INTRODUCTION. 
Of Flowers, so much has been said and 
sung, that it were impossible to write any 
thing new. They have been called “ the joy 
of the shrubs which bear them;” — “the 
stars of the earth ; ” and the “ alphabet of the 
angels; ” and, indeed, as says Mr. Howitt, 
“ of all the minor creations of God, they 
seem to be most completely the effusions of 
his love of beauty, grace, and joy. Beauty 
and fragrance are poured abroad over the 
earth in blossoms of endless varieties, ra¬ 
diant evidences of the boundless benevolence 
of the Deity. They are made solely to glad¬ 
den the heart of man, for a light to his 
B 
