xvi PREFACE. 



planting, pruning, &c. & to point out particular ways to cultivate each species, although 

 without claiming to write a complete treatise on this subject. We won't even begin to 

 criticize the poor practices that are perpetuated by many gardeners. Some of them know 

 how to avoid them and to validate with success the benefit of new methods that they've 

 developed. 



So we'll be satisfied to explain the mechanics of carrying out basic methods & the 

 simplest practices based on principles, sound observations, & on the experience of 

 gardeners who are not nor expect to be geniuses but whose accomplishments can satisfy 

 the experts. We'll refrain from discussing the mechanisms of seed germination, the 

 development of branches & roots, the success of layering and cuttings, the union of grafts 

 with their stock, the healing of wounds on trees, the formation of cambium layers, the 

 effects of pruning, &c. Those interested in getting this information can look up our 

 discussion of it in The Natural History of Trees where it's more suitably located. 



In this treatise we are limiting ourselves to information that is absolutely necessary 

 for a gardener, or for someone who doesn't feel it beneath him to become one, whether to 

 care for his trees himself or to judge how well they've been managed by someone else. As 

 a result, he will be in a position to invite his friends to join him in sharing the gifts that 

 hard work can derive from nature, & that are augmented, perfected, & embellished by his 

 diligence. 



