IV' r Pv E F A C E^ 



k'cting materiols for liis Civil and Natural History of Jamaica. IIg 

 was an expert botanist, contemporary witli tiie great Liuneus, witii 

 whom he corresponded, who is one of the subscribers to his book^ 

 and who adopted most of iiis classifications of plants into his system. 

 His elegant work contains a more correct and scientific description, 

 of the indigenous plants of this isUiid, than any other book, previ- 

 ously published. 



The very valuable observations of Dr. William Wright, formerly 

 surgeon-general ol this island, on its medicinal plants, were first and. 

 principaliy published in the London iMedieal Journal, and some have, 

 been gleaned from his other publications, as well astrom his notes u- 

 pon Grainger, who has likewise afforded some useiul information. 

 The Synopsis of Mc- Long has also furnished many extracts which 

 are of considerable value. 



The learned and indefatigable professor Olob Swartz, lately libra-.- 

 rian to the King of Sweden, travelled through most of the West-In- 

 dia islands, in pursuit of botanical knowledge, between the years 

 1783 and 1787, and has published three able ^vorks, frequently re- 

 ferred to, containing an account of the discoveries and improvements 

 he made in his favourite science. In these he has very coireetly de- 

 scribed and arranged a vast number of the indigenous plants cf this, 

 and the other islands, which have been appi'oved, and his arrange- 

 ments adopted, by the most eminent modern botanists. , 



In quoting from the before-mentioned or other authors, care has 

 been taken to avoid repetition as much as possible, and where the. 

 descriptions are nearly the same the best has been preferred. Refer- 

 ences 



