OUR NATIVE PLANTS. 137 



ter through ; or, by bringing in some of the earlier flowering kinds 

 which force readily, you can enjoy their sweet and delicate vernal 

 blossoms when other plants, in their natural condition, are still in 

 deep slumber, covered with snow. 



There is variety- enough in store to suit all tastes and require- 

 ments, ranging all the way from the largest tree known to the 

 smallest alpine plant, that does not grow above an inch from the 

 ground; from the royal palm to the little modest violet ; from 

 plants that grow in water to those that flourish for several months 

 without a drop of rain. 



I do not intend to speak from a botanical point of view, for a 

 botanist pays very little attention to the ornamental quality of a 

 plant ; he rejoices over the most insignificant weed so long as it 

 is something new, that helps to fill the gaps in the natural system, 

 and connect the plants one with another, as they are naturally 

 related. But I am speaking horticulturally, in a company where 

 plants are appreciated for tlieir showy or fragrant flowers and the 

 freedom with which these are produced ; for their beautiful foli- 

 age as well as for their hardiness and robust growth ; and, as we 

 must take it for granted that, out of the some ten thousand spe- 

 cies and varieties of our native plants, more than half are of some 

 horticultural interest, and thus worthy of culture, we must rejoice 

 over this large store of plants that Nature has provided for us ; 

 and try by cultivation and hybridization to improve some of the 

 species. 



It is self-evident that these native plants must be far better 

 constituted to stand our variable and trying climate than an}- 

 exotic plants can be. In Europe, and especially in England, these 

 plants, native with us, are cultivated with great zeal and care, and 

 already many varieties have been improved by careful selection, 

 and several remarkable hybrids have been produced by crossing 

 the dilferent species. And so we can but wonder why they are 

 not more cultivated in this country, as thej' plainly deserve to be. 



In attempting to describe some of the best species and varie- 

 ties, I think it will be proper to mention ihem not in botanical 

 orders, but in classes, as they are adapted to cultivation ; and the 

 first class that claims our attention consists of the 



Hardy Herbaceous and Perennial Plants. — Under this head 

 we expect to find such plants as are not shrubby and whose stem 

 generally dies down to the root annually, and whose growth is 



