PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION, 1893 



This book has been written and is published with the 

 distinct object in view of bringing home to the minds of 

 planters of Hardy Trees and Shrubs, the fact that the 

 monotonous repetition, in at least nine-tenths of our Parks 

 and Gardens, of such Trees as the Elm, the Lime, and the 

 Oak, and such Shrubs as the Cherry Laurel and the 

 Privet, is neither necessary nor desirable. There is quite 

 a host of choice and beautiful flowering species, which, 

 though at present not generally known are yet perfectly 

 hardy, of the simplest culture, and equally well adapted 

 for the ornamentation of our Public and Private Parks 

 and Gardens. 



Of late years, with the marked decline in the cultiva- 

 tion of Coniferous Trees, many of which are ill adapted 

 for the climate of this country, the interest in our lovely 

 flowering Trees and Shrubs has been greatly revived. 

 This fact has been well exemplified in the numerous 

 inquiries after these subjects, and the space devoted 

 to their description and modes of cultivation in the 

 Horticultural Press. 



In the hope, too, of helping to establish a much-desired 

 standard of nomenclature, I have followed the generic 

 names adopted by the authors of " The Genera Plantarum," 

 and the specific names and orthography, as far as I have 

 been able, of the " Index Kewensis " ; and where possible I 

 have given the synonyms, the date of introduction, and 

 the native country. The alphabetical arrangement that 



