228 TRANSACTIONS OF THE HORTICULTURAL 



Ami as ill this <iar(leii j^Tew every tree that was pheasant to the 

 si^-ht and <i;ot)(l for food, and the man ])iit there to dress and to keejj 

 it. and woman gi^'en as a companion so they niight enjoy it. we can 

 ])ut infer that horticulture was to be the occupation and delight of 

 that tirst of (xod's families. And from all we see of the beautiful 

 creatures of the larger Kden that God has made for us, it must be 

 tliat. if order is the first law of Heaven, beautj^ is well-pleasing there. 

 And as love for the beautiful seems implanted in all human hearts, 

 tho* taking fantastic forms in some, we see the need of cultivation, 

 as illustrated by the ditfereiice between the trinket which satisfies the 

 imbecile, the gew^-gaws of the heathen, the feathers and war-paint 

 of the savage, and the artistic outgrowths of the classic renaissance, 

 down to the beautiful creations of the present belles-lettres and 

 esthetics. 



And if it be true that he is a public benefactor who makes two 

 blades of grass to grow where otherwise but one would spring, what 

 does he who makes a thing of beaut}^ to be a joy forever and part of 

 the Avill of God himself ? 



So through all the ages, from the Lord's garden in Eden down 

 to our day. where, notwithstanding we have the sunflower, we have 

 so much more of the a3sthetic tendencies to the delightful fascina- 

 tions of garden culture and home decorations. From all this and 

 more, see how the Divine plan has been fostered by the hanging gar- 

 dens of Queen Semiramis of Babylon, the gardens of Solomon with 

 aviaries, wells and streams of water, wdth the extensive gardens of 

 Cyrus and other Persian monarchs, laid out in romantic situations, 

 distinguished for diversity of uses and products, and in the Vale of 

 Tenipe and other public gardens, extremely elegant, ornamented with 

 temples, tombs, altars, statues, monuments and towers. 



•'I know tlie Hr trees in their sombre green, 

 My eiaut friends that murmuring along 



The ceaseless by-ways of the deep ravine, 

 Once lulled me with their song." 



Grand is the forest in its charm, 

 And i)roiul too is my heart. 



The Greeks co])ied from the Persians, the Romans from the 

 Greeks, and about the time of Cicero and Varro they took up the 

 cultivation of odoriferous trees and plants, and made their arrange- 

 ments according to assimilation of odor as much a study as we do of 

 the harmonious blending of colors. 



"The perfumes of Uowers that are hovering nigh, 

 What are they, on what kind of wings do they Hy?" 



The early French and Dutch styles were evidently adopted from 

 the description of Pliny's garden. On this subject Loudon remarks. 



