192 STATE POMOLOGTCAL SOCIETY. 



for the enjoyments of nature's beauties and delicious productions, that any 

 occupation can oiler. 



Horticulture has always been a pet occupation among the civilized nations of 

 the earth. It originated with mankind ; it was instituted by our Creator him- 

 self, who put Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and keep it; 

 and no doubt it will continue to flourish as long as man is left to draw nourish- 

 ment from mother earth. 



Among the ancients, horticulture was held in high esteem. There are many 

 allusions to gardens in the Bible, and the renowned gardens of Babylon are 

 known to have existed about two thousand years before Christ. The inhabi- 

 tants of ancient Greece were noted for their horticulture. The Romans were 

 still more so, especially in the cultivation of flowers. It is recorded that the 

 Emperor Nero, at a single feast, used roses to the value of two hundred and 

 eighty thousand dollars, a consumption of flowers with which the luxuries of 

 modern monarchs cannot compare. After the fall of the Roman Empire 

 there was a relapse in horticulture as in all other peaceful occupations. When 

 peace at last was restored, France was one of the first countries to revive her 

 horticulture, and from there it spread to Holland, Germany, and in succession 

 to all other European countries. 



In Europe this branch of industry has reached a high degree of perfection, 

 not only among the rich people, but also among the farmers and laboring 

 classes who are highly interested in the cultivation of their gardens. 



Some idea of European art in landscapes, gardening and general horticul- 

 ture may be conveyed by a description of a so-called nobleman's private place. 

 Let us for a few moments visit Chatsworth, England, the seat of the Duke of 

 Devonshire. You will there see a park, six miles long and two miles broad, 

 walks through it, and your vocabulary of well-bred expressions of admiration 

 will soon be exhausted. Here you will see a fairy village of cottages built in 

 all the fanciful styles of architecture that human imagination can suggest, each 

 of which is surrounded by appropriate groves of rare and beautiful trees, and 

 shrubs. There you see a large area covered with rocks, that tower upwards in 

 grand resemblance to the Alps. This elevation is covered with Rhododendrons 

 and other alpine plants, while gushing streams and splashing cataracts are 

 descending through the clifts. Here your eye meets the fanciful display of an 

 Italian garden, covered with tasteful ilower-beds, on which hundreds of thou- 

 sands of flowering plants are displayed. There you see a woodland where 

 herds of large tame deer are leisurely grazing. Here your attention is attracted 

 by the splashing water and looking up you see the highest fountain in the 

 world, throwing a column of water 267 feet high, returning in diamond-like 

 shower drops, clear as crystal. There a giant green house rises before your 

 view, nearly one hundred feet high, covering a garden an acre and a half in 

 extent, in which the choicest tropical plants are grown, planted out in the soil 

 as in their native climate. 



A series of hot water pipes perpetually maintains the temperature of Cuba. 

 Through the middle runs a broad road, over which the Duke and his guests 

 occasionally drive four-in-hand. Here you dwell with delight on the banks of 

 a beautiful lake, bordered by groups of drooping willows while majestic swans 

 and merry ducks are floating about on the still water. There your path is sud- 

 denly obstructed by an immense rock, and you see no alternative but to turn 

 and go back ; but your cicerone quietly touches a spring concealed in the sod 

 and, to your surprise, the large rock is cleft before you, divided into two pieces, 



