GARDENING OF OLD AND ITS PROGRESS. 45 



Delta; but this was not until Thebes, with her hundred 

 gates, and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis were 

 rising in grandeur, and the stupendous pyramids, obelisks, 

 and temples of Egypt had become the wonders of the world. 

 &quot; Solomon had not delighted to dwell in gardens, nor planted 

 the vineyard of Baal-hamon until after the Queen of Sheba 

 had heard of his power and glory. The hanging gardens 

 of Semiramis were works of art rather than of scientific 

 culture, and the villas of Pvome and Greece were more noted 

 for their sculpture, statuary, and paintings, than for the 

 extraordinary culture of their gardens. 



&quot; With the Dark Ages came the destruction of the arts 

 and sciences, and the obliteration of almost every trace of 

 agricultural and horticultural art as it had theretofore been 

 taught. As returning civilization began to spread over 

 Western Europe, gardens were again cultivated. And yet so 

 gradual was the progress of horticulture, that, until the 

 reign of Henry VIII, scarcely any kitchen vegetables had 

 been cultivated in England. Since that time, with the in 

 creased facilities for knowledge, by means of cheap printing, 

 it has made rapid strides toward that perfect science which 

 it may ultimately reach. . 



&quot; Kitchen gardening will not receive the attention it de 

 serves from the farmer until scientific agriculture has be 

 come widely practiced. And yet a single half acre, well 

 cultivated, will produce, from year to year, half the suste- 



