(XXV) 
and affably with all, in every complication of life—to acknowledge good qualities 
in one another; preserving us not as hot-house flowers, but as plants of sturdy 
growth; keeping us ever freshly sensible of the vanities of the world, as typed in 
fallen rose-leaves; having us partake not of husks, but of the fine kernel food— 
the “supersubstantial bread” from our Father’s Table, whence renewed in spirit 
and strengthened in energy we courageously march forward until we happily 
arrive beneath the outstretched branches of the Tree of Life which is planted in 
the Paradise of our God! 
Having written thus much on a subject embarrassing even by its super¬ 
abundance of matter, the writer would deem it high time that, after so labored a 
plea for Botanical Studies, elementary or thorough, attention should be called to 
the present admirable work of Father Ambauen, to whom all its readers will surely 
feel profoundly grateful. 
The Floral Apostles will be found to set forth in plain, terse language the 
specific Lessons to be learned from the knowledge, even superficial, of the various 
Flowers and kindred plants which the Author has judiciously selected as appropri¬ 
ate or convenient texts from which to draw a vast deal of popular instruction. 
Some of the Author’s deductions will be at once obvious, in their justness, to the 
general reader; some may require study and reflection, to ascertain their relevancy 
to certain plants; other some will be freely admitted as the determinations of 
received conventionalism; and all will prove acceptable to anyone of good will, by 
their high moral tone and practical bearing—running as they do through most 
of the duties and relations of life, as regard God, one’s self, and the neighbor. 
From its point of departure, its ethical scope and purview, the book might 
be styled, not inaptly, a Treatise on Supernatural or Mystical Botany. There is 
in it, however, no direct “sermonizing,” which would be out of place; nor is there 
a single line that can be called prosy. Yet, in every chapter, there is a sermon of 
striking force genially preached to the classes and the masses, containing at 
times, good-humored home-thrusts, and always proposing and urging wisest and 
safest counsels, with pithiest maxims for youth and age. Frequent recourse is 
had to the thoughts of others, mainly poets—naturally the best exponents of 
floral sentiment ; and it will be seen that the quotations are ample, to the point, 
and, in all essential details, of sound doctrinal teaching. In his enthusiasm for 
Flowers, the Rev. Author has not degenerated into vapid declamation; nor has 
he or any one of his poets dissolved in weak, watery sentimentalism, which were, 
indeed, all too literally. Botany “run to seed!” 
Doubtless, some plants and flowers—favorites with many readers—may be 
