu,=....^ . ff ;, he thus it is suielv an impor. 



each individual, singly, may be keened tr.flmg; -•-? ^^ ^^^J' ' " l^^^e may L. 



but when we co.*ider the .lumber so gratified, 

 how immense is the aggregate of human enjoyment! 

 How long and how gratefully must such a gift 

 b^ remembered. Of what moment to us, are the 

 undaunted valor and consummate generalship dis- 

 idayed by Lucullus, in his victories over Mithii- 

 dates They served only to bring one more gallant 

 monarch into subjection, to that haughty and gi- 

 gantic power, whose iron sceptre has long since 

 r.cen shattered ; to add one more jewel to the dia- 

 Icm which has been for ages trampled m the 

 dust But the taste and assiduity of the Roman 

 ..eneral. in naturalizing the cherry-tree to the 

 climate of Europe, has e.ilitled liiin to the grateful 

 commemoration oY sixty generations. The empire, 

 which France labored to establish on our conti- 

 nent, has long since passed away. The chain o 

 fortresses, which she erected on our northern and 

 western borders, with so much skill, and at such a 



subject of inquiry how such a taste may besV 

 created, increased, or disseminated. 



And here I may be told, that, when I speal 



creating a taste of this description, I speak ol v 



is impossible ; that it is exclusively the gif 



Nature; that where she has bestowed it, 1 



culture is requisite, and where she has with.^ 



it all effort is unavailing. It is not necessar' 



m'aintain that nature has made no difterence 



tween individuals in this respect, but I am 



ranted in saying, that in this, as iu many c 



instances, what we call nature is nothing but i 



habit or early association. This has been sli 



in much stronger cases, than that which w< 



now considering. Can any suppose, that i 



were all conversant with fine flowers from oi 



fancy, if every porch could boast its festoo 



honeysuckle, every fence its clusters of roses 



every window its ranges of bulbs, nothing v 



he done towards rendering Horticulture a g< 



wesieni uuiucii^, — - 



cost, is rapidly vanishing from our soil. Her very ''^ "7-;""-;- ;,,.,,,i, x,,„3e who think 



botanist; an., as tne , ler o. ....... -^ ^r"^f2::^P:^^^:^^^^^^^^^^^ ist^d^;":;^ tl^Ls hitherto been believe 



Italy, to'study the wondrous works of I aphae o - '''^ "^^^^^ 3' '!, nutgnificent and ven- specting the spirit of improvement, the pov 



Angelo, so to the admirer of magn.hce.n ''."'^ ''°7, .^^"J , ' ^ "' „,,,,j ,,„ flench colonists on habit, and the force of example 

 beautiful plants, no country can present ^-^^^^Xls^^l^!^^ 



It was the wish, then, to create and dif 

 taste for Horticulture, which led to the foun 

 of our society. To the merit of introducii 



