8 J\l'otic€s on the State and Progress 



fectly naturalized in our soil. The limits of these remarks will 

 not permit us now to point out the great nimiber of plants de- 

 serving attention in this way, but the agave producing the sisal 

 hemp and the Mw Zealand Jlax, which the French have suc- 

 cessfully hitroduced into their colony at Algiers, suggest them- 

 selves as objects worthy of immediate attention. 



The branch of the art least understood and least practised in 

 the United States is landscape gardening. The modern or pic- 

 turesque style of laying out grounds is most generally attempted 

 of late, and, we regret to see, in some cases where the geomet- 

 ric would be more in character with the country and the situa- 

 tions. The finest single example of landscape gardening, in the 

 modern style, is at Dr. Hosack's seat, Hyde Park, and the best 

 specimens of the ancient or geometric style may probably be 

 met with in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. In truth, we have 

 but barely made a commencement in landscape gardening, and as 

 the examples already existing on this side of the Atlantic are but 

 rare, and this branch of the art chiefly in the hands of the pro- 

 prietors themselves, we shall probably have to witness a great 

 variety of attempts, which will not always be followed by the 

 most successful results as to effect: but the public feeling is alive 

 to improvement on this subject, and we hope much from the 

 general good taste of the proprietors who usually make themselves 

 acquainted with the best European authors on the subject. 



Floriculture receives more attention from all persons here than 

 any other branch of gardening, kitchen gardening excepted. 

 The direct communication maintained, through our shipping, with 

 almost every foreign port, places in our possession a great por- 

 tion of the floral treasures or novelties of various quarters of the 

 globe. Large annual importations of the finest bulbs are made 

 from Holland, plants and seeds from England and France, and 

 numerous fine seeds are received by amateurs from China and the 

 Cape of Good Hope. As a proof of the extent to which the 

 cultivation of a favorite plant can be carried here, we may ad- 

 duce the dahha, of which there have been so many splendid 

 shows both by horticultural societies and private individuals with- 

 in the last three years. It is probable that, including fine native 

 seedlings, nearly two thousand varieties of this fine flower have 

 been shown the past season. 



The facility with which abundant crops of fruit can be ob- 

 tained in all the more temperate parts of the Union has led to a 

 very extensive demand for the finer varieties, and, as a conse- 

 quence of this, all the delicious new European sorts are finding 

 their way into our soil: while for some fruits, as the apple, our 

 chmate has been found so peculiarly well adapted, as to lead to 

 a considerable production and export for foreign market. In 

 kitchen gardening nearly all the best vegetables are cultivated, 



