vale for abundance/' and that he wrote a his- 

 tory of all the plants, from the cedar of Liba- 

 nus to the moss growing on the wall. 



The Chinese have ever been celebrated for 

 their attention to horticultural pursuits. A 

 peasant, whose garden or fields are cultivated 

 with the most care, is rewarded by being made 

 a mandarin of his class. 



Among the Persians, horticulture was 

 most strictly attended to, if we may trust 

 the authority of Xenophon, who states that 

 Cyrus the Younger was accustomed to in- 

 form himself, whether the private gardens of 

 his subjects were well kept, and yielded a 

 plenty of fruit ; that he rewarded the super- 

 intendants or overseers whose provinces were 

 the best cultivated ; and punished those who 

 did not labour, and improve their grounds. 

 I will not here omit the just compliment of 

 Lysander to this monarch, who was telling 

 him that many of the trees they were look- 

 ing at had been planted by himself. The 

 Lacedaemonian observed, " That the world 

 had reason to extol the happiness of Cyrus, 

 whose virtue was as eminent as his fortune, 

 and who in the midst of the greatest affluence, 

 splendor, and magnificence, had yet preserved 

 a taste so pure, and so conformable to right 



reason/' 



