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PREFACE. xxiii 
period in a more perfect shape than the limits of this 
work would admit; it. being absolutely necessary. to 
illustrate those minute objects with correct figures, with- 
out which mere words are useless in describing them. _ 
At the end of the work I have given a Table of Ano- 
malous Flowers; great pains have been taken to make 
it as correct as possible, This will be found of infinite 
service, particularly to the young botanist. For this 
. purpose I shall give an example of the use of it. Should 
‘the young beginner, unacquainted with the genus Ga- 
dium, happen to find Galium trifidum, vol. i. p. 103, 
he would in vain look for its genus in Triandria; but by 
referring to this table among the anomalous genera, he 
will very easily find its proper genus. Again, by ex- 
amining a flower of Asclepias, he might very probably 
consider the ten pollen masses for as many anthers, 
and look for its genus in Decandria, which by the as- 
sistance of this table he will trace to be Pentandria. _ 
For the accommodation of the English reader, I have 
given a double Latin and English Index. Great atten- 
tion has been paid to the correctness of the General 
Index, in which the first number in parentheses refers 
to the number of the genus, the other to the page. 
"The synonyms are distinguished by being in Italics. 
Notwithstanding the unremitting attention paid to 
the correctness of this work, the author is well aware 
that it will not be found free from those errors which are 
“unavoidable in (nay almost inseparable from) publica- 
tions of this nature, where so great a number of autho- 
tities are to be referred to. But he still consoles him- 
self with the idea of having given to the world a work 
