HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 



ed into covering a flat surface like a stable door, exclaimed, suddenly, "How beautiful! 

 What a jiit)' we h.ave not a climbing plant like it V Upon our exiiluiniug to our friend 

 his mistake, his reply was, " Is it possible! What a barbarian the gardener it belongs to 

 must be; but I am glad to find my perception of truth in nature is correct; depend on it 

 she makes no mistakes whatever gardeners may do." Our fiiend was right. Tlien ao-ain 

 ever}' green-house shrub was cut and trimmed into some domelike or conical shape, and 

 the vei'y beauties arising so strikingly from the varied liabits of growth in different fami- 

 lies of plants was destroyed, and a monotonous symmetry produced which tended rather 

 to weary the senses by its precision than to please them by its uniformity. And although 

 to a considerable extent the evil complained of is got rid of, still we see enough of this 

 very important error of by-gone days remains to warrant us in calling attention to it and 

 pointing out the M'rong principles of taste upon which it rests. 



Undoubtedly this habit of cutting plants in particular shapes, arose at a time when 

 plant structures for the culture of exotics were themselves in their infancy; and when a 

 much .larger number were crowded into them, owing to the imperfect state of knowledge 

 as to the requirements of light, air, and ventilation, as materially important agents to- 

 wards success. And this economy of room, added to aquaintness of style which in those 

 early days of gardening, also prevailed in the treatment of out-door pleasure grounds, 

 doubtless induced this unnatural and inharmonious mode of adapting plants to their 

 habitation instead of adjusting the latter to them. 



It should be ever borne in mind that the very object of exotic plant growing, is to as- 

 sociate with ourselves for our enjoyment and use, those native beauties of other climes, 

 which we cannot otherwise see, or having seen, are desirous to appropriate to the minis- 

 tration of our continuous enjoyment; and therefore that in their culture we should en- 

 deavor to adjust their treatment to their habits of growth in a state of nature; for (as it 

 has been well remarked) although a strict adherence to the natural conditions of a plant 

 in its wild state will frequently not be, in all particulars, suited to its culture under the 

 guidance of art, yet no system of art culture will be successful, in which those natural 

 conditions are wholly disregarded. The object in pot culture should be to produce a 

 luxuriant growth, and then to observe and conform to the constitutional requisitions of 

 our plants as to their periods of lest and activity. The pruning of them should, in the 

 early periods of their growth, be regulated by the design to produce a sufficiency of branch- 

 es, so as to give us a well furnished specimen of the species; but when approaching its 

 maturity as a worthy denizen of our green-house, we should allow the plant to assume 

 its natural growth, taking care that too many branches are not left to crowd each other, 

 and thereby prevent their perfect development. Every green-house shrub so treated, and 

 being in vigorous health, cannot fail to present at once an object of natural beauty and 

 of true symmetr}^ It is of course admitted that climbing plants must necessarily have 

 some support; but instead of the adoption for this purpose of special forms unknown to 

 the vegetable world, it will be found in the great majority of cases, that the most elegant 

 object will be presented by allowing them to run over the twigs of a branch of some de- 

 cidous shrub, placed for the purpose as a support, upon which, slight attention in occa- 

 sionally directing the tendrils and young shoots, will induce it to twine with all the 

 air}' gracefulness of natural growth. 



In orchideous plants there is a wide field unoccupied in our middle and northern states 

 into which we hope to see soon many amateurs step forward with earnestness of purpose, 

 is we know a general and vague idea that these families of plants involve a q 

 abor and expense, to say nothing of the extraordinary skill, which people ar 



