THE FLOWEK GARDEN. 115 



fortunately, there is no necessity for knowing scien 

 tifically why the rose is red and the lily white pro 

 vided one has the innate appreciation to enjoy the 

 beauty of each. Perhaps it is desirable to be able 

 to distinguish the plants when not in flower, but that 

 is not absolutely necessary provided &quot; Bridgeman&quot; is 

 always at hand. 



The amount of information in this work is as in 

 exhaustible as it is surprising. Under the authors 

 manipulation, plants assume a fresh nature and ex 

 hibit new attractions ; the most vulgar flower comes 

 back decked in an aristocratic dress, and endowed 

 with a name that is absolutely imposing. The com 

 mon hollyhock that vulgar, base, staring,, and offen 

 sive flower is suddenly converted into the delicate 

 and refined althea ; the larkspur becomes a delphini 

 um ; the old-fashioned Johnny-jump-up, a viola gran- 

 diflora ; the commonplace poppy, a papaver ; and 

 the gaudy sunflower is transformed into the magnif 

 icent helianthus. The human mind is hardly pre 

 pared to accept gomphrenas for batchelors buttons, 

 and revolts from the association of the suggestive 

 mirabilis with the commonplace four o clocks. The 

 kingdom of flowers, as it is usually called, becomes a 

 model republic ; the low and ignorant are elevated ; 

 the humble dweller in the hedge-row is raised to a 



