HARDY ORNAMENTAL FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS. By A.D. WEBSTER, _Author of "Practical Forestry," "Hardy Coniferous Trees," "British Orchids," &c., &c._ 1897. PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION, 1893. This book has been written and is published with the distinct object in view of bringing home to the minds of planters of Hardy Trees and Shrubs, the fact that the monotonous repetition, in at least nine-tenths of our Parks and Gardens, of such Trees as the Elm, the Lime, and the Oak, and such Shrubs as the Cherry Laurel and the Privet, is neither necessary nor desirable. There is quite a host of choice and beautiful flowering species, which, though at present not generally known are yet perfectly hardy, of the simplest culture, and equally well adapted for the ornamentation of our Public and Private Parks and Gardens. Of late years, with the marked decline in the cultivation of Coniferous Trees, many of which are ill adapted for the climate of this country, the interest in our lovely flowering Trees and Shrubs has been greatly revived. This fact has been well exemplified in the numerous enquiries after these subjects, and the space devoted to their description and modes of cultivation in the Horticultural Press. In the hope, too, of helping to establish a much-desired standard of nomenclature, I have followed the generic names adopted by the authors of _The Genera Plantarum_, and the specific names and orthography, as far as I have been able, of the _Index Kewensis_; and where possible I have given the synonyms, the date of introduction, and the native country. The alphabetical arrangement that has been adopted, both with regard to the genera and species, it is hoped, will greatly facilitate the work of reference to its pages. The descriptive notes and hints on cultivation, the selected lists of Trees and Shrubs for various special purposes, and the calendarial list which indicates the flowering season of the different species, may be considered all the more valuable for being concisely written, and made readily accessible by means of the Index. No work written on a similar plan and treating solely of Hardy Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs has hitherto been published; and it is not supposed for a moment that the present one will entirely supply the deficiency; but should it meet with any measure of public approval, it may be the means of paving the way towards the publication of a more elaborate work--and one altogether more worthy of the interesting and beautiful Flowering Trees and Shrubs that have been found suitable for planting in the climate of the British Isles.