PREFACE. 



THE object of this work is to present to the public definite descrip- 

 tions of the choicest varieties of fruit suited to the orchard and the 

 garden, and best calculated for cultivation in our country ; and to 

 thereby afford those who desire to make selections, a sufficient degree 

 of information to enable them to do so, with advantage to themselves, 

 and in a manner that will comport with their wishes. 



In pursuance of this task, all publications of the highest authority 

 will be carefully consulted, and such matter as is important to the in- 

 tended object will be transferred to the present work. 



The synonymse will be most ample, and much more comprehensive 

 than any that has hitherto appeared, and will consequently render great 

 aid towards defining with accuracy the respective varieties, and also 

 dispel many of the errors which have crept into similar publications. 



The works of Duhamel, Rozier, and of the London Horticultural So- 

 ciety, stand first in the rank of pomological publications, and have shed 

 great light upon the subject; but the field is so ample, that an immen- 

 sity of labour still remains to be performed, ere we can perfect the great 

 task in view. Let it then be made the purpose of every one who is 

 conversant therewith, to contribute his mite towards the general stock 

 of information ; and by constantly hoarding the tributes which intelligent 

 minds may thus offer, and whose opportunities may be peculiarly fa- 

 vourable for investigation, we shall in the end arrive at such a consum- 

 mation as is alone attainable by the united labours of pomologists 

 throughout the world. 



The studies of nature have been wisely ordained by Omnipotence as 

 the most pleasing to the mind of man ; and it is in the unbounded field 

 which natural objects present, that he finds that enjoyment which their 

 never-ending novelty is peculiarly calculated to impart, and which renders 

 their study devoid of that satiety which attaches itself to other pursuits. 

 Most wisely has it been thus prescribed, that by an occupation of the 

 mind, in itself inviting and recreative, we should be insensibly led on to 

 a development of the intricacies of nature, and be thus taught to appre- 

 ciate the beneficence of the Creator, by a knowledge of the perfection 

 and beauty which mark the labours of his hand. 



The establishment whence this work emanates is the oldest of the 

 kind in our country, and it has from its commencement been the primary 

 desire of its proprietors to preserve the utmost accuracy ; in doing which, 

 pecuniary considerations have been deemed a subject of but minor 

 importance, their nurseries and garden being a family inheritance, in 

 the high character and perpetuity of which they have not only enlisted 

 their interest and welfare, but whose advancement, as a great national 

 institution, has been made a particular object of their feelings and pride. 

 It has long been a received opinion among a portion of the public, that 

 the proprietors of nurseries prefer to perpetuate a plurality of names for 

 the same fruit, and are not desirous to reduce the nomenclature to a cor- 

 rect basis, but find an advantage in the confusion which exists. This 

 opinion has gained credence from the circumstance that the same fruit is 

 cultivated in some nurseries under two, three or more names ; but as so 



