PREFACE. 



Man, by nature, inherits the love of flowers. The domains 

 of the noble, and the cottage of the humble, alike proclaim 

 to us the dominion of this passion. 



If the busy scenes of life, in which many are obliged to 

 move, suppress for awhile this divine excitement, yet the chief 

 occupant of their thoughts is no sooner relinquished, than na- 

 tural inclinations immediately evince themselves. They sigh 

 for rural retirement, there to enjoy the uncontaminated atmos- 

 phere of nature, to cultivate its choicest gifts, and to linger 

 over its vegetable beauties. 



The attraction of a flower garden, the health yielded by 

 its cultivation, and the ten thousand gratifications arising out 

 of it, are freely acknowledged by every one. Open as these 

 manifold pleasures are, to the least individual amongst us, the 

 author of the Botanic Garden was desirous of producing a 

 work, at such moderate price, as none may be excluded from 

 possessing. One that should disseminate information amongst 

 the lovers of flowers, encourage the taste for their cultivation, 

 and yield a stimulus to the exertions of those who duly appre- 

 ciate the enjoyments that invariably arise from so pure a 

 source. 



Whether he has effected the desired object is left to the 

 decision of his readers. The best exertions of his humble 

 ability have been employed; and the encouragement of the 

 public has laid him under obligations to continue those efforts 

 with redoubled zeal. 



