VoL. IV. AUGUSTA, GA., JANUARY, 1846. 
No. 1. 
HORTICULTUKAC FESTJVAS. AT 
EANEtJSE HALL. 
[Abridged from tbe Boston Journal of Sept. 23 -.} 
The 17 ii anniFersary of thai highly utilita- 
rian and most liono.''able association, the A/as- 
sac'iusdls HortiailLiiral S>cieiy, was celebrated 
on Friday last, at Faneuil Hall, by a well ar- 
ransfed fete, prepared in beautiful accordance 
with the occasion — a “ least of fruits,” mosl 
abundantly showin? ihe rewards yielded to the 
liberal cultivator by that Protecting Power 
which alone “giveththe increase.” Simple 
confections of attractive display, and very plea- 
sant to the taste, prepared under the direction of 
Madame Meyer, composed the remainder of 
the b.anquet, and Temperance held her gay court 
tn the evergreen bower, which was formed in 
the old Cradle of Liberty. The choicest au- 
tumnal gems of the ll )rdl kingdom gaveajo}'- 
ous effect to the whole decorations of the gala, 
and the caup d'mUoi the hall after the company 
had assembled, amidst the flood of light thrown 
upon the scene, was both picturesque and bril- 
liant. The tints of the fliwers, i. ied, in their 
glowing warmth, with the hues of the various 
fruits, an! the peacn outdid the rose in its 
blushing beauty. There were app.es on the 
laden tables “ that rivalled rubies; pears of to- 
paz tint; a whole parapliernalia of plums, some 
purple as the amethyst, others blue, and bril- 
liant as the sapphire; an emerald here, and 
nowa golden drop, that gleamed like the yellow 
diamond of Genghis Khan, ’ There were 
grapes too> exquisite in flavor and beauty, and 
melons beyond all praise for. size and perfec- 
tion. These rich products of a proud cultiva- 
tion, made us reneu edly to biess the sunshine 
which seemed ihe .source ol the earth’s fertility, 
and we thought that its golden warmth could 
never again beam upon a barren heart, where 
there was so much to e.xcite to thankfulness. 
The decorations of the Hall were both chaste 
and pleasing; large trees from the forests filled 
op the space between the pillars of the galle- 
ries, whilst the panels and columns were orna- 
mented with graceful iestoons, and tastefully 
entwined with flowers. At the east end of the 
gallery, an inscription upon an arch rea.i as fol- 
lows ; 
“MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 
Serenteenfh Annual Exhibition ” 
Ol the west end there was suspended from 
the portraits of Washington and Peter Faneuil, 
a mo t-i bearing the following appropriate quo- 
tation ; 
■•Til lion ers and blossoms T.ove is wont tn trace 
Emblems ol Woman’s Virloes and ber grace.” 
The panels around the galleries bore the 
names of the le.iJing botanists and cultivaiors 
of foreign lands, as welt as of our own -Lin- 
nceus. Jus.sies, Loudon, Knight, Van Muns, 
De Caniolle, Daharael, Douglas, Plumier^ 
Lowell, Buel, Fessenden, M.inning, Prince and 
Michius. 
Marshall P. Wilder, E-q., presided on the oc- 
casion, being assistid in his arrangements bv 
the i.i-i 'latigable attention of the gentle nen 
wh ) had been appointed Marshals. The larg^- 
assembly occupied the whole floor of the hall, 
and were ex ended along thirteen tables, num- 
bering in all about six t iindred persons, ladies 
and gentlemen. O i th e right of President 
\/ilder sat the venemble widow of Ale.x:.nier 
Hamilton, fthe daughterof Gen. Philip Schuy- 
ler,) and the P.ev. Dr. Codman, the officiating 
clergyman on ttie occasion. On the rostrum, 
in front of the President, were seated the follow- 
ing guests ; 
Hon. Ed ward Everett, Hon. Daniel W’’ebster, 
Ex-President Q,uincy, Hon. R. C. Winthrop, 
Hon. Caleb Cushing, Hon. J. G Palfrey, His 
H-inor the Mayor, Hon. Jonathan Chapman, 
: Rev. Mr. Choules, Hon. S. H. W'alley, jr., 
■ Hon. Mr. Maclay, Hon. Mr. Meigs, George 
S. Hilliard, Esq., George G. Smith, President 
of the .Mechanic Association;. Delegates from 
NewAmrk, Kew Jersey, and Q.ueen’s County, 
Long Island. 
The opportune arrival of our late Minister at 
the Court of St. James, was the exciting event 
of the occasion, and the hearts of both men and 
women beat proudl}', as they welcomed in Fa- 
neuil Hall their honorable and honored ambas- 
sador. 
The company being comfurtablv seated, it 
was announced by the Chief Marshal, that the 
Committee appointed to waiton His Excellency 
Edward Everett, and solicit his attendance, had 
arrived. 
As Mr. Everett entered the hall, ihe President 
requested the audience to rise. Mr. Everett 
was then conducted to the ro.^trum by Messrs. 
Josiah Bradlee and Stephen Fairbanks, where 
the forme’’ gentleman, with a few appropriate 
remarks, introduced the distinguished guest to 
the President. 
Mr. Wilder then prf sented Mr. Everett to the 
audience with the following remarks; 
Ladies and Gentlemen — It is with feelings of 
high graiilicaiion that I am enabled to present 
to you a distinguished m.ember of our associa- 
tion, who, alter an absence of several years of 
honorable service at me Court of St. James, has 
this day arrived on the shoies of his own New 
England, i introduce to your cordial greeting 
— His Excellency Edward Everett! 
The announcement of a name so loved and 
honored, so ramiliar and so connected with 
nroud a.^sociations, made the hall echo with 
welcomings. Order being again restored, the 
throne of Grace was invoked by the Rev. Dr. 
Codman, alter which, the material part of the 
banquet was discussed, and the products xd' a 
rich horticulture abundantly and most satisfac- 
torily tested. After a reasonable time thus 
spent, the Presiaent arose and addressed the as- 
sembly as follows ; 
Ladies and Gen'lemenr — It has been remark- 
ed that ourcountry’s glori’ is its cultivated soil. 
The li ling of the earth was the first employ- 
m -nt given by ihi Supreme Ru'er to ihe human 
aie — it has ever been the fi si step to civiliza- 
lioa, and those nations that have been the mo.st 
distinguished for their devotion to this calling, 
have also been the most celebrated for litera- i 
ture, science and the fine art.s. I 
It is the founiation of all national and indi- I 
vidu ll prosperity and wealth — the basis on 
which rest commeYce, manufactures, and all 
the various great interests that unite to make j 
up Ihe .sum of human happiness, and in the j 
language of our own Washington, whose be- I 
nign countenance seems, from the canvas, [here 
the President poin’ed to Stuart’s portrait.] to re- 
peat again — “ It is the most healthful, the most 
useful, and the most noble employment of man.” 
I Horticulture and Floricultare, and their kin- 
dred branches, are bui higher and more advan- 
; ced departments of the great science — the arts 
i that leqch us to develope and improve the lich 
, fruits and flLoral beauties that lie treasured in 
j the lap of mother earth, and to adorn and em- 
I hellish her luxuriant bosom with the endless 
j diversity of her productions as she displays her 
\ ever-varying charms,, in tree, fruit and flower, 
I from the lofty cedar of Lebanon to the humble 
I lily of the valley. 
! It were easv' to cite a long list of the illustri- 
ous men who have bestowed on this pursuit 
i their distinguished approbation ; of poets who 
: nave sang its praises;, the theologians and phi- 
j losophers who have extolled its virtues and 
I pleasures; of heroes and statesmen, and the 
! master spirits of the world, who, having receiv- 
ed all the honor and glory that could be con- 
I ferredou them by theirfellow men, have retired 
to its calm and peaceful labors, to spend the 
j evening of a busy life in the contemplation of 
; ail that is beautilul and sublime in creation, and 
to enjoy “ God’s blessings as they spring fresh 
from the earth.” 
The recurrence of another anniversary sug- 
gests a review of the progress and condition of 
our institution. 
Sixteen years ago, ihisday, its fiistexhibi ion 
was held in the Exchange Coffee House in this 
city, and as an illustration of the great success 
and prosperity that have attended the efforis of 
its members, i quote from the published Report 
of the Society. 
The number of contributors on that occasion 
was thirty-two. 
The baskets and dishes of fruit less than one 
hundred, and the amount of premiums offered 
less than S’200. 
During the present anniversary, there have 
been placed on our tables more than fourteen 
di'hes ol fruits, and the premiums of- 
fered by the Society this year, exceed $1,300. 
And as a further illu-rraiion, 1 notice by this 
Report, that the contribution of Robert Man- 
ning, the great Pomologistof America, consist- 
, ei of but one basket of peaches, while at the 
; present exhibition, the lamily of the lamented 
man have sent us "240 varieties of the pear. 
And in a note that I received from him but a 
short time previous to his decease, he stated that 
: he had gathered into his own collection, from a 
; point of time but a few years antecedent to the 
1 formation of this institution, nearly 2,000 varie- 
ties of fruits. 
' Similar advances have been made by other 
; menTibers, and those whose names were not then 
i borneon its roll, and some who had not even com- 
I rnenced the good work, are now amongst its 
i largest contributors, presenting forty, fifty, and 
an hundred varieties; and the same success and 
corresponding increase has been attendant on 
the productions of the floral and vegetable king- 
dom. 
Among the pleasing incidents of the present 
j’ear, may be noticed the completion and occu- 
pancy of o’^r new edifice in School-street; but 
who would have predicted that ere the present 
exhibitio n had closed, there would still exist a 
demand for further and enlarged accommoda- 
tions? 
I congratulate the Society on the liberal and 
increasing patronage of the community — og 
the addition of more than 100 new members to 
its ranks during the last nine months — on the 
