INTRODUCTION TO FIRST EDITION. 



I HAVE endeavored, in writing " Gardening for Pleas- 

 ure," to divest it, as far as I was competent to do so, of 

 the technical terms and phrases which professional gar- 

 deners use in writing or talking on matters relating to 

 horticulture, and to use the plainest language at my 

 command in describing the simplest methods of culture. 

 Whether I have succeeded in making the subject as clear 

 as I have desired to do, those who read the work must 

 decide. 



My aim in writing the book was to make it such as 

 would be useful to the occupant of a city lot, or to the 

 possessor of a few window plants, as well as to the owner 

 of a country residence that is fully appointed in all mat- 

 ters relating to the cultivation of flowers, fruits, and 

 vegetables. The necessity for such a book has been 

 made evident to me by inquiries from hundreds of 

 amateurs in gardening ; inquiries to many of which 

 neither of my previous works ("Gardening for Profit" or 

 "Practical Floriculture") furnished proper replies ; the 

 one being written mainly for information for the market 

 gardener, and the other for the commercial florist. 



PETER HENDERSON. 

 Jersey City, N. J., Oct., 1875. 



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