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colors ; and in the admiration of a field of corn, -svith its ricll 

 dark green blades, the same love of flowers is seen, as when in 

 the chillier latitudes the Indian corn is raised in the flower pot 

 as a curious exotic, A noble plant of drumhead cabbage^ 

 weighing forty pounds, to the eye of the structural botanist 

 and to that of the market gardener alike, is as fine as any 

 flower, verifying the otherwise ungenerous remark attributed 

 to the great English lexicographer, that of all the flowers of 

 the garden he preferred the cauliflower. A head of wheat has 

 no more intrinsic beauty than the spike of the most common 

 grass ; yet they who once see that the same structure belongs to 

 both, will not prize the wheat the less, while they prize the grass 

 blossoms more. The foliage and flowers of the sweet potato 

 are just like those of the morning glory, yet we call one a veg" 

 etable and the other a girl's posy. 



The Virginian creeper will cover some old wall completely 

 with its rich green fingered leaves in summer, and its magnifi- 

 cence of foliage in autumn — a sight of which would amaze 

 an European — and although it is cousin to the fox grape^ 

 some prefer the latter, with its rusty leaves and great hard 

 astringent skinned berries. Here is only a difl"erence of tastCi 

 for both are ornamental plants or flowers. The wild yam has 

 large thick roots, and pretty light green, graceful leaves^ 

 and the Japan yam has smaller roots and not so pretty leaves. 

 One may have a choice with the useful pretty, and the undis- 

 covered-useful pretty climber. They both look well trained as 

 ornamental flower vines. Very handsome climbers are the 

 great scarlet flowered beans ; they bear rich blossoms, and ho 

 who *' knows beans " would think them next to the tender and 

 difficultly raised Lima ; but they arc flowers as much as vege- 

 tables. The sunflower is a noble plant, its gorgeous blossoms' 

 have a homely, honest loo]^. So honest are they, that they 

 will not act the lie attributed to them of turning always to the 

 sun ; but because their seeds are good for feeding fowls or foi' 

 making oil, are they admired the less 1 The question turns^ 



