A SYNOPSIS OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



By WILHELM MILLER. 



The following Synopsis attempts to supply 

 what is probably the greatest deficiency in cyclo- 

 pedic works on Horticulture published in the 

 English language. It fills a twofold need : 



(1) It helps the botanist find out the name of 

 any plant cultivated in America, including the 

 wild flowers and other plants native to the United 

 States and Canada that are offered for sale. 



(2) It helps the student towards a scientific 

 knowledge of the plant world, since it gives a 

 condensed and orderly account of tliat part of the 

 vegetable kingdom which is of interest to gar- 

 deners, farmers and foresters. 



No merely alpliabetical work can accomplish 

 either of these results. For example, suppose 

 you have a flower that you know to be an Iris, 

 but of what species of Iris j'ou do not know and 

 wish to find out. Consult the best works in 

 which tlie species of Iris are arranged alphabeti- 

 cally. It might take you hours to read the pages 

 of description, comparing the items with your 

 specimen, and the chances are that in the end 

 you would not be sure of your determination, 

 since related species are not compared and 

 contrasted. 



It was to furnish a short-cut to .such informa- 

 tion that every group of plants described in the 

 Cyclopedia of American Horticulture was 

 classified according to shape, color, size, season, 

 height or other character of interest to the gar- 

 dener. Tliese short-cuts or ' ' keys " liave long been 

 in common use among students of botany, but the 

 introduction of them into a work designed pri- 

 marily for gardeners marks an era in horticul- 

 tural literature printed in the English language. 



No valid objection can be made to keys, synop- 

 ses or other classified arrangements, since they do 

 three things more clearly and briefly than any 

 other device. (1) They help one find out the 

 name of a plant. (2) They sliow the difference 

 between tliis species and every other species of 

 the same genus. (3) They show the relation 

 of each species to every other, i. e. the points of 

 likeness. 



But classified schemes alone have one serious 



limitation. They are not so convenient for readj 

 reference if one knows one's plant and merely 

 wishes to find out the native country or how to 

 spell the name. The Cyclopedia of Americak 

 Horticulture met tliis need by numbering the 

 species and providing an alphabetical list or 

 index in each large genus. It therefore has the 

 unique distinction, among cyclopedic works on 

 Horticulture printed in the English language, of 

 possessing both systems — the classified and the 

 alphabetical — one for science, the other for con- 

 venience. 



All this supposes that you know the genus to 

 wliicli the plant belongs, — vehether it is an Iris, 

 Pieonia or Rhododendron. But you may not know 

 the genus ; the Synopsis will aid you to determine 

 it. The Synopsis leads you to the family and the 

 genus ; having the genus, you can run down the 

 species in the Cyclopedia itself, for tlie genera 

 are arranged alpliabetically. 



This Synopsis, therefore, deals only with fam- 

 ilies and genera, since the species are described 

 and distinguished elsewhere. It ties the whole 

 work together and makes it an organism instead 

 of a series of detached articles on Iris, Rosa, etc. 

 In otlier words, the Synopsis is not merely sup- 

 plementary ; it is fundamental. 



It must be confessed, however, that the prep- 

 aration of the Synopsis was undertaken with 

 serious misgivings. During the preparation of 

 the Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, 

 the editor was often importuned for something of 

 the kind, by students, botanists and others who 

 made increasing use of the volumes as issued. 

 In response to tliese urgent appeals it was neces- 

 sary to point out three objections: (1) Such a 

 Synopsis would necessai-ily be highly technical. 



(2) It would have to use a scheme of arrange- 

 ment wliich will pass with another generation. 



(3) The labor and expense would be great. 



In response to this demand the following 

 Synopsis has been prepared and the occasion of 

 a new edition makes it possible to publish it. 

 It is based upon tlie system of Benthani and 

 Hooker as set forth in their "Genera Plan- 



