THE 



: o ;#^cc>» ;;::;;;;:■ 



Mat, 1860. 



"^Mm3I V ^ L0IiI CULTUBAL SOCIETIES prosper and increase. 



t-JUjLcn \\ The occasional decay of a society is exceptional, and 



usually easy of explanation ; success is the rule. 

 Such an evidence of the healthiness of domestic life 

 in England is satisfactory in more senses than one. 

 Dependent as -we are on the fruits of the earth for 

 material necessities and national prosperity, what- 

 ever agency promotes horticulture becomes an aid also in 

 increasing the comforts of life, from the highest to the lowest 

 ranks of society. But, as refinement of taste, cultivation of 

 sympathy, and expansion of intellect, of necessity accompany 

 the progress of the gardening art, societies for the encourage- 

 ment of horticulture are in their veiy nature civilizing, educa- 

 tional, and elevating in all their bearings on the mental and moral life of 

 the people. Those who engage in the practical task of furnishing an exhi- 

 bition with the best examples of their skill are already at school and 

 enjoying a course of tuition which will show good fruit in all the actions 

 of their lives, while those who flock to the flower-show unprepared to 

 criticise by a standard of ripe knowledge, but prepared to enjoy the spec- 

 tacle in which art and nature have co-operated, in accordance with the 

 Divine law which appointed man the tiller of the ground, are also takicg 

 lessons of the triumphs that may be accomplished by the exercise of perse- 

 verance under the guidance of judgment and good taste. "Wholesome re- 

 creations are among the most efficient means of advancing popular morals, 

 and the frequent public exhibition of horticultural produce is a public 

 good, apart altogether from the benefits which result from improved 

 science and increased production of the sources of wealth. We cannot but 

 wish well to the many new societies which are springing up in various 

 parts of the country ; and, while we do so, we take opportunity to offer a 

 few words of counsel to their promoters, with the view of averting dangers 

 which may none the less threaten them, though at present neither seen nor 

 anticipated. 



VOL. III. — no. v. *• 



