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fj^^ Flower Seed gataloguB. 5 i:f( 



the homestead ; imparting an air of taste and comfort, and awakening- 

 dreams of beauty, especially in the minds of children, that will never 

 entirely fade from the memory, but will linger as reminiscenses of home, 

 and as oft recurring incentives to strive after a better life. A small 

 amount judiciously expended each year in seeds and plants, would soon 

 surround the home with a great diversity of floral beauty. Fiow^ers 

 abundantly compensate those who cultivate them, by the associations to 

 which they conduce. They are eminently socializing in their tendency ; 

 the flower garden diffuses pleasure beyond its own precints, and glad- 

 dens other hearts than that of its possessor. While contemplating its 

 varied beauties, kindred natures quicken into sympathy, and friendship 

 has often distilled through the aroma of twilight bloom. The flower 

 garden is proverbally the favorite haunt of lovers. The skillful and 

 intelligent florist will be a welcome guest anywhere, and will make 

 friends as readily as beauty finds admirers. As a relaxation from the 

 cares of a professional or mercantile life, a light diversion' to be enjoyed 

 morning and evening, the culture of flowers is peculiarly desirable. 

 Here we can almost fancy that Grod meets us in those Divine pencilings 

 in which light weaves its endless diversities .)f form and structure. 



Ladies should cultivate flowers as an invigorating and inspiring out- 

 door occupation. Many are pining and dying from monotony and 

 depression, who might bury their cares by planting a few seeds, and 

 secure bloom in their cheeks by their culture. In the family, flowers 

 are quite indispensable to domestic sunshine. Children are fascinated 

 by them ; and no luxury is greater than to pluck a sumptuous bouquet 

 for your retiring guest, or send as a token to your distant friend, or 

 to the wretched invalid. The student feels that he is rewarded for all 

 his toil, if fair hands toss him a bouquet on exhibition day. Flowers 

 are the choicest ornaments of the bridal chamber, and the emblems of 

 purity and hope, with which we wreathe the dead. 



As a branch of enterprise, the general cultivation of flowers is quite 

 recent and is rapidly developing. Two circumstances are contributing to 

 extend the list of floral favorites, viz : The domestication of wild species 

 derived from every part of the w^orld, and production of varieties by cultiva- 

 tion. The old favorites that were known as uniform and fixed, have now, 

 under the hand of skilled culture, multiplied into many distinct and 

 conspicuous varieties, with variations of habit, form and color, ada])ting 

 them to every taste, and in the process of bedding, enabling the connoisseur 

 to produce the richest display in the grouping of different varieties of the 

 same species. 



The special attention which we have devoted to Flower Seeds, has enabled 

 us to make a fine selection of the very choicest of favorite sorts, which we 

 supply on terms so moderate as to bring them within the reach of all. The 

 exorbitant prices charged by many dealers, have deprived vast number of 

 persons who admire flowers, of the pleasure of possessing them. There are, 

 in our catalogue, many of the most beautiful and rare flowers, and none that 



