PREFACE. 



IT is now more than ten years since the last edition of the present 

 work was issued to the public. Since that time great progress has 

 been made in the Society's Garden in the examination of fruits, 

 and much additional experience, as to their real qualities, has 

 been obtained. One result has been, that the Garden Committee 

 resolved to discontinue the cultivation of a large number of infe- 

 rior varieties ; being of opinion that it is useless to grow fruits 

 of an inferior kind when varieties exist superior to them in 

 quality and equal in all other respects. Nevertheless it has 

 not been thought desirable to expunge such varieties altoge- 

 ther from the catalogue ; they are accordingly preserved in 

 their places, but are distinguished by the prefix of an 0, instead 

 of a number, In most other respects this catalogue is printed 

 upon the same plan as the last, viz : 



1. The arrangement of the varieties of each species, and also of 

 the species themselves, is alphabetical, according to the names in 

 common use. 



2, The names arranged under each species consist both of 

 those which are retained and of their synonyms ; but these are 

 distinguished by the former being printed in larger type than 

 the latter. In order to increase the utility of this part of the 

 Catalogue, the synonyms are introduced twice ; both in their al- 

 phabetical position, where they appear in Italics, and also immedi- 



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