20 
A STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN. 
bring that which is naturally worthless to an 
artificial state of great value, he can only 
enjoy the fruits of his talent by constant 
watchfulness, and the supply of the artificial 
means necessary to keep up the artificial state. 
Nature is always asserting her right, and 
claiming her dues. Graft a splendid fruit on 
a natural stock ; leave the affair to itself. 
Nature will help the stock to destroy the 
graft, and will prevail; but it is graciously 
permitted that, by destroying and continuing 
to destroy all growth from the stock, you 
have your improved fruit. This fact should 
be impressed upon the mind very strongly ; 
the more we improve a thing, the further we 
can remove it from its nature or wild parent, 
the more necessary is it to be vigilant in the 
application of artificial means to retain the 
improved character. Observe how the re- 
moval of those three lower branches of the 
apple-tree has improved its appearance ; now 
he is sawing a large branch that crosses two 
others; a third, that forks out awkwardly, 
and fills up great part of the interior of the 
head, will be all that he will remove of the 
large branches ; he will then shorten some of 
the most spreading, cut all the thin twiggy 
shoots from the inside, and the tree which was 
last summer impervious to sun and air, will 
be light and handsome, and bear clean and 
well-grown fruit. If every body who had an 
old orchard would but look to this particular 
duty, and remember that standard fruit-trees 
require as much pruning as wall fruit-trees, 
they would soon find in their improved crops 
abundant encouragement to continue their 
system of standard pruning. All the trees 
on the wall, you see, are neatly pruned and 
nailed ; the branches lay scarcely two inches 
from each other, for the great art of the 
gardener in the management of wall fruit- 
trees is to cover as much of the wall as he 
can with the bearing blanches, which are 
selected from the young branches of last year's 
growth. The straw berries are as white as 
anything else, and there is nothing more 
worth looking at but the stove, or hot-house. 
THE STOVE, OR HOT-HOUSE. 
Here we have the glass standing at 70°. 
Observe the immense difference of climate. 
Comfortable as it feels, as a contrast to the 
cold we have left, it is very overpowering. 
This is like many other hot-houses, or stoves, 
where the owners do not pretend to keep a 
regular collection of plants, a few striking 
objects being all they care about ; they may 
be called family hot-houses. Here, you ob- 
serve there. is a branch of grape-vine up each 
rafter, and a shoot of young wood growing up 
by the side of it. The one branch that is full 
of grapes now, was, last year, just such a shoot 
as is now rapidly growing by the side of the 
bearing branch. This is an excellent plan ; 
because, as soon as the young shoot has done 
growing, it will be pulled outside the house, 
to rest; instead of being always in the heat of 
the hot-house, it will have the benefit of the 
autumnal cold nights, and thus be got ready 
for its next year's duty. Those objects which 
appear like golden butterflies, waving about, 
are the flowers of a plant called Oncidivm 
Papilio, the most remarkable, and, perhaps, 
the most elegant of all the orchidaceous tribe. 
Observe, they are on very long wiry stems, 
which move about with the slightest puff of 
wind, and give the flowers all the appearance 
of the real insect. There are many very 
gorgeous subjects among the orchidaceous 
plants already introduced. The Cattleyas, 
Oncidiums, and Stanhopeas, are all beautiful 
in their way, but these plants are not gene- 
rally cultivated in small hot-houses, for a house 
a hundred feet long would hardly contain a 
collection. The Oncidium Papilio happens to 
be abundant and cheap, but in regard to the 
real properties of a flower, it is the very best 
of all the orchideous tribe. That little and 
extremely brilliant scarlet flower is the Eu- 
phorbia jacquiniceflora, prized not less for its 
abundant bloom than for its bright galaxy 
of little stars. You cannot grow too many of 
these two plants ; they are of the greatest 
value in the formation of a bouquet, though 
few will waste upon a posy one of these mag- 
nificent floral butterflies. Those grand lily- 
like flowers of different colours, some scarlet, 
others striped, with three or four funnel- 
shaped blossoms to a plant, are Amaryllis. 
If we wished for a grand display in the con- 
servatory, these would be removed there, but 
there is no object in setting it off just now, 
and these things will not last so well after a 
change of climate. Those plants sunk in the 
tan-bed are pine-apples, and that thistle-like 
head coming up in the centre is the fruit ; 
further on, there is one nearly the full size ; . 
yonder is one turning colour, and there are 
several half grown. There are no pains taken 
here to bring these things out of season ; as 
they happen to come, they come ; nothing is 
done to hasten or retard them, for the house 
is used for every thing. But we have been in 
this warm climate long enough ; put your 
handkerchief round your neck and run in 
doors, for the sudden changes from heat to 
cold are very trying to the constitution, both 
of men and plants. It is these changes that 
ruin the health of so many gardeners. I will 
tell you more about the orchidaceous plants 
when we get in-doors. * * * * The chief of 
these beautiful plants, called Orchidese, grow 
upon trees, clinging to the branches in a most 
extraordinary manner, not exactly like the ivy, 
