PREFACE 
SMALL quarto volume of 104 pages, intitled “The Abietinae,” prepared in 1850 for the firm of Peter Lawson & Son, 
of Edinburgh, formed the nucleus of the present volumes. Its publication was the result of an attempt to elevate 
the ordinary trade price-list of a nurseryman into a work of reference; and the example thus set has since been followed 
by nurserymen in this country, on the Continent, and in America. The preparation of it was attended with a considerable 
amount of labour, research, and correspondence; and the result was an accumulation of material, only a small portion of 
which was available for “The Abietinae.” It was with the view of utilising the store of information I had thus acquired that 
the idea of bringing out a larger work on the Coniferae arose, and the plan of the “ Pinetum Britannicum ” was in conse¬ 
quence elaborated. 
As its production involved considerable outlay, it was deemed prudent to secure a sufficient amount of support before 
incurring the risk and responsibilities attendant on the preparation of so costly a series of volumes; and an arrangement 
was entered into with Messrs. Peter Lawson & Son, in virtue of which they were to take one hundred copies, and in 
consideration therefor the work was to bear the title of “ Lawson’s Pinetum Britannicum,” a title which is engraved on all the 
plates issued while that firm was in existence. A generous support was also accorded by the late Emperor Napoleon IIP, 
who caused thirty copies to be distributed among the Schools of Forestry and Agriculture in various parts of the French 
Empire. Proof sheets of several of the species were then submitted to the inspection of the Queen, through the late 
Dowager Duchess of Sutherland ; and by Her Majesty’s command the work was dedicated to the Illustrious Memory of the 
Prince Consort, that great and good and wise Prince, for whom the nation was then in the first year of its mourning. 
Nearly one hundred private Subscribers were afterwards obtained, and with this assured support the “ Pinetum 
Britannicum ” was commenced. The fall of the Second Empire, the transfer of the business of Peter Lawson & Son to 
a Limited Liability Company, and the consequent cessation of their subscriptions, rendered it impossible to continue the 
publication except at a great loss, and it was for some time suspended. Last year, however, with the view of keeping faith 
with the private Subscribers, it was determined to finish the work, in the hope that in its complete form a sufficient number 
of copies may be sold to repay the cost of production. 
Although a purely personal matter, it is considered that this explanation is due to those Subscribers who have 
continued their support, notwithstanding the long interruption of the work. 
When the “ Pinetum Britannicum ” was projected, Mr. Robert Brown, then Keeper of the Botanical Department of 
the British Museum, was consulted, as he had rendered great service to me while preparing “ The Abietinae,” and specially in 
the systematic arrangement of the genera and species. By advice of Mr. Brown, negotiations were entered into with the 
late Dr. Lindley for the preparation of the botanical descriptions ; but after a short time his health failed, and it became 
necessary to obtain additional aid, when I was so fortunate as to secure the valuable services of Mr. Andrew Murray, 
Assistant Secretary to the Royal Horticultural Society. Mr. Murray was at that time engaged on a monograph of the 
genus Cedrits ; and the descriptions in Vol. III. of the three recognised species, Libani , Deodara , and Atlanticci (although 
the two last are considered by him to be varieties only of C. Libani ) are adapted in part from this monograph, which, 
however, remained unfinished at the time of his death. 
Dr. Lindley’s connexion with the work ceased on the appearance of Part 3, and from Part 4 to Part 36, the 
scientific, botanical, and structural descriptions were contributed by Mr. Murray. On the resumption of the publication 
last year, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, the successor of Dr. Lindley in the editorship of the Gardeners Chronicle, 
undertook to revise the scientific botanical portions of the remaining Parts. He also supplied the description of Cupressus 
macrocarpa. 
It remains to place on record the valuable assistance received during the progress of the work from the late Mr. 
Lawson, the venerable head of the firm of Peter Lawson & Son, and from Mr. Peter S. Robertson and Mr. William 
Gorrie, both now deceased, managers in succession of the Lawson Nurseries, at Edinburgh. The late Mr. James M'Nab, 
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, also communicated valuable practical information on the culture and treatment of 
the more recently introduced species of Coniferae. 
c 
Dr. 
