Preface. 7 



desire to acknowledge) , that he might possibly settle the 

 problem, if he gave it a year's study, I concluded to 

 omit my prefatory chapter, and to begin with the more 

 tangible topics of soil and manure. 



I may add that it would have been easy for the pub- 

 lishers to fill this book with illustrations of strawberries 

 taken at second hand, and for whose accuracy they could 

 not vouch ; but it has been thought better to use only 

 drawings made from actual specimens of fruit. Such 

 illustrations will be -given in future editions. 



. J. M. M., JR. 



February 8, 1870. 



