- 
PEEFACE. 
Whilst rambling in Ayrshire one day, with the late 
lamented John Galt, the conversation turned upon what was 
the most beautiful object in nature. There were four in our 
party. Galt gave the palm to trees, while another gave it 
to women, a third to stars, and a fourth to flowers, upon which 
a long debate ensued; and not being able, satisfactorily, to 
convince one another what was strictly the meaning of the 
“word “beautiful,” the following compromise was agreed to:— 
That stars should be considered the most sublime objects in 
nature, women the most enchanting, children the most inter¬ 
esting, and flowers the prettiest. 
That this compromise, so far as flowers is concerned, is 
correct, I am not prepared to say, for I think it must be 
allowed on all hands, that they are the most beautiful objects 
in nature; and not only afford to the eye a pleasing sensation, 
but also, in most instances, to the brain, do they yield the 
varied fragrances of many sweet odours. 
Sight and smell are the two senses acted upon naturally 
and physically by flowers—but there is also an artificial and 
mental enjoyment to be had in studying the language, which 
romance has diffused around them. 
. The language of flowers is said to have originally come from 
