2 
INTRODUCTION BY AMERICAN EDITOR. 
illustration of flowers, that we cannot but perceive 
their claim to be almost equal in extent. 
Whatever may seem capricious in this selection, is to 
he ascribed to redundance and excellence of material. 
The plan required that variety of topics and treatment 
should be a leading object, and this excluded some of 
the most charming flower-poetry. Then, again, some 
pieces of that kind had, from their very excellence, 
already found their way into every school reading- 
book, and it seemed superfluous to reprint them here. 
And more than all, the quantity of verses which the 
editor had supposed could be contained in a good-sized 
volume, proved so much beyond the capacity of any 
volume of tolerable proportions, that a great mass of 
dearly beloved poems were absolutely crowded out. 
There will, however, be found in this little volume 
something for all tastes, as well as for all seasons. It 
contains a brief sketch of the mythology and symbol¬ 
ism of flowers ; some hints with regard to their prac¬ 
tical utility ; selections from the poetry inspired by 
them ; and a full explanation of their language, in 
the shape of a Vocabulary and Flower Dialogues. A 
