furniture, thousands for dress and equipage, and thousands raore for servants, 

 parties, Newport and Saratoga, There is a fitness in things, demanded by public 

 opinion, which requires these expenses, and to this opinion nine men out of ten 

 sooner or later practically yield, even if they or their wives do not embark in the 

 extravagances at once. But usually there is no backwardness in this respect. 

 Fitznoodle purchases a new house, with rosewood doors, walnut staircases, staiued 

 glass windows, and before he has fairly recorded his deed, Mrs. Fitznoodle wants 

 the walls frescoed and panelled with satin, and ten thousand other superfluities. 

 The estimated cost of the movement is soon trebled ; the annual outlay grows in 

 proportion ; and Mr. Fitznoodle is either ruined, or condemned to groan, for- 

 ever after, over his increasing expenses. 



What is true of the would-be fashionable is just as true, however, of persons 

 with raore limited means. If men worth only a hundred thousand dollars or two, 

 ape the millionaire's style of living, so do young merchants, professional men, 

 even clerks and mechanics, ape those richer than themselves. The weakness of 

 wishing to live in a fine house is almost universal. The fine house, too, is relative; 

 for that which a millionaire scorns, the young merchant thinks superb, and that 

 which the merchant looks down on, the clerk pinches himself to obtain. It is 

 amazing how many families live in dwellings beyond their means ! The miserable 

 shifts to which such families are driven in order to keep up appearances, are 

 melancholy to think upon. In the end, too, the head of the family dies, having 

 laid by nothing, and the widow and children sink into a hopeless poverty, the more 

 poignant to them, because of the mortification attending it. It would be well if 

 the question was oftener asked, when moving into a better house is proposed, 

 " Can we afford to live in it?" 



RHODODENDRONS. 



BY JOHN SAUL, WASHINGTON CITY, D. C. 



Foremost among evergreen shrubs stands this beautiful genus ; beautiful in its 

 foliage and habit of plants, but beautiful, gorgeous and magnificent in its flowers. 

 This is true of our native varieties ; for what more beautiful than a good variety 

 of Catawbiense ! It is true of the European species, and more true still of the 

 beautiful scarlet species from the Himalayas, and the innumerable species from 

 Sikkim ; Borneo, also, producing some magnificent epiphytal species. The few 

 remarks I am about to make will be in reference to our native species, or such as 

 may be crossed to advantage with them. Of late these beautiful plants are 

 attracting some attention, but unless care is taken in selecting varieties of hardy 

 parentage, disappointment is sure to follow. All our American species and 

 varieties may be cultivated. Among the best are the following: II. Catawbiense,* 

 R. maximum, R. M. album, R. M. purpureum, R. punctatum, R. azaleoides, R. 

 Cata^sbaji, R. Californica, &c. Here is a very nice list to begin with, and the 

 three first are as good as many of the finest foreign varieties. The first, R. 

 Catawbiense, has been used in Europe in crossing with the eastern species more 

 than any other, it possesses so many good qualities. The habit and foliage are 

 good ; it has a large finely-formed truss of bloom, the individual flowers well- 

 shaped. This crossed with arborea produced altaclarense, the first scarlet hybrid 



Tlie variety figured some time back in tlie Horticulturist, jyxdgmg from the plate, appe 

 a variety of this. 



