CALIFORNIA LETTER. 



Sir, — The February number of the 

 Canadian Horticulturist is received, 

 for which, please accept thanks. You 

 must have a very enterprising class of 

 people to have such a large and flourish- 

 ing Horticultural Association. I judge 

 from your magazine that much interest 

 is shown in flowers, plants and tiees in 

 your locality, and wish that other places 

 would follow your good example. It 

 shows a great refinement where the 

 people desire to beautify their homes 

 with Nature's choicest gifts. 



It always gives me pleasure to read of 

 such work being done, for I am an ar- 

 dent flower lover, and can thoroughly 



appreciate the pleasure and happiness a 

 community must take who work in har- 

 mony to beautify their homes and the 

 town or city in which they live. 



I see you give considerable space to 

 cactus, a class of plants in which I take 

 great interest. The more one becomes 

 acquainted with them the more fascinat- 

 ing they become and the greater is the 

 desire to make a collection. 



I trust that your society will continue 

 to prosper and, you certainly have my 

 best wishes and congratulations. 



Theodosia B. Shepherd. 

 Ventura, Cal. 



THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY OF MEN. 



The gardener is the most extraordin- 

 ary man in the world because no man 

 has no business upon thyme, is master 

 of the mint, and raises his celery every 

 year. And it is a bad year indeed that 

 does not produce a plum. He meets 

 with more boughs than a minister of 

 state. He makes raking his business 

 more than his diversion, as many fine 

 gentlemen do, but he makes it an ad- 

 vantage both to his health and fortune, 

 which is the case with few others. He 

 indulges in his own pleasures, and 

 though he is plain in his own dress with 

 his bachelor's buttons, yet he encour- 

 ages his cox combs with princes feathers, 

 greatly admires the pride of London, 

 and with pleasure observes his love lie a 

 bleeding under a weeping willow. His 

 wife, notwithstanding, has as much of 

 lad's love and heart's ease as she can 

 desire and never wishes for weeds. Dis- 

 tempers fatal to others, never hurt him. 



for he walks the better for the gravel 

 and thrives most with a consump- 

 tion. He is nature's assistant and is as 

 famous for his balm of Gilead, female 

 balsams, and genuine drops as an 

 apothecary, and his thrift abounds by 

 his honesty. He is a great antiquary^ 

 having in his possession, Adam's needle, 

 the tree of life, Jacob's ladder, Solomon's 

 seal, the holy thorn, Venus' looking 

 glass, the arms of France and crown im- 

 perial. He is well acquainted with the 

 globes, and has crossed the line oftener 

 than any mariner in Great Britain. He 

 is the king of spades, and is happy with 

 his queen, has more laurels than Alexan- 

 der the Great, and more bleeding hearts 

 than your beautiful Queen Mary. He 

 can boast ladyship, but his greatest pride, 

 and this world's envy is that he can 

 have yew whenever he pleases. — New 

 London Magazine, Oct. 1785. Furnish- 

 ed by R. Cameron, Niagara Falls. 



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