ii Preface. 



5. The remaining 25 of the 100 quarto lithographed and 

 coloured Plates that accompany this work. These 

 25 will appear with the present Part. 



Thus it appears that my share in the authorship of the 

 Hand-book, as originally contemplated by Dr. Trimen, will 

 be confined to passing his account of the EiipJiorbiacecu 

 through the press, and to supplying descriptions of all the 

 succeeding Orders, together with a complete account of 

 Gramitiecs, adding occasional notes on the genera and species 

 where I think it expedient to do so. 



In addition to the above, I propose to give in Part V. 

 (i), a key to the Natural Orders of Ceylon Flowering plants, 

 without which the work cannot be of practical use to any 

 but experienced botanists ; (2), brief biographical notices, by 

 G. Boulger, Esq., F.L.S., of the botanists who have done most 

 for the advancement of the Sinhalese Flora; (3), two very 

 instructive Maps, of the Rainfall and of the Forest Areas 

 of Ceylon, issued by the Surveyor-General of the Colony, 

 to whom I am greatly indebted for sanctioning this use of 

 them. 



Regarding Indexes, it will be observed that a complete 

 Index of the Latin, Sinhalese, and Tamil names of the 

 plants described in Parts I. and II. is appended to Part II. 

 Part III. is not indexed. As I propose to append to 

 Part V. a complete Index to the whole work, I have con- 

 fined the Index to Parts III. and IV. to generic names. 



It remains to add to the above explanations that, in 

 following Dr. Trimen's footsteps, I shall adhere as far as 

 possible to the plan he has adopted, in respect of one 

 point in which I have an observation to make. It refers to 

 the following passage in the Introduction to Part I., p. v. : 

 'In the definitions of the Orders and Genera, it must be 

 distinctly understood that the distinguishing characters here 

 given for each group do not include the whole of those which 



