PREFACE. 



The materials from which the following pages have 

 been prepared were originally collected for the private use 

 of the Author, to remove the inconvenience he constantly 

 experienced from a necessity of referring daily to rare, 

 costly, and extensive publications, often to be found only 

 in the libraries of the wealthy. A belief that what was 

 indispensable to himself might also prove useful to the 

 public, afterwards led to the commencement of the pre- 

 sent Work, the appearance of which has been accelerated 

 by the gi'owing want of some Introduction to that method 

 of investigating the productions of the Vegetable Kingdom 

 which, under the name of the Natural System, has gradu- 

 ally displaced more popular classifications, well adapted 

 indeed to captivate the superficial inquirer, but exercising 

 so baneful an influence upon Botany, as to have rendered 

 it doubtful whether it even deserved a place among the 

 sciences. 



When the printing was commenced, we had no En- 

 glish Introduction whatever to the subject of which it 

 treats ; but, soon afterwards, a translation was published 

 by Dr. Clinton, of the fourth edition of Richard's NouveaiLv 

 Elhnens de la Botanique, in which much information is to 

 be found. Had this work appeared calculated to answer 

 ^e purpose of even a temporary Introduction, the matter 

 ^ow made public would have still remained in the cabinet 

 ^ the Author; but the plan of M. Richard, indepen- 

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