1852.] THE PHILADELPHIA FLORIST. 87 



€\)i Jflnnsi anb horticultural KonrnaL % 



Philadelphia, July, 1852. 



Three Months' Experience in American Horticulture. 



When, on the sixteenth of March last, (or thereabouts,) we were 

 driven reluctantly from the potting bench and stoke-hole of a Phila- 

 delphia amateur — whose extreme love of the new and beautiful sur- 

 prised and cheered us — to the writing desk of the editor, hitherto held 

 sacred by us, we did not anticipate anything but trouble and difficul- 

 ty. Either the wild prairie, clothed with Nature's own productions, 

 unseen in many cases hitherto by man in his civilised intelligent state, 

 or at least in that character which forbids him to search deeper than 

 the surface or outskirts — either this was to become our field of opera- 

 tions, or the work on which now we spend our time. The turbulent 

 area of political jargon had been seen on a different soil, only to warn 

 us that here there was no place for us in such a capacity ; we knew 

 but few — still fewer knew us. Who is this upstart 1 — this pretentious 

 abortion 1 Harder words than these have been used to designate the 

 humble editor of this embryo journal. We thank them for using these 

 specious arguments, they live but an hour. We dreaded the "Jeff- 

 ries" of Horticulture ; they have not treated us any otherwise than 

 as gentlemen, who, placed on a high commanding eminence, should 

 treat the crawler up to their popularity, with silence. The grovelling 

 underv:riters have had their fling, and we are here, thanks to our 

 friends who have written and paid, and induced their friends to write 

 and pay\ and we hope for at least nine months more we shall say good 

 morning to the Hawthorns and good night to the Knights of our pro- 

 fession. The Philadelphia Florist does its best — it is a laborious ma- 

 chine, a real task to its father and friends ; but when the machinery 

 becomes lubricated by a little oil from the mint, not Cat mint, (nepe- 

 ta cataria,) it shall move along smoothly from Canada to Florida. 



THE CALCEOLARIA. 



(see plate v.) 



Its Character and Cultivation. — By the Editor. 



One of the fugitive creations in which the kingdom of Flora 

 abounds. How beautiful, various and striking are the forms of Cal- 

 \ ceolaria, or Lady's Slipper ; (Ladies' Pockets our lady amateurs call 

 ul them, and transfer the former name to the Balsam. Any name will 

 («-suit us, as we have a good memory and can be accommodating in this 



i 29W ^Q& 



