ESSAYS 



ON 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



&c. &c. 



FLOWER-GARDENS AND SONG BIRDS. 



" Inutilesque falce ramos amputans, 



Felicioris inserit." Horace. 



With pruning-knife, the useless branch he cuts, 

 And in its place a graft prolific puts. 



How I prize the gardener! He is Nature's 

 primest jeweller; and lie has the power of 

 placing within our reach all that is nutritive, 

 and luscious, and lovely in the enchanting 

 domains of Flora and Pomona. Without his 

 assistance, Nature would soon run out into 

 uncurbed luxuriance ; the flowery lawn would 

 disappear, and ere long the hemlock and the 



B 



