Excerpt from Transactions of the Worcester County Horticultural Society, Vol. 1: A. D. 1894-95 Nor should the felicitous character of his surroundings, in that connection, be overlooked. That was not an era of clubs; people keeping early hours and electing the homestead rather than herbergage. But such wholesome customs did not pre clade good fellowship; and the day was accounted ill-spent whereof a half - hour had not been pleasantly occupied in the book-store, or office subsequently, of Mr. Harris. Of that rare company, were Frederic William Paine, Anthony Chase, John Milton Earle, William Lincoln, Isaac Davis, Benjamin E. Thomas, and, need I add? John Green. All versed in polite literature, each devoted to Horticulture for its own sake and not its possible premiums, and every one actively interested for the welfare of the young Society which they had just united to establish. To their unselfish liberality may we attribute the early formation of the Library itself, its nucleus, in default of other resources, being the volumes given by those gentlemen from their private collections. Meeting for the daily pinch of snuff, as was their wont and the custom of their time, they constituted a sort of volunteer council, prompt to discern needs which they were equally quick and ready to supply. So that it happened, without public fuss, or fume of newspaper, that there was a gradual, steady accretion to the stock of sound knowledge essen tial to mastery of Horticulture, so far as declared in print by its recognized scientists. And it may be asserted, with entire con fidence, that, when it was deemed expedient to transfer the Library to this Hall, in the interest of its more general use, no collection of its Size could be named better suited to its Specific aim and object, than that which Clarendon Harris de livered in such admirable condition to your Secretary who, A. D. 1862, was elected Librarian. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.