Where shall we find so pleasing an appreciation of the pleasures that attest the lover of a garden, as in the following extract of a letter from the venerable Dr. Fothergill:

" Planting and gardening supply a fund of entertainment, the most lasting and reasonable of any occupation in this life, pleasures not to be purchased. The trees which we ourselves have planted, the fruits we have raised, the plants we have cultivated, seem to be like our children, a kind of new creation. Their shade, their taste, their fragrance, and their beauties, affect us with a richer repast than any other. What a pleasing scene lies open to a young man of fortune devoted to such amusements! Each succeeding year produces new shades, other fruits, fresh beauties, and brings besides most certain profit. To behold the rising groves, barrenness made fertile, our country improved, ourselves made useful and happy, and posterity enriched! I have seldom known a man possessed of a taste for such pleasures, who was not at the same time temperate and virtuous".

The Floral Fete at the London Crystal Palace in June last was probably the greatest heretofore seen in Europe. Five thousand dollars were distributed in prizes. Of course all the skilled gardeners of the kingdom rallied round the head of their order, Sir Joseph Paxton, each vying to excel. In the fruit department, owing to a cold spring, there was a disappointment. A great portion of the transept was devoted to Rhododendrons, which it must have been well worth a voyage to see; those who have seen even a common exhibition of these plants at Chiswick will understand us.