PREFACE* 



add to the establishment all exotics which have beeB 

 celebrated for their medicinal properties ; and arrange- 

 ments have been made, which will greatly extend that 

 part of the collection, and by far the greater number of 

 those which are natives of our own country, and whose 

 medicinal virtues have been established by the investi- 

 gation of Drs. Bigelow and Barton, and which have 

 been figured in their respective publications, will al- 

 ready be found in the collection. It has also been an 

 object of particular consideration, to extend as much as 

 possible the number of the Indigenous Vegetable pro- 

 ductions of our own country generally ; but, in a coun- 

 try so extensive as our's, and where so few gentlemen of 

 Botanic science are found in its remoter regions, these 

 exertions, although crowned with much success, have 

 also been necessarily attended with very great, and, ia 

 some cases, almost discouraging difficulties. During 

 the recent Yellow Stone expedition, Dr. James made a 

 collection of eighty-four species on the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, which he very politely presented to this establish- 

 ment, and among which it is expected will be found not 

 only a large portion of new species, but also some new 

 genera'. 



At the period at which this garden was commenced*, 

 few of the finer fruits of Europe had yet found their 

 way to America, and no person had yet paid any atten- 

 tion to the amelioration or improvement of such as our 

 own country afforded ; but, at the present time, we 

 have not only by far the greater part of the most cele- 

 brated fruits of Europe and Asia, but can also boast 

 the origin of many which rival those of the old world, 

 and which are sought after with avidity by the inhabit- 

 ants of the eastern hemisphere, and are considered by 

 them as valuable acquisitions to their already great col- 

 lections ; and, that our country is every way equal to 

 others in the improvement and perpetuity of fruits, is a 

 truth no longer doubted. 



It has been thought adviseable to add to the Cata« 

 logue a short but general Treatise on cultivation, as it 

 will be of service to those who do not already possess 



