156 APPENDIX. 



fied or restored, are still numereus, and will ever 

 be until Botanists no longer squeeze them into 

 improper groups, as some would squeeze Men 

 among Monkeys, or make only one Genus as for- 

 merly of all the Monkeys, all the Bats, all the 

 Confervas and all the Lichens ! some Generic 

 reformers like Lindley, Decandole, Agardh &c, 

 who have done much on some peculiar families, 

 skip over the glaring deflects of others, or seek 

 invisible characters of the seeds and embryos, 

 while they overlook the striking floral disparities! 

 not having yet seen Endlicher I cannot tell what 

 he may have begun to do, aud how far we may 

 have followed the same paths : if we agree, let 

 it be remembered that my reforms date of 1815. 



In all the original accounts and figures of 

 plants that I can consult, in late botanical works 

 and travels, I find corrections to make even 

 among the well described trees &/c ; while there 

 are many more imperfectly designated, or even 

 merely indicated. Much therefore will remain 

 to be observed and well noticed by future writers. 

 It must always be so in progressive natural sci- 

 ences, and those who endeavor to keep them 

 stationary or impede their progress, are to be 

 reckoned among the foes of human knowledge, 

 particularly if they neglect to avail themselves 

 of the observatioas and researches, of previous 

 writers, through various pretexts often frivolous 

 or invidious, my practice instead has always 

 been to avail myself of all previous accessible 

 sources of knowledge : many of our plants and 

 our animals must rest yet upon such observa- 

 tions of original discoverers, not always easy to 

 verify nor to obtain the objects, either rare or of 

 remote regions. 



As to varieties, most of our species are suck, 



