CONCLUSION. 



IT ought to be evident, by this time, that the Japanese 

 take a most thorough delight in their floral kingdom. 

 Fully as much as in hero-worship do they indulge in 

 "flower-worship." They truly worship nature in all her 

 varied forms and hold communion with all her aspects. 

 The Japanese love a flower as a -flower. 



"A primrose by the river's brim, 

 A yellow primrose was to him, 

 And it was nothing more." 



But, to a Japanese, simply as "nothing more" than a 

 real flower, it would be full of beauty. The Japanese cer- 

 tainly find delight in even the simplest forms of natural 

 beauty. 



The subject of Japanese floriculture is extensive and 

 exhausting. Japan is composed of gardens, "from the least 

 to the greatest" in size; it is, in fact, itself an immense 

 garden, a huge park, and a miniature paradise. Gardens, 

 not only public but also private, abound. Even the poorest 

 and humblest house is not without its little oasis of natural 

 beauty, if it be no more than a single plant and blossom, or 

 even only a twig. For the Japanese word hana, as we have 

 said, is quite comprehensive in its meaning, and includes 

 not only blossoms, but also stems and branches, and even 

 stumps of blossomless trees and shrubs. A Japanese gar- 

 den, therefore, may not contain a single blossom or scarcelv 



