12 PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION. 



having been so fortunate as to gain their approval, I fear to 

 meddle with a record which, in a sense, has become theirs 

 as well as mine. Therefore I have decided to leave the 

 body of the book untouched. 



When I read the lists of varieties I found many that have 

 become obsolete, many that were never worthy of a name. 

 Should I revise these lists, as I fully expected to do, from 

 time to time ? At present I have concluded that I will not, 

 for the following reasons : 



When, between six and seven years ago, I wrote the de- 

 scriptions of the various kinds of fruit then in vogue, I natu- 

 rally and inevitably reflected the small-fruit world as it then 

 existed. The picture may have been imperfect and dis- 

 torted, but I gave it as I saw it. With all its faults I would 

 like to keep that picture for future reference. The time 

 may come when none of the varieties then so highly praised 

 and valued will be found in our fields or gardens. For that 

 very reason I should like to look back to some fixed and 

 objective point which would enable me to estimate the 

 mutations which had occurred. Originators of new varieties 

 are apt to speak too confidently and exultantly of their 

 novelties ; purchasers are prone to expect too much of them. 

 Both might obtain useful lessons by turning to a record of 

 equally lauded novelties of other days. Therefore I would 

 like to leave that sketch of varieties as seen in 1880 unal- 

 tered. To change the figure, the record may become a 

 landmark, enabling us to estimate future progress more ac- 

 curately. Should the book still meet with the favor which 

 has been accorded to it in the past, there can be frequent 

 revisions of the supplemental lists which are now given. 

 Although no longer engaged in the business of raising and 

 selling plants, I have not lost my interest in the plants 

 themselves. I hope to obtain much of my recreation in 



