INTBODUCTION 5 



tions which will be found in the plates at the 

 end of the volume. No descriptions, however 

 vivid, will, in a matter of this kind, suffice to 

 give such distinct impressions of the objects to be 

 described as some delineation of them, or, better 

 still, a glance at the originals, will afford, for here, 

 as so often, " seeing is believing." I hope, there- 

 fore, that my drawings will not only elucidate 

 the descriptions I shall give, but will also act 

 as a further inducement to my readers to see for 

 themselves the many beautiful forms which can, 

 at best, be so inadequately represented on paper. 

 These drawings have all been made, by means of 

 the microscope, from specimens in my own collec- 

 tion, and I have, as far as possible, confined myself 

 to plants which are most frequently to be found. 



It must, however, be borne in mind that all the 

 objects of which I have to speak are very small 

 some of them, indeed, so minute as to be practically 

 invisible to the unaided eye ; hence my drawings 

 have to be on a large scale, in some cases between 

 one and two hundred times larger than the 

 originals. 



