138 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



Women are particularly adapted to the care o£ flowers, as suc- 

 cess with them depends not so much on great strength as great pa- 

 tience; and the subtle instinct which leads her to protect and nour- 

 ish all helplessness — in whatever form she finds it — gives her the 

 ability to understand the peculiarities of, and give proper treatment 

 to each fragile flower. We use the word fragile, advisedly, for 

 fragile they must be as the more we cultivate the more delicate they 

 become. A flower a la natural can endure hardships that its cul- 

 tured descendant would helplessly fall before. 



Woman, then, being possessed of abilities to understand, pa- 

 tience to care for, and artistic taste in the grouping of plants as to 

 their coloring does it not follow that she may find in this branch of 

 industry not only pleasure but profit. 



In many places Floriculture, at the present moment, pays better 

 than even fruits and vegetables — though many may fancy they can 

 depend more directli/ on them. But as with the growth of natural 

 wealth the means of luxury are afforded more and more, the demand 

 for flowers of every kind increase. 



Flowers grown for seed, is an industry by itself; for perfume, 

 is another; either of which is capable of great development. 



The cut-flower trade of our large cities is immense. No ban- 

 quet is given, no burial service complete, and no marriage properly 

 solemnized without them. 



In our interest in flower cultivation, we must not lose sight of 

 nature's garden; where flowers are not given a gaudy hue by art, 

 butfwhere we find soft tints, and unassuming forms. "With cups 

 for dew and odors for the zephyrs." Where every flower and every 

 clinging vine has a grace which human agencies cannot produce for 

 " Nature is the divine Creator's art, and art is rational man's crea- 

 tion." 



FLOWERS, THEIR ANTIQUITY, MISSION AND INFLUENCE. 



BY MRS. JOHN SCOTT, PRINCETON. 



It was evidently the design of the Creator that the earth should 

 be bright and beautiful, notwithstanding the fact that it may be 

 ■ considered by the cold calculator as simply consisting of so many 

 miles of inert matter. 



We find its surface a vast stage, carpeted with living green, 

 interposed with threads of silver, and varied hues of bright buds, 

 blossoms and rare flowers — this broad expanse is relieved from 

 monotony by alternate mountains, rocks, and valleys, thus showing 

 in its variety of construction beauty as well as utility. 



In this variety of beauty and utility we see the hieroglyphics 

 the great Architect has written upon the face of nature, and have 

 also discovered that its surface, with all its natural attractions, pre- 

 sents a book, vast and expansive, and contains in its hidden mines of 



