^0^^'^^^^iS, 



DEVOTSD TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



VOL. IX. 



BOSTON, APRIL, 1857. 



NO. 4. 



JOEL NODRSE, Propribtok. 

 Office.. .13 Commekcial St. 



SIMON BROWN, EDITOR. 



FRED'K HOLBROOK, ) AssociATB 

 HENRY F. FRENCH, J Editors. 



APEIL- 



-FLOWERS AND FLOWEE- 

 GAEDENS. 



MONG the numerous 

 topics which are in- 

 teresting to the far- 

 mer, the flowers of 

 'our gardens should 

 not be omitted, — 

 those brilliant or- 

 naments of the 

 earth, which nature 

 seems to have de- 

 signed to lead us in 

 early life, by their charms, 

 to love the field and wood, 

 and in later life to enliven 

 our toil by their fragrance 

 and beauty. No farmer should 

 allow himself to despise a flower, 

 as some mere utilitarians are very 

 apt to do; for, though it may be 

 uninteresting to him, if he has no poetry 

 or love of beauty in his soul, he should 

 consider that flowers serve greatly to 

 render their home delightful to the young, and to 

 cherish in their hearts a love for the pursuits of a 

 farm. To the daughters of a farmer, flowers are 

 almost essential to inspire them with an interest 

 in rural pursuits, and a reasonable amount of labor 

 and expense should never be grudged to furnish 

 them with so simple and innocent a gratification. 



Fashion, who always impudently inteferes with 

 our pleasures, has not failed to meddle with the 

 flower-garden as well as iheboudoir; and has often 

 stamped an absent value upon certain flowers, 

 which have no claims, as beautiful objects, above 

 thousands of others which are common in our land. 

 We would advise all to keep themselves clear of 

 her sinister influence ; and in the choice of flowers 

 to decorate his grounds, to be guided by his sense 

 of the beautiful, and by those early impressions 

 and associations, which give to many simple flowers 



a practical interest that can never fade in our 

 hearts. The mcst simple and common flowers of 

 our gardens belong to this category. Such are the 

 primrose, the pansy, the snow-drop, and the lily of 

 the valley. Who can ever cease to admire the rose 

 and the lily ? 



All persons have been familiar with these flow- 

 ers, in their early intercourse with nature, or have 

 learned to love them by reading the frequent allu- 

 sions to them in the poetry of all ages, and in Holy 

 Writ. Many a modern florist's flower surpasses 

 these in beauty. Portulacaas, verbenas, dahlias 

 and calcealarias, are all more brilliant and showy ; 

 but they have never been sanctified to our religious 

 feelings by the mention of Scripture, nor endeared 

 to our imagination by the song of the poet of na- 

 ture. 



The rose has always been regarded as the em- 

 blem of beauty and virtue, having in addition to its 

 visual charms, a fragrance that always endures. 

 The sacred and profane writers have always asso- 

 ciated this flower with those heavenly virtues which 

 they love and reverence. 



"Oft has the poet's magic tongue 

 The rose's fair luxuriacce sung. 

 And long the Muses, heavenly maids, 

 Hive reared It in their tuneful shades." 



^nacrean. 



The lily is another flower, no less common, and 

 no less celebrated ; and it is often mentioned in 

 the Scripture. The Jews are said to have imitated 

 its form in the decorations of their great temple. 

 Among all nations it is considered the emblem 

 of meekness and modesty, and it symbolizes, no 

 less than the rose, those virtues which are loved in 

 heaven. The rosa and the lily, therefore, should 

 find a place in every garden, both on account of 

 their intrinsic beauties, and their Scriptural and 

 practical associations. 



There are other flowers which have become en- 

 deared to us by our perusal of the English poets, 

 though they have not been named by the sacred 

 writers ; which are also recommended to us by our 



