2 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
continued improvement in the productions ex- 
hibited— on the honorable and elevated standing 
which ou r institution sustains both at home and 
abroad— and on the harmony and union that 
prevails among us. 
We have assembled to commemorate its I7ih 
anniversary. We are met in this Temple ot 
Liberty, whose time-honored walls have oft re- 
sounded to deeds o( patriotism and benevolence, 
and we too have come up hither lor a benevo- 
lent object. We have not come to prepare by 
exciting debate for the political contest, nor tor 
the discussion ol those subjects that agitate so- 
ciety to its very centre. 
We are not here to share the spoils of party, 
or to rejoice in the victories of the sword that 
has poured out the blood of our lellow beings 
like water on the earth. No, we come tor a 
richer and nobler object. We come to celebrate 
the peaceful triumphs of Horticulture — to ad- 
vance a science that tends to the preservation 
and happiness of our race— that adits to the en- 
joyments and refinements ot lile — that adminis- 
ters to the luxuries and comforts ol our neigh- 
bors — a pursuit that renders home still more 
lovely andattractive — that invigorates the body, 
tranquilizes the mind, chastens the affections, 
elevates the thoughts— and , rightly viewed, 
should fill the soul with emotions of gratitude 
and devotion to that bountiful Creator, who 
“ Sends Nature forth, the daughter of the skies. 
To dwell ou earth and charm ail human eyes.” 
Amidst the array of beautv, intellect and 
learning that I witness around me, I have not 
the presumption to detain yo ; from the rich in- 
tellectual repast with which you will be favored 
in the remarks ot others. 
1 cat not conclude, however, without alluding 
to the grace and elegance bestowed on our feast 
by woman— to her — who 
“Still is fairest found where all is fair ” 
Ladies! we welcome you with all our hearts. 
W^ithout the light of your countenances, and 
the smiles of your approbation, our emulation 
and enterprise would languish and decline; 
and we rejoice with gratitude in the beautiful 
and glorious results that have flowed from your 
etforts in the cultivation of the ment d fruits ; in 
training intelleciual plants lor honor and use- 
fulness here, and fur a habitation in the celestia. 
fields, where may you be rewarded with a crown 
of never-fading flowers, and a harvest of im- 
mortal fruit. Ladies and Gentlemen, I propose 
for your consideration, as a sentiment, 
Oullivation, Manual, Mental and Moral — The three 
great sources of wealth, fame and happiness. 
In the absence ol Gov. Briggs, John G. Pal- 
frey, Esq., the Secretary of the Commonwealth 
was called upon to respund to a toast, and spoke 
as follows : 
Mr. President, and readies and Gentlemen — 
1 learn more and more every day, how impru- 
dently I have acted in taking upon me the hum- 
ble office which has been the occasion of this 
call upon me. This is not the first time I have 
suffered in this way. You pay your respects 
to your Governor, who is rearing quietly, as 
you so justly say, his crop of esteem in all 
parts of the State, and, in his absence, you call 
upon one humble individual, as his representa- 
tive, to face an audience, which it would re 
quire more boldness than he claims as an attri- 
bute of his, to meet. 
Mr. President, lime was, when Massachu- 
setts had a Governor who was on the spot, and 
accustomed to respond for himself to any call 
that might be made upon him. Thank God, he 
is among us again this evening. (Great cheer- 
ing.) Thank Heaven, that he is here sale and 
sound to receive again our hearty welcome, 
and to respond to ns in those eloquent tones, to 
which this hall has so often resounded! 
Mr. President, I have seen the lime, when I 
was hard pushed for mailer for a discourse. I 
was glad of a good text. And you have this 
evening given me a good text in the sentiment 
which you have ofifered in compliment to the 
Chief Magistrate of this Commonwealth, But 
I will reserve that subject for another occasion, 
when another audience shall throng the floor 
and galleries of this venerable hall. I will now 
speak, not of the Governor of Massachusetts, 
but of Massachusetts herself. How has Pro- 
vidence bkssed us in making us citizens ol the 
good old Commonwealth ! With what a pro- 
fusion of bounty has Providence surrounded us 
in appointing here our lot ! We often speak in 
admiration of the wonders ot art and the tri- 
umphs of machinery. What shall we say of 
that amazing mystery w’hich transforms the 
brown earth, insipid waier, and invisible air, 
into delicious fruits, and beauiilul and fragrant 
flowers! What shall we say ol the delicate 
machinery of the little seed which gives to the 
oak its strength, to the flower its beautiful tints, 
and to the Iruit its exquisite flavor ! — of that be- 
nificent Power which surrounds us under a 
Northern star with the gorgeousness of an Asia- 
tic summer! We have heard it said that the 
only products of Massachusetts are granite and 
ice— she has been called the state ol hard bar- 
gains and hard granite, of icy takes, and 
icy hearts, I will not adit, lor that has long been 
an obsolete idea — but 1 will conclude with giv- 
ing you a sentiment. * * * * * 
The Hon. Edward Everett, in reply to a toast, 
said : 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:— \ 
am greatly indebted to you for this cordial recep- 
ti( n. I cannot but feel under great obligations 
to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, ol 
which I have long had the honor of being a 
member — though a very unprofitable one — that 
the first voice of salutation which reached me 
on returning home, proceeded from them. Our 
respected tellowc-iiizens, Messrs. Josiah Brad- 
lee and Stephen Fairbanks, on their morn- 
ing stroll through East Boston, w’ere good 
enough, before I had set foot on terra Jirma, to 
convey to me your kind invitation ; and here, 
fellow-citizens and friends, amidst this attrac- 
tive display ot the bounf'es and beauties of na- 
ture; surrounded by so many ol those w'ho 
most adorn and honor the community; drink- 
ingin the breath of sweet flowers and the sweet- 
er breath of friendly voices, I have the happi- 
ness, after a long absence, to stand in your pre- 
sence, and to enjoy the honor of your welcome. 
(Applause.) 
1 regret that I am so little able to thank you 
in a proper manner. I have been so lately 
rocking upon the Atlantic — whose lullaby is 
not always of the gentlest — that I am hardly fit ' 
for a rocking in the “Old Cradle of Liberty,” 
to which your kind note ol this morning invited 
me. I almost unconscirusly eaten at the table 
to steadv myself, expecting that the flowers and 
Iruiis will letch way in some lee-lurch ; and 
even the pillars ol Old Faneuil Hall — not often 
found out of the true plumb line — seem to reel 
over my head. But as 1 look around and be- 
hold so many well-remembered countenances, 
and as I listen to the friendly cheers with which 
you are so kind as to receive the announce- 
ment of my name, I leel at length that 1 am in- 
deed at home. 
Something of this grateful feeling has been 
for some days growing upon my mind. We 
seemed almost to have reached the goal, when 
we found ourselves a week ago on the edge of 
the Grand Bank — w'e were in soundings in 
American waters, and in the ancient and favor- 
ite field ot New England industrv. The shores 
ol Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, as we coast- 
ed along them, seemed to have a claim upon us 
as a part of our native continent, and ma !e us 
feel that we had at length crossed the world- 
dividing deep: — and when about sunrise this 
morning, after stretching down Jrom Halifax 
against a stiff southwester, I beheld Cape Ann 
light-house at a dim and misty distance, I must 
say that I thought it one of the most beautilul 
pieces of architecture 1 ever beheld. I do not 
know to what particular order it belongs, nor 
the proportion ot the height to the diameter. 
Andes to the ornaments of the capital, Mr 
President, w hether they a,e acanthus or lotus, 
or any other flower in your conservatory, I am 
quite unable to sav ; but this I will say, that al- 
ter seeing many ot the finest buildings in the 
old w'orld and the new, 1 came to the conclu- 
sion, at about six o’clock this morning, that 
Cape Ann light-house beat them all! (Great 
applause,) 
It would be impossible, sir, to describe the 
emotions awakened in my mind by the different 
objects on the well-known coast, as we dashed 
ranidly up the bay — borne on the iron wings of 
steam, till at last the welcome sight ol Boston 
burst upon me, as she sits enthroned between 
her sister heighis, presenting to me, as it were, 
within her family embrace and immediate vi- 
cinage, every spot most dear to a man on earth 
— the place of my birth and the haunts of my 
childhood, the scenes of my education and early 
lile, the resting place of my fathers — every- 
thing, in short, which a tender and dutiful pa- 
triotism comprehends in the sacred name of 
home. 
Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot say much to 
you this evening. I need repose, bodily and 
mental, and would gladly find it in listening to 
the eloquent voices of lho.se around riiC. Some 
painlul feelings crowd upon me. I heard at 
Halifax the mournful news of an event which 
has deprived us this evening of the presence of 
one, whose countenance was the light of every 
circle he entered; whose death will be fell, not 
in America alone, as a public calamity ; from 
whos“ long-tried friendship I had promised my- 
self a cordial welcome on my reiurn. Allow 
me, sir, the gratification and solace of being a 
listener ; and let me only express the hope, that 
alter more than five years’ absence, during 
which period, time, I dare say, has been doing 
his w'ork on the ou’er man, you will find the 
I inner man unchanged in all that you ever ho- 
I nored with your indulgent and friendly regard, 
I and to assure you that I reiurn with no wish 
or ambition but to engage with you in the per- 
formance ol the duties of a good citizen ; in the 
hope of sharing with you the enjoyment of the 
prosperity with which a gracious Providence has 
been pleased to bless the land in which we live. 
I The Chair then announced — 
'Phe I^farshjield Farmer — “Ail hei^d in counsel, all 
wisdom in sp^-ecli” — always ready to defend fhe soil, 
and lo make ihesoil more and more worth defending. 
The Hon. Daniel Webster then rose and said, 
Ladies and GenJlemen — There are far better 
farmers in Marshfield than 1 am, but as I see 
none of them present, 1 suppose 1 am bound to 
lake the compliment to iiiyselt. 
Mr. President, I had the honor of partaking 
in the origin and organization ol this Society, 
and you will bear me witness that it was then a 
dear and cherished object to me, and I may add 
that among those w-hu co operated in that or- 
ganization, no one was more assiduous or more 
effective than that great man whose departure 
has just been so feelingly alluded to. It has 
so happened that since that time, the circum- 
stances and pursuits i t my life have rendered it 
impossible for me lo be present at many of your 
meetings, yet I have seen wiih f leasure ard de- 
light the continued progress of the institution. 
Mr. President, as it has been said f'om the 
Chair and in the sentiments around the table, it 
is our fortune in New Bngland lo live beneath 
a somew hat rugged sky, and till a somewhat 
hard and unyielding earth ; but something of 
hardness, of unlavorable condition and circum- 
stances, seem necessary to exciie human ge- 
nius, labor and skill, and bring forth tl e resulis 
most uselul and honorable to man. I greatly 
doubt wheiherall the luxuriance of the tropics 
and all that grows under the fervid skv of the 
equator can equal the exhibition of flowers 
made to-day amid these Northern latitudes. 
Here, there is all the brilliancy of color and all 
the gorgeous display of tropical regions — but 
there the display is made in swamps andjun- 
glfs abounding in noxious refUiles; it is not the 
result of cultivation, la.sle and human labor 
working on the capacity of Nat ure. 
