Introductory Remarks. ix 



Even the geographic limitation of the work nominally to extra-tropic 

 regions involves a somewhat arbitrary admission or exclusion of those 

 intra-tropical plants, which occupy cooler mountain-regions, and those 

 which extend even from low lands almost within the equinoctial 

 zones fully to both tropical circles of geographic demarcation. An 

 armful of hay or straw may help many a tender seedling over the 

 first cool season, or a bit of brush may shelter infant-plants against 

 scorching in the first summer. In fact, a work like this can pass only 

 strictly equatorial and sub-equatorial lowland-plants, the isothermal 

 lines not rarely receding much from those of geographic latitude, as 

 for instance here in Eastern Australia. In viewing some of the 

 recommendations, contained in these pages, the prospect of remunera- 

 tiveness may seem scant ; yet it should not be forgotten, that vast 

 saving of labour is effected nowadays through machinery becoming 

 more and more ingeniously perfected quite as much for rural pur- 

 poses, as for application to the printing process, to paper-making, 

 sugar-production, sewing and many other kinds of work in technology 

 or even domesticity. Hence assuredly we are not to continue for ever 

 all the tedious manual operations in tea-manufacture, perfume-isola- 

 tion and other industrial operations ; indeed, the changes for ex- 

 pediting technic processes and for saving raw material have been 

 great already, more particularly so within the last few decades. Verna- 

 culars have been but sparingly used, being so often of duplicity or 

 even multiplicity in their application, and so frequently also mislead- 

 ing ; for instance the word " Cow-Berry," though intended for a literal 

 translation of Vaccinium, is so utterly devoid of any meaning, that 

 Wittstein argued, the latter should be altered into Baccinium. 

 We should strive to simplify nomenclature, and reduce popular 

 names to such solitary and logic expressions, as most readily can be 

 understood in each instance. Is it not as easy, to bear in memory 

 the word Casuarina as the very objectionable appellations Sheoak 

 and Heoak? So much botany might or should be taught henceforth 

 at any evening elementary school, that the Latin or Greek names of 

 the principal utilitarian plants of the world become universally under- 

 stood. But whoever likes to render himself fully acquainted with 

 English or any foreign provincialisms of plants, can readily refer to W. 

 Ulrich's and to W. Miller's special dictionaries, both of comparatively 

 recent date. The permission of re-issuing this work is only accorded 

 on an understanding, that no alterations for the mere purpose of 

 effecting changes of wordings or passages be made, as such would 

 only be apparent but not real improvement, and would destroy the 



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