PREFACE. 



"Thine is a glorious volume, Nature ! Each 

 Line, leaf, and page, are fill'd with living lore ; 



Wisdom more pure than sage could ever teach, 

 And all philosophy's divinest store ; 



Rich lessons rise where'er thy tracks are trod — 



The book of Nature is the book of God." 



It may be truly said, that the whole field of Nature is laid 

 open to the investigation and mental enjoyment of man, and 

 that its study is the most accessible, because it is the easiest 

 as well as the most delightful of all studies. 



The student in literature must have his library, the natu- 

 ral philosopher and chemist, his apparatus, and the student 

 of man, his annals and records; which are frequently so 

 perplexing, that much of his time is spent in testing their 

 correctness, and the results of his study are often far from 

 satisfactory to himself. Whereas the tillage of the soil, in- 

 vigorates man's mental as well as his bodily powers, and 

 elicits more deep science, and more observation, and more 

 general acquaintance with the laws of Nature than any 

 other pursuit of life. 



Of all recreations, perhaps the cultivation of flowers may 

 be considered as the most enchanting. It is not only con- 

 genial to health, but is calculated to attach man to his 

 home ; and he who delights in his home, and feels disposed 

 to embellish it, will be likely to hasten to it when he has 

 done his business abroad, instead of wasting his time in the 

 pursuit of transient and dissolute pleasure. 



But I had almost forgotten that this guide to the cultiva- 

 tion of the beauties of Nature, is chiefly designed for the 



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