. The floral kingdom : its history, sentiment and poetry : A dictionary of more than three hundred plants, with the genera and families to which they belong, and the language of each illustrated with appropriate gems to poetry . Flower language; Flowers in literature. ^r^^-C^-^ tion; and the amateur culturist must therefore not be discouraged. Few studies will better repay one than floriculture, in the charms of the gentle, peaceful influence which it throws around the human soul. In the language of the poet Wordsworth, He is happiest who hath power To gather wisdom from a flower, And wake his
. The floral kingdom : its history, sentiment and poetry : A dictionary of more than three hundred plants, with the genera and families to which they belong, and the language of each illustrated with appropriate gems to poetry . Flower language; Flowers in literature. ^r^^-C^-^ tion; and the amateur culturist must therefore not be discouraged. Few studies will better repay one than floriculture, in the charms of the gentle, peaceful influence which it throws around the human soul. In the language of the poet Wordsworth, He is happiest who hath power To gather wisdom from a flower, And wake his heart in every hour To pleasant gratitude. Leaving poetry and the fascinations of flowers, we now propose to descend to the more material and coarser elements that underlie the growth of plants; and " to begin with the beginning," or where the flowers begin, it becomes our duty to unfold what is required, in the way of soil, water, etc., for the practical culture of SOILS. IRST comes Loam, which plays so important a part in all vegeta- tion, and which is described as a mixture of sand, clay and carbonate of lime, with the oxide of iron, magnesia, and various salts, also decayed vegetable and animal matter. It varies in different localities in regard to depth as well as quality. In some places it is brown, and in others nearly or quite black, particularly in the West, where in the bottom lands of the Missouri it is sometimes found more than thirty feet deep, as wells of that depth have failed to reach its bottom. If it is stiff and heavy, the clay predominates; in which case for flower-beds, and indeed for farming pur- poses also, it would be improved if a moderate proportion of sand or stable- manure were well worked through it to make it more porous and, as gardeners say, warmer; for, if the soil is too cold and retentive of water, plants do not thrive. Sand is a very useful material in plant-growing, especially in greenhouse ^nd window culture; and, while
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectflowers, bookyear1877
