railing of a garden and break oiF several very fine 

 plants, whose growth the owner had been watching 

 with care and interest for many weeks, and. which 

 had just opened to reward his pains. Another in- 

 stance of the same kind, but still more flagrant in 

 degree, was observed a short time since : the often- 

 der was a full grown man, dressed in fine broadcloth 

 to boot, and evidently a stranger ; he passed before 

 a pretty yard, gay with flowers, and unchecked by a 

 single scruple of good manners, or good morals, pro- 

 ceeded to make up a handsome boquet, without so 

 much assaying by your leave to the owner ; having 

 selected the flowers most to his fancy, he arranged 

 tliem tastefully, and then walked oft" with a free and 

 jaunty air, and an expression of satisfaction and self- 

 complacency truly ridiculous under the circumstan- 

 ces. He had made up his nosegay with so much 

 pains, eyed it so tenderly as he carried it before him, 

 and moved along with such a very mincing and dainty 

 manner, that he was probably on his way to present 

 himself and his trophy to his sweetheart ; and we 

 can only hope that he met with just such a reception 

 as was deserved by a man who had been committing 

 petty larceny. As<if to make the chapter complete, 

 the very same afternoon, the village being full of 

 strangers, we saw several young girls, elegantly 

 flounced, put their hands through the railing of 

 another garden, facing the street, and help themselves 

 in the same easy manner to their neighbor's prettiest 

 flowers ; what would they have thought if some one 

 had stepped up with a pair of scissors and cut half a 

 yard from the ribbon on their hats, merely because it 

 was pretty, and one had a fancy to it ? Neither the 

 little girl, nor the strangers in broadcloth and flow- 

 ers, seem to have learned at common school, or at 

 Sunday school, or at home, that respect for the pleas- 

 ure of others is simple good manners, regard for the 

 rights of others, and common honesty. 



" No one who had a flower border of his own would 

 be likely to offend in this way ; he would not do so 

 unwittingly, at least ; and if guilty of such an act, it 

 would be premeditated pilfering. When people take 

 pains to cultivate fruits and flowers themselves, they 

 have some idea of their value, which can only be 

 justly measured by the owner's regard for them. — 

 And then, moreover, gardening is a civilizing and 

 improving occupation in itself ; its influences are all 

 beneficial ; it usually makes people more industrious, 

 and more amiable. Persuade a careless, indolent 

 man to take an interest in his garden, and his reform- 

 ation has begun. Let an idle woman honestly watch 

 over her own flower-beds, and she will naturally be- 

 come more active. There is always work to be done 

 in a garden, some little job to be added to yesterday's 

 task, without which it is incomplete ; books may be 

 closed with a mark where one left off, needlework 

 may be thrown aside and resumed again ; a sketch 

 may be left half finished, a piece of music half prac- 

 ticed ; even attention to household matters may relax 

 in some measure for a while ; but regularity and 

 method are constantly required, are absolutely indis- 

 pensable, to the well-being of a garden. The occu- 

 pation itself is so engaging, that one commences 

 readily, and the interest increases so naturally, that 

 no great share of perseverance is needed to continue 

 the employment, and thus labor becomes a pleasure, 

 and the dangerous habit of idleness is checked. Of 

 all faults of character, there is not one, perhaps, de- 

 pending so entirely upon habit as indolence ; and no- 

 where can one learn a lesson of order and diligence 



more prettily and more pJeasently than from a flower- 

 garden. 



" But another common instance of the good efl^ect of 

 gardening may be mentioned : — it naturally inclines 

 one to be open-handed. The bountiful returns which 

 are bestowed, year after year, upon our feeble labors, 

 shame us into liberality. Among all the misers who 

 lived on earth, probably few have been gardeners. 

 Some cross-grained churl may set out, with a deter- 

 mination to be niggardly with the fruits and flowers 

 of his portion ; but gradually his feelings soften, his 

 views change, and before he has housed the fruits of 

 many summers, ho sees that these good things are 

 but the free gifts of Providence to himself, and he 

 learns at last it is a pleasure, as well as a duty, to 

 give. This head of cabbage shall be sent to a poor 

 neighbor ; that basket of refreshing fruit is reserved 

 for the sick ; he has pretty nosegays for his female 

 friends ; he has apples or peaches for little people ; 

 nay, perhaps in the course of years, he at length 

 achieves the highest act of generosity — he bestows 

 on some friendly rival a portion of his rarest seed, a 

 shoot from his most precious root ! Such deeds are 

 done by gardeners. 



" Horticulture is not carried on upon a great scale 

 anywhere in this country. We regret that this 

 should be so. A large garden, where taste and 

 knowledge have full scope, is indeed a noble work, 

 full of instruction and delight. The rare trees and 

 plants brought with toil, and cost, and patience, from 

 distant regions ; the rich variety of fruits and veget- 

 ables ; the charming array of flowers, are among 

 the most precious and the most graceful trophies of 

 commerce, and industry, and adventure. Such gar- 

 dens, whether public or private, are always desir- 

 able in a neighborhood. • They are among the best 

 gifts of wealth, and scatter abroad too many benefits 

 to deserve the doubtful name of a luxury. If we have 

 none near enough to bring good to our own rural vil- 

 lage, it is at least pleasant to remember that other 

 communities are more fortunate than ourselves. — 

 When one cannot enjoy some particular good thing 

 one's self, a very little charity, and a very little phi- 

 losophy, lead one to be glad, at least, that others may 

 profit by it. 



"A very striking proof of the civilizing effect of 

 large gardens may be seen any day in the great 

 towns on the Continent of Europe, whether in 

 France, Italy, Germany, fee, &c. In these old 

 countries, where grounds of this kind have been more 

 or less open to the public for generations, the privi- 

 lege is never abused by any disgraceful act. The 

 flowert!, the trees, the statuary, remain uninjured 

 year after year ; it never seems to occur to the most 

 reckless and abandoned to injure them. The gene- 

 ral population of these towns is, in many respects, 

 inferior to our own ; but in this particular point their 

 tone of civilization rises far above the level of this 

 country." 



We have omitted our Youth's Department, in 

 this number, the above being so good we could not 

 well shorten it ; but we hope all the youth who are 

 in the habit of reading the Farmer, will read and re- 

 member this extract from Miss Cooper's book. — 

 Pilfering and destroying the flowers of neighbors 

 is a disgraceful act ; and yet it is quite common in 

 our cities and villages. We suffer from it every 

 season. It is in most cases the result of thoughtless- 

 ness and the bad example of older persons. 



