222 ORNAMENTAL GARDEN POTS. 
flower, because its cultivation is so carefully and successfully attended 
to in manufacturing districts, and more particularly at Paisley. But 
this is erroneous as far as it relates to good taste, as we have frequently 
noticed with what delight these flowers have been regarded by the 
most refined classes of society, when they have’ met with them in 
village gardens ; for their own florists having of late years been so 
much engaged in the culture of rare plants, known ones have too fre- 
quently been negleeted. 
How forcibly does the sight of the Pink carry our imagination back 
to the well-known cottages of our infant days, and how often does the 
picture present itself showing where— 
“ A path with Pinks and Daisies trimm’d, 
Led from the homely entrance gate ; 
The door, worm-eaten and decay’d, 
Bespoke the tenant’s low estate.” 
It is in such situations that flowers have the power of delighting the 
English traveller, because, in most other parts of the world, he finds 
his fellow-creatures too often debarred from these innocent luxuries, 
that endear his home to the English cottager, and render his limited 
bounds a sufficient substitute for a proud domain; with what pride and 
satisfaction do we see him regard his plants on the morning of a fine 
sabbath-day, surrounded by his neatly-clad family. These are scenes 
that are the particular boast of England, but like the Pink they require 
a careful attention to prevent their degeneration. 
ORNAMENTAL GARDEN POTS. 
Ir we may judge by the prevailing taste of the present day, we are 
midway in what may be termed the transition state from the plain 
matter-of-fact principles which have hitherto principally guided us, 
both in business and decoration, to that period when the highest efforts 
of artistic skill shall be brought to bear, not only on purely decorative 
objects, but also on more common articles. That such a period has 
arrived in the history of all nations who have been celebrated for 
refinement and civilization, there is abundant testimony to prove. No 
one can for a moment behold the restored treasures of the ancient 
Egyptians, the relics of Etrurian pottery-ware, or the matchless sculp- 
ture of the Greeks and early Romans, without being forcibly convinced 
how highly the decorative art was prized by them, and of the high 
degree of refinement requisite to design, execute, and appreciate 
objects, which generally speaking we, as a nation, are only beginning 
to understand and value. I need scarcely refer to the medieval ages 
for corroborative proof. The decoration of tapestry, the embellish- 
ment of missals, and the carving with which the most trifling articles 
were enriched, all bespeak an appreciation of the ornamental and 
decorative styles, in an age not otherwise remarkable for the refine- 
ments of civilized life. At the present time, in our own country, and 
more or less in others, the attempt at restoring the true decorative 
style, both on objects justly considered within the pale of the fine arts, 
