PLANT CULTURE 



Preface to Third Edition 



In nearly all of the recent works of this nature, appearing in 

 America, the subjects dealt with have been confined, more or less, 

 to those plants that can be and are cultivated by commercial florists 

 for profit, or by those who own conservatories. And while the 

 present book includes all this class of information it has a far wider 

 scope, treating, as it does, on the care and management of a diversity 

 of plants not touched upon by other writers, all equally necessary 

 in the adornment of our gardens and homes and, for this purpose, 

 as beautiful and interesting as those that generally receive the 

 greatest attention from authors of most horticultural works. 

 Divested of superfluous verbiage, and shorn of perplexing technical- 

 ities which tend to confuse, the cultural directions here given can 

 be easily and successfully followed, the results contributing to the 

 perfect enjoyment of "the purest of human pleasures," by some, 

 and affording to others a lucrative occupation. 



What I have given here are teachings gleaned and sifted from 

 the experience of many years' work as a gardener. The methods 

 described are such as have been successfully practiced by me and 

 can be safely relied upon as uptodate and thoroughly applicable to 

 American conditions and requirements. 



While the notes have been made short, they will, nevertheless, 

 in most cases, cover the essential points in the methods of raising 

 and caring for the plants named, and be understood by the average 

 reader as easily as if they had been dealt with in longer articles. 

 Hitherto, the information available on the subjects treated upon 

 has, for the most part, been widely scattered in numerous maga- 

 zines and books, many of which are expensive; and it is often found 

 necessary to search through a mass of technical details in order to 

 find the required information. It is to be hoped that the present 

 volume will, in great measure, reduce the difficulties referred to, 

 and render the art of plant cultivation profitable and enjoyable to 

 the many whose tastes are horticultural. 



GEORGE W. OLIVER 

 Washington, October, 1912 



