PREFACE 



TO 



THE FIRST EDITIO]S' 



The principal design of the author in the preparation of the 

 present volume was, to furnish a comprehensive, and at the 

 same time a practical, guide to the Properties and Uses of 

 Plants, a part of Botany which, in the majority of manuals, is 

 but very briefly alluded to. He hopes that in this respeet the 

 present manual may serve as an introduction to works devoted 

 particularly to Materia Mediea and Economic Botany, and thus 

 form a text -book of especial value to medical and pharmaceuti- 

 cal students ; as well as a work of reference generally, for those 

 engaged in commercial pursuits who have daily to make use of 

 substances derived from the vegetable kingdom. 



Another prominent motive of the author was, to furnish the 

 pupils attending his lectures with a class-book, in which the 

 subjects treated of should be arranged, as far as possible, in 

 the same order as followed by him in the lectures themselves. 

 It may be noticed that this order differs in several respects from 

 that commonly followed, but long experience as a teacher has 

 convinced him that it is the most desirable one for the student. 

 Grreat pains have been taken in all departments to bring the 

 different subjects treated of down to the present state of science ; 

 and much care has been exercised in condensing the very nu- 

 merous details bearing upon each department, and in arranging 

 them for systematic study. 



The author makes no claims for this work to be regarded as 

 a complete treatise on the different departments of Botany; it is 

 only intended as a guide to larger and more comprehensive 



