44 THE GEOUNDSWELL. 



the woody parts of the plant, cell growth, the effects of heat 

 and cold on various portions of plants, acclimation, and the 

 influence of the scion on the stock, with a great variety of 

 similar practical details. The Transactions of the various 

 Horticultural Societies existing in the United States consti 

 tute a compendium of knowledge relating to the arts in 

 question that will compare favorably with those of any other 

 societies extant. 



Horticulture has been especially fortunate in securing the 

 services of many scholarly minds, who have applied their 

 scientific training to the elucidation of important questions 

 that otherwise might have remained hidden for generations. 

 It is a fact that among the leading horticulturists of to 

 day, a large proportion are men who have left the so-called 

 learned professions to follow this fascinating branch of agri 

 culture, where they have become actual life-workers. Thus 

 it holds in its ranks teachers, physicians, clergymen, and 

 painters, in about the order named. It is especially taken 

 up by medical men, probably from the fact that their knowl 

 edge of anatomy and physiology in animals points them in 

 the same direction as regards plants. 



GARDENING OF OLD AND ITS PROGRESS. 



Twelve years ago I wrote for the Transactions of the Illinois 

 Horticultural Society an essay on gardening, in which I used 

 the following language : 



&quot; It is more than probable that a higher state of system 

 atic science has been attained within the last hundred years 

 than had before been known since the foundation of the world. 

 It is said that Egypt, the cradle of civilization, so far perfected 

 her tillage that the banks of the Nile were adorned with 

 plantations, from the Cataract of Syrene to the shores of the 



