iv Preliminary Observations to the Second Volume. 



generous respect for every science, for every kind of know- 

 ledge, for every refined or manual art, the civilized condition 

 of man must be ameliorated. By a cordial and liberal 

 union of the different classes of Members in this Society, 

 mutual instruction will be obtained, and the ends of the 

 Institution most effectually promoted. 



The followers of Abel are not however limited to the pro- 

 fitable views of supplying human food; they have always 

 combined the dulce with the utile, and their duties forbid a 

 disunion. 



The weighty cares, the deep anxieties, and the tormenting 

 ambition of the great, may be occasionally soothed by the 

 innocent delights of flowers, whilst, with just pretension, the 

 humble labourer and the artizan may be virtuously in- 

 dulged at little cost with the fresh healthful fragrance, the 

 pure beauties, and the peaceful tranquillity of an ornamented 

 garden. To both descriptions of persons the moral effects 

 are salutary. 



The province of Horticulture is so very distinct, that its 

 progress is not likely to trench upon the fair claims of kin- 

 dred Institutions. One of the leading purposes of the Society 

 is to bring forth the fruit, or in other words, the practical 

 benefits, of Botanical knowledge. Seated in the Metropolis 

 of the commercial world, the chief and free meeting place 

 of all civilized nations, it may look forward to an intercourse 

 not confined within the limits of the British realms, but 

 stretching to a remoter circle. By a mutual interchange of 

 knowledge, of arts, and of cultivated productions, and 

 through the medium of an extended education among mer- 



