D. M. FERRY & CO'S 



tect had designed to present in miniature, all those beauties which He has scat- 

 tered over the varied works of nature. Here is the soft outline of the mount- 

 ain range on the distant horizon — the rich velvet of green woods — the lifjht 

 and shade of hill and dale — the rainbow on the bosom of the soft summer 

 cloud — the indescribable blending of beautiful hues — in short, there is an end- 

 less variety of colors, matchless perfection and delicacy of structure. Beauty so 

 exquisite, cannot fail to attract and please the cultivated and refined, and to 

 charm the pure and crood. All such persons will delight to see their homes 

 adorned with flowers — the choicest of nature's beautiful productions. 



The concentration of vital force in the germ, is calculated to impress the 

 mind with wonder and admiration. An ounce of mixed seed may produce a 

 sufficient number of plants to cover an acre with bloom throughout the season, 

 embracing, perhaps, many thousand varieties, some of them perpetuating them- 

 selves for years. These minute fjerms may have been gathered from every zone, 

 thus affording those who never nass the limits of the State in which they were 

 born, the fairest products of all lands. No other portion of the peculiar natural 

 charms of distant lands can be thus domesticated ; a fact which is so appreciated, 

 that many who have but a little plat of ground, revel amid the lovely forms and 

 delicate aroma that greet the more favored traveler in the antipodes. 



It is inspiring to watch, day by day, the development of these wondrous 

 and matchless structures. The noble stem that springs from a tiny seed — the 

 delicate folding of the leaves of the calyx around the flower — the rapid swell- 

 in? of the flower as it verges to its bloom — the gauze-like attenuations of the 

 corolla — the various hues and delicate tinges — the slender yet perfect filaments 

 that form the reproductive organs of the plants — the persistency with which 

 the plant forms new buds throughout the season, if its flowers are plucked — all 

 inspire us with interest and wonder, and extort the reflection that " God has 

 made everything beautiful in its season." No wonder that the common consent 

 of mankind attributes to each flower, a language that is universal. 



In the cultivation of flowers, each one can indulge his peculiar fancy, and 

 each one's character will represent itself in the taste indulged. Some of stem, 

 conservative mould will be gratified with the plain and hardy perennial — per- 

 haps the tall, coarse and ostentatious varieties. Others of fine taste and more 

 delicate perceptions, will patiently rear the minutest and most evanescent annu- 

 als, that, blooming for a few days only, shall live in the fancy as the fairy chil- 

 dren of thought, till their yearly return — a higher, purer joy Avith each annual 

 companionship. The motives to the cultivation -of flowers, are as various as the 

 tastes of mankind. They are the simplest and least expensive ornament of 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 memoiy, but will linger as reminiscences 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 divers- 

 ity of floral beauty. Flowers 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 precincts, 

 and gladdens other hearts than that of its possessor. While contemplating its 

 varied beauties, kindred natures quicken into sympathy, and friendship has 



