INTRODUCTION. 



TREES are essential to an American home. 

 The frame building, the first pointer to the 

 young mechanic in his arduous path towards 

 an honorable independence, is imperfect with- 

 out the idea of shade trees surrounding it. 

 And when, as he proceeds onwards, pros- 

 perity and plenty, smiling on his genius and 

 on his talents, suggest the idea of a suburban 

 residence, he dwells with pleasure on the 

 vast variety of ornamental flowering trees, 

 producing each month a succession of beauti- 

 ful novelties, clothed with an endless variety of 

 ever-changing foliage, administering equally 

 shade and shelter for the body with food and 

 enjoyment for the mind, which are pictured 

 with it. Perhaps fortune has chosen him 

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