384 Transactions of tee American Institute. 



growing, and all of sufficient age are loaded with fruit ; not a tree, 

 nut a limb, not a bud was killed last winter. At my place (Glen 

 Arbor) the coldest morning, at a little before sunrise, last winter, the 

 mercury stood thirteen degrees below zero. In a residence here of 

 fourteen years I have never known the mercury to stand below zero 

 all day. "What few peaches were here in 1855 were injured, but none 

 have been since. I state what I know and have seen. He also says 

 the snow was sixteen inclies deep on tlie 24th of April. Tlie truth 

 is the plow. had been running for more than a month previous to the 

 2-ith of April. The snow went off about the middle of March, and 

 manv had finished sowing their spring wheat and peas before the 

 iire't of April. A writer that lives in Kansas is too far off to be well 

 posted about the Grand Traverse region, M:iny people land here 

 from the boats, walk a little ways on the sandy beach of the lake, 

 then imagine they know all about the Grand Traverse. 



Adjourned. 



October 13, 1868. 



Mr. Nathan C. Ely in tlie chair ; Mr. John W. Chambers, Secretary. 



Dahlias. 



Mr. J. Slam Burgess, florist, of Glen Cove, L. I., exhibited many 

 specimens of these flowers, extremely large and fine. 



Mr. A. S. Fuller, — Mr. Burgess is the only man now living wlio 

 saw the first dahlias, of only six petals, brought from Mexico to 

 England. Xo one would have supposed that such an insignificant 

 flower would have developed into one so splendid as we see here 

 to-day ; and yet poor as it was, some could see signs of promise, and 

 even paid as high as twelve guineas a dozen. Up to the year 1840 

 they were all single ; after that im]>rovements commenced, but it is 

 only within half a dozen years that the greatest progress has been 

 made. Here is a medal which Mr. Burgess" received for dahlias in 

 1827, which was before I was born. 



Mr. J. Slam Burgess stated that he commenced growing dah- 

 lias forty-eight yeare ago, and he had gone on until now he has G,000 

 varieties. In Boston one man has 2,000. A new distinct dahlia is 

 worth about twenty dollars, and often has sold for much more. 



