THE 



Journal of Indian Botanp* 



Vol. I. SEPTEMBER, 1919. No. 1. 



EDITORIAL 



This Journal op Indian Botany has been started to provide 

 a means of publishing botanical work done in India, which would 

 not naturally find a home in the existing botanical journals of 

 this country, e.g., the Eecords of the Botanical Survey and the vari- 

 ous publications of the Agricultural Departments. The need for 

 something of this kind has long been felt and frequently expressed, 

 for without doubt much good work has been done in India in 

 branches other than Floristic or Agricultural Botany, which has 

 too often been laid on one side for lack of facilities of publi- 

 cation. The present venture owes its inception in the first place 

 to the enthusiasm of Mr. L. J. Sedgwick, F.L.S., a keen and prolific 

 worker in systematic botany, who, however, is unable on account 

 of his official work to undertake the editorship ; and in the second 

 to Mr. T. E. D. Bell, C.I.E., who generously came forward with an 

 offer to guarantee the expenses till the Journal should be so far 

 established as to pay its way, or prove unwanted. 



The chief object of the Journal will be the publication of original 

 matter, and in order that any work may see the light without undue 

 delay, the editor is prepared to issue the Journal monthly, provided 

 of course that there is sufficient matter to go to press. At the same 

 time he feels constrained to remind Indian Botanists that if they 

 really want the Journal to live they must support it by sending to 

 him the papers they would otherwise have sent elsewhere. 



In addition to original papers we propose to publish abstracts 

 and reviews and of papers which appear in other journals ; but since 

 the editor cannot undertake to abstract all, even of those papers which 

 come under his notice— and there must be many that do not — he 

 will be glad of assistance in this. Several botanists have kindly 

 undertaken to abstract papers, but more help is needed, and it is 



