XVI PKEFAOE. 



mountains of Kamaon ; Edgeworth's valuable papers on the vegetation of 

 Banda, Multan, and the North-Eastern Panjab ; Aitchison's Flora of 

 Jhelam and Catalogue of Panjab Plants; Cleghorn's full and instruc- 

 tive Eeport on the Forests of Panjab and the Western Himalaya ; and the 

 late Dr Stocks's contributions to the botany of Sindh. 



I have now to acknowledge the kind and ready assistance which I have 

 received on all sides in this undertaking. I value highly the privilege of 

 having worked at Kew during the past two years. The free use of the 

 Library and Herbarium, with its matchless collections of Indian plants, 

 and its perfect order and arrangement, greatly facilitated my task ; and the 

 ready access at all times to the Gardens and the Museum of Economic 

 Botany, enabled me to come to definite conclusions on many difficult 

 questions. I am under the greatest obligation for the interest which Dr 

 Hooker has from the commencement evinced in this work, and his advice 

 and assistance given without reserve. Professor Oliver, the Keeper of 

 the Herbarium, and in his absence Mr J. G. Baker, have examined the 

 botanical part ; and to Professor Oliver particularly I am indebted for 

 corrections and useful suggestions as it passed through the press. Mr 

 Bentham kindly permitted me to consult him on doubtful points. In 

 my early days I had the privilege of studying under eminent botanists. 

 I am proud to state that Schouw at Copenhagen, Treviranus at Bonn, 

 Grisebach and Lantzius-Beninga at Gottingen, were my instructors ; and I 

 had the good fortune to accompany Link on some of his excursions in 

 Greece, where I began my botanical pursuits under Dr Fraas, then Pro- 

 fessor of Botany at Athens. Continuous official work in the Indian forest 

 service since 1855 had compelled me almost entirely to abandon scientific 

 pursuits, and I regard it as no small advantage to have been permitted 

 to resume botanical research under the guidance of the first botanists in 

 England. 



To Mr Kurz, Curator of the Herbarium of the Calcutta Gardens, I am 

 indebted for valuable notes, some of which are included under Addenda. 

 Dr Eost, Librarian at the India Office, has with great kindness verified 

 the Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian names. Mr D. Hanbury has favoured 

 me with useful suggestions regarding medicinal plants ; and Dr Cleghorn, 

 formerly associated with me in India, has from the commencement of the 

 work given me the advice and counsel of a true and faithful friend 

 without his corrections I could not have ventured to publish this book 

 in a language which is not my own, and without his devoted assistance 

 at the last I could not have completed it. 



D. BRANDIS. 



Kew, March 1874. 



