M. A, C.
COLLECTION

ADDRESS

DELIVERED AT THE

Fourteenth Session

AND THE

OUARTER-CENTKNNIAL CELEBRATION

gm^rian fomdojgipl ^on^tji,

HELD IN THE CITY OF

BOSTON, MASSA(3M^SETTS

SEPT. 10, 77, 12. 1813.

•W

By MARSHALL P. WILDER,

PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY.'

BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.

1873.

ADDRESS

nEI.IVERED AT THE

Fourteenth Session

AND THE

OUARTER-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

m^Yitm j§m\a\oQ\^l ^ulsf^j

HELD IN THE CITY OF

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

SEPT. 10, 11, 12, 1813.

By MARSHALL P. WILDER,

PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY.

BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.

1873-

PRTyTED BY Alfred Mttdre & Son,
31 Solinol Street. Roston.

ADDRESS.

Gentlemen of the American Pomological Society":

With the close of this session a quarter of a century will
have elapsed since the establishment of our National Asso-
ciation,

Most heartily do I congratulate you upon the pleasant
circumstances under which we are assembled, and upon the
progress and prosperity of our society. We meet on this
occasion, not only to assume the labors, discussions, and'duties
incident to another biennial sesssion, but to commemorate by
appropriate exercises a period which will ever be memorable
in the record of our existence. We accept with great pleasure
the cordial welcome extended to us by the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society, whose liberality has made such ample
provision for our accommodation ; and while acknowledging
these courtesies we desire also to express our obligations to the
Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, and to the
gentlemen who with them have presented funds for the pro-
motion of our cause.

Nothing could be more grateful to my feelings than your
presence at our old homestead, and in my own behalf I bid
you welcome to the privileges and enjoyments of the occasion.
We meet as representatives and co-laborers from different and
widely distant sections of this great republic. We come from
various districts, but with no other rivalry than a laudable

ambition to promote a great industrial pursuit, whose salu-
tary influences are for the benefit of our common country.
From whatever section you come, — whether from the sunrise
or the sunset shores of our continent, from the Dominion of
the North, the valleys and prairies of the great Central West,
or from the broad plains and hill-slopes of the sunny South,
— I extend to all a hearty welcome to our time-honored me-
tropolis of New England.

Especially do I welcome you to our own beloved Common-
wealth, the home of the Pilgrims, where our fathers planted
the germs of a civilization which we believe will ultimately
be extended to the remotest nations of the globe. Here the
tree of liberty was planted under whose genial shade our
whole land now rejoices ; and here Concord, Lexington, and
Bunker Hid rear their monuments of historic fame, to re-
mind us of the priceless blessings we enjoy. Here we]"e the
gardens and orchards of Gov. Endicott, whose pear-tree at
Danvers still survives the revolutions of two hundred and fifty
years. Here at Marshfield are the relics of the apple-tree
planted by the first male child born of the Pilgrims. Here on
Boston Common were the orchards of William Blackstone, the
first settler. Here were the gardens of Gov. Winthrop, of
golden-pippin renown, and here at a later date the gardens
and orchards of John Hancock, the first signer to the Decla-
ration of American Independence, Gardiner Green, and others,
from whence were disseminated some of the first fruits intro-
duced into this country from the mother-land. Here is the
home of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agricul-
ture, of whose munificence 1 have before spoken ; the home

5

ol the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, under whose
auspices we meet, both of which institutions were the second
of their respective kinds established in America. In this
vicinity were the fields of labor of Lowell, Dearborn, Man-
ning, Kenrick, the Perkinses, Downer, and other early pomol-
ogists ; and here are the homes of many now living, whose
names will be remembered as promoters of our cause when
they also shall be gathered to their fathers. Here within
the limits of our city were planted the first Bartlett and the
first Flemish Beauty pear-trees imported to this country,
both of which survive to this day. And here the Dix, the
Dearborn, Dana's Hovey, Clapp's Favorite pears, and the
Downer Cherry were born. And here within a few miles
were originated the Hovey's Seedling Strawberry, the Con-
cord, Diana, and Rogers' Hybrid grapes.

Many of those who participated in the formation of this
Society, and to whom we are indebted for much of its success,
have ceased from their labors, and gone to receive their re-
ward. But I am most happy to recognize among those present
to-day some of the noble pioneers who aided in the establish-
ment of our Society, who rocked the cradle of its infancy, and
who now rejoice with us in the grand development which this
day witnesses. We recognize, also, many others, who in later
times have contributed and shared with us in this march
of improvement, who like them have stood as faithful sentinels
on the watch-tower of duty, and whose efforts to advance our
objects will demand and receive, in coming time, the thanks
of millions of grateful hearts. To no one is this occasion of
more interest than to him who, by your kmd indulgence, has

occupied this chair for so many years, and who, in the course
of nature, cannot again witness the assembnng of its members
in this city of his home. With feelings of no ordinary
gratification we receive you here, where some of the first ef-
forts were made in the cause of fruit culture, and from whence
in the early history of our country, as well as in later years, so
much has emanated for its extension throughout our land.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

In my former addresses I have often spoken of the acquisi-
tions and usefulness of our art ; but in the presence of so
many intelligent cultivators, who from scientific attainments
and practical skill have become renowned as teachers them-
selves, I would not trespass on your time by a repetition of
well established opinions, but would rather offer my congratu-
lations on the progress we have made, and draw therefrom
motives and inducements to increased efforts and perseverance
in our benevolent work.

I have heretofore alluded briefly to the history of our
society, but it might be deemed an omissic.n of duty did I not
on this Quarter-centennial make a record of its origin and
progress, not only for the benefit of those present, but for the
information of those who are to come after us. I propose,
therefore, even at the risk of repeating what may be well known
to our earlier members, to place in the annals of our society a
page which shall survive when we are gone. Thus shall we
'bind fast and find fast" the record of our times.

Briefly, then, let me state that the idea of a pomological con-
vention appears to have occurred to individuals in ditferent

States, at about the same time, — as new ideas in regard to
progress frequently do. Thus, in the summer of 1848, consul-
tation was had with Andrew Jackson Downing, the great
American landscape gardener, and editor of the " Horticultu-
rist," then on a visit to the city of Boston, in regard to the
chaotic condition of our pomology, — the want of accurate
and well-defined knowledge of our fruits, whereby correct con-
clusions could be drawn as to their various merits ; the best
means for improving the condition of fruit culture, and the
expediency of establishing an American society, so that, by
interchange of experience, and more cordial intercourse,
by general consent we might preserve those fruits which
were valuable, discard those which were worthless, correct
the confused nomenclature, and establish a pomology for
our whole country. To establish such a society was a great
work, but it was considered as the only means which could
accomplish the desired object. A correspondence was im-
mediately opened with some of our prominent agricultural
and horticultural societies, and with the leading nurserymen
and pomologists of our land. This resulted in the proposal
of the American Institute of New York to have a conven-
tion held under its auspices in that city. Pursuant to
these arrangements, a circular was issued signed by com-
mittees of the Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and
New Haven Horticultural societies and the American Insti-
tute of New York, proposing to hold a " Great National
Convention of Fruit Growers " in the city of New York,
October 10, 184S.

8

Of the fifteen persons whose names were appended to this
call, three only remain. All the rest have joined the great
procession of the dead.

The convention met, and the Society was organized as the
" American Congress of Fruit Growers," by the choice of
Marshall P. Wilder as President, a Vice-President from each
of the several States represented, and three Secretaries.
Of these, S. B. Parsons and P. Barry are here to-day.

The first national pomological assemblage solely for the
consideration of pomological subjects, met at BufTalo Sept. i,
1848, at the call of the New York State Agricultural Society,
and after an interesting session resolved to perpetuate itself
under the name of the " North American Pomological Con-
vention." But it was plain that there could be but one
national organization that could carry due weight. A confer-
ence was therefore had, which resulted the next year in the
consolidation of the iwo associations under the name of the
" American Pomological Congress." The first meeting of the
united associations was held at Cincinnati, 1850. In conse-
quence of a death in the family of the president he was absent,
and Dr. W. D. Brinckle was chosen to preside, but at the next
meeting declined a re-election, and the present incumbent was
again called to the chair, which he has occupied to this date.

Its sessions, since the first three, have been held biennially.
There have been three in New York City ; one in Cincinnati ;
three in Philadelphia ; three, including the present, in Boston ;
two in Rochester ; one in St. Louis ; and one in Richmond.
The first session at Philadelphia, in 1S52, will ever be mem-
orable as the occasion when a eulogy was pronounced by the

person who now addresses you, on Mr. A. J. Downing, one
of the chief projectors of the society, whose sudden death
had occurred a short time previous. At this session a con-
stitution and by-laws was adopted, and the name was changed
to the American Pomological Society.

PROGRESS.

We hail the present anniversary as one of the most inter-
esting in our progress, commemorating as it will the history of
this Society from its infancy to its present stature of man-
hood. Nor can language express the grateful sensations
which I experience, that my life has been spared to this time ;
that I have been permitted to witness the rapid growth and
increasing influence of our institution ; and that you have
so kindly consented to come once more to the city of my
adoption, to my own home, to celebrate with me the silver
wedding which after so long a service has still found
us united in the bonds of affection and regard. There
may bs, and probably will be, periods in the future
history of our Society, when equal or greater prog-
ress will be made ; but it is a peculiar and grateful privilege
to be able to record what has already been accomplished ; to
look back to its early beginnings ; and here, perhaps for the last
time, to join with you in congratulations on its success, and to
look forward with confident hopes to the time when every
section of our wide-spread territory shall be embraced in our
association, and our standard of pomology be established
throughout the Western continent.

lO

The marvellous growth of our country hns constantly been
opening up new States and Territories for fruit culture. These
have been embraced within our fold, thus bringing together
the wisest and best cultivators, and combining not only the
men, but the fruits of our rich and varied clime, and States
which had no place in our Union at the formation of this asso-
ciation have become the most fruitful in resources. Thus we
have gone on, step by step, encouraging whatever was worthy,
rejecting what was unworthy, treasuring up the best informa-
tion, and promulgating, for the benefit of our whole people,
the results of our wide-spread researches.

Few are aware of the great revolution which has taken
place in fruit culture since the establishment of this National
Pomological Society, or of the laborious efforts of those
patient pioneers and investigators who have spent their lives
for the promotion of our art. Nor can we omit here to ac-
knowledge the influence of the pre? s, to which we are so much
indebted for the dissemination of our experience. Some are
now living who can remember the time when there was not an
ao-ricultural or horticultural paper, nor a book on fruit culture,
published on this continent. Look back and compare that
period with the present time, with its flood of books, newspa-
pers, and periodicals which are wholly or in part devoted to the
spread of pomological knowledge, and we shall appreciate the
great advantages arising therefrom. Many of those present
can remember the time when there were but few apples sent
from our Western States to the Eastern coast. Compare
this with the thousands of barrels of fruit that are now an-
nually sent to the markets of the East. But time would fail

1 1

me were I to enumerate the vast quantities of pears, peaches,
grapes, and small fruits which come from the Western,
Southern, Middle, and Pacific States to our great Northern and
Eastern cities. Some are present who can remember the
time when there was not a nursery of any note west of the
Hudson River, where now, as from the great commercial
nurseries at Rochester, Geneva, and other Western cities,
there are annually sent out millions of trees and plants to other
sections of the Union.

The thought, therefore, which most impresses me on this
occasion is the rapid progress in American Pomology, the
beneficial results which have arisen from the establishment of
this national institution, and the duty of perpetuating and
preserving it for all coming time. No modern event con-
nected with the culture of the soil, and the sanitary condition
of our people, has been fraught with more salutary effects than
the establishment and operations of this Society. The more
I reflect on its benign influence in promoting the wealth,
health, and happiness of the nation, the more am I desirous to
do what I can in my day and generation for its advancement.
True, much had been done by the Pennsylvania and Massa-
chusetts Horticultural Societies, the leading pioneers in the
east, to open the way for this new epoch in the fruit culture
of our country ; much has been done by other associations
and individuals in the way of co-operation ; but here was a new
departure, here was a union for concerted action, which should
thenceforward embrace every section of our constantly increas-
ing territory. How grateful to the feelings of our departed
associates, could they have seen the growth and influence of

12

our Society ! How would the hearts of Downing, Brinckle,
Walker, Hancock, not to speak of the living, have swelled
with joy could they have seen, as we now see, the progress
of fruit culture in our land, and the prospect which is open-
ing up in the great future of our science.

How striking the progress in our own day ! It is not fifty
years since the first Horticultural Society was established on
this continent. It is but half that period since the formation
of this, the first National Pomological Society in the world.
And what do we see in the grand cornucopial display of
to-day .'' Not merely the fruits confined mostly to the Eastern
States, where our exhibition is held, but the fruits of almost
all climes of the habitable globe. Here in counsel are assem-
bled the representatives of our wide-spread territory, laden
with rich experience and with precious fruits, far excelling
the fabled gardens of antiquity.

Here the Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New England warm to
the genial influences of the sunny South ; here the great Cen-
tral West responds to the East ; here California, with golden
fruits more precious than her golden sands ; here peaceful
Kansas brings her crimson fruits ; here youthful Nebraska,
representative from the great American desert, where sixteen
years ago not a fruit tree had been cultivated, comes with her
car of precious products and with her Governor at the head ;
and here from territories, where but a few years since the
track of the wild beast and the trail of the wild man had only
marked the soil ; to-day, in this northern clime of granite and
ice, on this rock-bound coast, we meet as representatives of a
united and prosperous people, to rejoice together in a jubilee

13

crowned with fruits surpassing those of any other nation of
the earth. Such is the progress of American pomology ; such
the harvest we are permitted to reap ; such the fruition of our
fondest hopes.

But who can even estimate the progress of our art, the
importance of this industry to our nation .'' Whose prophetic
eye can survey the grand expanse which is to open on
our course during the next twenty-five years ? Ere that
time shall have arrived much of the unoccupied territory of
our country, now greater in extent than that of all our pres-
ent States, will by the aid of our trans-continental railroads
be opened to cultivation, and Columbia River, Puget Sound,
and the whole Pacific coast, with its untold treasures, be
united with us in the great work of promoting the pom-
ology of this land. Give us twenty-five years more, and from
ocean to ocean, from the Dominion to the Gulf, our hill-sides
shall be clad with the vine, our great valleys adorned
with orchards and gardens, and the fig, olive, and orange of the
South and Pacific shores shall rival those of exotic growth.
Give us twenty-five years more, and our catalogue of fruits
shall be filled with native varieties, and dedicated to Amer-
ican pomologists, who by their labors and benevolent efforts
have contributed to the wealth of our country and the hap-
piness of its people.

NEW FRUITS.

But to accomplish this most desirable result, and to fulfil
our mission of supplying every section of our country with
fruits suited to its own locality, we must rely mainly on those

14

originated on American soil. Bound by my promise in
former addresses to ever recognize the importance of this
duty, I again invoke your attention to the consideration of the
subject. The good results already attained are but the har-
bingers of still more glorious rewards. We have discussed at
length the various processes of Van Mons, Knight, Esperen,
and others of the old world ; but whatever may be said of the
superior fruits produced by them, we have the strongest
proofs that the clear sky and warm summers of our American
climate are far more favorable for propitious results than theirs,
and that such circumstances will conduce to the health and
longevity of a variety. Especially is this the case in Califor-
nia, where almost all the products of the vegetable world
come to perfection. From past experience it seems probable
that the deterioration of certain varieties of fruits will exist
in the future as in the past, and that the same causes, whether
from the removal of the forests, or from whatever circum-
stances, will still continue. Hence the necessity of raising
new varieties to supply the places of those that decline. Hap-
pily this degeneracy is confined to the apple and pear, affect-
ing the pear more particularly, while in the cherry, peach,
plum, strawberry, and small fruits generally, there are no signs
of this deterioration.

That as fine fruits can be raised from seed here as have been
produced in any other country, there is no longer a doubt.
That this is the plan prescribed by our bountiful Creator for
their production and improvement, is etjually true. That there
is any limit to its progress and extent, we have no reason to
believe. True, the number of superior IVuits is small com-

15

pared with the host of indififercnt varieties that have come
down to us from the past. One reason for this is, that our
taste for finer fruits has been elevated to a higher standard,
and those of an indifferent or medium quahty fall out by the
way ; and we have no doubt that the old pears so highly
lauded by historians, were most, if not all of them, only
coarse unmelting kinds.

When we reflect upon what has been accomplished in the
improvement of animals and vegetables in our own day, and
how many splendid acquisitions have been brought forth that
command the admiration of the world, — when we reflect
upon the many fine American fruits already obtained with
but comparatively little effort, — we surely have cause for great
encouragement and perseverance. There is no limit to prog-
ress now or hereafter, and we believe that the fruits of this
earth are to become more and more perfect as time advances.
The march of science is ever onward and upward, and it is our
duty to keep pace with it. What has been done can be done
again, and will be done, until the final culmination of all
created things. Then let us not be discouraged by obstacles
or disappointments, but —

" Let us act, that each to-morrow
Find us further than to-day."

If a pear like the* Bartlett or Beurre d'Anjou can be pro-
duced which shall be suited to every section, then another
of like or better quality can be created and possess the same
adaptation. Nor is there any reason why a strawberry like
the Wilson, or a grape like the Concord, may not be raised of
far better quality, and yet possess all the other valuable char-

i6

acteristics of these varieties. That there may be a point
beyond which a fruit is not susceptible of improvement, as
beheved by some, we cannot aver, but that most of our varie-
ties fall short of this perfection all will agree. When we
consider the character of the fruits which have come down
to us from antiquity, the wonder is, not that we have no
more strictly first-class varieties, but that we have already pro-
duced so many superior sorts. These considerations afford
ample evidence of the tendency towards improvement, and
lead us to the belief that by planting the seeds of our best
varieties, we shall advance still further towards perfection,

Duhamel, Poiteau, and their contemporaries, after repeated
trials with the seeds of the old varieties, produced but few
worthy of note. It was reserved for Esperen, Gregoire, Bivort,
Berckraans, and other modern experimenters, who sowed the
seeds of improved sorts, to give us most of the fine new varie-
ties which now adorn our tables. In confirmation of this
opinion we have numerous instances in our own country.
Witness the seedling pears of the Messrs. Dana, Clapp, and
Shurtlefif, of this vicinity, and those from other places, which
grace this department of our exhibition. In these we have
an illustration of what can be accomplished in the space of a
few years, by the sowing of the seeds of modern varieties. In
the extraordinary collection of Mr. Fox, of California, sent to
me last year, we have also an evidence of the influences of
virgin soil, high temperature, and clear atmosphere, giving us
tokens of like advantages which we expect to derive from the
new lands of our western friends, in the production of fine

17

varieties. We may add in regard to Mr. Fox's seedling pears,
that we know not how to account for the strong evidence of
natural cross fertilization which they exhibit, unless it was
caused by the favorable climatic influence which we have just
mentioned.

Formerly we were obliged to rely mostly on imported kinds
for our best fruits, but as time progresses these are gradually
disappearing, and their places are being filled by those of
American origin. Of the forty-three kinds of plums in our
catalogue, more than half are American. Of fifty-eight kinds
of peaches, more than two thirds are American, and in fact
very few others are much in cultivation. Of the nineteen
kinds of strawberries, all but three are American, Of thirty-
one varieties of hardy grapes, all are American. Thus, of
these fruits we have in our catalogue at the present time,
one hundred and fifty-one varieties, .with the exception of
thirty-seven, all are of American origin. Thus may we go on
rising higher and higher in the scale of excellence, looking
forward with bright anticipations to the time when, through
the influence of these examples, and of our own and kindred
associations, our catalogue shall be filled with varieties of
American origin, and every part of our country rejoice in
fruits born on the soil on which we live.

Why, it is only about a century since Van Mons, Knight,
and the great pomologists of Europe were born. It is within
the present century that Coxe, Thomas, Buel, Prince, Lowell,
Manning, and Kenrick commenced their efforts to improve
the pomology of our country. It is within a much later period
that the Downings, the younger Thomas, Kirtland, Hovey,
3

i8

Ellwanger and Barry, Brincklc, Kcnnicott, Warder, Elliott,
Berckmans, commenced their operations for the advancement
of this cause. These considerations should excite us to
greater enterprise and renewed exertions. This is the great
work of the American Pomological Society. We have but
just entered upon it. How vast and inviting the field that
lies spread out before us ! Some of these thoughts, perhaps
in another form, I may have presented to you before, but it
is by line upon line and precept upon precept that I desire
to enforce my advice ; and were I never to address you
again, I would repeat the counsel I have so often given,
in regard to the production of new and fine fruits, namely,
" To plant the most mature and pci-fcct seeds of the most hardy,
vigorous, and valuable varieties ; and as a shorter process, ensur-
ing more certain and Jiappy results, cross or Jtybridize yonr best
fruitsr Before many, years shall have passed my voice will
be hushed in that stillness which knows no waking ; but
while I live I would continue to impress on your minds the
importance of the beneficent work of providing these bless-
ings for generations to come ; and when I am dead I would
by these words still speak to you. Thus will you advance
one of the most delightful and important industries of the
world ; thus will you build up a pomology for the most
favored nation upon which the sun ever shone ; thus will
you contribute to the welfare of home, kindred, and country,
and transmit your names to future generations as benefactors
of your race —

" Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
And they again to theirs,
That generations yet unborn
May teach them to their heirs."

19

CATALOGUE.

In this connection I desire to refer to our catalogue of
fruits, as the most important achievement of our Society.
This was the first attempt in this country to suppress by com-
mon consent our inferior fruits from cultivation, and to define
the adaptation and value of approved varieties to a wide-
spread territory. Few can have any idea of the patient in-
vestigation which this has received from the committee, from
its first preparation by Mr. Barry, in i860, down to the present
time. With the issue of this catalogue commenced a new era
in the literature of American Pomology, by which every sec-
tion of our country and the Provinces of British America
were to be acknowledged and recognized in its classification.

At the tima of its first publication it was issued in octavo
form, but in less than ten years we have been obliged to
enlarge it to quarto form, so as to admit additional columns
for the new States and Territories coming within our jurisdic-
tion. Instead of the fifty-four varieties of fruit recommended
in 1848, this catalogue now contains the names of five hun-
dred and seventy-seven kinds, and with the list of six hundred
and twenty-five rejected varieties passed upon by the Society,
makes a total of twelve hundred and two on which the
Society has set its seal of approval or rejection. An im-
portant part of this work, not shown by these figures, is the
reduction of our list as compared with former catalogues, by
striking out varieties too good to be placed in our rejected
list, yet superseded by better sorts. In pears alone, this re-
duction has been from one hundred and twcnty-tvvo to ninety-

20

one kinds. And thus it should ever be our aim to condense
our list into as small a number of varieties as possible. When
we consider that our catalogue embraces in its columns fifty
States and Territories, including the Provinces of British
America, with great diversities of soil and climate ; that some
of the new districts have but little experience in fruit culture ;
and that from them we have consequently but limited reports,
we can readily appreciate the difficulties attendant on this
great work.

It was an important step taken by the Society when it
placed its mark of condemnation on the long list of unworthy
fruits which were then in our collections, thereby saving to
cultivators a vast amount of time, trouble, and expense in the
progagation of useless varieties. But a great and important
work, requiring the utmost caution, is still before us, to avoid
in the future the insertion in its pages of the names of inferior or
insufficiently tested fruits, and to establish a correct nomen-
clature for all time, so that with every revision of our cata-
logue it may more nearly approximate to perfection. To aid
in this most desirable work, the various State and local com-
mittees should keep well organized, and from time to time
transmit to the General Chairman of the Fruit Committee all
the information which is acquired in their several districts.
It was the original object of the catalogue, and must always
continue to be its aim, to restrict the worthless or indifferent
kinds, to discover and retain the most valuable, and to furnish
to all sections the fruits best adapted to their respective
localities.

For the purpose of perfecting our catalogue, a meeting of

21

the Committee on Revision was held at Rochester, New York,
soon after our last session.

After several days of deliberation, the present form, and the
new plan of making three general divisions, and arranging
the States in their order of climatic and characteristic asso-
ciation in regard to fruit culture, was adopted. This was a
work of much difficulty, but I am happy to learn that it is
regarded with great favor as a most important improvement,
and will constitute, it is believed, through the united efforts of
our members, ultimately the acknowledged authority of the
country.

DECEASED MEMBERS.

While we rejoice in the presence of so many of our mem-
bers on this occasion, we are reminded of the absence of some
who have been removed by death. Since our last biennial
session, two Vice-Presidents and one Ex-Vice President have
deceased.

I allude to Lawrence Young and John S. Downer, of Ken-
tucky, and Dr. J. S. Curtis, of California. Mr. Lawrence Young
w.is an early member of our association, and for a long course
of years held the office of Vice-President for the State of
Kentucky. He was born on the Sth of December, 1793, in
Caroline County, Virginia. He showed an early taste for
knowledge, and made himself well acquainted with all branches
of learning, especially with the science of Agriculture and
Horticulture, and by his interest and example he learned
others to ajopreciate what he so dearly loved. He was not
only a scientific, but a practical cultivator of fruits, and for

22

these labors his own and adjoining States often expressed their
obligations. For many years he was the Agricultural Editor of
the " Louisville Journal." In later years he edited the " West-
ern Ruralist," and for thirty years he compiled a monthly
meteorological table for the Smithsonian Institute. Besides
being Vice-President of this Association, he held the offices of
President of the Jefferson County Horticultural Society, and
President of the Kentucky Pomological Society. Energy,
perseverance, and a love of nature were prominent traits in
his character through life. He died at the ripe old age of
seventy-nine years.

Mr. John S. Downer, our Vice-President for Kentucky, who
was with us at our last session, has also been removed by
death. He was born on the 19th of June, 1809. in Culpepper
County, Virginia. His taste for horticulture and pomology
dawned with his early years, and while yet a youth he discov-
ered an ardent love for these pursuits which continued through
life. In early manhood he established the Forest Nursery,
and here from obscure youth, without fame or fortune, he built
up an enviable reputation as a nurseryman and pomologist.
He tested under his own inspection many varieties of fruits,
and has done much to improve Pomology in the Central and
Southern States, having produced several varieties of fruits
which are now extensively cultivated. He devoted much time
and patience to the production of new varieties of strawberry,
and the Downer's Prolific, the Charles Downing, and the
Kentucky, bear witness to his success. By testing and dis-
seminating other fruits, he has conferred blessings on the
pomology, not only o( his own region, but on our whole

23

country. He died on the grounds where he first settled,
and where, in addition to his many attainments, he has left the
name of " an honest man, the noblest work of God."

The seat of Dr. Joshua S. Curtis, of Sacramento, California,
is also vacated by death. He was one of the representatives of
that State, and was elected Vice-President at our last session.
He was a gentleman of noble bearing, and much interested in
the progress of science, and the elevation of our art. Some
of us can remember the interest which he manifested, although
for the first time with us, in the welfare for the Society, and
the words of counsel and approval which he spoke to us
at the festival that closed our meeting at Richmond ; and it
was his intention to be with us at this session. Dr. Curtis
was born in North Carolina, and died in San Joaquin County,
California, November i8, 1S72, aged sixty-three years. He
graduated at Chapel Hill College, and was also a graduate
either of Philadelphia or Baltimore Medical College. He
went to Tennessee in 1832, where he was extensively engaged
in farming and his profession. In 1837 he removed to Holly
Springs, Mississippi, owned a cotton plantation, and was the
treasurer of the State. He went to Sacramento, California, in
1850, where he resumed his practice as a physician. A few
years afterwards he gave up his profession, and was engaged
in farming in Yolo County until the time of his death. He
represented that county in the State legislature. His home
was ever open to the poor, and his house was the home of the
destitute.

Nor can I close this record of deceased members without
allusion to another, formerly connected with us in official

24

relations, who has been called from this to the spirit-land. I
allude to the Rev. Jeremiah Knox, of Pittsburg, Penn., who died
of apoplexy, Nov. 13, 1872, aged fifty-eight. His father was
a minister, which pr-ofession he also adopted while at the age
of seventeen. He removed to Pittsburg early in life, and
became eminent in his profession. He was social and sympa-
thetic in his instincts, prepossessing in personal appearance,
and gifted with oratorical powers. He was an old member,
often attended the sessions of this Society, took part in its
discussions, and was known throughout our land for his inter-
est in the culture of the grape, the strawberry, and other small
fruits. His enterprise in the culture of these was remarkable,
and his plantations of the strawberry and the blackberry were
very extensive. He gave to the Triomphe de Gand a new
and extensive fame, and distributed far and wide the straw-
berry. No. 700, of his collection, to which he gave the name
of Jucunda. He entered largely into the grape excitement,
which existed a few years since, propagating immense quan-
tities of vines, especially Concord, Delaware, and Martha.
His name as the " Strawberry King," and the proprietor of the
Knox fruit farm, will ever be remembered in the annals of
American Pomology.

These associates have gone. It has pleased a wise Provi-
dence to remove them from the sphere of duty here, but we
trust in the hope that we shall one day join them in that
better land, where friends shall part no more.

25

CONCLUSION.

Pardon me, my friends, for the time I have occupied in the
performance of a duty required of me by your Constitution.

With the close of this session will terminate the first quar-
ter of a century in the history of our national association.
We are now about to enter on the second era of its existence.
A great work has already been accomplished, but more
remains to be done. We have but just entered on the broad
field which lies open to us, and gathered a few of its first fruits.
Many of its former members have paid the debt of nature,
and we, who were among the founders of our in>>titutions,
shall soon be called to follow them. But this Society, we
believe, will live on to bless the world, and as time progresses
the results of your labors in the development of our wonderful
resources, will be more and more appreciated. And as our
nation advances in wealth and refinement, so will the culture
of fruits be better understood, and their importance and
usefulness be more fully realized. Willing hands and generous
hearts will labor for the same cause, and generation after
generation will enjoy the fruits which your hands have planted
for them. Persevere, then, my friends, with the noble work
in which you are employed. Go on, until our ultimate object
is attained, in perfecting one of the most useful and beautiful
sciences of the world.

We have traced the progress of American Pomology from a
period within fifty years. But who shall predict its develop-
ment for the half century to come .'* Judging from the past, we
may anticipate that ere that day shall dawn, our whole conti-
4

26

nent will be opened up for use, and the cultivation of fruits
become scarcely secondary to any other branch of rural art.
Look at the progress of the past, and estimate, if you can, the
increase of the future, when the population of our country
shall exceed one hundred millions of souls, as many now liv-
ing may expect to witness ; when our fruits shall be adapted to
every section of our land, and become not merely a condi-
ment, but a necessary portion of our food.

Standing, as we do, on the line which divides the past from
the present, let us remember with gratitude the labors of
those who laid the foundations of this institution ; let us
remember those who have so assiduously co-operated with us
for the advancement of its objects, and let us transmit to pos-
terity the priceless blessings our calling is destined to confer.
And as our members, from time to time, shall assemble to
gather up the fruit of their research, may they have reason
to rejoice more and more in the benefactions which it bestows
on mankind ; and when at last wc shall be called to relinquish
the cultivation of our orchards, gardens, and vineyards on
earth, may we be permitted to participate in the cultiva-
tion of —

" That tree which bears immortal fruit,
Without a canker at the root ;
Its healing leaves to us be given,
Its bloom on earth, its fruit in iieaven ! "