PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
THE present edition has undergone very careful revision, and 
a number of new illustrations have been inserted. A special 
chapter on Ferns and Mosses has also been added, and, con- 
sidering the title of this book, a word of explanation seems 
necessary. There is a growing and desirable tendency to 
introduce some account of cryptogams into school courses 
of botany. Plants of the kind are so abundant everywhere 
that they ought to receive attention even in elementary 
classes, and it is hoped that the special chapter will assist 
in their study, and also help to give a clearer idea than 
would otherwise be possible, of the life-history and classifi- 
catory position of Flowering Plants. Indeed it may with 
truth be asserted, that no book on the “ Flowering Plant” 
can be satisfactory or complete without some reference to 
the “ Flowerless Plant.” 
J, RA. D: 
ABERYSTWYTH, 
December, 1899. 
