A FEW WORDS TO BEGINNERS. 



135 



liim, so that the eye may drink in their 

 charms. When the morning light i*ests ujxin 

 them in th(>ir dewey freshness, or at eventide, 

 when the toils of the day are ended, they greet 

 him with kind salutations to drive dull care 

 from his mind, and excessive anxiety from his 

 soul, to fit him for the rej)0se and reviving 

 rest which exhausted labors actually demands. 

 We believe this love of flowers and trees, 

 and things of the natural world, to be one of 

 the instincts of our nature, — a principle born 

 within us at our birth, and one that grows 

 with our growth ; and if it does not gain 

 strength with the strength of our wisdom, we 

 are very much mistaken. Not that we would 

 make it a ruling passion, and have the ener- 

 gies of life devoted to them, and nothing else; 

 for this, from the very nature of our necessi- 

 ties, would not, in all cases, be right. It is 

 no wonder, then, if those principles of nature 

 receive a revivifying influence in that season, 

 when all around awakes from dormancy and 

 inaction, and tliat the million go and witness 

 the desolations that their own negligence has 

 occasioned, and then go forth among the more 

 careful, and of course more successful, in 

 search of something io fill up the waste pla- 

 ces. This is often done with a rush. The 

 fever is high ; something viuat be done this 

 year ; and away they go to begin. Without 

 knowledge or experience, they seek for varie- 

 ty. Ah ! that is it ; so many kin:ls of roses — 

 native, foreign, hardy, half-hardy, tender — no 

 matter what ; such a plant from China, and 

 such a one from the Cape of Good Hope. 

 They are certainly very nice. " Mrs. Such- 

 an-one raises them to perfection, and I'm 

 sure I can. I'll try in earnest this year." 

 A fine lot is collected ; but our enthusiast 

 must go a little further down street, to add to 

 the accession. " I'll just lay them down 

 here a short time, until I return ;" and the 

 plants, poor things, with (heir roots just taken 

 from the cool, moist earth, are laid upon a 



sunny bank for safe keeping, until their bark 

 shrinks from its scorching rays ; or perhaps 

 they are permitted to lie on the ground, un- 

 protected, through a frosty night. " It wont 

 hurt thein, I presume, though I'd rather they 

 had been set out ; but Mr. Butterfly came in, 

 and in my hurry I forgot them. He's so verij 

 interesting! who can wonder?" 



Gentle reader, we are not dealing in ro- 

 mance, for we have seen (and who that lives 

 in the country and raises plants for their own 

 gratification, ever willing to give duplicates 

 to those who will take care of them, has not,) 

 just such operations performed. Yes, we 

 have known those who as much depended on 

 having their stock renewed each spring, as they 

 did on having "the time of singing of birds" 

 come round. Such never can succeed. It is 

 no wonder they do nut. Their plants are 

 ruined before they arc introduced to their 

 grounds. And even if they were not, they 

 Tould soon be after they got them there ; for 

 they are used as though they were of iron, 

 jammed into the earth — perhaps very hard 

 earth — and left to grow or die ; and die they 

 must — die they will, in nine cases out of ten, 

 until, at last, the very grave conclusion is 

 adopted, that " our soil is not favorable to 

 the growth of plants. I never could have 

 any luck with them ; and, though I admire 

 them, I have given up trying to raise them 

 altogether." 



Now, to this class " of would-be cultiva- 

 tors," we would reconmiend a careful re- 

 reading of Mr. Beeciier's article ; and we 

 say with him, in the first place, prepare your 

 ground. In the second place, commence with 

 a few plants, and let these be of hardy habits. 

 In the third place, set them in such localities — 

 shady or exposed, warm or cool, damp or 

 dry — as their habits and constitutional cha- 

 racter requires. In setting, be careful to 

 give the roots an easy, natural position, with 

 a plenty of loose, friable earth to run in. 



