2 The New Practical Window Gardener. 



attained, and modern florists have brought into repute 

 hosts of varieties of flowers and plants which our fore- 

 fathers never even dreamed of; and of all countries in 

 the world Britain stands first for her gardens. With 

 us it may be said that we have reached the height of 

 perfection in the taste and beauty of design displayed 

 in our gardens, while our collectors and botanists have 

 gone forth to all the ends of the earth, returning laden 

 with aU that is good, and beautiful, and rare in flowers 

 and plants till we are surrounded with the richest gems 

 of nature, and our gardens and greenhouses display to 

 the wondering eyes representatives of all the varied 

 tribes in the vegetable kingdom. 



Every one delights in possessing a flower, from the 

 poor in the back lanes of the city, who treasure their 

 one little plant, struggling for existence in the poisoned 

 atmosphere, to the wealthy with their gardens and 

 plant-houses stocked with all the rarest plants and 

 flowers that money can procure. 



The. love of flowers arouses within us all the kindliest 

 feelings of our nature, humanises the heart, and fiUs 

 the mind with pleasant ideas and associations. Many 

 a one has been saved from alluring temptations 

 that might have been his rain, by his spare time being 

 taken up with his love for gardening ; the cultivation of 

 his garden-plot, and the tending of his flowers, proving 

 far more attractive than the company of idle companions 

 or the false pleasures of the beershop. What a pleasant 

 sight it is to see the cottager thus attending to the 

 beauty and comfort of his home. Truly the love of 

 flowers is one of the best agents of the temperance 



