PEEFACE TO THE FIRST ENGLISH EDITION. 



ALTHOUGH the last two or three years have produced at 

 least as many works on Practical Botany for laboratory 

 purposes, no apology is needed for reproducing from the 

 German one which has no counterpart in the English 

 language, and which has the advantage of being written 

 by one of the greatest living masters of microscopical ob- 

 servation. 



Although Professor Strasburger has revolutionised the 

 science of Botany in more than one direction, no work of 

 his has as yet come before an English public in its own 

 tongue ; but it is perhaps not unfitting tbat the Author's 

 first introduction to the English-reading student should be 

 in the role of teacher of those arts of manipulation and 

 observation by the exercise of which bis own fame has been 

 gained. 



This edition' has the advantage of revision and of nu- 

 merous additional notes by the Author ; some portions have 

 been well-nigh rewritten. To these I have ventured to add 

 notes of my own, intended to either simplify or amplify the 

 description, or to enable the material selected by the Author 

 to be replaced by some other, probably more readily obtain- 

 able. These additions have been either inserted as foot- 

 notes, or, where intercalated in the text, are usually inserted 

 between square brackets [ ]. The Introduction I have, with 

 the consent of the Author, nearly rewritten, in order to 

 make it more suited to the English student ; similarly with 

 a few other isolated paragraphs. A few additional illustra- 

 tions I have been enabled to add, through the courtesy of 

 the Publishers ; descriptions of, and references to, these 

 are likewise enclosed in brackets. To make the book more 



