depreciate the delight of nursing the tender inha- 
bitants of a foreign clime — of bestowing a shelter 
to those plants that would die in the storm ; hut 
who can do otherwise than look, with the liveliest 
interest, on such as will brave the blasts of adversity, 
that encounter the harshness of winter, and smile 
again in the spring. Let us take a lesson from 
such as 
" Expand in the tempest, and bloom in the breeze, 
An emblem of sweet independence are these ; 
And the soul who beholds them unhurt in the strife, 
Shall learn to contend with the troubles of life ; 
And when the cold wind of adversity’s felt, 
And the shafts of affliction are ruthlessly dealt. 
His spirit, unbroken, shall rise to the last, 
And his virtues shall open and bloom in the blast.” 
The double-flowering Spiraea prunifolia was in 
troduced to this country by M. Louis Van Houtte, 
nurseryman, of Ghent ; who, according to his pub- 
lished list of subscribers, sold a hundred and fifty 
plants, in 1847, at a guinea each ; the first medal 
for the best novelty having been awarded for it, at 
exhibitions of flowers in Paris and other places in 
France. The original stock was purchased of Dr. 
Siehold, its importer from Japan, who met with it 
in cultivation, in the gardens of the Japanese. It 
is not believed to be a native of Japan, hut of the 
north of China, or of Corea ; and, as regards its 
hardiness, it is said to have borne exposure at 
G hent, with Fahrenheit’s thermometer at zero. It 
may, without doubt, be propagated by cuttings or 
layering, but of this, it is fair to state, we have at 
present had no experience. 
