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��Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, Ph.D.
��Britain ; a corresponding member of the Royal Horticultural Society of London, and the Soci^tt^ Centrale d' Horticulture of France ; and a fellow of the Reale Accademia Araldica Itali- ana of Pisa.
Well did Governor Bullock on a public occasion speak of Mr. Wilder as "one who has applied the results of his well-earned commercial earnings so liberally that in every household and at every fireside in America, when the golden fruits of summer and autumn gladden the sideboard and the hearth- stone, his name, his generosity, and his labors are known and honored." He is also known and honored abroad. The London Gardener's Chronicle, the leading agricultural paper in Europe, in April, 1872, gave his portrait and a sketch of his life, in which is introduced the following merited compliment : —
" We are glad to have the opportun- ity of laying before our readers the por- trait of one of the most distinguished of transatlantic horticulturists, and one who, by his zeal, industry, and determi- nation, has not only conferred lasting benefits on his native country, but has by his careful experiments in hybridiza- tion and fmit-culture laid the horticul- turists of all nations under heavy obliga- tions to him. The name and reputa- tion of Marshall P. Wilder is as highly esteemed in Great Britain as they are in America."
In closing this sketch, we may re- mark that complimentary banquets were given him on the eightieth and the eighty-fifth anniversaries of his birth. On the former occasion, September 22, 1878, the Reverend James IL Means, D.D., his pastor for nearly thirty years, the Honorable Charles L. Flint, secre- tary of the Board of Agriculture, the
��Honorable John Phelps Putnam, judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court, and others, paid tributes to the high moral character, the benevolent dispo- sition, and the eminent services, of the honored guest of the evening.
The last banquet, September 22, 1 883, on his completing the ripe age of eighty-five, was a much more important occasion. The banquet was held, as the former was, at the Parker House, in Boston, and over one hundred gentle- men participated, among whom were some of the most distinguished persons- in this and other States. Charles H. B. Breck, Esq., vice-president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society pre- sided, and the venerable Reverend Dr. George W. Blagden invoked a blessing. Mr. Breck addressed Mr. Wilder, who- responded. Addresses were then made by a number of Mr. Wilder's friends, among them the Honorable Alexander H. Rice and the Honorable Nathaniel P. Banks, ex-goveraors of Massachu- setts, his Honor Oliver Ames, lieuten- ant-governor of the State, his Honor Albert Palmer, mayor of Boston, Gen- eral Joshua L. Chamberlain, ex-governor of Maine, the Honorable Frederick. Smyth, ex-governor of New Hampshire, Professor J. C. Greenough, president of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege, General Francis A. Walker, presi- dent of the Institute of Technology, the Honorable Francis B. Hayes, presi- dent of the Horticultural Society, the Reverend Edmund F. Slafter, con-e- sponding secretary of the New Eng- land Historic Genealogical Society,. John E. Russell, secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, and Major Ben : Perley Poore, secretary of the United States Agricultural Society, and ex-commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. Other
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