DOMICULTURE. 469 



played in the distribution of the flowers, with reference to their 

 seasons of flowering ; so that as some of them decline, others may 

 come in bloom, and thus preserve the beauty of all parts of the gar- 

 den, during the whole season. The part appropriated to roses, is 

 called the rosary ; and when a part is overflowed, for growing 

 aquatic plants, it is called the aquarium. 



Among the more prominent flowers, we may mention the rose, 

 dahlia, tulip, pink, and lily ; of all which there are numerous species 

 and varieties. Of climbing flower plants, the Champney rose, the 

 honeysuckle, the jessamin eor jasmine, and the bignonia or trum- 

 pet flower, are among the most beautiful : and of flowering shrubs, 

 we may mention the lilac, snowball, althea, and laburnum. We must 

 abstain from any attempt to particularize the numerous rare and 

 medicinal plants, many of which require artificial warmth and shel- 

 ter ; as our limits for the present branch are already transcended. 



CHAPTER III. 



DOMICULTURE. 



WE propose the name Domiculture, to include the subjects of 

 Housekeeping and Cookery ; which collectively are deemed of suffi- 

 cient importance to rank as a distinct branch of the Useful Arts. 

 The name is derived from the Latin, domus, a house ; and cultus, 

 culture or attendance. It is nearly synonymous with Domestic 

 Economy ; but we have adopted the former term for the sake of 

 brevity, and a more symmetrical nomenclature. This branch is 

 related, it will be seen, to Agriculture and Horticulture on the one 

 hand ; and to the arts of Vestiture and Furniture on the other ; from 

 which considerations its place in our arrangement is clearly defined. 

 It comes, even more closely than the preceding branch, within the 

 province of the fair sex ; and hence, on the score of gallantry, 

 deserves especial notice ; though* its labors, particularly in large 

 establishments, are often assigned to those of sterner mould. 



We have mentioned Cookery, apart from Housekeeping, because 

 the former, though often, is not always comprehended under the 

 latter : many families, particularly in European cities, procuring their 

 food, already prepared, at shops where cooking is made a regular 

 business. Housekeeping, in its more limited sense, relates to the 

 general management of a house ; the selection and arrangement of 

 furniture, and the constant attention required by the wants and for 

 the comforts of a family. The name Cookery, from the Latin, 

 coquo, I cook, though ordinarily restricted to the mere dressing of 

 food, is here used in a more extended sense, to include all prepara- 

 tions of food and drink ; as Baking, Confectionary, Brewing, Vint- 

 ing, and Distilling, and the polite art of Carving, often practised at 

 the table. Cookery produces important changes in the constitution 

 of food, thereby rendering it more or less easily digestible ; some of 

 which changes, Chemistry has not yet been able to explain. 



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