60 



cess, either to surpass or to dispense with any portion 

 of that which an infinite being has ordained. " Order 

 is Heaven's first law," and in whatever we may attempt 

 to do, we shall not be wise, if we endeavour to effect 

 our .purpose by any means which may distort the fair 

 proportions which unaided nature presents to our view. 

 In cultivating plants, therefore, we should administer 

 the conditions which are favourable to their growth 

 and development, in somewhat the same proportions 

 each to the other, in which they are naturally blended 

 not supplying one essential, in an undue manner, 

 and, at the same time, neglecting others ; for success- 

 ful cultivation must ever depend upon the connection 

 and influence of numerous circumstances upon each 

 other, and can never be attained, unless these condi- 

 tions are complied with, either designedly, or, as it 

 often happens, by mere accident. 



Another point which it is important to keep in 

 view, is that instructions should be studied, rather than 

 copied, in their application to practice. No instruc- 

 tions can be given that should be blindly and implicitly 

 followed. The circumstances under which plants are 

 placed are varying every day, and even every hour, 

 and, to be successful, horticultural practice must be 

 varied also. It must, however, be varied according to 

 principle. But even what are regarded as established 

 laws and principles should not be heedlessly followed ; 

 to be truly successful, a man must not only be a prac- 

 tical enthusiast and a keen theorist ; he must also be a 

 skilful experimentalist : his experiments and their 

 results, if carefully watched, deduced, recorded, and 

 studied, will serve to guide him for the future. 



