PREFACE. 



The Geological and Natural History Surv^ey of Minnesota is 

 established by virtue of an act of the state legislature, ap- 

 proved March 1, 1872. This act is entitled "An Act to provide 

 for a Geological and Natural History Survey of the State, and to 

 entrust the same to the University of Minnesota." Under the 

 law, therefore, organising the survey, the Regents of the Uni- 

 versity became its directors and have at different times ap- 

 pointed officers to prosecute the different lines of scientific 

 work. The order of carrying on the work is prescribed in the 

 law establishing it. In accordance with such prescription the 

 geological work has been in progress for twenty years, the 

 zoological work for four years, the botanical for two years, and 

 the topographical for one year. Originally the separation of 

 these four lines of work was not formally insisted upon by the 

 Board of Regents and certain botanical and zoological brochures 

 have up to this time appeared from the office of the State 

 Geologist. More recently, however, contingencies arose that 

 induced the Board of Regents so to classify the work of the 

 survey that each department should be under the charge of a 

 specialist who might be expected to labor toward the ends 

 defined in the organic law, with greater directness than under 

 the unperfected arrangement. The accompanying work, then, 

 is a report of the botanical division of the survey, and the first 

 volume of the botanical series. It is transmitted in the cus- 

 tomary manner. 



It is necessary to add in this place a word to what is more 

 fully discussed in that portion of the introductory chapter 

 which relates to nomenclature. The action of the Botanical 

 Club of the American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science, at the meeting in Rochester, New York, during the 

 month of August, 1892, is a very grateful one to all who have 

 wished for some radical reform in our laws and customs of 

 botanical nomenclature, The rules of the Paris Congress have 



