190 Wisconsin State agricultural society. 
HORTICULTURE IN LITERATURE. 
YalSS ELLA A. GILES, MADISON. 
Many writers, if questioned concerning horticulture, would reply: 
“It is a science of which I am wholly ignorant.” And yet we can 
find no work, in the realm of either fact or fiction, in which it is 
not directl 3 q or in the employment of brief illustrations, the help¬ 
mate and companion of literature. Tender allusions to its lessons 
occur in the rhetorical address, sublime dissertation, and the dullest 
essay. 
One may never have seen the contents of those ubiquitous pam¬ 
phlets or volumes entitled horticultural reports, and yet, by means 
of general literature, have unconsciously acquired much informa¬ 
tion on this subject. The author and artist, as well as the scientific 
student and manual laborer, aid us in comprehending its principles. 
While they do not admit us to the penetralia of economical and 
successful husbandr}^ they awaken in us a keen appreciation of its 
various pursuits. The groves of poetry are full of singers, whose- 
most enchanting strains have been inspired by contemplating na¬ 
ture, as seen in the field and garden. Some of the finest concep¬ 
tions in romance have sprung from those most familiar with the 
gentle language of fruit and flowers. Even in novels of the most 
sensational school and exciting plot, one comes upon half-hidden 
gems of thought, that would seem to have dropped spontaneously 
from nature-loving minds. 
Numerous and beautiful passages from ancient writers, prove the 
high estimation in which horticulture was held in the past. The 
old English author, Walter Harte, says: 
“ My garden takes up half my daily care, 
And my field asks the minutes I can spare.” 
And the English poet, Matthew Prior, at a yet earlier period 
wrote: 
“ How mean the order and perfection sought, 
In the best product of the human thought, 
Compared to the great harmony that reigns 
In what the spirit of the world ordains.” 
