and ambition excited, they are rendered conspicuous in the splen- 

 dor of apparel, the magnificence of mansions, and the sumptu- 

 ousness of furniture. The embellishments of letters, and the 

 discoveries of science gradually claim attention, and operating, 

 alternately, as cause and eifect, accelerate the progress of nations, 

 in the career of prosperity, power and glory ; legislation, juris- 

 prudence, and statistics, become subjects of profound study, and 

 the deepest interest ; the honorable profession of arms, in the 

 field and on the ocean, obtains precedence among the active, and 

 aspiring, over the less alluring and unostentatious vocations of 

 civil life ; while music, poetry, eloquence, painting, sculpture 

 and architecture have their votaries, and competitors, for the 

 prize of distinction and immortality ; but it is not until after all 

 these various objects of immediate interest, or of contingent and 

 associated importance, have been zealously pursued and success- 

 fully attained, that horticulture unfolds her endearing attributes 

 and exalted beauties. She forms the wreath which crowns the 

 monument of an empire's greatness, and takes rank among the 

 number, and becomes the most distinguished of the fine arts. 



The mighty kingdoms of antiquity were conspicuous for their 

 martial achievements, wealth, and extended domination, for the 

 intellectual attainments of their inhabitants, and most of the em- 

 bellishments which gave them lustre, and renown, in the imposing 

 march towards national grandeur, before the genius of horticul- 

 ture was successfully invoked. Egypt, the cradle of civilization, 

 so far perfected her tillage, that the fertile banks of the Nile 

 were adorned by a succession of luxuriant plantations, from the 

 cataract of Syenna to the marine shores of the Delta ; but it 

 was after Thebes, with its hundred brazen gates, had been erect- 

 ed, and while the regal cities of Memphis, Heliopolis and Ten- 

 tyra, were rising in magnificence, and the stupendous temples, 

 pyramids and obelisks of her mythology became the wonders of 

 the world. 



The olive crowned hills, extended vales, and teeming plains of 

 Palestine, have ever been celebrated for the beautiful gardens 



