VI 



PREFACE. 



1^0 nation, and no j)eople, whether in the ancient, mediaeval, or modern 

 ages of the world's history, have ever attained to such a high degree 

 of proficiency, nay, perfection, in the arts of agriculture and horticul- 

 ture, than is now prevalent in Great Britain ; and it seems somewhat 

 anomalous that arboriculture, in this progressive, expansive, diffusive, 

 and utilitarian age, should still keep lagging behind the two kindred 

 arts in the march of improvement ; for it cannot be denied that much 

 has yet to be done for arboriculture before we can raise forestry to 

 the high rank as a cultural art which its national importance and 

 intrinsic merits as a branch of rural economy imperatively demands. 



Arboriculture has many wants. One of these is a Handbook of the 

 Firs and Pines, giving their distinctive characteristics, and the best 

 modes of growing them ; with brief practical notes on their hardiness, 

 and on the soils and situations most suitable for them ; showing such 

 kinds as are of economic value for their timber, and such as are useful 

 for ornamental planting in the climate of Great Britain and Ireland : 

 also, a natural and common-sense classification and nomenclature of 

 them, with an alphabetical Kst or index of the names of all the genera, 

 species, quasi-species, varieties, and sub- varieties, and all the synonyms 

 or aliases by which they are at present known; comprising a brief 

 and practical summary of all that is desirable or necessary for the British 

 Arboriculturist to know concerning the Firs and Pines of the world 

 to the present date; and all this in a portable form, and at a 

 reasonable price. 



This, it is universally admitted, is a desideratum which has not yet 

 been supplied ; though many very laudable endeavours have been made 

 to accomplish the task ; all of which, however, have failed in the per- 

 formance, from the simple fact that it is one of those complex subjects 

 which requires not only a theoretical, but likewise a practical know- 

 ledge, thoroughly and correctly to treat of it ; and the three-score and 

 ten, or, perchance, four-score years, allotted to us on earth, is much too 

 short a period to learn all that pertains to the cultivation and conver- 

 sion of the Pirs and Pines. Hence the laudable attempts of most 

 modern writers to remove obscurity have, in good sooth, only added to 

 its shade. ISTor is this much to be wondered at ; for when we come to 

 consider the very numerous and very variable genera and species of 

 PiNACE^, and the many quasi-species, varieties, and sub-varieties, 



