688 Provincial Horticultural Societies : — 



Buccleugh's gardener at Dalkeith, as contributing cither to this Society or ' 

 the Caledonian Horticultural Society, at which we are rather surprised, con- 

 sidering that His Grace warmly patronises the Dumfries Horticultural Society. 

 (Caledonian Mercury, July 14.) 



FlFESHlRE. — The St. Andrews Horticultural and Floricultural Society. — In . 

 toiling through the mass of sameness which such a summary as the present 

 must necessarily be, our readers will find some relief to peruse the following 

 very gratifying account. The fourth and last meeting for the season took 

 place in the Town-Hall, on Wednesday, the 25th September, and was most 

 respectably and numerously attended by the ladies and gentlemen of the city 

 and neighbourhood. Our worthy patron and patroness, Sir David and Lady 

 Erskine, attended to take leave of the Society, on their removing to a distant 

 part of the kingdom for some years, on account of the precarious state of Sir 

 David's health. They both sincerely expressed their goodwill towards the 

 Society, and hoped that it would continue to prosper and improve the Horti- 

 culture and Floriculture of this quarter of the country, as it manifestly has 

 done to a very great extent ; and that every gentleman having a piece of 

 ground worthy of the name of garden, would see it to be his interest and 

 duty to become a contributor to it ; and that every gardener who wishes to 

 excel, or keep pace with the advance of the science, would regularly attend 

 its meetings, for otherwise he is neglecting his own practical improvement, 

 and his master's interests. The exhibition was extensive in every depart- 

 ment, and, as a whole, was a most inviting and interesting scene. The mem- 

 bers, with one voice, re-elected Sir David and Lady Erskine as their patron 

 and patroness. After the exhibition closed, the members dined together in 

 the Cross Keys Inn, having fixed on this day for presenting Mr. Smith [our 

 correspondent], their secretary, with a handsome German silver teapot, cream 

 jug, and sugar basin. After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts were given, 

 Mr. George Cruikshank, the chairman, called for a bumper to the secretary's 

 health. He said : — " Mr. Smith, Sir, I have the honour of being deputed 

 by this Society to convey to you the respect and esteem they entertain for 

 your moral character, your professional attainments, but more particularly 

 the obligation they lie under to you for your long laborious services as their 

 secretary. I wish they had chosen one better qualified to do justice to your 

 merits ; but truth needs no set phrase of speech. To your exertions, Sir, we 

 are chiefly indebted for this Society's formation, its constitution ; and nearly 

 ever since its establishment you have been its secretary, to the satisfaction of 

 all its members. When we compare bygone times with the present, we are 

 apt to think we once lived in darkness. We now live in a more advanced, a 

 more improved, and in a more enlightened stage of society. Man was made 

 to be a social being, and the Author of his being infused into his breast the 

 milk of human kindness, to perform mutual offices of benevolence towards 

 one another, and in forming societies like the present for our mutual improve- 

 ment. A gardener, Sir, is a profession not beneath the dignity of a prince. 

 If we trace its antiquity, we find it coeval with man. In cultivating a taste 

 for plants, we are cultivating our own minds, and are led to give praise 

 to that Infinite Being who has supplied us with such an endless variety of 

 them. In your presence, Sir, I shall only state what I feel strictly my duty to 

 do, that your mild and unassuming manners, your willingness at all times 

 to communicate information, combined with a strict integrity in the cause of 

 truth and duty, as secretary of this Society, call forth this public expression 

 of our feeling, that you are an ornament to the profession to which you 

 belong, as well as an intelligent and pleasing companion. I now present you, 

 Sir, with this token of our respect and esteem for your long valuable services 

 as secretary of this Societ} t and may you and your family long live to use 

 them." 



Inscription : — " Presented to Mr. William Smith, gardener, by the St. An- 

 drews Horticultural Society, in token of respect for his services as their 

 Secretary. 1839." 



