NOTICE OF BOTANICAL PUBLICATIONS. 159 
“much pleasure in sending you a specime n ofthe work 
spoken of at page 74 of the last Number of your Journal. 
The plant figured is a new species of the Natural Order 
Asclepiadee, nearly the whole impression of which has been 
struck off from my own lithographic press. I may here 
observe, that I am well aware of my present imperfections in 
this difficult art; but, as every successive trial exhibits some 
improvement on the preceding one, I am encouraged to anti- 
cipate ample success, when some further practice has confer- 
red skill in the management of the press and in the perform- 
ance of the various manipulations to be gone through in the 
process of printing from stone, and I trust that my first num- 
ber will afford satisfactory evidence of the style in which the . 
work will be finished; thinking at the same time, that the 
specimen now put forth may be looked upon, all things con- 
sidered, as an earnest that the work itself will be found an 
useful aid to Indian botanists and by no means discreditable 
to the state of the arts in India. 
* Emboldened by this early success, it is with no ordinary 
feelings of satisfaction, that I contemplate the prospect which 
it holds out, of enabling me to carry into effect a design. 
Which ten years ago I was preparing to enter upon, the pub- 
lication, namely, of a series of figures of Indian plants, under 
the title of « Illustrations of Indian Botany? success being 
Tendered more certain by the advantages derivable from my 
Present official situation, as the work may be looked upon as 
Part of the duties of my office; and, in this light, has received 
the sanction and approbation of the Madras Government. _ 
“These * Illustrations’ have been undertaken in the hope 
of effectually aiding the advancement of botanical science 
among us, and thereby extending our acquaintance with 
numerous curious and useful plants, the value of which is 
known to few, or the knowledge is confined to particular 
. districts, though the plants themselves may be widely distri- 
buted; and in the not less cheering expectation of perma- 
nently bringing to light, under systematic denominations, 
many others endowed with the most valuable medicinal pro- 
