PREFACE. 



THE PRINCIPAL OBJECT of the compiler of this volume is to 

 furnish something between a mere dictionary of names and a 

 scientific treatise containing nothing beyond technical descrip-. 

 tions of plants. No attempt has been made to treat the subject 

 in a popular, gossiping style, for this would involve considerable 

 discursiveness, and consequent additional bulk, without enhanc- 

 ing the usefulness of the work ; but only those technical terms 

 in general use, and familiar to almost everybody engaged 

 amongst plants, have been employed. It is, in fact, impossible 

 to describe plants, or any series of objects presenting slight 

 modifications of the same characters, without using special terms 

 of a certain and defined signification. To obviate any difficulty 

 that might arise from ignorance on this point, and to have the 

 explanations at hand, a concise glossary is given of those words 

 which do not carry their meaning with them. But the most 

 superficial knowledge of Systematic Botany will be sufficient to 

 render all the information this work contains intelligible, and 

 only those who have some idea of the subject are likely to 

 consult it. Although considerable space is devoted to Practi- 

 cal Gardening, greater prominence has been given to descriptive 

 garden Botany, because it is believed that this branch of 

 horticultural literature is still far behind all others. It is 

 not supposed that the present work will at once supply the 

 deficiency aimed at, as it is necessarily very imperfect ; but as 

 the first of its kind it may serve to smoothe the way for a more 

 elaborate one, and be the means of clearing up some of the 

 errors generally current, as well as leading to the discovery of 

 others. The arrangement of the technical portion according 

 to the natural system appears to be justified by the fact tlmt 



