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PKEFACE. 



In 1901 and 1902 Miss Janet Riissc^ll Perkins, Ph. D., under an 

 appointment as scientific aid in tlie United States Department of 

 Agriculture^ was engaged at Berlin in a revision of the Leguminosae 

 of Porto Rico, The revision was based upon a study of collections 

 and literature^ unaccompanied by field work in the island. It was 



origiruilly intended to publish the results of this work conjointly with 

 an account of the agricultural relations of the leguminous plants of 

 that island, but as it proved to be necessary to postpone the prepa- 

 ration of this latter paper for more detailed investigation Miss Per- 

 kins's paper is now presented sei)arately for publication. 



Tills paper differs in several respects fruni the systematic treatment 

 of leguminous plants presented in other numbers of these Contribu- 

 tionSj and such difTcreiices must be taken only as an exi)ressi()ii of the 



views of the author. 



P^JIEDEEICK V. COVILLE, 



Curator of the United States National Ilcrhariurn, 



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