viii PREFACE. 



likewise can't describe them precisely to another. 



2°. The budding shoots of trees distinguish one type from another very well; a pear 

 tree from a plum tree, & even some varieties, a winter pear, for example, from a cresane 

 bergamot. But in quite a few varieties these distinctions aren't so great; they can be 

 thought of as negative characteristics that tell which variety it is not, rather than as positive 

 features that precisely identify this or that variety. Gardeners, especially those are 

 dedicated to cultivating nurseries, claim that they can recognize almost all trees, and 

 especially pear trees, just by their shoots. They may recognize them within the gardens or 

 the nurseries where they grow them, because the characteristics of bud shoots rarely vary 

 inside the same area. Nevertheless, we've noticed several times that skilled nurserymen 

 have been mistaken about fruit tree varieties that had been removed from their nurseries 

 only a few days previously. We concede that a nurseryman, who can be compared to the 

 head of a large family, living as he does among the trees that he has watched being born & 

 growing up, trees that he has planted, grafted, shaped, &c. should recognize them, even 

 independently of their shoots, even though the latter can help him identify a number of 

 species. But it certainly is not possible to identify distinctive features for peach trees, & it 

 is very difficult for the other kinds, by examining only the shoots, at least for the large 

 majority of varieties of fruit trees. The uncertainty will increase if the shoots have been 

 taken from different nurseries, 



