24 



CRITIQUE ON THE MAY HORTICULTURIST. 



straight out, as they mean. Each word of 

 this extract will be felt as living truth by ev- 

 ery real gardener in the land. Why, it would 

 tire me -to tell you, and you to hear me, of the 

 thousand and one duplicate, triplicate sup- 

 plies of plants, and shrubs, and flowers, that 

 I have yearly given away — (I like to give 

 away things that I can well spare, to those 

 who will care for them) — until my patience 

 was exhausted, to those negligent, gossipping 

 people, who are eternally begging and never 

 caring for whatever they get. No ; this is 

 not charity. I have begged things myself — 

 now and then ; but I always feel ashamed to 

 do it, for fear some mishap might occur to 

 them ; while there are your regular, systema- 

 tic beggars — and folks M'ho profess to be some- 

 body, too — that are a pest to all good neigh- 

 borhoods. But Mr. Beecher has given the 

 whole story so well that I'll not add another 

 word. 



The YeUoivs caused by an insect. — If Miss 

 Morris be in error in her suggestions of the 

 "insect causing the yellows," we will thank 

 her for her keen observations in entomology. 

 Would that many others of our lady cultiva- 

 tors would spend their leisure hours in speer- 

 ing the ills our fruits are heir to, and give us 

 the results of their discoveries. A new and 

 valuable fund of knowledge would thas be 

 opened to us. I trust her graceful pen will 

 be often found among your pages. 



The Poetry of Trees. — Welcome, heai'ty 

 old Christopher ! The "banks and braes 

 of bonny Doon," the " castled crags," or the 

 Highland locks which immortalize his beloved 

 Scotland, are as familiar to him as the clus- 

 tered beauties of his own retired cottage 

 grounds at Villeray ; and all, as native to the 

 discourse of his charming pen as the lectures 

 from his professor's desk in Edinburgh, or the 

 Nodes Ambrosiana from his chair editorial in 

 Blackwood. 



What a mine of wealth, in all that associates 



a country with what is bright, and beautiful, 

 and classic, and interesting, is such a man as 

 John Wilson ! Perhaps no 'other land can 

 boast two men, who have, coupled with ac- 

 quirements and productions of the highest 

 order in their several callings, shed such a 

 halo over the several characters of their coun- 

 try, as Sir Walter Scott and Professor WU- 

 son. And now, that you have given this most 

 beautiful " Rhapsody " of the latter, it would, 

 at a fitting time, be equally edifying to reprint, 

 in part, or in whole — for it is too long for a 

 single number — Sir Walter's admirable es- 

 say alluded to by the Professor. Although 

 not, perhaps, of general application throughout 

 our country, it is full of valuable suggestions 

 to all tree-planters, and would be read with 

 surpassing interest by many of your sub- 

 scribers. 



Design for an octagon house. — "There is 

 nothing new under the sun I" said the wisest 

 of men. But Solomon, we venture to say, 

 had never then seen an octagon villa. If he 

 had, I have little doubt it would have been the 

 subject of a special chapter in the ifecords of 

 his wisdom! 



The story is told of a spectator at the feats 

 of an eastern juggler, that when, on the ac- 

 cidental explosion of one of his pyrotechnics 

 the audience were blown out of the building, 

 the poor fellow looked up in utter dismay 

 from amid the rubbish aroudd him, and asked 

 what was to be the next part of the perform- 

 ance. This octagon, I take it, is one in the 

 series of building performances. I sha'nt 

 talk about this house. 



Overgrown catalogues. — This article was 

 written in London, but would be equally ap- 

 plicable, were it written at Boston, New- York, 

 or Philadelphia. Let any one take up a great 

 many of the printed catalogues and advertise 

 ments of an American nurseryman, and he 

 would require a special interpreter to select 

 the kernel of wheat from the bushel of chaff 



