190 



%\it (Sarkwr's Ponthlj. 



It is suggested to improve the prospects of the 

 Society- The only feasible method within the 

 power of the members, in the opinion of the Secre- 

 tary, is to be found in the complete and speedy ex- 

 tinction of the present debt of the Society. Wise- 

 ly incurred at the outset for the construction of our 

 hall, largely reduced at times by close economy, and, 

 more than all, by a noble munificence of which we 

 have had frequent examples from the same source, 

 it still continues, at the expiration of fourteen (14) 

 years, to seriously embarrass our plans and hamper 

 our usefulness. 



0 ir accommodations, ample at the time of the 

 erection of the hall, perhaps adequate in a series of 

 very unfavorable seasons, are yet entirely to limi- 

 ted for a society such as this should be, and might 

 easily be made. But the inhabitants of the city of 

 Worcester, from whom our chief patronage is de- 

 rived, whether in receipts for admission, or dues of 

 membership, have swollen from fifteen thousand 

 (15,000) to thirty-five thousand (35,000.) The re- 

 cent large and gratifying addition to our numbers, 

 chiefly of females, is attributable to the charming 

 attraction of that very class of contributors tor 

 which we should be chiefly indebted, and which 

 yet add most to our embarrassment. For it is no 

 exaggeration to assert, that the space occupied by 

 flowers and plants in 1866, (and most richly was it 

 desei'ved,) was two-thirds larger than thar required 

 by any similar display in previous years. 



At the late annual exhibition, three separate in- 

 dividuals oflfered to fill with cut-flowers every stand 

 in our possession. If we had owned the additional 

 forty stands where could they have been placed. 

 Ladies from, abroad were obliged to return home 

 with their flowers because there were no stands left 

 in which to display them. 



The library is in good condition, and, as will be 

 seen by the customary comparative statement, has 

 been very generally used. This increase of readers 

 is one of the most encouraging signs of continued 

 interest in the aims of the ociety. 



The Raspberry — indigenous to our soil in some of 

 its species ; alien to other countries in varieties — 

 the latest product of semination, or, as in Canada, 

 of hj^bridization, where the experiment, though 

 promising every thing, is yet too recent to assure 

 success ; the inquiry may well be put, why is its 

 culture so universally neglected? For five (5) suc- 

 cessive weeks your Secretary exhibited, this year 

 as last, specimens of his own growth and of the 

 same species. The Ilev. Dr. Hill, of this city, 

 states that he picked an abundance of berries from 



his canes, for seven continuous weeks. Can a pro- 

 longed yield like this be predicated of the Straw- 

 berry, with its almost unlimited modern develop- 

 ment, whose name is legion, and whereof, in most 

 instances, no man can detect the excellence ? You 

 may possibly, by judicious and extreme care, pro- 

 duce one or the other of innumerable varieties of 

 Strawberries for four weeks in succession. But any 

 person who has studied the nature and habits of 

 the Raspberry, know well, from individual experi- 

 ence, that it is unrivalled for extent and duration 

 of fecundity ; that, in public estimation, it is but 

 slightly, if at all, inferior to the Strawberry ; that 

 it is the hardier of the two, only requiring to be 

 covered lightly with earth in the late autumn ; and 

 that the gathering of the fruit, insteading of de- 

 manding a painful " crooking of the pregnant hinges 

 of the knee," can be accomplished uprightly and 

 with ease. As yet attacked by no insects strange 

 to our poor methods of prevention, why should it 

 not receive more notice from the pomologists of a 

 society, in which every new Strawberry is welcomed 

 at the countless perils of drought, frost, and last, — 

 inevitable and most destructive, the Rohin^ — only 

 to culminate in the ultimate delight of a precarious 

 cup, picked wearily and by the sweat of the brow 

 beneath the hot sweltering suns of June. The 

 Cherry, strange to relate, as if desirous to vindicate 

 itself from the official condemnations of our Socie- 

 ty in declining to recommend its culture, blossomed 

 and fruited with pristine luxuriance. ,The predic- 

 tions of our wisest pomologists were signally, yet 

 pleasantly falsified. Even aged trees appeared to 

 revive from the almost mortal injury occasioned by 

 the terrific cold hurricane of 1861, and strove to 

 atone for repeated deficiences. The canker-worm 

 forbore its ravages to a great extent, confining itself 

 in the main to the barren though stately maple. 

 It is truly gratifying to be able once more to cherish 

 a hope of the permanent recovery of this palatable, 

 convenient and useful fruit. 



The display of Roses at the summer exhibition 

 was very fine. The thanks oP the Society are due 

 to those ladies whose interest has been so generous- 

 ly manifested for three successive years, by the 

 contributions of su h large and splendid collections 

 of this favorite flower. Jjaboring from the pure 

 love of Floriculture, it is due to them, at the very 

 least, to be assured that their unselfish efforts are 

 appreciated. 



The last season was disagreeably distinguished by 

 the advent of a new insect enemy. The Currant, 

 always prolific in spite of neglect, abuse, or down 

 right ill-treatment, is threatened with absolute an 



