INTRODUCTION. 



Ferns and other higher cryptogams. If the publication of the volume has 

 necessarily been delayed on this account, the superior character of the work 

 is an ample compensation. The extent of the additions that have teen 

 made to our knowledge of the flora of the State during the past four years 

 may be seen by reference to the many pages devoted to them. These addi- 

 tions are due to the interest and efforts of a comparatively few individuals, 

 to whom proper acknowledgment is given in connection with Professor 

 Brewer's account of the botanical collectors that have visited or resided in 

 California. There still remains ample opportunity for good botanical work 

 at almost any locality among the mountains, hills and valleys of the State, to 

 which it is hoped that these volumes may prove both an incentive and an aid. 

 Having thus brought to a close a work which has been far more laborious 

 and protracted than was ever anticipated, I here return my sincere thanks 

 to all those who have patiently waited for it, as well as to those who have 

 in any manner assisted in its progress. 



SERENO WATSON. 



HERBARIUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY, 

 CAMBRIDGE, MASS., July 1, 1880. 



