INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
[ 
laying before the Pustic the First Number. I should have felt more gratified, could I have issued this Number 
a mouth earlier, though the list of Subscribers fell considerably short of the number required, to cover the cost 
cation altogether. ese impediments have at length been surmounte . a 
pictorial portion of the work put in such a train, as leaves little room to doubt of ample success attending its 
subsequent progress. 
In th 
plates, but as the last executed are the best, this circumstance, of itself, holds out the cheering prospect, that 
even they, though far from discreditable to the state of the Arts in Madras, still fall considerably short of the 
perfection, to which, I think, we may justly hope to attai 
more so indeed, t as Originally intended. This course ve been in some sure forced to adopt, from 
aving, in the course of the examination of the materials required in the composition of this division, been 
unavoidably led to the conelusion, that m f our ignorance of the more valuable vegetable productions of 
India, the arborious plants in particular, is attributable to the deficiency of botanical knowle , an 
that whatever tends to increase the latter, will equally enlarge our acquaintance with the former. The follow- 
ing extract from a letter from the Council of the “ United Servi useum,” to Colonel Frith, of » plac 
this statement in a clear light, and shows that the view I hz is supported by the highest authorities, 
sf 
ago collected in the course of a tour, partly uudertaken for that purpose, a number of specimens of the various 
kinds of timber in use in different parts of the country, A set of these specimens containing one hundred 
an i ic 
received a few days ago, and sent me the extract, thinking it possible I might be able to give him some, at least, 
of the botanical names from an inspection of the specimens. 
** You may remember I sent home specimens of timber to the United Service Museum 111 in number. 
They have been received, the letter of acknowledgment says ‘ In returning you their thanks for your very 
interesting collection of woo 's, the Council have desired me to request as a particular favour, if attainable, a list 
of the botanical names, corresponding to the native names affixed: this would be of infinite value, as it 
would permanen‘ly identify the specimen which the native name may fail to do in future years. Such a list 
Id be a most valuable document indeed for many purposes.’ ” 
It was not without regret that I felt myself forced to decline attempting, from such materials, to meet the 
Colonel’s wishes, under the apprehension 0 doing more harm than good by assigning wrong names, but 1 
: ; M og 
. Lae “a ‘ cogs dibesin: ~ ) ” 
For their preservation, all that is required is to spread them between the folds of two or three sheets of common 
Bazar paper, and lay them in t i i 
though their colour may be lost, they are nearly as fit for Botanical purposes, as when first gat a ers 
and fruit are required for the determination of the order and genus; and the leaves, to assist in indicating the 
species, 
