70 CONCLUSION 



my attention and critical investigation. The 

 40 articles of this Lexicon have already proved 

 hov^ many striking mistakes and palpable errors 

 of Linneus, Michaux, Pursh, Hooker, Nuttal, 

 Beck, Eaton, Torrey, Elliot, and others exist 

 undetected and unnoticed by our writers and 

 compilers. At this rate the 2000 Genera will 

 afford 5000 similar blunders. 



It is a weary and ungrateful task to revise er- 

 rors ; but it must be done : Since every expo- 

 sed error is equal to a discovery. I shall not 

 even spare my own, as we are all liable to them, 

 and we improve by age and experience. If all 

 would be as careful and as liberal as I am, 

 the science might soon cease to be involved in 

 hidden groups of neglected genera and species, 

 or in useless synonyms of mistaken plants, and 

 improper names. 



Meantime in order to name properly my new 

 American plants, it has been needful to study 

 over again and revise many Genera and Natu- 

 ral families ; since several are yet in utter con- 

 fusion, by the usual practice of Botanists to refer 

 plants at random, and without attending to the 

 actual characters, to force them into genera 

 where they do not belong. 



This arduous undertaking was indispensable, 

 and has led me to revise, reform, divide and fix 

 several natural families and a crowd of genera ; 

 but such a labor altho' connected with our Amer- 

 ican Botany, applies nevertheless to the whole 

 Globe, and has become my Synopsis Flora 

 Telluriana, or synoptical Mantissa of 2000 

 New Genera, Species, Orders, &c., which will 

 be the companion to this North American Flora, 

 and the complement of my Botanical researches. 



Being in hope of obtaining the Herbarium of 

 my late friend Z. Collins, which contains many 



