PREFACE. 
— nd 
THE PRINCIPAL OBJECT of the compiler of this volume is to 
furnish something between a mere dictionary of names and a 
scientific treatise containing nothing beyond technical descrip- 
tions of plants. No attempt has been made to treat the subject 
in a popular, gossiping style, for this would involve considerable 
discursiveness, and consequent additional bulk, without enhanc- 
ing the usefulness of the work; but only those technical terms 
in general use, and familiar to almost everybody engaged 
amongst plants, have been employed. It is, in fact, impossible 
to describe plants, or any series of objects presenting slight 
modifications of the same characters, without using special terms 
of a certain and defined signification. To obviate any difficulty 
that might arise from ignorance on this point, and to have the 
explanations at hand, a concise glossary is given of those words 
which do not carry theiy meaning with them. But the most 
superficial knowledge of Systematic Botany will be sufficient to 
render all the information this work contains intelligible, and 
only those who have some idea of the subject are likely to 
consult it. Although considerable space is devoted to Practi- 
cal Gardening, greater prominence has been given to descriptive 
garden Botany, because it is believed that this branch of 
horticultural literature is still far behind all others. It is 
not supposed that the present work will at once supply the 
deficiency aimed at, as it is necessarily very imperfect; but as 
the first of its kind it may serve to smoothe the way for a more 
elaborate one, and be the means of clearing up some of the 
errors generally current, as well as leading to the discovery of 
others. The arrangement of the technical portion according 
to the natural system appears to be justified by the fact that 
