A Pica for the Flowers. 43 



himself; for we are expressly told that he looked upon his works, and 

 pronounced them good. That the great First Cause made the flowers, 

 and takes delight in them, has always seemed to us a sufficient reason 

 for their cultivation by men. 



The Creator has not only made the flowers, but he has endowed man 

 with faculties for enjoying them ; and he who does not cultivate his 

 taste for flowers does not properly develop himself, and loses some of 

 the highest and purest enjoyments of life. We once called upon an 

 eminent lawyer, — one of the most perfectly developed men we ever 

 knew, — and found him at work in his flower garden. He remarked, 

 that flowers furnished delight to his sight — a higher sense than taste. 

 Those who labored merely to eat and drink enjoyed a pleasure in com- 

 mon with the brutes. The inferior animals never rose to the enjoyment 

 of a landscape. The horse, the noblest of the domestic animals, and 

 most associated with man, could graze all day with beautiful views 

 constantly in sight, and never appreciate them — could tread on lilies 

 of the valley, and press out their delightful fragrance, without heeding 

 the beauty of the flower, or enjoying its exquisite odor. Man was made 

 capable of pure enjoyment from beautiful sights, harmonious sounds, 

 and sweet perfumes ; and our friend concluded, from the endowment of 

 man with these higher faculties, that they should be cultivated. A wise 

 conclusion of the learned jurist, which we commend to those who think 

 all the time spent in the flower garden wasted. Those who give all 

 their mind to " what they shall eat, and what they shall drink, and 

 wherewithal they shall be clothed," neglect the higher faculties of their 

 nature. Food and raiment are necessary, but the provision of these 

 necessaries is not the whole duty of man. 



But supposing that we have naturally little taste for the beautiful, and 

 have neglected the cultivation of the little we are endowed with, so that 

 we derive scarcely any pleasure from flowers, and pass them by almost as 

 unheeded as the ox does, that sees them without enjoyment, and treads 

 upon them without compunction, still there are others whose senses are 

 more acute, and benevolence should prompt us to cultivate the flowers 

 for the delight of those who do enjoy them. It should be the ambition 

 of every man to make a pleasant home for his family and friends, and 

 flowers are essential to a pleasant home ; at least they will be found to 

 add greatly to the pleasure of the family. To make home pleasant, it 

 is not necessary that the house be large, or the grounds expensive. 

 Some of the pleasantest homes we have ever seen have been, mere cot- 

 tages ; but there was around them that air of taste and comfort which 

 led us at once to conclude, these are genuine homes. Peace and purity 

 abide here. 



