Mrs. S., Highlands, N. C, writes: "The ladies here have formed themselves into a society, having for its object the laying out and decoration of some grounds which shall be held for public use - planting trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. They first called themselves the ' Floral Society,' but some of them, thinking that name did not convey quite the idea of the work they propose to do, urged a change to that of the ' Horticultural Society.' Now other members and the local press object to this, maintaining that it means only a society intending to plant orchards. Webster says, Horticulture means the care of gardens. Has the word lost its original signification? And is the society misnamed?"

[The Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland or other " horticultural societies " would not feel complimented if told they had only to do with planting orchards. The ladies have correctly named their society a horticultural one, and can afford to laugh at the local critics.

Those bodies which consider orchards and fruit growing only, are pomological, not horticultural societies, and their line is rather with agriculture than horticulture.

The ladies, however, have excuse for mystification. It is not uncommon to find departments of agricultural papers headed " Horticulture," in which nothing but fruit culture and market gardening are treated of, and even some societies called "horticultural," wherein little else is talked about than how to squeeze out the last penny on a basket of "berries," or the last dollar on a ton of grapes. These are exactly the questions for pomological societies or departments, but they come in only for a secondary place at least in a pure "horticultural society."