PREFACE, ix 
not staled his enthusiasm for the beautiful Flora amidst which 
he has spent the best years of his life, nor his energy in in- 
vestigating it. Without his self-sacrificing aid the present 
undertaking would have been miserably incomplete. By a 
correspondence which has never intermitted, he has done all in 
his power to keep Kew abreast of the progress of botanical 
discovery in South Africa. And he possesses the happy art 
of communicating some touch of his enthusiasm to others, and 
has thus secured the investigation of many parts of the area 
of the Flora which might otherwise have remained all but 
unknown. 
To Harry Bouvs, Esq., F.L.S., the gratitude of Kew is no 
less due for aid and encouragement of the most varied kind. 
His admirable researches into the difficult problem of the 
geographical distribution of South African plants, and his 
patience and accurate investigation of the Orchidex and other 
groups, will, it may be hoped, always ensure his close per- 
sonal association with the present work. Mr. Bolus has 
farther contributed to Kew many hundreds of specimens—a 
large proportion of which were new to science, and many of 
great interest and rarity. 
At the risk of seeming to make an invidious choice amongst 
a formidable list of Kew contributors, I cannot but further 
single out the following for particular acknowledgment :— 
Sir Henry Barty, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., F.R.S., was inde- 
fatigable while Governor of Cape Colony in procuring for 
Kew many of the rarer and more remarkable of South African 
plants. He paid especial attention to those of a succulent 
habit. Amongst many interesting introductions to European 
cultivation, the remarkable Tree-Aloe (Aloe dichotoma) de- 
serves especial mention. And it was due to his support that 
the approval and aid of the Legislatures of Cape Colory and 
Natal was secured for the continuation of this work. 
Joun Mepitey Woop, Esq. A.L.S., the Curator of the 
beautiful Botanic Gardens at Berea, Durban, in the Colony 
of Natal, and the only institution of the kind in South 
Africa, has investigated the Flora of Natal with conspicuous 
energy, and has done more than any other botanist to reveal 
