IV PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. 



Yet already a reaction is taking place, and the 

 old-fashioned borders of olden-time flowers are again 

 planted, in place of planting ribbons of gay colors 

 or sanguinary beds of coleus and irisine. 



In the present edition many corrections and emen- 

 dations have been made, but the description of the 

 newer varieties of plants has not been attempted. 

 Many will prove of ephemeral interest, and soon be 

 lost to cultivation. In general treatment they re- 

 quire similar culture to the species,^ and in this the 

 pages of this volume are sufficiently explicit. 



The book is not intended as a botanical dictionary, 

 or as a florist's catalogue ; but as a manual for the 

 flower garden, giving brief but sufficient cultural 

 directions and a mention of species, a new edition is 

 confidently issued to still hold the position it has 

 maintained since its first publication. 



Glen Ridge, January, 1876. 



