I hope it is no egotism to state that in both the Floral and Vegetable departments of Horticulture, in which I have been engaged for the past eighteen years, I have been entirely successful. Now, we know that success only is the test of good generalship, and it follows that, having been successful, I have thus earned my title to merit. From this standpoint, I claim the right to at tempt the instruction of the student of horticulture in the tactics of that field. We have very few works, either agricultural or horti cultural, by American authors, whose writers are prac tical men, and fewer still of these who are men that have risen from the ranks. The majority of such authors being ex-editors, lawyers, merchants, etc., men of means and education, who, engaging in the business as a pas time, in a year or two generously conclude to give the public the benefit of their experience.
