TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 



xirfVERY person acquainted with the recent history of 

 Botany, must have been struck with the remarkable 

 fact, that there does not at present exist in this coun- 

 try any work which embraces all the speculations and 

 views which that science has now opened up ; or in 

 which its higher branches are treated in a man- 

 ner suited to their importance. Much has lately 

 been done for elucidating the Anatomy, Chemi- 

 stry, Physiology, and Diseases of Plants ; and the 

 travels of those enlightened and indefatigable men 

 who have recently traversed the globe in all direc- 

 tions, with the view of illustrating its Natural His- 

 tory, have thrown the most instructive and pleasing 

 light on the laws which regulate the distribution of 

 vegetables over the face of the earth. But the facts 

 and speculations which have originated in these la- 

 bours, have hitherto remained scattered throughout 

 the various occasional works in which they first ap- 

 peared : in many cases they continue buried in the 

 obscurity of foreign languages ; and the student who 



