XXIV INTRODUCTION. 



illustrations from the immense number of recorded 

 facts, the principle followed has been to choose those 

 which seemed either intrinsically the most important, 

 or those which are recorded with the most care. In 

 addition to these public sources of information, the 

 author has availed himself of every opportunity that 

 has offered itself of examining cases of unusual 

 conformation in plants. For many such opportunities 

 the author has to thank his friends and correspondents. 

 Nor has he less reason to be grateful for the suggestions 

 that they have made, and the information they have 

 supplied. In particular the writer is desirous of ac- 

 knowledging his obligations to the Society, under whose 

 auspices this work is published, and to Mr. S. J. 

 Salter, to whom the book in some degree owes its 

 origin. 



The drawings, where not otherwise stated, have 

 been executed either from the author's own rough 

 sketches, or from the actual specimens, by Mr. E. M. 

 Williams. A large number of woodcuts have also 

 been kindly placed at the disposal of the author by the 

 proprietors of the ' Gardeners' Chronicle.'^ 



As it is impossible to fi'ame any but a purely arbi- 



* In some instances diagrams and formulae are given in explanation 

 of the conformation of monstrous flowers ; in general these require no 

 further explanation than is given in the text, unless it be to state that 

 the horizontal line is intended to indicate the cohesion of the parts 

 over which it is placed, while the vertical line | signifies the adhesion 

 of the organs by whose side it is placed. The formula 



P P P P F 



8T ST ST ST ST 



shows that the sepals (s) are distinct, the petals (p) coherent, and the 

 stamens (st) adherent to the petals. 



