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the progress of horticulture. Like Cimon who “established the Acade- 
mus, and presented it to bis fellow citizens for a public garden/' the 
wealthy and public spirited citizens of this country are surrounding our 
older cities with their magnificent mansions and beautiful gardens. These 
have their influence upon the taste and refinement of the masses. Every 
mechanic and child who looks upon their luxuriant foliage and breathes 
their morning and evening fragrance will receive a moral benefit. The 
celebrated “Boston Common" and “New Haven Green" have not only 
improved the health but the moral nature of thousands who annually 
wander through their spacious walks, or repose under the shade of their 
ancient elms. 
Such, we believe, are the benign moral tendencies of horticulture. And 
whoever plants a shade tree, or trains a graceful vine round the column 
of his verandah, or cultivates a fragrant flower beneath his window, is a 
public benefactor. He is improving the moral sensibilities of his children, 
and stimulating his friends and neighbors to emulate his noble example. 
It is in this way, that a taste, both for the useful and ornamental in na¬ 
ture, is to be cultivated, till it becomes an universal passion. By a pro¬ 
cess like this, commencing in all our villages and cities, an interest in 
scientific and experimental gardening is to become general, until the envi¬ 
rons of the city, and the pleasure grounds of the farmer, and the magni¬ 
ficent country seat of the millionaire, shall be embellished with all that is 
rare and beautiful in nature, and graceful in art. 
Our country is pre-eminently adapted to carry practical horticulture 
forward to its highest degree of perfection. Nature has been exceedingly 
bountiful to us, in the bestowment of every thing that is beautiful and 
magnificent in her productions. An eloquent writer observes that' 
“many of the most useful and magnificent acquisitions of the groves, 
fields, gardens and conservatories of Europe are natives of the western 
hemisphere. The indigenous forest trees, ornamental shrubs, flowers, 
fruits, and edible vegetables of North America, are remarkable for their 
variety, size, splendor or value. Extending from the pole to the tropics, 
and from the Atlantic to the Pacific ; North America embraces every 
clime, and every variety of soil, teeming with innumerable specimens of 
the vegetable kingdom. With such advantages, most of which are in¬ 
cluded within the United States, it is to be expected that the citizens will 
