the care is usually confided. Moreover, when one becomes
interested in the management of a grapery, the employment gets to be too
fascinating to allow of the thought of restricted action or irksome
labor. It soon comes to be regarded as a delightful as well as healthful
employment, whose duties are simple, and easily understood and
performed.

The love of flowers is becoming quite a passion with many at the present
day. This is indicated by the multiplication of nurserymen, and the
rapid increase of their sales. Fifteen years ago the sales of flowering
plants were confined to a few city Florists; now the trade has become so
extensive, that large numbers are grown in our surrounding suburban
towns, to meet the demand, which at particular seasons, as the Christmas
and Easter holidays, for the decoration of our churches and other
purposes, reaches proportions that would surprise the uninitiated. One
cultivator has stated that during the fall of 1863 and winter of 1864
he cut and sent from his establishment, 230,000 blooms of the various
flowers he cultivates, and he is but one of many engaged in the
cultivation of flowers for the bouquet makers of New York. An extensive
grower of pot plants, from information carefully gathered among his
fellow nurserymen, estimates that the plant trade of the vicinity of New
York reaches nearly the sum of $200,000 annually, and this for plants
mainly employed as "bedding plants," in the decoration of gardens and
city yards, leaving entirely out of the question, those for winter
culture at windows and in green houses, as well as the immense stock of
the growers themselves to supply the demand for cut flowers. The growing
taste for flowers may be observed in the constantly increasing demand
for decorative purposes, in our churches, at public festivals, and
private gatherings, and is especially apparent in the numerous depots
for their sale on our principal thoroughfares. Much of this is due to
the general diffusion of Horticultural literature, unveiling the
mysteries of plant culture, and demonstrating the simplicity of the
process.

Small green-houses or conservatories attached to dwellings are now
frequently to be met with both in city and country: these are entered
from some one of the principal rooms of the house, and are an attractive
feature both within and without.

The pleasure derived from such a source is a constantly increasing one,
which can only be estimated by those who may