318 Missouri State Horticultural Society. 



the world again would never see. Then, perhaps, we never may, 

 even if the halo of age has not given them a charm they never 

 themselves possessed ; but beauties the ancients never saw are still 

 in the world to-day, and here in our own land we may have garden 

 charms that no other portion of the earth may enjoy. 



We may not have just what other people have ; but our warm 

 summers, and dry and sun-lighted winters ; our numerous spring- 

 flowers and brilliant autumn scenery, which of itself rivals Whit- 

 tier's envied Burning Bush ; all give us advantages together which 

 cannot be had in any part of the world. But unfortunately — the 

 slaves of old world ideas to a great extent — comparatively few 

 wealthy of our own people take the same personal interest in 

 landscape gardening and garden beauty, as do the more independent 

 class in the old world. Very seldom do we find any of this class 

 willing to lead off in the encouragement of horticultural societies, 

 as do the wealthy independents of the old world ; aiid even a 

 horticultural society, instead of being a body for the encourage- 

 ment of a fine art, has in many cases come to be considered as 

 little more than the adjunct to a farm ; and in nine cases out of 

 ten, the whole exhibition is mixed up with fat oxen, fast horses, 

 or the dog show. 



Then our literature follows European garden literature, and 

 even our best practicing gardeners receive their education in a 

 foreign land. All this is not favorable to the distinctively 

 American style of gardening, which we might have if more atten- 

 tion could be drawn to the '^Burning Bushes'' everywhere around. 

 When we look on our woodland just as we write, gay with the 

 brilliant tints of the black gum and sassafras ; the broken under- 

 brush where sumac and spice bush predomniate ; and the waste 

 places brilliant with asters, golden rods and cinnamon ferns ; and 

 note how these elements alone might be improved on, we cannot 

 but feel what a field is here. For, be it remembered, that true 

 gardening does not consist in forcing trees and shrubs and flowers 

 into forms, the likeness of which we do not find either in the 

 heavens above or the earth beneath, but in taking the best features 

 of nature which she only exhibits here and there, and combining 

 them into a beauty spot which even gay nature would herself stop 

 to admire. 



And let this be our "'Seasonable Hints" for this month. We 

 usually devote our thoughts more to the hewers of wood and the 

 drawers of water, in these chapters. To-day let 'us talk with those 

 who love beauty, and gardens filled with it. It is' surely their 



