portant species are figured. Mr D. Nutt, the publisher 

 of Stebler's "Best Forage Plants," has, with the 

 greatest liberality, placed the excellent plates of that 

 work at my disposal, and many of the figures are 

 copied from it. I have also to acknowledge extreme 

 indebtedness to the Danish " Landbrugets Kultur- 

 planter." From Dr Samsoe Lund's article on grasses, 

 in No. 3 of that Journal, many . other figures are 

 copied. Jessen's " Deutschlands Graser," Vesque's 

 "Traite de Eotanique," Sinclair's " Hortus gramineus 

 Woburnensis," Parnell's "Grasses," Sowerby's "Gram- 

 ina," &c., have all been laid under contribution. 



Many, who are already capable of recognising grasses 

 by the flowers, may wish, on finding a known species, 

 to refer to the distinctive features of the leaf. With 

 this in view, and to facilitate reference, the Index of 

 Common and Latin Names, as well as the Contents, 

 have been made as complete as possible. 



It is necessary to bear clearly in mind that the 

 characters mentioned relate exclusively to the radical 

 leaves, and not to the culm leaves, which are usually 

 referred to in works on grasses. The latter are often 

 very different from the former, and this is specially 

 the case with the ligule.. 



The group is referred to by a numeral, and the 

 figure in the group, by a number. Thus X. 3, 4, 5, 

 means group X., figures 3, 4, and 5. 



