ll as exact botanical information.
It is all fresh, and not a rehash of old material. No precedent has been
followed; the work is upon its own original plan.

Many scientific botanical authors of justly high repute decline to give
attention to the important characters of _cultivated_ plants, confining
their work to the species in the original forms only. Professor Bailey
takes the view that a subject of commercial importance, one which engages
the attention and affects the livelihood of thousands of bright people, is
decidedly worthy the investigation of the trained botanist. In the
Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, therefore, very full accounts are
given of the botanical features of all important commercial plants, as the
apple, cabbage, rose, etc. At the same time, practical cultivators submit
observations upon culture, marketing, and the like, and frequently two
opinions are presented upon the same subject from different localities, so
that the reader may have before him not only complete botanical
information, but very fully the best practice in the most favorable
localities for the perfection of any fruit or vegetable or economic plant.

*ILLUSTRATIONS*

The pictorial character of the work is likewise notable. There are over
two thousand illustrations, and they are all made expressly for this work,
either from accurate photographs or from the specimens. These
illustrations have been drawn by competent horticultural artists, in
nearly every case under the eye of the Editor, or with the supervision of
some one of the sub-editors. No "trade" cuts are used.

In planning the illustrations, artistic effect has been kept in view, and
while no drawing is used which does not show its subject with perfect
scientific accuracy, the monotonous so-called "botanical" outlines, often
made from lifeless herbarium specimens, are notably absent. The intention
is to show the life of the plant, not merely its skeleton.

*CONTRIBUTORS, SYSTEM, ETC.*

As above mentioned, the contributors are men eminent as cultivators or as
specialists on the various subjects. The important articles are signed,
and it is expected that the complete work will include fully 5,000 signed
contributions by horticulturists, cultivators and botanists.

The arrangement is alphabetical as to the genera, but systematic in the
species. A very simple but complete plan of key-letters is used, and the
whole arrangement is toward ease of reference as well as co