The Theory of Horticulture
Or, An Attempt to Explain the Principal Operations of Gardening upon Physiological Principles
Cambridge Library Collection - Botany and Horticulture Series

John Lindley (1799?1865) was an English horticulturalist who worked for Sir Joseph Banks and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. His earlier books on British plants were well received and he was influential in the realm of botanical nomenclature, especially in orchidology. He was a prolific author and many of his books were aimed at a non-specialist readership. His aim in this work, published in 1840, was to provide 'the intelligent gardener, and the scientific amateur ? with the rationalia of the more important operations of horticulture'. Beginning with a chapter on seeds, the first part of the book describes the life and structure of a plant - the root, the stem, the leaves, the flowers and the fruit. The second part moves on to practical topics, such as ventilation and seed-saving, as well as pruning and potting, explaining many basic concepts of plant cultivation.

Preface; Book I. Of the Principal Circumstances Connected with Vegetable Life Which Illustrate the Operations of Gardening: 1. Germination; 2. Growth by the root; 3. Growth by the stem; 4. Actions of leaves; 5. Actions of flowers; 6. Of the maturation of the fruit; 7. Of temperature; Book II. Of the Physiological Principles upon Which the Operations of Horticulture Essentially Depend: 1. Of bottom heat; 2. Of the moisture of the soil; 3. Of atmospheric moisture and temperature; 4. Of ventilation; 5. Of seed-sowing; 6. Of seed-saving; 7. Of seed-packing; 8. Of propagation by eyes and knaurs; 9. Of propagation by leaves; 10. Of propagation by cuttings; 11. Of propagation by layers and suckers; 12. Of propagation by budding and grafting; 13. Of pruning; 14. Of training; 15. Of potting; 16. Of transplanting; 17. Of the preservation of races by seed; 18. Of the improvement of races; 19. Of resting; 20. Of soil and manure; Index.