Penn. Within these walls, now decorated by fair hands for this autumnal festival, for half a life-time he took an earnest, anxious part in the questions connected with the settlement of the estates where you plant your gardens and cultivate your grounds. Here he has toiled, as some present can bear him good witness, for days and weeks, to demonstrate, that a decayed relic of one of the ancient monarchs of Penn's woods, "to wit," a certain blackoak stump, should determine all questions about a boundary line of one of the estates "aforesaid." But this ancient Hall of Justice, identical with the history, transmission, and partition of every estate in this county for the last sixty years, and with the present title to each particular spot where these flowers and fruits were grown, is soon to pass away. It was well to decorate it thus before the final sacrifice. Already its elegant and classic neighbor seems impatient of its humbler presence, whose interesting memories it cannot supply.

In reviewing the history of this time-honored Hall, how are we reminded of the contrast between those warlike demonstrations from ancient Upland, which threatened, with artillery, to batter down these rising walls, and the peaceful decorations, redolent of beauty and harmony, which grace its exit. These flowers and fruits, methinks, are kindly tokens which mother earth sends up to bid the Old Court House good bye.

As Chester County led the van in the settlement and culture of Penn's woods, so should it still be the banner county in agriculture and horticulture. It possesses the elements for this distinction in the virtue, industry, intelligence, and thrift of its population, and in the fertility of its soil, its genial climate, its varied surface, its beautiful streams, its abounding springs, its rich, indigenous Flora-and in the good fortune to have produced a son, the pride and pleasure of whose life it is, to develop the history, character, and properties, the beauties and the uses, of the vegetable world. Permit me to add to these commanding advantages, your vicinity to and daily improving facilities of intercourse with our great metropolis, justly famed for its devotion to science, and particularly to the study of the Natural Sciences. Her schools and her collections in these departments are scarcely rivalled on this continent, and they are all within your reach. You have already set an example worthy of imitation by every other county in the state, in your own Collections of Natural History. They evince a taste and spirit worthy of all commendation.

As Pennsylvania was the first to establish an Agricultural Society, so she was the first state of this Union to establish a Horticultural Society: still earlier, she had made an attempt at a Botanic Garden. It is now near an hundred years since Bartram began his enterprise on the Schuylkill, and its glory has not yet departed. You have still the evidence before you of what Humphry Marshall attempted, soon after, in this vicinity.

Botany, an essential element of Horticulture, has still higher claims upon you the first cultivators of the ancient County of Chester were countrymen of the immortal Linnæus, the great discoverer of that secret whereby the whole vegetable kingdom was first reduced to system through all its varieties, from the trees of the forest to the moss.

The Swedes were the true pioneers in this cultivation, now our pride and boast. Within a century after the hardy sons of the North set foot upon this soil, and with stout heart and strong arm assailed the giant forests, their illustrious countryman possessed himself of his master key.-(pp. 11-14.)

The author thus alludes to the influences which have produced the increased attention to horticultural and rural pursuits:

Within a few years, Horticultural Societies have given it an impulse, in all its departments, unknown before. It is not fifty years since the Horticultural Society of London was founded. The labors of this society have produced results truly wonderful. The example has been followed, and similar societies have multiplied both in Europe and in this country. That of Paris, established in 1826, has been patronized by the court, by the nobility, and very generally by their distinguished men. The Jardin du Plants, at Paris, is regarded as the best establishment of the kind in the world, and includes what may be called a school for horticulture.

These are, perhaps, the main sources of that impulse which has been given to this pursuit throughout Europe. Horticultural societies are now universal, and rapid progress has been made here as well as there, within the last thirty years. Nothing is more obvious to those in the habit of resorting to our own markets, than the improvements in esculent vegetables and fruits, within this period, both in variety and quality. Still greater advances have been made in the general diffusion of a taste for plants and flowers. The florists constitute now an important class in our large towns, and some of their establishments are truly magnificent. The Greenhouse, the Hothouse, and the Conservatory, are regarded as among the most refined and elegant indulgences of men of wealth and taste, and very generally introduced. Many of our most distinguished men, in the various professions and in the higher walks of life, took an active part in the formation of the Pennsylvania Society, gave great attention to it for years, and still help sustain it. It has always been a special favorite with the fair sex, whose tastes and habits are so congenial to the beautiful flowers, and their virtues so well reflected in them. The monthly exhibitions furnish opportunities for pleasant re-unions to those who do not indulge in the gaieties of dissipation, and are uniformly characterized by pervading cheerfulness and innocent enjoyment. It is impossible to be selfish or ill-natured at a horticultural exhibition. It is the appropriate place for cordial greetings, kind words, winning looks, and cheerful smiles.

Our anniversary festival is well known to you as the most popular and most joyous of the year. No do the votaries of Flora and Pomona grow weary in their assiduities to keep up the interest of these annual exhibitions. Few know how much time, and care, and thought are given, and cheerfully given, in the preparations. There, as here, no doubt, the participation of the ladies adds a zest to these labors-what else, indeed, could have drawn such thousands and thousands to our gala through such a succession of

years-the gay and joyous throng increasing at each succeeding anniversary. It has in some measure supplied that, in which it is said we were deficientsources of innocent amusement.-(pp. 20-22.)

We might quote much interesting matter from Mr. Dillingham's address, but we have only space for his closing remarks, which we particularly commend to some of our amateur cultivators, whose ideas in regard to the cultivation of flowers are altogether too narrow and utilitarian :

We would not, if we could, have every object in life merely utilitarian. This might lead us to become sordid, selfish, and narrow-minded. These flowers were not made in vain. This pleasure which we experience at the sight of beautiful objects, and our enjoyment of their fragrance, are blessings conferred upon us by a bountiful Providence, purposely designed to lighten the burthens of life, alleviate its cares, and cheer us on our way. What would become of us if there were nothing to divert the thick crowding memories of all that is sorrowful in the past, or prevent still darker forebodings of the future? It is right to cultivate these tastes and to multiply objects for their enjoyment. Nature invites it—

"Where wild flowers breathe their rath perfume;"

Scripture teaches it

"Consider the lilies."

In Flowers we find the highest perfection of beauty, and fragrance most grateful to the sense,-beauty of form, and color, and texture, and combination, in never ending variety; and equally endless variety of perfume, each challenging comparison with the rest. The highest perfections of art pale before the beauties of Flora-Art can but catch the breath which Flowers exhale, to form its most exquisite perfumes. Horticulture comes in aid of Nature to develop these perfections and multiply our delights. The gardener's skill has achieved wonders. Witness the Rose, the Carnation, the Pelargonium, the Camellia, and the Pansy; compare each splendid variety with its humble original.

Happiness is what we all seek. But there is no true happiness to be found without a constant recognition of the Author of these beautiful things around us, the observance of his laws, contemplation of his works, love of his perfections, and awe of his power. Where can we learn the lesson better than in this department of the volume of Nature? Here we shall be certain to find constant exhibitions of infinite wisdom and infinite goodness, here we discover that "order is Nature's first law." We seek to imitate these perfections and to conform our own lives to the dictates of that wisdom and goodness which engrosses our affections and our thoughts. We see and feel that it is impossible for such beauties and perfections to have originated without design. Thus we may find in the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley, emblems of flowers that never fade, thus, by means of "a well-watered garden," we may hope to attain a final resting place under the shadow of the tree of life.-(pp. 33-34.)

MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

ART. I. General Notices.

Pruning.-Now that the summer's business is fairly at an end, it is time to take steps to provide against an inordinate pressure of business in the forthcoming spring; for any arrears of autumn or winter business, at that busy period, will prove a great hindrance to the carrying out a properly devised system through the ensuing season, and can be justified on the grounds of necessity alone. Planting, pruning, training, trenching, &c., are matters that belong peculiarly to this dormant period, and having before disposed of planting and trenching, by diverting attention to its importance, we will now offer a few practical remarks on pruning. The habits of fruit trees vary, more especially as to the manner of forming and exhibiting their buds; thus there is no difficulty in distinguishing the fructiferous portions of the apple, or of bush fruit in general, whilst the apricot and the filbert are, at this period, somewhat obscure in regard of these points. Even in the pear, more especially some of the newer kinds, such as the Passe Colmar, the Seckel, the Marie Louise, and some others, it is difficult to prune with safety in the early part of winter. For these reasons, therefore, we say, prune bush fruit the moment you can find time. Follow closely with cherries, plums, and apples, and towards Christmas lay by the knife until the early part of February, when the filberts will be blossoming; then, after a slight thinning of the crowded and inside spray, male catkins may be brought if requisite, and suspended among the bushes. The apricots will, by this time, give unequivocal signs by which to know the true blossom buds; these, then, may immediately receive their pruning. The peach and nectarine will succeed the apricot; and these may be followed by the pear, and lastly by the fig. In pruning bush fruit thin liberally. Let no two branches in the black currant and the gooseberry touch when finally thinned; these seldom require shortening; an equal and judicious thinning is therefore every thing here. In pruning apples the thinning of the branches or old wood should be the first step; this, however, requires caution.

The late Mr. Knight, of Downton, was much against cutting out large limbs, unless a severe necessity existed. His authority is too weighty to be passed over easily, more especially as he lived most of his time in a cider district. In thinning the young wood of espaliers, remember that the first point is to secure a continuance of leading shoots to form a compact tree; and the second, to secure a free admission of light to all parts of the tree. The same remarks will apply to the pruning of all the rough espaliers or dwarf standards of the kitchen garden, be they of what kind they may. Raspberries may now be planted and pruned: some of the soundest remarks on this subject, we ever read, appeared in the Chronicle for October 9.-(Gard. Chron. 1847, p. 703.)

Pruning the Vine.-In your leading article on the subject of the Vineries at Bishop's Stortford, you concluded by saying that the vines were pruned on Mr. Crawshay's system. I presume from that general allusion that the system is well understood by professional gardeners; but I rather think it is not as universally known as it would seem to deserve, if it can be proved to be certain and successful. In all treatises I have read on pruning the vine, from Speechley downwards, I have never met with any which has detailed this mode of treatment, or recommended its adoption. I have heard it in conversation described as "the walking-stick system," because its principle consists in giving very much that appearance to the main stem, which is always preserved. At each autumnal pruning the whole of the new wood is cut off to within an eighth of an inch of the old stem. So small, indeed, is the spur left, that the growth of the wood of the following year nearly levels it with the old wood. At the point of junction of this eighth of an inch with the stem, one or more buds are developed, which in the succeeding year become the shoots upon which the fruit is produced. The old-fashioned grape-grower sees with dismay in this system all the buds of the year which have grown and ripened under the influence of a summer and autumn's sun, annihilated "at one fell swoop," and stares when told that he is to trust entirely for his crop of next year to a bud which he can hardly see. Might I ask your contributors who delight in vine culture whether the success of this plan depends upon the great power working at the roots--the forty barge loads of manure, such as our friend at Bishop's Stortford supplies to the gluttony of his vines--and which converts that which, in ordinary circumstances, would at best be but a weak wood-bud, to the production of the finest fruit? Is this mode of pruning likely to be generally successful? There are, undoubtedly, many advantages in it. Amongst others, it does seem more consistent with nature, and with all our ideas of rendering culture subservient to her laws, to retain the main stem of the tree which furnishes the largest capacity for the flow of the sap; it also enables us to keep both fruit and foliage close under the rafters, and thereby to secure the greater quantity of light flowing into our houses. Any useful discussion on the subject will oblige J. J.-(Id. 1847, p. 718.)

Tagetes pinnata.-Allow me to offer my meed of praise to this delightful annual. As a perpetual bloomer, from earliest summer till latest autumn, it is unrivalled as an annual. The rich golden yellow of its beautifully reflexed petals, the exquisite pinnate foliage and compact growth, are all worthy of our warmest admiration, and claim for it a place in every garden. As a mass flower I know nothing of its class to equal it.—(Id. p. 670.)

Dahlias and Dahlia Exhibitions for 1847.-Agreeably to our usual plan of keeping our amateur cultivators informed of every thing relative to the improvement and cultivation of the Dahlia, we have gleaned from our Eng