JUNE. 145 



cumstances, as though the silent beauty of the objects contemplated 

 were a divinity in whose presence such feelings are interdicted. As 

 the harp of the minstrel of Bethlehem could tame the savage breast 

 of the forsaken king, so the mute eloquence of flowers has often 

 purged the heart of "the perilous stuff" engendered by selfish and 

 mere worldly pursuits. 



If the sentiments we have expressed are founded in truth, or 

 even if they admit of some deduction, as being a little overstrained 

 and fanciful, then the extension of floral tastes must be hailed by 

 every lover of his country and of mankind, as combining with other 

 influences to extend that social and public melioration which all 

 good men seek. There is no class of men who can be considered 

 independent of any of the refining causes which divine Providence 

 has supplied, and therefore to a certain extent the most cultivated 

 and most pious may derive an additional finish from the love of 

 flowers. How important, therefore, is the diff"usion of such a taste 

 among the masses of mankind, whose characters have fewer advantages 

 and greater temptations ! Take two labouring men, one fond of 

 gardening, and the other not, and although their position in life may 

 be equal, the latter will in many respects be inferior to the former. 

 We speak generally, of course, for there is no rule without exceptions. 

 What is thus propounded as a theory we have found to be proved 

 by actual instances brought under our notice again and again. In 

 a horticultural society which had much to do with cottagers, the 

 exhibitors were generally above the average range of their class in 

 sobriety, frugality, and civility ; and we believe this is always the 

 case where opportunities of cultivating a garden are embraced by 

 some, and neglected by others. 



We therefore hail the increase of a taste for gardening, whether 

 exhibited by actual garden operations or garden literature, as a sign 

 of advancing intelligence and civihsation. Those institutions which 

 contemplate the rewarding the most industrious or the most skilful 

 cultivator, may exert an immense influence on the working classes, 

 by proposing to them a fair proportion of prizes. It is pleasing to 

 follow, in fancy, the agricultural labourer, or the mechanic, from the 

 time when the list of prizes first comes into his hands, until the day 

 of exhibition, when his laudable ambition is gratified by his becoming 

 a successful competitor. There is first a careful survey of the vari- 

 ous items, to ascertain in what his strength lies ; then the concen- 

 tration of his powers on the Pansies or Polyanthuses, the Carnations 

 or Roses, as the case may be. He has no time for the scenes of low 

 company and dissipation, for his flower-bed demands every spare 

 moment. The pleasing excitement extends to his family, and the 

 young child learns to respect the growing plants which the father 

 tends so carefully, and would not hurt them for the world. At 

 length the flowers expand, the show-day arrives, and the attainment 

 of a prize diff^uses great joy through the little household. Or if he 

 should fail, he knows that another and another trial is before him, 

 and by noticing the causes of his rival's success becomes more wary 

 and attentive for the future. Henry Burgess. 



