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Show & Xu ; Th The PREFACE, PREFACE. Information, and oratefully acknowledge the Favour, whenever anyjudicious Perfon fhall favour me with fuch Remarks. Ixprep a Work of this kind would employ the Joint-Labours of manyskilful Perfons, to renderit perfect, were it poffible to find a Set of Menof equal Integrity, Opennefs, Induftry, and Judgment, to undertake it, which I fear is rarely to be met with in any Society of Men: All that I have to hopeis,. that as I have employed my beft Talents in this Work, and delivered myfelf wich unreferved Freedom and Opennefs, it may atone for any Faults in Style, or Slips of the Pen. Bur as the Plan here laid down is capable of great Improvement, fo I put ofe to employ all myleifure Hours thereon, and fhall diligently compare, correct, and amend whatever {hall appear amifs, and add whatever new Obfervations and Experiments I fhall hereafter make, in the Courfe of my Practice: And to this End I inyice all fuch Perfons as have ade any new Experiments in relation to this Art, whichtheyare willing ommunicate, to fend them directed for me at the Phyfick-Garden, Nurferies in England. ae And this Perplexity in the Names of Fruit being fo great, has put fome curious Gentlemen at Paris, upon compofing a General Treatife of Fruit-Trees, in which they defign to exhibit on Cop" er Places, all the feveral Kinds of Fruit, drawn from the Fruits thems felves, and well engraven (fome of which Plates were communicated ta me two Years ago). Such a Work as this, if well executed, will be of great Ufe to afcertain the Kinds of Fruit; but by the Model laid down by thofe Gentlemen, I fear ic will not have the defired Succefs. Foras thefe Fruits are only printed in Black and White, it will be very difficult to diftinguifh the Kinds thereby: And as they allow.a Folio Plate to each Sort, fo it muft render the Book too dear, to be purchas'd by any but Perfons of great Fortune, and the Prolixity they abound with, in mentioning the various medicinal Qualities of each Fruit, will render the Work too tedious for moft Engli/b Readers. But were a Work of this Kindcarefully done by fome judicious Perfons, with the Fruits exhibited in their proper Colours, and concife De- which I fhall thankfully receive, and gratefully acknowledge. {criptions, with their Culture, added to them, it would bea valuable Per- And fince it is more than probable that Time may produce many Things newon this Subject, and that the Inferting of them in another Edition of fome few Years paft, and had a great Varietyofthe moft valuable Fruits this Book, would be an Injury done to the Encouragers of the prefent Performance, I therefore take upon me to promife, that whatever Alterations or Additions I fhall make hereto, fhall be publifhed feparately, for fuch as fhall purchafe the prefent Volume. Tue annual Increafe of newPlants, Fruits, and Flowers, will occa- fion fome Alteration in the Book, in the Compafs of a few Years; for s new Things are obtain’d from abroad, fo the old ones of lefs Value od out of the Gardens, to make Roomfor them, which has been metimes practis'd to a great Faule ; many Perfons being too fond of No: ave often turn’d out good Fruits to make Room for bad ones; there- would advife every one to make Trial of fuch new Fruits, before ropagate themin Plenty, and not take their Characters upon Troft; pecially to be careful howtheyare impos’d on by the New Names given to Fruits, by Perfons of{mall Skill, who, if they happen to et with a Fruit with which they are not acquainted, prefently impofe a Name of their own upon it, which has occafion’d the prefent Confufion Names, by which one andthe fame Sort of Fruit is called, in different to the great Difcouragement of curious Perfons: In order to remedy Thave taken no {mall Pains to examine and compare the feveral ts of Frit, with the Defcriptions given in all the beft Authors, and ive added as many of the Names to each Kind, as I could find they ly known by; to which I have fubjoin’d a fhort Defcription imes of Ripening, and the particular Stocks upon which each beft, which, I hope, will be of no {mall Service to the CuWay. ) ae 31) tty ‘ is the Confufion of Names to the fame Sort of Fruit peculiar to ntl cee tiene : : (which is the greateft Fruit Country in Europe), qe eee d; forin FiTy pe De two Reeeryt Provinces ae : : ispanne a great TNC Diforder, {carce any calling a Fruit by the Name; fo that thofe Trees which are brought from thence, are not ipon, than fuch as are procured from the meaneft Nurferies formance. In order to which, a Society of Gardeners did engagetherein and Flowers painted by anexcellent Hand, ready to be engraven, and have fince publifhed a Catalogue of Hardy Trees and Shrubs, in the Preface to which they have given a particular Account of their Undertaking, with their defign'd Method of profecuting ir, if they meet with propet Encouragement. Inthis firft Pare which they have publifh’d, areinferred the various Namesgiven to each Tree (by the beft Writers on Botany) with the common Ezglifh Name fubjoin’d, whichwill be found very ules ful to Gentlemen, in knowing what to write for to the Nurfery-Man, fo as to be underftood The Introduction of manyufeful Foreft-Trees, from the Northern Parts of America annually, will alfo furnifh Materials for farther Additions, as their Natures, Ufes, ¢’c. become known to us; and this is a Part of Gardening well worth Encouragement, fince hereby a great Number of ufeful and beautiful ‘Trees may be added to our Wilderneffes and other Plantations. But here | muft caution People nor to be too forward in propagating foreign “Trees in large Quantities, for the Sake of Timber, before theyare fully perfuaded of their Worth; which may, inftead of being ferviceable, prove greatly detrimental to the Nation, by neglecting to cultivate our own approved Timber ‘Trees, for the Sake of others of foreign Growch, whofe Timber is of little Value: An Inftance of this we have at prefent in the Scarlet Oak, a great Number of whofe Acorns have been this Seafon imported, and fold at a large Price, with creat Affurances oftheir quick Growth, andof the Value of the Timber, which hath engaged manycurious Perfons to fow them ; butif they cultivate thefe Trees in any Place, except in Gardens, or Plantations near Habiations, for Shade (for which Purpofe they are very proper, being of quick Growth), they will find themfelves deceived, the Timber being by no means comparable to our Englifb Oak: However, many other Sorts of Trees there are in America (patticularly of the Firr Kind) which would ke |