PREFACE vii 



Isles which is almost incapable of being exhausted, 

 providing fresh material to every one who studies it 

 in an enlightened manner. 



The author wishes to encourage, as stated in the 

 introductory volume, the study of the life-history 

 of plants, of which individually we know so little as 

 yet, even of a very few species. The lines he has 

 adopted may, he hopes, tend towards this desired end. 

 Further, he would wish to emphasise the value 

 of outdoor work — to be supplemented, of course, by 

 indoor study. And it may be possible in a succeeding 

 volume to deal with plant communities, and not 

 individuals, as here. This study, ecology, is essen- 

 tially an outdoor and experimental study, and one 

 which cannot fail to sustain interest. 



In the following up of this work with more 

 detailed studies there are a number of special 

 manuals which may be consulted. A list of these 

 will be found in the appendix to this and the other 

 volumes. To these also I am indebted to some 

 extent for the accounts in the introduction of 

 different phases of plant life. 



In addition to the purely botanical features of 

 each description, I have added notes on the English 

 names. For these, as should have been added in 

 the appendix to Vol. I., I am indebted to the 

 'Dictionary of English Plant Names,' by J. Britten 

 and R. Holland. Similarly, for details as to plant 



