Vlll 
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION 
historically, and a short chapter touching the most modern 
aspects of gardening has been appended. A few new illustra¬ 
tions have been added, the more important being those of some 
lead statues of historical interest. The bibliography has been 
revised and augmented by several works and editions which 
have come to light. 
It seems necessary to add a few words to explain why I 
describe myself asa“ citizen and gardener of London,” which 
some reviewers of one of my other books supposed to be a 
fanciful title. I was given the Freedom of the Gardeners' 
Company in 1896, and was duly admitted to the Freedom of 
the City of London, through the Court of Aldermen, an honour 
which for some years I was the only lady to possess, and of 
which I am extremely proud. 
In reprinting the dedication I feel this third edition is a 
tribute to the memory of my father. I should like to record 
that I learnt all my practical knowledge of gardening as a child 
from my mother, who had always been devoted to gardening 
long years before it was considered a fashionable pastime for 
ladies ; and but for the help and encouragement of my father 
and his famous library, now, alas ! dispersed, this book would 
never have been written. Nearly all the rare gardening works 
quoted—Macer, the “ Aggregator,” “ Ortus Sanitatis,” the 
works of Turner, Gerard, Parkinson, Tusser, Hill, and countless 
other writers, were my familiar friends from my childhood in 
the “ Amherst Library,” and many other quaint editions were 
added from time to time as I needed them for my researches. 
I learnt how to read the cramped handwritings and abbrevia¬ 
tions of the old records I had to consult, by practising on the 
Wyclif, Northewode, Hampole, and other fourteenth-century 
manuscripts, to which I had free access at my home. This 
book is chiefly the result of living with these precious volumes, 
which were collected with great knowledge, and treasured with 
deep appreciation by my father. 
ALICIA M. CECIL. 
10, Eaton Place, 
October , 1909. 
