PREFACE. Vii 
that Mr. Bolus, the well-known South African botanist, who 
has paid several visits to Kew for the purpose, will largely 
contribute. The present instalment will be found probably of 
more than ordinary interest to horticulturists as well as to 
botanists, as it includes the whole of the plants known 
familiarly as ‘‘ Cape Bulbs.” The cultivation of these was 
popular on their introduction to Kew by Masson at the end 
of the last, and by Bowie at the beginning of the present 
century, and the taste for them has of late years revived. 
The volume has been in preparation for several years, but 
its publication has been from time to time delayed by the 
desire to include in it the novelties which have been continu- 
ally received and published as new territories have been 
explored, 
Even while passing through the press sufficient have 
accumulated to render an appendix necessary. The whole 
has been elaborated by Mr. John Gilbert Baker, F.R.S., the 
Keeper of the Herbarium and Library of the Royal Gardens, 
who has long been the accepted authority on the Petaloid 
Monocotyledons. I must add my obligations to Mr. C. H. 
Wright, Assistant in the Herbarium, who has greatly helped 
me in reading the proofs. 
The distribution of the localities under the different regions 
has been a laborious and intricate task. It will afford a 
basis for at any rate a partial analysis of the Flora of South 
Africa, which will no doubt bring into prominence important 
facts as to its geographical distribution. It has been accom- 
plished with much care and patience by Mr. N. E. Brown, 
A.L.S., Assistant in the Herbarium of the Royal Gardens, And 
finally it has been subjected to the invaluable revision of 
Mr, H. Bolus. 
The orthography adopted for the local names has met with ~ 
some criticism from South African botanists. It has been 
thought advisable, however, to adhere to the standard, no 
doubt in great measure conventional, of authoritative maps. 
Those which have been relied upon principally are :— 
Cape of Good Hope. By J. Arrowsmith, 1834. (Useful 
for old names of localities.) 
