INTRODUCTION 



THE present volume represents in somewhat expanded form 

 a course of lectures arranged by the Board of Studies in Botany 

 of the University of London and delivered during the early part 

 of 1911 in the Botanical Department of University College, 

 London. 



These lectures, which were ten in number, were widely 

 attended by advanced and post-graduate students of the Uni- 

 versity and others interested in the subject. 



The ten lectures comprised in the course were delivered by 

 various botanists, the lecturer in each case being either a worker 

 in the same field as, or in some other way having a special 

 qualification to deal with, his allotted subject. 



In view of the interest aroused by their delivery the hope 

 found wide expression that the lectures might be issued in 

 book form. At the time when the arrangements were being 

 made for publication the University of London Press had 

 not yet reached the publishing stage, so hospitality had to 

 be sought elsewhere. That the book is issued from the 

 Cambridge University Press is largely due to the good offices 

 of Prof. A. C. Seward. 



In consenting to publish The Makers of British Botany the 

 Cambridge University Press suggested that some additional 

 chapters should be prepared so that the work might be more 

 fully representative. This has been done so far as was possible 

 in the time available. 



The sixteen chapters forming the book include (i) the ten 

 lectures, which are printed essentially as they were delivered, 

 (2) six additional chapters specially written under the circum- 

 stances just mentioned. As a rule each chapter will be found to 

 deal with a single Botanist ; with the exception of the first and 



o. B. i 



