Inacertain litle bokewiche I set furth, iiii yeres ago and 

 somthynge more, which I dedicated vnto the Kynges 

 Grace that nowe is I promised that if I perceyued that 

 he woulde take in good worth that Htle treaties, to set furth 

 an herbal & an other boke also of fishes. Partly to fulfyl 

 this my promise streight way after, I began to labour ^to 

 make vp a latin herbal, whiche thynge I haue finished ii 

 yeres ago, but when I had inteded this yere to haue set it 

 furth, & axed the aduise of Phisicianes in thys matter, their 

 aduise was that I shoulde cease from settynge out of this 

 boke in latin tyll I had sene those places of Englande, 

 wherein is moste plentie of herbes, that I might in my 

 herbal declare to the greate honoure of our countre what 

 numbre of souereine & Strang herbes were in Englande that 

 were not in other nations, whose counsell I haue folowed 

 deferryng to set out my herbal in latin, tyl that I haue sene 

 the west coiitrey, which I never sawe yet in al my lyfe, which 

 countrey of al places of England, as I heare say is moste 

 richely replenished wyth al kindes of straunge and woderfull 

 workes & giftes of nature, as are stones, herbes, fishes and 

 metalles when as they that moued me to the settyng furth 

 of my latin herbal, hearde this so reasonable an excuse they 

 moued me to set out an herbal in Englishe as Fuchsius dyd 

 in latine wyth the discriptions, figures and properties of as 



' A ij, back. 



