IT WOULD be extremely difficult to find another form of recreation so productive of pleasure as gardening in any of its varied forms. See the pleasant, sunny appearance that plants and flowers impart to a home; see the warm flushes of health that pervade the cheeks of those who cultivate them; and see the happiness and contentment that such people monopolize ! Mark the popularity of our public parks and gardens in spring, summer and fall. The inhabitants of our large cities, who are not in a position to afford the luxury of a home garden, are pleased to go to such places, because, in doing so, they are benefitted mentally as well as physically. Here, in the contemplation of nature's charms, the troubles and anxieties of daily life are, for a time at least, forgotten; in the respite fresh strength and courage are gathered for a renewal of the combat; the senses and the mind are educated; characters are ennobled, and life itself throws off some of those artificialities which serve to make it irksome, and partakes in some measure of the more agreeable tenor of the immediate surroundings.

Who will have the hardihood to deny that the most corrupt mind is beneficially influenced by merely looking upon the sublime and beautiful productions of nature ?

Take a man whose life has been spent in one of our great cities, and place him for the first time in the open country - in a gigantic natural forest or on a large mountain - and wonder at the magnificence of his surroundings will speedily overcome him. And when we come to observe the little things of nature, they are found to be as prolific of astonishment as the majestic. If this be true of mere observation, may it not with safety be assumed that the action of natural influences is intensified by the closer contact with natural objects which we experience in caring for flowers in the home garden ? The assumption is entirely reasonable. We are better men and women as far as we have something that will strike from our hearts the selfish and bitter thoughts that are too often the result of commercial contact with others; and, while we learn from that something, and elevate the character in pursuing it, we do, indeed, possess an eldorado. Then fill your vacant yards and gardens with flowers; in studying their peculiarities and supplying their requirements you will find ample compensation - the world will be better and more beautiful.

A very important question now presents itself: Should our gardens be as artificial as we can make them, or should they be arranged in a manner as nearly natural as possible, consistent with order and artificial surroundings ? In answer, I unhesitatingly say that the flower garden should be natural. There are many arguments in favor of this position, but at present I can take only a passing glance at the more prominent. Formal and fantastic designs in the flower garden seem to be waning, and it can hardly be regretted that such is the case. The fashion - or craze, as some would call it - which has prevailed so universally for a lengthened period, has swept into obscurity many lovely and deserving plants. They would not submit to the hard-and-fast laws of fashion; they would not be confined to the narrow and unnatural limits assigned them ; they would persist in growing in their own peculiar way - the most interesting and most beautiful of all - and in consequence they were left in some hidden corner to exhaust their vitality in a lingering struggle against the remorseless and triumphant forces of neglect, or led forth from the garden to die an ignominious death on the rubbish heap. Unhappy fate 1 Fortunately, however, every one did not fall victim to the fever.

Though some had a slight attack, they were yet able to care for the neglected plants, as old friends should be cared for; and accordingly, many things still found comfortable quarters in a few gardens. But, even with that grain of comfort, it is painful to think of the scarcity of many fine old species - the beautiful plants that adorned the rustic gardens of our forefathers. By applied energy, however, in the matter of propagation, we will speedily get over the question of scarcity in the majority of cases; and then our old friends will return to our gardens to gladden our hearts and inspire poets with pleasing thoughts as they did of old. What poet has sung of carpet beds and ribbon borders ?

Though the carpet-bedding system has for a time deprived us of many old favorites, yet we must admit that it has been productive of some good. Our knowledge of the arrangement of colors was decidedly inferior previous to the general adoption of that system. By bringing the colors in close contact with one another, as its requirements demand, we could the more readily detect errors of taste, and our efforts to rectify them were lightened in proportion. In this respect we have gained, and that considerably. That the gain fully balances the loss is a matter that can be determined satisfactorily only by reference to personal knowledge and experience. A proper disposal of the colors, however, is one of the most important matters with which we have to deal in the effective arrangement of either flowering or foliage plants, and, therefore, anything that may have increased our knowledge of this subject should not be passed over too lightly. But after mature consideration of this, and of all other arguments in favor of carpet bedding, I feel bound to say that it has been prejudicial rather than beneficial to the best interests of the flower garden. In every feature it outraged nature. It is true that all gardens must be more or less artificial; but art should help rather than oppose nature.

The chief argument against the system, however, deals with the poor return afforded even after considerable outlay. To maintain it in its perfection entails a large and continual expenditure. Many grow weary of this unceasing strain upon their finances, and, in a few years, the garden becomes an object of neglect.

I am not disposed to quarrel with those who regard this system with favor. Opinions will continue to vary on this as on other matters in spite of anything that may be said, and I bow to the supreme right of each individual to say what shall be grown, and how it shall be planted. But there are certain individuals in all communities who have, to a large extent, the guidance of taste in such matters, and they are somewhat to blame for favoring the adoption of a costly, not to say unnatural, style, when they know it will ultimately be disastrous to that inherent love of nature and the beautiful. And I am further inclined to find fault with those who, having found incongruous designs or unbroken lines of dazzling colors unsuited to their taste, or finding the maintenance of such a system too costly, become discouraged and let the garden fall into disorder and ruin. They forget about the hundreds of plants that are capable of lending exquisite beauty to the surroundings of the humblest cottage or the most kingly palace at comparatively trifling cost; they forget about the innumerable species of hardy plants - fitted by nature for every conceivable situation - that require but a small share of care and attention in order to embellish our surroundings during two-thirds of the year, and in one disappointment they come to dislike the garden and the flowers with all their pleasing associations.

Ah! ye disappointed ones, be not so perverse; do not shatter the happiness of the home circle by breaking the ties of love and friendship that the flowers wove in the summer's sun; do not let youthful minds, in darkened days of wintry blasts, fail to realize that the sun will shine and flowers bloom again in spring; but in your perplexity turn to the proper source, and suitable advice will be gladly given I A home garden should be a place where room can be found for the favorite flowers of each member of the family. As this cannot be easily done while carpet bedding or ribbon borders prevail, it will be found advantageous to adopt the more natural and less expensive herbaceous garden. It is the real old-fashioned style of flower-gardening, and there is nothing spasmodic or extravagant about it. Every plant in such a garden has its own distinct individuality, and all have a story to tell. That great verbascum came from a friend in California; Mr. Smith, over the way, gave me that clump of solidago; those beautiful portulacas were raised from seeds that were sent by Aunt Kate last spring; I bought that splendid anemone in the market one day for five cents, etc., etc. It is our every-day garden where one always finds something interesting.

There is no sameness about it, and it would be utterly impossible to see the whole garden by looking at one corner or even at the half of it. In the shade of the trees you will find a lot of rare ferns and other plants that do not like the sun. The alpine plants are quite at home in yonder mass of rocks and debris. If you wish to see all the different kinds of interesting and beautiful plants in the garden, you must traverse every yard of it - something you have not seen before will appear in every corner. Mass. Gerald Hastings.