NtW VoiRK 



P Pl E F A C E. Bc/fANicAL 



(JAkDCN 



^^M^f^ N presenting to the public a treatise like the present, it would naturally be 

 \ l expected that the author should state the grounds upon which he rests his 

 claim to attention. With this expectation he most cordially complies. Soon 

 after the publication of his " Sylva Americana," in 1832, at the solicitation, 

 not only of personal friends, but with the expressed wishes of numerous indi- 

 viduals to whom he was comparatively a stranger, he undertook the prepara- 

 tion of a work on the trees of this country, more complete and extensive in its character 

 than had hitherto been published. With this view, in connection with other pursuits, 

 he extended his researches by' travelling and residing for a time in various parts of North 

 and South America, the West Indies, Europe, and Western Africa, where he availed 

 hiinself of the advantage of not only verifying or correcting the observations which had 

 been made by others on the trees of these countries, but examined them under various 

 conditions in a state of nature, as well as in nurseries and collections of the cui-ious. 



In the year 1838, he announced to the public, through a " Memorial praying Con- 

 gress to adopt measures for procuring and preserving a supply of timber for naval pur- 

 poses," [Doc. 241, 25tk Congress, 2d Session, Senate,] that he had commenced the prep- 

 aration of a treatise on this subject, setting forth the course he was pursuing and the 

 chief objects of inquiry; but owing to the party strife and political warfare which ex- 

 isted at that period, he regi-ets to say that no action was taken in the matter beyond re- 

 ferring said memorial to the Committee on Naval Affairs, and ordering it to be printed. 

 In 1843, at the request of his friends, definite proposals were issued by the author 

 for publishing the work in a popular form, and a large number of wealthy and public- 

 spirited citizens proffered him their aid, to whom he can not here omit to acknowledge 

 his lasting obligations ; but, owing to various causes which have unavoidably retarded 

 ^ the publication, it could not with propriety be issued before the present time. 



While complying with this request, he has read or consulted the works of all the most 



judicious authors on the subject, both ancient and modera, with the view of giving a 



i concise account of such trees and shrubs as are cultivated or growing in America, as 



>^j would interest the general reader, and, at the same time, would prove economical and 



^ useful to the* artisan, the planter, and to those interested in arboriculture, in a more ex 



^ tended sense. 



I The pictorial illustrations of this work have either been made directly from drawings 



^ after nature, or from accurate delineations already in existence, one figure representing 



the general appearance of each tree, and another of the leaf, flower, fruit, &c., in order 



CO that the descriptions may be better and more clearly understood, and to lender their 



CT> identity more certain. 



<:::> The classification he has preferred to adopt is the Natural System, chiefly for the 

 CI sake of aiding in generalizing on the species and varieties contained in each family or 

 Cu tribe, which is in accordance with the plan adopted by Professor Don. in " Miller'." 



CO 



