xii PREFACE. 



regard perseverance in error commendable, for the sake of wliat is 

 idly called consistency ; he would rather see false views corrected 

 as the proof of their error arises. His object _, and, he thinks he 

 may say that of every one else who has turned his attention to 

 this question of late, has not been to estabHsh a system of his own, 

 which shall be immutable, but to contribute to the extent of his 

 ability towards that end. He indeed must be a very presumptuous 

 person, having a microscopically small acquaintance with his sub- 

 ject, who should even dream of being able to accomplish such a 

 purpose All that we can do is to throw our pebbles upon the 

 heap, which shall hereafter, when they have sufficiently accumu- 

 lated, become the landmark of Systematical Botany. 



Having stated thus much by way of preface, it only now remains 

 to explain the plan of the work in its new form. Its object is 

 to give a concise view of the state of Systematical Botany at the 

 present day, to show the relation or supposed relation of one group 

 of plants to another, to explain their geographical distribution, and 

 to point out the various uses to which the species are appHed in 

 different countries. The names of all known genera, with their 

 synonyms, are given under each Natural Order, the numbers of 

 the genera and species are in every case computed from what seems 

 to be the best authority, and complete Indices of the multitudes of 

 names embodied in the work are added, so as to enable a Botanist 

 to know immediately under what Natural Order a given genus is 

 stationed, or what the uses are to which any species has been 

 applied. Finally, the work is copiously illustrated by wood and 

 glyphographic cuts, and for the convenience of Students, aa 

 artificial analysis of the system is placed at the end. Some of these 

 points demand a few words of comment. 



In offering to the public a view of the present state of System- 

 atical Botany, the Author has pursued the plan developed in the 

 succeeding pages, of first taking certain characters common to very 

 extensive assemblages of plants, by means of which Classes have 

 been constituted; and, secondly, of breaking up those Classes into 

 minor groups called Alliances, whose common characters are also 

 more extensive than those of Natural Orders, and under which the 

 Natural Orders are themselves assembled. Very short characters 

 have been proposed, under the name of Diagnoses, for both Alliances 

 and Orders; these are intended to express the prevaihng tendency 

 observable in each group, but do not include casual exceptions, 

 for which the reader is referred to the descriptions immediately 



