CONCLUSION. 



IT ought to be evident, by this time, that the Japanese take a most 

 thorough delight in their floral kingdom. Fully as much as in 

 hero-worship do they indulge in "flower-worship." They truly 

 worship nature in all her varied forms and hold communion with 

 all her aspects. The Japanese love a flower as a flower. 



"A primrose by the river's brim, 



A yellow primrose was to him, 



And it was nothing more." 



But, to a Japanese, simply as "nothing more" than a real flower, 

 it would be full of beauty. The Japanese certainly find delight in 

 even the simplest forms of natural beauty. 



The subject of Japanese floriculture is extensive and exhaust- 

 ing. Japan is composed of gardens, "from the least to the greatest" 

 in size ; it is, in fact, itself an immense garden, a huge park, and a 

 miniature paradise. Gardens, not only public but also private, 

 abound. Even the poorest and humblest house is not without its 

 little oasis of natural beauty, if it be no more than a single plant and 

 blossom, or even only a twig. For the Japanese word hana, as we 

 have said, is quite comprehensive in its meaning, and includes not 

 only blossoms, but also stems and branches, and even stumps of 

 blossomless trees and shrubs. A Japanese garden, therefore, may 

 not contain a single blossom or scarcely a sprig of green. Some 

 have nothing green at all, and consist entirely of rocks, and pebbles, 

 and sand. 



One such large garden had been designed with the distinct 

 purpose of conveying the impression of "approaching the sea over 

 a verge of dunes." The Japanese are the people who truly and 

 keenly find "sermons in stones, books, in the running brooks, and 

 good in everything." 



The principal purpose, in fact, for a garden in Japan is realistic, 

 naturalistic; it aims to imitate, and does not improve, actual land- 



