XXVI INTRODUCTION. 



too voluminous and unwieldy for general or 

 e very-day use ; and in truth, this objection 

 applies to most of the books already published 

 on the subject. 



Whatever inclination I might have felt to 

 communicate at all times the result of my 

 experience to others, I have been greatly 

 encouraged in the present instance by the 

 repeated solicitations of several admirers as 

 well as growers of flowers, to wiiom I had 

 already presented in writing, with no small 

 trouble and inconvenience, the substance of 

 the remarks contained herein, to print and 

 publish some short treatise or other on the 

 Carnation in particular, accompanied with a 

 catalogue of those flowers which I was in the 

 habit of growing. 



What gave rise in the first instance to 

 these solicitations was no doubt the fine, 

 healthy appearance of the plants in my col- 



