162 



TEE QARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[June, 



In a few weeks they root, and can be removed 

 from their parents. Stakes for plants should be 

 charred at the ends before using, when they will 

 last for years. 



Flower-beds should be hoed and raked, as soon 

 as the ground dries after a rain. Loose surface 

 soil prevents the under stratum drying out. Peg 

 down bedding-plants where practicable. Split 

 twigs make the best pegs. In dry weather do 

 not water flower-beds often ; but do it thoroughly 

 when it is done. See that the water does not 

 run off", but into and through the soil. 



COMMUNICA TI0N8. 



THE GLORIES OF GARDENING; OR, "THE 

 GOODLINESS OF TREES." 



BY W. T. HARDING, COLUMBUS, OHIO. 



" 'Twas when the world was In its prime, 

 When the fiesh stars had just begun 



Their race of glory, and young Time 

 Told his first birthdays by the sun ;" 



And The Book informs us that soon after crea- 

 tion's early dawn. Beneficent Providence gave to 

 the man the care of a garden, and lovingly en- 

 joined him '' to dress and keep it." Assuredly, 

 then the charge was of grave importance. It 

 was designed as a labor of love, conducive to 

 happiness of the purest kind. Although " sum- 

 mer and winter, spring-time and harvest " have 

 come and gone many thousands^of times since 

 then, we naturally opine, it is so, even now. 

 Thus, it is recorded of the first created of our 

 race, that to fully enjoy the blessings of life, he 

 was to dress, and keep a garden. And his first 

 pursuit was Horticulture. 



The good gardener, of those days, was not only 

 the first of men, but the most honored of mor- 

 tals. And while he faithfully followed that 

 ancient occupation, manifested the highest state 

 of civilization the world has ever seen. Alas! 

 poor man, his circumstances changed; and like 

 many of his unfortunate successors, now-a-days, 

 T^as wearied with labor, and saddened with toil, 

 while earning his bread by the sweat of his 

 brow. Notwithstanding the old Gardener's mis- 

 fortunes in after life, it is to his credit recorded 

 that he began well, and no doubt did much good 

 work in his better days. He not only conducted 

 the first operations in that model of a goodly 

 garden, but when he ceased from his labors 

 therein, happily bequeathed to posterity an 



enduring and appreciative taste for the gentle art 

 he loved so well. The legacy he left us has 

 found claimants in all civilized communities and 

 countries, from that remote age until now. 



Richard Hooker, good soul ! was a " fine old 

 English gentleman : " one of the Elizabethan 

 worthies, who, with a delicacy of feeling, penned 

 many a prosy and pleasant line. He was, more- 

 over, a philosopher of the highest attainments. 

 In the quaint language ^f those days, he sagely 

 remarks, " that the goodliness of trees, when 

 we behold them, delighteth the eye." The happy 

 aphorism, so well expressed, unmistakably proves 

 that the " one touch of nature " had left an im- 

 pression on his kindly heart, such as we can 

 feel. 



The good folks who peruse the 'Monthly,' will 

 unanimously admit that trees, viewed either as 

 ornamental or useful, whether " pleasant to the 

 sight or good for food," are always objects of 

 much interest, and are valued accordingly. I 

 have ever cherished a love for them, and during 

 an extensive practice, have planted many thou- 

 sands; numbers of which are vigorous and hale 

 green trees, most beautiful to behold. I will 

 venture to say, no rnan living has passed happier 

 hours than the writer, beneath the sylvan shades 

 of the primeval forest, — the cultivated copses, — 

 and park lands, — or, where more thinly scattered 

 over the plains. 



If circumstances permitted, how pleasantly 

 time would pass while picturing woodland Ely- 

 siums, and referring the reader to arboreal scenes 

 in other lands, — delightful spots, 



" studded with old sturdy trees. 

 That bent not to the roughest breeze." 



How marvellous their structure, and dissimi- 

 larity of habit, and contrast in form. For ex- 

 ample, see the slender light Bamboo, the massive 

 Oak, the mighty Sequoia, peculiar Kauri, mag- 

 nificent Palm, sombre Cypress, beautiful Arau- 

 caria, wonderful Banyan, grand Magnolia, pon- 

 derous Eucalyptus, graceful Willow, strange 

 Sterculia, elegant Cedrus, dapper little Spruce, 

 Abies pygmtea, mammoth Baobab, and curious 

 Mangrove. Without further allusions to them at 

 present, I will endeavor to draw the reader's at- 

 tention to matters at home ; and as it is pre- 

 sumed they intend to plant something, let us 

 enter the garden together, and see what can be 

 done. 



Let us hope when planting trees, cultivating 

 fruits and flowers, or otherwise adorning the 



