THE TAESY 
77 
these pleasing shows less of that desire of exhibiting 
something strange or uncommon, which seems now so 
prevalent ; and simple elegance of grouping may be 
thought more desirable than present modes of arrange- 
ment. Dahlias placed together to resemble peacocks, 
and other flowers clustered to imitate parasols, or similar 
uninteresting objects, often greatly destroy the pleasure 
which flowers in their natural simplicity would convey, 
and seem scarcely less to amuse by their absurdity, than 
to offend by their tastelessness. 
The taste of the botanist and florist are, indeed, often 
somewhat at variance. To the botanist, the wild flower, 
or the flower little changed by culture, is an object of 
more interest than the highly cultivated one, as it affords 
him better means for pursuing his study of plants. He 
considers the blossoms which have been by the gardener’s 
aid rendered double, or otherwise altered, as having an 
artificial character ; and in botanical language such 
flowers are often called monsters. Few^ of my readers 
will perhaps agree with the sentiments of the German 
botanist, Wildenow, who remarks upon the subject of 
highly cultured flowers, “ Florists value them, more 
especially amateurs, for they have acquired so unnatural 
a taste as to despise nature in its simplicity, and with 
care often transplant these deformities into their garden.” 
Few^, indeed, will look upon the rich double wallflowers, 
or stocks of the parterre, with the displeasure with which 
this gentleman w^ould regard them. 
The florist, by erring on the other hand, may justly, 
however, deserve some censure, since singularity cannot 
equal beauty in appearance j yet surely there is no reason 
why we should not admire the blossoms both of the 
garden and the meadow, nor why the single and more 
quickly fading flower should win our regard exclusively, 
while the more permanent and showy full flower should 
be passed by as an object unworthy our notice. 
The two wild species of pansy are the little yellow 
common heart’s-ease (Viola tricolor), and the mountain 
pansy (Viola lutea). The former is common in hedges, 
but especially frequent in corn-fields, and is well known 
to every person accustomed to walk in them — to all to 
whom the song of the reaper, or the loud laugh of the 
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