INTRODUCTION. 



my sincere acknowledgments to all those to whom 

 I am indebted for valuable information, and in an 

 especial manner to a lady amateur, whose valuable 

 services have frequently brightened our ideas. And 

 finally, let me be allowed to place this humble 

 offering under the patronage of the LADIES, trust- 

 ing that their love of the subject will induce them 

 to look over all deficiencies in the manner of treat- 

 ing it, and hoping that' the views and experience 

 of a practical man, honestly given, and in a style 

 aiming at nothing but perspicuity, may be of some 

 use to them. While it has been my object to pro- 

 duce a manual adapted to the wants of every rose 

 fancier, I have been especially anxious to make 

 the task of selection an easier one to my fair 

 patronesses, and if I succeed in assisting any of 

 them in the choice or culture of a single rose I 

 shall be satisfied; or should I be the means of 

 inducing some to enter the flowery paths of horti- 

 culture, where healthful employment and innocent 

 pleasures wait to greet them, my highest ambition 

 will be attained. 



PHILADELPHIA, March, 1844. 



