PLANT LIFE. 43 



plant will fail to accomplish the object for wliich it was intended. 

 And herein is the secret of success in cultivation. It is the 

 great problem of agriculture to ascertain and regulate the 

 adaptation of soil to plants, to find out the proper elements for 

 their development, and the most economical method of supply- 

 ing them. This problem is best answered by thorough study 

 and knowledge of manures, and the right application of them. 

 The rule to be followed is to give back to the soil, in the shape 

 of manure, what it has lost in the crop. This has aptly been 

 called the " golden rule of agriculture." It is only by this 

 means that the fertility of the soil can be maintained ; and by 

 disregarding this rule, the vocation of the farmer is one of loss 

 instead of gain. You cannot impose with impunity upon the 

 soil any more than you can on your own physical system ; both 

 are governed by similar laws. Science as well as reason enjoins 

 upon the agriculturist the duty of preserving the vitality of the 

 soil, and any violation of this principle inflicts an injury not 

 only on ourselves but upon posterity. It has been well said 

 that " to destroy the productiveness of the soil, to squander the 

 elements of that productiveness, is to destroy the hopes of civ- 

 ilized humanity. It robs posterity of its birthright to a career 

 of progress." 



The importance of the science of horticulture, we fear, is not 

 duly appreciated. It has an influence far more important than 

 the mere gratification of the senses. Its tendency is to elevate 

 the character and fix the habits of a people. We, as a people, 

 are noted for our restlessness, and this, too, while we are enjoy- 

 ing everything in abundance to make us happy and contented. 

 Energy is commendable, but not at the expense of our social 

 relations. The practice of horticulture tends to develop our 

 social relations and to increase our love of home ; and just in 

 proportion to the intelligence and settled habits of a people, 

 may be measured the interest manifested in horticulture and its 

 kindred pursuits. There is a pleasure in horticulture, in the 

 innocent pursuits of country life, just in proportion as intelli- 

 gence and refinement preside over its labors. " Flowers," said 

 Henry Ward Beecher, " are the sweetest things that God ever 

 made, and forgot to put a soul into." The love of flowers is 

 inherent in man. It is the seed of which love is the fruit, an 



