PREFACE TO 25th EDITION. 

In presenting a new edition of our Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, it gives us 
pleasure to announce that we are prepared to offer a large and complete stock of 
remarkably vigorous, well grown Trees and Plants. Notwithstanding the depressed 
state of the times, which seriously affected this as well as all other kinds of business, 
our establishment, in all its departments, has been kept fully up to its best condition. 
While we have endeavored to secure every promising novelty and to propagate it as 
speedily as possible, we have not overlooked or neglected choice old fruits, which are 
indispensable to the orchardist and amateur. That our patrons may understand how 
anxious we are to ascertain the true values of the various fruits in cultivation, we 
give the following facts relative to our experimental grounds: 
Our specimen orchard contains 368 varieties of Apples, 360 of Pears, 85 of Plums, 
55 of Cherries, 1383 of Peachesy 25 of Apricots, 16 of Nectarines, and in our vineyard 
we have 115 varieties of Grapes. 
We are enabled by this means to judge of the merits of an immense number of 
varieties. Many of these have only a local popularity and we have concluded not to 
publish the names of such sorts in our catalogue. They will be printed and published 
in supplementary sheets which may be obtained on application. Standard sorts and 
those of special merit are briefly described in the ‘‘ Select Lists.” 
Many of the highest flavored fruits are such poor growers in the nursery that in 
order to obtain good trees we are obliged to top graft or top bud them on vigorous 
sorts. This increases the cost of producing such kinds and they are therefore held 
at a higher price. 
Some of the newer and rarer fruits are worthy of more than ordinary notice. In 
Apples, Red Bietigheimer is very large, beautiful, and of good quality. The tree 
has very large leaves and dark colored bark which make it readily distinguish- 
able from all others. Sutton Beauty is a valuable winter fruit of fine quality and it 
preserves its freshness until spring. Stump is a showy fall Apple of medium size. 
Wealthy combines great hardiness with good flavor and fine appearance. It is an 
acquisition. 
In Pears, Bonne du Puits Ansault can be recommended to the amateur as a variety 
of high merit. Petite Marguerite, Souvenir du Congres, Frederick Clapp and 
Hoosic, are also valuable. 
Among the older Pears not sufficiently valued, are Beurre Giffard, Clapp’s Favorite, 
Beurre Bose, Beurre Hardy, Beurre Superfin, and Josephine de Malines. Beurre 
ad’ Anjou, with all its valuable GUE] Uns mossy does not grow into favor as rapidly as it 
ought to. 
In Cherries, Montmorency Ordinaire and Montmorency Large Fruited, are justly 
entitled to commendation. The new variety, Windsor, is now offered for the first 
“time: 
There are several Plums recently introduced, but we are not yet prepared to pass 
judgment upon them. The new Peaches are very numerous. Those which we 
esteem most are to be found in the Select List, with descriptions. 
