PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



T N submitting the present work to the public it is thought desirable 

 to state that it contains an exposition of the principles followed in 

 these Nurseries, where the ROSE has been extensively and successfully 

 cultivated under the Author's superintendence for many years. A chief 

 inducement to its publication was the writer's desire to improve the 

 condition of a favourite flower. It had long appeared to him that a 

 work entering into the detail of Rose-culture, elucidating the various 

 practices by means of Engravings, and furnishing Coloured Plates of 

 some' of the choicest kinds, was a desideratum ; and that the non- 

 existence of such a work proved a formidable barrier to the agreeable 

 and satisfactory prosecution of this branch of Floriculture. 



Holding these views, it was his wish to publish in a form and at a 

 price which would place the work within reach of the humblest cultivator ; 

 but the great expense attending the production of Coloured Plates in 

 a highly finished style, and the knowledge that the circulation of a class- 

 work must necessarily be limited, pointed out the impracticability of 

 pursuing such a course, and the idea was ultimately, though with 

 reluctance, abandoned. 



The publication did not, however, appear unadvisable because it 

 could not be made more generally accessible. On the contrary, it was 

 evident from conversation with numerous Amateurs and professional 

 Florists, who from time to time visited the Nurseries, that it was greatly 

 required. It was argued that there were more lovers of flowers seeking 

 amusement in the culture of the ROSE at the present time than at any 

 previous period ; that the most difficult and important branches of 

 cultivation were nowhere fully and clearly treated of ; and that although 



