4 



herds, and flocks of agriculture, and the toils of the 

 mechanic. As riches are multiplied, and ambition 

 excited, they are rendered conspicuous in the splen- 

 dor of apparel, the magnificence of mansions, and the 

 sumptuousness of furniture. The embellishments of 

 letters, and the discoveries of science gradually claim 

 attention, and operating, alternately, as cause and 

 effect, accelerate the progress of nations, in the ca- 

 reer of prosperity, power, and glory ; — legislation, 

 jurisprudence, and statistics, become subjects of pro- 

 found study, and the deepest interest ; — the honorable 

 profession of arms, in the field and on the ocean, ob- 

 tains precedence among the active, and aspiring, over 

 the less alluring and unostentatious vocations of civil 

 life ; while music, poetry, eloquence, painting, sculp- 

 ture and architecture have their votaries, and com- 

 petitors, for the prize of distinction and immortality ; 

 but it is not until after all these various objects of 

 immediate interest, or of contingent and associated 

 importance, have been zealously pursued and success- 

 fully attained, that horticulture unfolds her endearing 

 attributes and exalted beauties. She forms the wreath 

 which crowns the monument of an empire's greatness, 

 and takes rank among the number, and becomes the 

 most distinguished of the fine arts. 



The mighty kingdoms of antiquity were conspicu- 

 ous for their martial achievements, wealth, and ex- 

 tended domination, — for the intellectual attainments 

 of their inhabitants, and most of the embellishments 

 which gave them lustre, and renown, in the imposing 

 •march towards national grandeur, before the genius of 

 horticulture was successfully invoked. Egypt, the 



