INTRODUCTION. 



IN no country in the world are there so many well-to-do 

 people as in the United States, and so many who own com- 

 fortable and even beautiful homes, and on every hand we 

 hear the call for information as to the most beautiful 

 decorative trees, shrubs, and plants and their proper use 

 and arrangement to produce the most pleasing effects. The 

 enormous trade in ornamental trees, shrubs, and plants 

 among our nurserymen is an indication of the extent of the 

 work of improvement and decoration that is going on among 

 our people and the consequent need of knowledge and skill 

 in order to make the best use of these materials. 



The agricultural and horticultural press of the country 

 has done much and is increasing its efforts to diffuse the 

 needed knowledge. The nurserymen and dealers in orna- 

 mentals by their catalogues so profusely illustrated and 

 scattered broadcast over the land are also helping on the 

 good work, though in many cases by their undue praise of 

 untried novelties they often lead the unskilled planter to 

 make serious mistakes and great loss. 



Landscape gardeners and architects have played a large 

 and important part in developing the great beauty seen in 

 so many of our country and suburban towns; the great 

 majority of our people, however, those in limited circum- 

 stances who are straining every effort to pay for the home 



