The Kpiltle to the Reader. 



Bat perfwading my felfe there is no fhowre that produceth not fame fruit, or no 

 word but worke th /'ome ejfeft, eyther of good to per f wade, or of reproof e to euince ; 

 I could not but (/(</</;( wv minde herein, let others iudge or fay what they pltafe. 

 For I haue alwaies held it a thing -vnfit, to conceale or bury that knowledge God 

 hath given, and not to impart it, and further others therewith as much as is conve- 

 nient, yet without oftentation, which I haue euer hated. Now further to informe 

 the courteous Reader, both of the occafion that led me on to this worke, and the 

 other occurrences to it. Fir ft, hauing perufed many Herbals in Latine, I obferued 

 thtit mojl of them haue eyther neglefted or not knowne the many diuerjities of the 

 flower Plants, and rare fruits are known to vs at this time, and (except Clufius) 

 haue made mention but of a very few. In Englifh likewife we haue fome extant, 

 as Turner and Dodonaeus tranjlated, who haue faid little of Flowers, Gerard 

 who is la ft, hath no doubt given vs the knowledge of as many as he attained vnto 

 in his time, but Jince his dates we haue had many more varieties, then he or they euer 

 heard of, as may be perceived by the fore I haue here produced. And none of them 

 haue particularly feuered thofe that are beautifull fower plants, Jit to fore a gar- 

 den of delight and pleafure, from the wilde and vnfit : but haue enterlaced many, 

 one among another, whereby many that haue de fired to haue faire fower s, haue not 

 known eyther what to choofe, or what to dejire. Divers Bookes of Flowers alfo haue 

 been fet forth, fome in our owne Countrey, and more in others, all which are as it 

 were but handfuls fnatched from the plentiful I Treafvry of Nature, none of them 

 being willing or able to open all Jorts, and declare them fully ; but the greatefi 

 hinder ance of all mens delight was, that none of them had given any defcription of 

 them, but the bare name only. To fatisfie therefore their dejires that are lovers 

 offuch Delights, I took "upon me this labour and charge, and have here feleSled and 

 fet forth a Garden of all the chief efi for choyce, and fairejt for Jhew, from among 

 all the feuerall Tribes and Kindreds of Natures beauty, and haue ranked them as 

 neere as I could, or as the worke would permit, in affinity one onto another. Second- 

 ly, and for their fakes that are fiudious in Authors, I haue fet down the names haue 

 bin formerly giuen "vnto them, with fome of their errours, not intending to cumber 

 this worke with all that might bee faid of them, becaufe the deciding of the many 

 controuerfies, doubts, and quefiions that concerne them, pertaine more fitly to a ge- 

 nera// Hifiory : yet I have beene in fome places more copious and ample then at the 

 fir ft I had intended, the occafion drawing on my dejire to informe others with what 

 I thought was fit to be known, referuing what elfe might be faid to another time & 

 worke ; wherein (God willing) I will in large my felfe, the fubieSl matter requiring 

 it at my hands, in what my fmall ability can effecJ. Thirdly, I have alfo to embellijh 

 this Worke fet forth the figures of all fuch plants and flowers as are material I and 

 different one from another : but not as fome others haue done, that is, a number of 

 the figures of one fort of plant that haue nothing to diftinguifh them but the co- 

 lour, for that I hold to be fuperfiuous and wafie. Fourthly, I haue alfo fet down the 

 Vertues and Properties of them in a briefe manner, rather defiring to give you the 

 knowledge of a few certaine and true, then to relate, as others haue done, a needle fs 

 and falfe multiplicitie, that fo there might as well profit as pleafure be taken from 

 them, and that nothing might be wanting to accompli/h it fully. And fo tnuch for 

 this fir ft part, my Garden of pleafant and delightfull Flowers. My next Garden 

 confifteth of Herbes and Rootes, fit to be eaten of the rich and poor as nourifkment 

 and food, as fawce or condiment, as fallet or refrejhing, for pleafure or profit ; where 

 I doe as well play the Gardiner, to /hew you (in briefe, but not at large) the times 



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