PREFACE 



TO THE TWENTY-FIFTH EDITION. 



TlEW would have predicted, when in 1863 the first edi- 

 tion of " Flowers for the Parlor and Garden " was is- 

 sued, the favorable manner in which it would be received by 

 the public. 



There was at the time a want- of a manual of culture, 

 which the volume supplied. From the position it then 

 took as the standard work on popular floriculture, it has 

 never been displaced, and now, thirteen years from the time 

 of its first publication, it remains the recognized authority 

 on the subject. 



The present time> however, seems fitting to issue the 

 work in an enlarged form, with additions which bring its 

 pages up to the horticultural standard of the present day. 



This has been done by the addition of three new chap- 

 ters, in which will be found concise notices of many new 

 and rare plants, as well as notes on improved methods of 

 cultivation. 



In a manual of culture, embracing many classes of 

 plants, it is impossible, without exceeding the reasonable 

 limits of the work, to give long lists or extended descrip 



