286 
CONTEMPORARY WRITINGS. 
day, we are midway in what may be termed 
the transition state from the plain matter-of- 
fact principles which have hitherto princi- 
pally guided us, both in business and decora- 
tion, to that period when the highest efforts 
of artistic skill shall be brought to bear, not 
only on purely decorative objects, but also no 
more common articles. That such a period 
has arrived in the history of all nations who 
have been celebrated for refinement and civi- 
lization, there is abundant testimony to prove. 
No one can for a moment behold the restored 
treasures of the ancient Egyptians, the relics 
of Etrurian pottery-ware, or the matchless 
sculpture of the Greeks and early Romans, 
without being forcibly convinced how highly 
the decorative art was prized by them, and of 
the high degree of refinement requisite to 
design, execute, and appreciate objects, which 
generally speaking we, as a nation, are only 
beginning to understand and value. I need 
scarcely refer to the mediaeval ages for cor- 
roborative proof. The decoration of tapestry, 
the embellishment of missals, and the carving 
with which the most trifling articles were 
enriched, all bespeak an appreciation of the 
ornamental and decorative styles, in an age 
not otherwise remarkable for the refinements 
of civilized life. At the present time, in our 
own country, and more or less in others, the 
attempt at restoring the true decorative style, 
both on objects justly considered within the 
pale of the fine arts, and on those more com- 
mon utensils pertaining to our daily wants, 
which have hitherto been considered unwor- 
thy of such distinction, is daily pushing itself 
into notice. We may hail this as unmistake- 
able evidence that an appreciation of the 
beautiful and decorative in art is fast pervad- 
ing society at large. I have been led into 
making the above remarks, on reflecting what 
might be done by way of improving the ap- 
pearance of that most useful, common, and 
certainly, at present, most unornamental piece 
of pottery, " the garden-pot." Gardeners 
have hitherto been content with it, in its 
plain unpretending form ; and it may fairly 
be questioned whether any utensil employed 
either in gardening or agriculture has passed 
through the hands of many generations with 
its primitive form so little altered as this 
has. It is true, Mr. Forsyth some years ago 
recommended to have them glazed, or var- 
nished ; for which piece of advice he was 
unanimously voted an innovator, and I believe 
the plan was never put into practice, ^ome 
modification in its form, too, has been brought 
into notice, in the shape of the " West Kent 
Garden Pot ;" but these, in so far as orna- 
ment is concerned, are not a whit before the 
original patterns. Again, lately, a substitute 
has been invented for our old friends in the 
shape of " slate tubs." Now I had always an 
inkling that these latter would be a great 
improvement, as regards appearance at least, 
to the common garden-pot ; but after seeing 
a stage of plants growing in the " miniature 
orange tubs," I was so struck with their prim, 
formal appearance, producing impressions so 
unfavourable to my pre-conceived ideas of 
beauty, that I determined in my own mind 
they would never succeed, where taste was 
called in question. Perhaps some readers 
may not be aware how far the decorative art 
may be carried into effect on the common 
flower-pot, and the wide field it opens for de- 
sign in their embellishment ; several attempts 
have been made, one of which has""come under 
my notice, and as they have stood with com- 
parative safety for twelve years to my know- 
lege, I am enabled to speak as to their dura- 
bility. The pots I am now describing were, I 
believe, made at Sherborne, and are of a large 
size. They are (to all appearance) made of 
the common pottery clay, in moulds. The rims 
of the pots at top and bottom are embossed 
with foliage and flowers, and festoons of the 
same, in high relief, are carried round the 
sides. There is likcAvise an elaborate border 
towards the bottom, in the same style. The 
foliage, &c. has all the sharpness of outline 
so valued in sculptured relievo. Altogether 
they are the most decorative article I ever 
saw made for plants. Now, it has often 
struck me while admiring the magnificent 
plants which annually crowd the tables of 
the metropolitan exhibitions, how much 
pots of this description would enhance the 
beauty of the plants exhibited. It must be 
admitted, that the value of all objects is in- 
ci'eased by comparison, as they approach a 
certain point, or degree of excellence. The 
plants themselves are many of them matchless 
specimens of the gardener's skill. Nature and 
art cannot go much farther in cultivation. 
The pots, on the contrary, are neither better, 
nor perhaps worse, than they were fifty years 
back ; try to embellish them, and make them 
worthy, as works of art, to be viewed Avith 
satisfaction, in connexion with the choice 
treasures they contain. The reader must not 
suppose, that pots thus decorated, are recom- 
mended to be universally used ; such would 
be a misapplication of taste ; but for plants to 
bloom in, for the conservatory, and for plants 
intended during the summer to ornament the 
flower-garden, or parterre, such pots would 
harmonize with the surrounding objects and 
scenery, and by their warmth, and colour, 
form pleasing objects of themselves, inde- 
pendent of their proper uses, — Spencei', in 
Paxton^s 3Iagazine. 
Fruits of North America. — The apple 
thrives admirably in the central and northern 
