FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 137 



ural desire for them, without clandestinely enjoying them at the expense of 

 our neighbors. 



Ornamental horticulture includes floriculture, ornamental planting, and 

 landscape gardening, and as it appeals to tlie ajsthetic part of our nature 

 must necessarily make slow progress in a new country, wliere the immediate 

 Avants of life are first to be considered. In flowers our poets have found 

 their most beautiful illustrations, and most true and fanciful sentiments. 

 The garden has been to them a book of ins])iration. Flower gardens are asso- 

 ciated in cur minds with ail countries, and all periods of time. The most dis- 

 tinguished men, who have agreed in nothing else, have agreed in all ages to 

 delight in gardens. The cultivation of flowers in most instances is easy of 

 acquirement. Nearly all plants may be propagated from layers, or cuttings; 

 others multiply by suckers, and tlie rest from seed. 



The primitive rules applicable to vegetable gardening hold good in the culti- 

 vation of ordinary flowers, as any soil adapted to the iiroduction of the former 

 is equally so to the growth of the latter. Perhaps no country in the world is 

 richer in her natural flora than that of North America; particularly in flower 

 ing shrubs and herbaceous plants. In elegance of shape, and brilliance of 

 color, many of them will bear a fine contrast with the exotics of other coun- 

 tries. A leading fault in many flower gardens of the present day is the lack 

 of a proper selection of kinds, and a bad method of arranging them. The 

 most satisfactory gardens are those where but few kinds are grown, and these 

 should afford a continuous display of color and perfume, and have a neat and 

 agreeable habit of growth. The old method of mixing plants of conflicting 

 habits of growth should be discarded for the modern style of grouping and 

 massing the colors in separate figures. No disposition of plants can be made 

 that will be more effective than this. The art of arranging flowers is a very 

 interesting study, and such as have a correct taste will no doubt succeed the 

 best. A Belgium journal has given us some interesting figures, showing the 

 rapid increase in our knowledge of the vegetable kingdom. In the bible one 

 hundred plants are alluded to. LiunjBus in his day described over seven thou- 

 sand. In the beginning of the present century Persoon described 25,000. In 

 18G.3 Bentley estimated the known species at 135,000, and doubtless many 

 more await tlie eye of human inspection, and possibly exceeding in beauty or 

 fragrance any yet introduced. Almost every living animal and vegetable 

 product is utilized as food in some part of the world. In China over four hun- 

 dred species of plants are considered edible, and in the whole world the edible 

 species exceed four thousand. All hunnvn beings appreciate beauty in some 

 way or other. The taste for sleek cattle is often shown where the house is 

 poorer than the barn. Still it is not claimed that all have equal capacity or 

 desire for house adornment; in fact there are many horticulturists who see 

 more to admire in a cabbage patch, than in the most beautiful lawn or flower 

 bed ; their plane of beauty in any product of the soil being what it is quoted 

 at in prices current. But these prejudices are being rapidly overcome by the 

 convincing evidence of successful results. People begin to see that the value 

 of a farm depends not so much on the number of its acres, as upon its mode of 

 culture, productiveness, and such surroundings as add to its comfort and 

 respectability. The objection is often urged that ornamentation is a bill of 

 expense that but few people can afford. To this I answer that much beauty 

 may be given a place, with but little expenditure of money; indeed more than 

 enough is often spent injudiciously, just for lack of a little knowledge. Every 

 •tree grown for ornament adds far more than its cost to the value and comfort 



