PREFACE. 
The general utility of Horticulture, or the art of improv- 
ing every kind of soil; of producing a plentiful supply oi 
wholesome vegetables and fruits, so necessary to health in all 
countries, especially in warm climates; of cultivating the 
various plants designed by infinite goodness to minister to 
the comforts of animal life, by correcting the divers maladies 
to which it is subject by nature, and still more so, in the human 
race, by intemperance; of raising many articles of luxury and 
commerce, as well as materials for ornamenting the whole face 
of the country — is too obvious to render any arguments neces- 
sary in favour of an attempt to facilitate the general acquisition 
of that useful branch of knowledge; but more especially, in a 
country which has not yet made that rapid progress in Gar- 
dening, ornamental planting, and fanciful rural designs, which 
might naturally be expected from an intelligent, happy and 
independent people, possessed so universally of landed property, 
unoppressed by taxation or tithes, and blessed with consequent 
comfort and affluence. 
The neglect in these respects is, no doubt, to be attributed 
to various causes, among the most prominent of which is the 
necessity of having reference for information on those subjects 
to works published in foreign countries, and adapted to climates 
by no means according with ours, either in the temperature or 
course of the seasons, and in numerous instances differing 
materially in modes of culture from those rendered necessary 
here by the peculiarities of our climates, soils and situations. 
And however excellent and useful these works are in the 
regions to which they are adapted, they tend to mislead and 
disappoint the young Jimerican Horticulturist, instead of 
