XIV 



jjHILE we and our neighbors are A false 

 doing our best to stock 

 grounds with ornamental shrubs 

 and blossoms, it is discouraging 

 to be told by some of our periodicals, 

 which are probably edited by gentlemen 

 who live chiefly in towns, that Americans 

 do not love flowers, because they are 

 used among the rich and fashionable in 

 reckless profusion, for display rather than 

 enjoyment. It is also claimed that we are 

 not a flower-loving people, because we 

 accept botanical appellations for our indi- 

 genous plants, instead of giving them sim- 

 ple, homely names like the charming ones 

 with which familiar flowers have been 

 christened in older countries. 



To this may be answered, that what os- 

 tentatious dwellers in towns are guilty of is 

 by no means to be accepted as a national 

 trait. The place to study the characteris- 

 167 



