

PREFACE 



THIS little book owes its comparatively early appear- 

 ance entirely to the energy and diligence of my 

 wife. When unexpectedly called from the Kew Her- 

 barium to the charge of the Botanical and Afforestation 

 Department at Hongkong, the three or four years 

 during which I had devoted my spare time to the study 

 of alien plants had only resulted in the accumulation 

 of a very large number of crude notes. Fortunately 

 for my purpose, these were nearly complete before 

 leaving England, and my intention was to arrange them, 

 and publish the result at an early date. Two unforeseen 

 circumstances, however, appeared to doom my hopes 

 to disappointment — one was the pressure of Depart- 

 mental work, the other the scarcity of books of reference 

 in the Colony. My wife, fearing that the labour 

 expended in the compilation of the notes would be 

 entirely wasted, has persuaded me to dictate to her a 

 brief summary of my conclusions upon the status and 

 origin of each species, with the result shown in the 

 following pages. I hope that the work may prove of 

 some value to students of English Botany, if only it 

 draws their attention more prominently than heretofore 

 to the question of exact habitat, and I would ask the 



