VI PEEFACE. 



'No nation, and no people, wiiether in the ancient, medieeval, or modern 

 ages of the world's history, have ever attained to such a high degree 

 of proficiency", nay, perfection, in the arts of agriculture and horticul- 

 ture, than is now prevalent in Great Britain ; and it seems somewhat 

 anomalous that arhoriculture, in this progressive, expansive, diffusive, 

 and utilitarian age, should still keep lagging behind the two kindred 

 arts in the march of improvement ; for it cannot be denied that much 

 has yet to be done for arboricultiu'e before Ave can raise forestry to 

 the high rank as a cultural art which its national importance and 

 intrinsic merits as a branch of rural economy imperatively demands. 



Arboriculture has many wants. One of these is a Handbook of the 

 Firs and Pines, giving their distinctive characteristics, and the best 

 modes of growing them ; Avith brief practical notes on their hardiness, 

 and on the soils and situations most suitable for them ; showing such 

 kinds as are of economic value for theix timber, and such as are useful 

 for ornamental planting in the climate of Great Britain and Ireland : 

 also, a natural and common-sense classification and nomenclature of 

 them, with an alphabetical list or index of the names of all the genera, 

 species, quasi-species, varieties, and sub-varieties, and all the synonyms 

 or aliases by which they are at present known j comprising a brief 

 and practical summary of all that is desirable or necessary for the British 

 Arboriculturist to know concerning the Firs and Pines of the world 

 to the present date; and all this in a portable form, and at a 

 reasonable price. 



This, it is universally admitted, is a desideratum Avhich has not yet 

 been supplied ; though many very laudable endeavours have been made 

 to accomplish the task ; all of which, however, have failed in the per- 

 formance, from the simple fact that it is one of those complex subjects 

 which requires not only a theoretical, but likewise a practical know- 

 ledge, thoroughly and correctly to treat of it ; and the three-score and 

 ten, or, perchance, four-score years, allotted to us on earth, is much too 

 short a period to learn all that pertains to the cultivation and conver- 

 sion of the Firs and Pines. Hence the laudable attempts of most 

 modern writers to remove obscurity have, in good sooth, only added to 

 its shade. I^or is this much to be wondered at ; for when we come to 

 consider the very numerous and very variable genera and species of 

 PiNACBiE, and the many quasi-species, varieties, and sub-varieties, 



