INTRODUCTION. I 1 



none but those who have experienced it can know an}i;hing 

 about. All soft fruits are the same ; and, therefore, setting 

 all whims and fancies aside, while it is true there is a good 

 deal of ideal pleasure derived from a garden, there is infinitely 

 more real, substantial, unalloyed enjoyment. Our most himible 

 friends may be as proud of a bed of stocks as those a httle 

 better off are of a bed of tulips, or the aristocrats of horti- 

 culture are of a princely establishment. Our object will 

 be to put the most inexperienced youth into the readiest way 

 of performing all the operations, and thereby pursuing a 

 rational and profitable recreation, or of furnisliing the means 

 of earning his li^'ing, according as he may have occasion to 

 api^ly his knowledge. 



