PREFACE. 



UNTIL now no Flora of the East Ridini^- of Yorkshire 

 (VVatsonian vice-county, 61) has been published, and 

 the first thoug-ht to render my own MS. notes into 

 a permanent form did not originate with myself. It was 

 mainly due to the suggestions and requests of others, except 

 for which the ambition to add one more book to the many 

 already in existence would scarcel}' have actuated me. 

 Since, however, the need for such a work was apparent, 

 it has been my endeavour during the last seventeen years 

 to traverse as much of the riding as possible, personally 

 observing and collecting plants and making notes thereon, 

 as well as to compile from all possible sources anything 

 pertaining to the plant inhabitants. The result is the 

 present work which, I trust, is a fairly intelligible first 

 account of the flora of a hitherto apparently^neglected area, 

 and one that ought not to be an unserviceable guide at 

 least to the Field Naturalist, if not also to the Botanist at 

 liome with his herbarium. 



I could have wished that the Flora had taken a form 

 more likely to be acceptable to the popular mind, but this 

 Avould have increased the bulk of the work very considerably 

 beyond our limits. Nevertheless, full indexes are appended. 



