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TRANSACTIONS OF THE CENTRAL 



out mucli expense, be possessed by the humblest individual. Their cultivation may be made one 

 source of happiness to the family. 



If heads of families would only gather about them every source of innocent amusement and 

 recreation for their children, and endeavor to make their homes attractive, in doors and out, a 

 paradise if possible, they would eventually see the benefit arising from it; and if they did not see it, 

 the world would reap a great and lasting good. A taste for trees, plants, and flowers, is the love an 

 enlightened mind and a tender heart pay to nature; it is a peculiar attribute of woman, exhibiting 

 the purity and gentleness of her sex; and every husband should encourage it in his wife and 

 daughters; for by cultivating a love for such things in them, they will prove wiser, happier, and 

 better, besides saving hundreds of dollars in the shape of doctors' bills: for who ever saw a person 

 who loved to plant and cultivate flowers, and spent a portion of nearly every day among them, that 

 was ever sick much ? 



What more conducive to health and long life than the cultivation of flowers. The pleasure derived 

 from them is indescribable. There is also a great moral lesson to be obtained from flowers, and this 

 forms another fine characteristic in the cultivation of nature's beauties; for flowers not only please 

 the eve and gratify the most careless observer, but contain a beauty in their structure, in the most 

 minute parts and coloring, to the most accurate and intelligent observer, which conveys a uatm-al 

 lesson, with every thing to please, and nothing to ofltend. 



It has been said by travelers that they could distinguish a pure minded and more intelligent family 

 from the appearance of the house and grounds in this particular; the difference was striking, the 

 houses of the more intelligent were surrounded with flowers, the windows displayed them, vines 

 were twined with care and taste over the dwelling: another presents a difl'erent spectacle; the weeds 

 and briars are allowed to hold their dominion; in short, Solomon's description of the garden of the 

 sluggard is exactly verified. 



Who that has been blessed with kind parents who gratified their better nature enough to have a 

 flower garden, can forget the many happy innocent hours spent in its cultivation, hours which 

 perhaps then seemed irksome, but now we view them with pleasure as we take a retrospect of the 

 past ! Oh ! who can forget the vine planted it may be by a parent's own hand, when he or she was a 

 little chUd: its tendrills are clinging to the topmost branches of a tall tree, perhaps in the front 

 yard; or that beautiful moss rose, or that old lilac, or some other favorite tree, or shrub; and we 

 never revisit the scenes of our childhood, not even in imagination, without calling up some of the 

 holiest emotions of our nature. And there too, clinging and twining about the porch, are the 

 fragrant and coral honey suckle, shading the window with their rich and delicate clusters of 

 flowers; and at evei-j' step along the border are the many-hued flowers, planted by the hand of a 

 dear sister, perhaps long since gone where flowers immortal bloom and never fade. 



The cultivation of flowers appears better suited to females than to the lords of creation; they 

 resemble them so much in their fragility, beauty, and perishable nature. The Mimosa although a 

 tolerable hardy plant, may be compared to a pure minded and delicate woman, who shrinks even 

 from the breath of contamination, and who, if assailed too rudely by the finger of scorn and 

 reproach, will wither and die from the shock. 



Nevertheless there are some men who take great pleasure in their floral pets. How much more 

 ennobling to see a man giving his attention to the examination of the beauties, and- delicate struc- 

 ture, and magnificent coloring of flowers, and how to cultivate and care for them, and arrange them 

 in his garden so as to produce the best efloct, than to see him playing with his dog, or driving along 

 the road with two or three dogs following, or sitting around the grocery with a wad of tobacco or a 

 pipe in his mouth! Such things indicate the man, as sure as the maguetic needle points to the pole. 

 The one degrading— the other is elevating; inasmuch as there is a secret influence arising from these 

 bright gems of nature, which imperceptibly makes us holier, purer and better; and for this reason we 

 should encourage it in the minds of our children. Let them grow up surrounded with flowers, and 

 be assured that in the garden of their hearts the blossoms will unfold and golden fruit ripen in after 

 years. 



Tlie cultivation of flowers is adapted to all— the high and the low, the rich and the poor. We were 

 never placed here on this mundane sphere to rust out in idleness. A degree of exercise is as neces_ 

 sary for the preservation of health, both of body and mind, as food. And what exercise is more 

 fitting for ladies, or children, than the planting of flowers ? What more fit for him who is in the 

 decline of life, than that of superintending a flower garden? What more invigorates the feeble 

 frame ':" Or what is there that would be of so much benefit to our feeble, almost invalid, ladies, as to 

 spend a large portion of their time among the flowers in the garden, instead of at the piano, or in the 

 drawing-room ? It would be far better than aU the musical attainments, or drawing-room accom- 

 plishments, or medical prescriptions that they could possibly have. Besides, a lover of flowers can 

 never be idle : they will always find something to do even in the presence of company, when view- 

 ing the flowers. There is always a dead leaf to pick, a weed to pull, a plant to stake, or a vine to 

 train, so that we are always busy, both body and mind, with a pleasing, healthful and useful occupa- 

 tion. Hence, if for no other reason than to avert this fii'st of all evils, and bane of aU true happi- 



