AN ESSAY. 191 



tional remarks, is about as sensible as if the possessor 

 of a fine picture threw it away because the personages 

 represented in it do not speak ! In another instance 

 I have heard one of those plantioide gardeners, in 

 presence of his employer, who had just bought an 

 orchid in bloom, that he was lovingly carrying on his 

 arm when he passed the remark, in looking at a Pim- 

 elea Henderson i he also wanted to buy : "If 1 buy 

 them, that fellow," pointing to the gardener, " will kill 

 it ! He will kill them ! " To that remark iheplanti- 

 cide replied quietly : " I would rather have a plant to 

 which I could apply my knife than that Pimelea and 

 Orchid." It seemed that man preferred to apply a 

 knife to a plant than his skill. But likely he had the 

 former and did not possess the latter, and did not care 

 to. However that man had the courage to express his 

 opinion in a very frank manner. It appeared to me 

 that he had some good qualifications, for when he had 

 killed a number of plants, his employer said that he 

 would readily dig up a hole to bury them, or if in 

 winter and the ground was frozen too much he would 

 resort to cremation. 



Having had the presumption to give friendly hints 

 to my confreres, I feel the velleite the temptation 

 of offering some to gentlemen keeping gardeners, and 

 on the "ground" that I have occasionally heard some 



