204. Mn. ArzELIUS's Hiffory of 
vent many miftakes. 1 fhall do myfelf the pleafure of communi- 
cating fucceffively my obfervations relative to cafes of this nature; 
but at prefent {hall confine myfelf to three fpecies of Trefoil, 
which, common as they are, particularly two of them, {till 
want a good deal of illuftration. Thefe plants have, even till this 
. very time, not only been confounded among themfelves, but 
alfo with many others. And though we are now furnithed with 
good figures of each, ftill the true limits between them are not yet 
drawn; nor have thefe fpecies as yet been fo minutely and accu- 
rately examined, as for the always invariable and diftinguifhing 
characteriftics of each to have been pointed out. 
In order to form an adequate idea of thefe Trefoils, and to know 
their hiftory from the beginning to the prefent time, I have exa- 
mined all authors quoted by Linnzus, Reichard, Murray, and the 
Englifh botanifts, with many others that I have been favoured 
with an opportunity of feeing in the large and choice library of Sir 
Jofeph Banks; without which affiftance, and the examination of 
the Linnean Herbarium, my enquiries : would have been confined 
and imperfect. In the couríe o inveftigations I have difco- 
vered, that many of the authors cited treat of plants quite different 
from thofe for which they have been quoted; and that others {peak 
in fuch a manner, that it is impoflible to judge to what particular fpe- 
cies their inaccurate figures, confufed defcriptions, and vague cha- 
racteriftics, if at times even all three are to be found together, are 
the moft applicable. With regard to thofe authors who have either 
been miftaken themfelves in their quotations, or been mifquoted 
by others, I have, to the beft of my judgment, endeavoured to put 
them in their proper places : and, as to the others, I could do no 
more than make my obfervations, and give my opinion, where parti- 
cular hints or circumftances have not enabled me to difcover what 
they 
