PREFACE. 
solicits the readers indulgence, having still endea- 
voured to do his best. . The strictest attention is 
necessary both to the rosaceous and stoloniferous 
periods of growth in these plants, as laid down at 
large in the Dissertation of 1803; nor can any 
thing decisive be determined without it, althougb 
the period of. their earliest. flowering seems to af- 
ford the best opportunity for construeting charac- 
teristic names; for perhaps at no other season are 
so many and such strong characters simultaneously 
developed. Then are the old rosaceous leaves of 
autumn eud winter, still surrounding the base of 
the scape ; and the nascent stolones of spring, be- 
ginning to shoot forth ; and perhaps also, every 
other character is then piri perceptible ; except, 
indeed, the elongation of the styles and stigmas, 
and capsules which are yet unformed. But fortu- 
nately the three last points are more of. generical 
than specific importance. And were we to wait 
till they were formed, the rosaceous leaves would 
partly disappear, and the ripening stolones would 
thicken at their ends, commencing the preparation 
for the future rose-shaped tufts: thus blending 
' together the distinctive features of two remarkable 
seasons of growth, so as to defy the discrimination 
of the most discerning eye, and baffle the decision 
of the most consummate judge. 
Here, perhaps, towards the close of this preface, 
a few words respecting the cultivation of Saxifra- 
géc may neither be unacceptable, nor inappro- 
priate ; especially as they are offered as the result 
of long experience and extensive cultivation. 
xvii 
