not only as it furnishes us a philosophical amusement, but from the higher consideration, that it illustrates the labors of the naturalist, and unfolds the mysteries of the operations of that universal providence which fills this world with good and beauty.

There are many attributes of a moral cast belonging to the rearing of plants. These little earth-born toys, speak to us a volume of pretty histories; they are domesticated with us, and partake of our household affections; they are symbols of the most agreeable thoughts and sentiments; they are consecrated by ancient custom to our amusements, our business, our fancies, our superstitions, and to our religion. He who will read the history of our race, will find that in all ages they have had curious mystical associations with our being; they have been our oracles, our monitors, our talismans. The credulity of our ancestors has invested them with virtues, that suppose them to be the peculiar favorites of the invisible agents which were believed to sway the destiny of mortals ; and prescription, as hoary as our earliest tradition, has assigned to them a special function in the business of life: the laurel and the bay were supposed to be gifted with the power of parrying the thunderbolt; and they have formed the appropriate wreath of the hero and the poet: the ivy and the holly, the palm and the cedar, have for centuries typified to the pious and reverent mind, the mild and unfading lustre of Christianity; and, even at this day, furnish evergreen garlands to decorate the festivals of the church. What countless recollections, mellowed by the bland and rich light of poetry, are clustered around the little sprig of rosemary! How does its very name conjure up the image of the wedding and its gay train, the wassail bowl, the joyous dance, and all the pomp of the festive hall! How does it recall the Christmas carol, and the old ballad, which rehearses in simple, uncouth verse, the merry-makings of that laughing race, who, many generations back, were as intent as we are now, to cheat life of its pain, and dull the edge of the scythe of time! The

mistletoe is scarcely less venerable in the Druid's faith, than in the respect of our immediate progenitors, who held it sacred to the service of the funeral. A mournful, yet not unpleasing sadness hangs around the melancholy yew and cypress dedicated to the silent solitude of the tombs. In the Romish calendar, there is not a day in the year without its saint, nor a saint without a consecrated plant: even the passion of the Saviour, by a beautiful conceit, is supposed to be recorded on the disk of a familiar garden flower, and to the religious mind serves as a memorial of the most sublime event in the annals of the human family.

Then, too, this world of flowers, how does it speak to us of the fairy enchantments, and wonder-working spells of that superstition, which built up the rich and homely mythology of the gone-by time!—of the slip of rue, which could set at nought and defy the malice of the meagre hag!—of the “vervain and the dill," that, according to the ancient couplet, had virtue to "hinder witches of their will:"-of the moonwort, which, if the legends say true, could unbind that which was fast, open double-bolted locks, and even snatch the shoe from the horse that set his foot upon it! How does it summon up to the imagination, the gorgeous and gaudy realms of Oberon and Titania, with their tiny mignons peopling the labyrinths of the rose, diving into the well of the honey-suckle, or sporting beneath the tent-like canopy of the inverted lily! and how remind us of that prankish sprite, who was wont to vex the household of our 66 idle headed eld,"-Robin Goodfellow,lurking, as Shakspeare has pictured him, in the cowslip's bell, and sharing in the plunder of the bee, or sleeping amidst the odorous tapestry of the jasmine and woodbine! The whole theme is redolent with the richest essence of poesy, and delights the mind as much by its association with the racy tales of genius, as the flowers themselves regale the senses by their forms of unmatched grace, their delicate hues or exquisite perfumes.

This floral department cannot but find favor with the

ladies of Baltimore: its care is peculiarly within the province of their sex, and it therefore constitutes an essential and valuable feature in the organization of the Horticultural Society, to enlist the zeal, and insure the co-operation of our townswomen, by soliciting them to become members of the Society, and to assume an active participation in its duties. Under their control, and with the aid of their spirited devotion to our purpose, we hope to communicate an impulse to the public, which must speedly make this institution popular and productive of the greatest good. We have already, so far found grace in their eyes, as to attract the regard of several of the most intelligent and praiseworthy individuals of the sex in our city, whose names are now enrolled upon our records, and we do not doubt that their excellent example will be promptly followed by their companions and friends. It is in the power of our fair compatriots, not only to enliven and refine the taste of this community, but to bestow a grace and a vigor upon the endeavors of this society, which, without them, it might in vain struggle to acquire. To them, therefore, we strenuously appeal for support, and trust that they will attach themselves to this institution with that ardor which forms a part of their character. Then may we expect that our festival of flowers, in each succeeding year, will be truly a banquet of delights ; where beauty shall rule the hour, and joy walk in the footsteps of usefulness; where good and pleasure shall go hand in hand, to exalt, adorn and dignify the aims of the society, and our city win a fresh chaplet of fame for its virtuous devotion to these refined and bountiful pursuits.

From the sketch which I have imperfectly given of the nature and aims of this society, it will be seen that we stand in need of the commendation and support of our fellow-citizens at large, and that our organization is one which may furnish the opportunity to do much good under the most agreeable and alluring forms. We ask no personal sacrifice from any one, of time or money, which might be employed with more profit in gratifying the demands of the other relations of life.

We wish to give a direction to the tastes of our people, and rather train their recreations and their pastimes to pursue a channel which shall be no less fruitful in enjoyment, than their more customary pleasures, yet, which shall, at the same time, increase the store of comfort to all. We offer to the votary of our cause an occupation that engrosses the mind with innocent and peaceful duties; that inspires pure thoughts, elevates and refines the heart, and raises man to a love for simple and virtuous amusements; that infuses health and vigor into his veins; that fills his thoughts with subjects calculated to allay the irritations of life, that exalt him to the worship and imitation of his God. We offer him an employment that shall make him conversant with green fields, and running brooks, and balmy skies ;—a pursuit that shall warm his fancy to the relish of the beauties of nature, and that shall teach him to despise the tinsel and trickery of artificial life, by the fresh perception it will give him of the luxury of the "uncased air," and of the never-sating joys of the forest and field, of the woodland slope and flowery mead ;-a pursuit, of which it is its chief glory and highest praise, that "all its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace!"

AN ADDRESS

DELIVERED BEFORE THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE, AT CHATHAM STREET CHAPEL IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, OCTOBER 17, 1833.

M

R. PRESIDENT, and Gentlemen of the Institute

Partaking with you in that concern for the promotion of the useful arts, which has induced the formation of this society, it is with a grateful alacrity that I have repaired to this city to discharge the duty which your appointment has assigned to me; and I would pray you to believe, that it is not in the conventional and unfelt form of speech of a commonplace occasion I acknowledge the unmerited honor you have conferred upon me, by the invitation which has summoned me hither. I feel proud to be accounted a fellow-laborer with you in your cause, the cause of our common country: and I am sincerely anxious, at all times, to contribute whatever may be in my power to draw upon it the earnest and favorable regard of our countrymen.

Your society, gentlemen, has already won a distinguished place in the respect of the nation: it has set a noble example of intelligent devotion to the public good: it has enlisted the aid of the purest patriots: it is fortified by the possession of the most useful talents; and it is cheered in its career by the applause of the best citizens. With such objects and means, and with such steadiness in the pursuit and employment of them, the impression which it is likely to make upon the common welfare, cannot but confer a lasting renown upon this