298 QUARTERLY JOURNAL. 



PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



PART I. 

 BT M . SUTTER. 



I HAVE never been ashamed to confess that I love flowers. 

 They are the Poetry of Agriculture, and I thank God that He 

 made them, and implanted in my heart the love for them. 



I have been accustomed, all my life — even when I was a man 

 of study, as well as since — to devote a portion of my time, in the 

 season, to the culture of flowers. I have found it a delightful oc- 

 cupation, and of great use to my heart, if not to my purse. And 

 I always feel a sort of pity, when I see flowers made a traffic of, 

 unless I buy them myself, and turn them out in the open garden, 

 for every body to admire. For it seems to me that they are, and 

 should be, nobody's property. I never kept them to sell, but al- 

 ways to give to my friends and to little children, in abundance. 



I am gratified to see a growing taste throughout the community, 

 for this branch of agriculture. Almost every lady has her beauti- 

 ful exotics in her window, and the poorest cottager has her gera- 

 nium or her monthly rose j yet, through the winter, there are al- 

 ways to be seen some who seem to be waiting with great patience 

 for better times. The cultivators of them are ignorant of the 

 care they ought to have, and how to manage them. For such per- 

 sons, the following pages may be of use. 



The farmer neglects this branch of his art too much. There is 

 no earthly reason why his garden should not be ornamented witl 

 flowers ; but the fact is, he is too utilitarian in his notions. We 

 hope his daughters will read these articles and profit by them ; 1 

 did not write them because I was ambitious of being an author, 

 and especially in this department. They are the fruits of my owr 

 experience and reading, and were written down in this form at thf 

 earnest request of a respected friend and his lady, for their use. 

 But being entirely practical, I thought they might be of use, il 

 printed, to others. 



I. OF THE SOIL. 



All soil is formed of decayed rocks, and its fertility, of course 

 largely depends upon the particular rock from which it has its ori- 

 gin. But one great source of fertility is the vegetable and anima 



