INTRODUCTION. 



The present Manual is founded upon a useful little book prepared 

 many years ago by our predecessors, Messrs. Knight & Perry, of 

 these Nurseries, but which has long since been out of print. It 

 has been compiled to supply the demand for practical information 

 respecting Coniferae which we are constantly receiving from corres- 

 pondents, and which is not contained in scientific works on the 

 subject, or is but cursorily touched upon in them. 



Messrs. Knight & Perry's book contained a synopsis of all the 

 Coniferous plants grown in Great Britain at the time of its publi- 

 cation, and of which they had formed a collection. We have 

 adhered to the general plan of their work, but the progress that 

 has been made in every department of horticulture since that period, 

 in which the culture of Coniferous plants has, in a great measure, 

 participated, and notably the numerous acquisitions of new species 

 and varieties, many of which we ourselves have been instrumental 

 in introducing, have necessitated the re-writing of the whole, not 

 only for the purpose of embodying the most important facts since 

 accumulated from many sources, but also for revising the descriptions 

 of the species and varieties which were then but imperfectly known. 

 Our endeavour has been to treat the subject in a manner as -popular 

 as possible, so as to render the Manual acceptable to every class. 

 While avoiding technical terms, as far as it could be done, consisteut 



B 



