PREFACE. 



If a life devoted to the study of trees and plants be a 

 sufficient excuse for an unknown author to intrude his 

 views and experiences upon the public, then the writer of 

 this volume feels at liberty to present his first offering. 



His principal inducement for undertaking a work of this 

 kind was. the want he had himself experienced at the com- 

 mencement of his own studies. Having for years awaited 

 the appearance of a publication suited to the climate of 

 this country, he at last concluded to compile the results of 

 his own observation and practice. 



There has not heretofore been an American work on 

 Conifers, giving descriptions of all the different species 

 and varieties that will endure the climate of the Middle 

 States ; and without wishing to detract from the merits of 

 the few excellent works that treat upon this subject to a 

 limited extent, he believes that the present volume will fill 

 up a blank in our works on horticulture, that has hereto- 

 fore been much felt. In its compilation he has collected 

 much valuable information from the most approved writers 

 on the subject, and added his own experience and observa- 

 tion in a plain and impartial manner, with a view to aid his 

 countrymen in making a selection of the most suitable 

 Conifers for their respective situations. 



The differences of European and American author- 

 ities, with respect to nomenclature, are numerous and per- 

 plexing, and where there were dissimilar opinions, the 

 author has studied the characteristics of the doubtful 

 plants, and placed them under what he considered their 

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