PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. ix 



ness. Some of these varieties are beautifully figured 

 in " Flore des Serres," vol. 19, plates 177 to 180. 

 Perhaps the great value of these seedlings will be for 

 forcing for conservatory decoration, where their 

 bright color and free flowering habit will render 

 them favorites. 



The winter of 1871-2, will long be remembered 

 by horticulturists, for the unparalleled destruction of 

 vegetable life. The causes which led to this, must 

 forever remain a mystery, though the facts of cli- 

 matic temperature, drought, and rain-fall for that 

 season, are well set forth in the elaborate report of 

 a committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society, printed with the transactions of 1872. 



The enumeration of plants appended to this re- 

 port, with statements of how they were affected in 

 different localities, is of great value in determining 

 the comparative hardiness of varieties. 



As might be expected, rhododendrons and Ameri- 

 can plants suffered severely. At Glen Ridge, we car- 

 ried off cart-loads of dead plants, and the spring of 

 1872 found us almost ready to abandon the culture 

 of rhododendrons. Yet the loss was soon made good 

 by the vigorous growth of the survivors, and now 

 it is hard to tell where a plant was lost. 



Azaleas had all their flower-buds killed, but the 

 plants were generally uninjured, and bloomed finely 

 the following year. 



