The purpose of this volume is not the addition of one more to the numerous treatises upon sylviculture or forestry but to afford a straightforward means for the identification of our native trees and larger shrubs for the convenience of the rural rambler and Nature-lover. The list of British arborescent plants is a somewhat meagre one but all that could be done in a pocket volume by way of supplementing it has been done by adding some account of those exotics that have long been naturalized in our woods and a few of more recent introduction that have already become conspicuous ornaments in many public and private parks.
In this edition forty-eight extra plates have been added of which twenty-four are in colours. The latter are in part reproductions of water-colour studies of flowers and fruits and partly from photographs by a new method. For the black and white plates the photographs it should be explained have been taken upon a novel plan in most cases. This consists in photographing a deciduous tree in its summer glory and returning to the same spot in winter and photographing the same individual so that a striking comparison may be made between the summer and winter aspects of the principal species. Supplementary photographs are given in many cases of the bole which exhibit the character of the bark and should prove a valuable aid in the identification of species. Others show in larger detail the flowers or fruit and the characteristic leaf-buds in spring.