II PREFACE. 



The late Dr. C. W. Eddy, of New-York, was a zealous botanist, and devoted much 

 attention to the plants of this State ; but his herborizations were mostly confined to the 

 vicinity of the metropolis and Long Island. In 1808, he published in the New-York 

 Medical Repository a list of plants growing spontaneously around Plandome, in Queens 

 county. 



The same year, Pursh, author of the Flora AmericcR Septentrionalis, made an extensive 

 botanical tour on foot through the State, the fruits of which are recorded in his work. 



Major J. Le Conte ( now, I believe, the oldest botanist in the United States) has for 

 many years assiduously studied the plants of North America. Among his valuable publi- 

 cations is a catalogue of 468 species of indigenous and naturalized plants growing spon- 

 taneously on the island of New-York. This was inserted in the American Medical and 

 Philosophical Register for 1811, edited by Dr. Hosack and Dr. Francis. 



In 1814, the late Professor Jacob Green published at Albany his list of the native plants 

 of the State of New-York, in the compilation of which he was assisted by Messrs. Pursh, 

 Eddy, Le Conte, and Whitlow. 



In 1817, at the request of the Lyceum of Natural History, I prepared a list of the plants 

 growing within thirty miles of the city of New-York, which was not published, however, 

 until 1819. It embraced about 1300 species (of which several new ones were described) , 

 including a considerable portion of the Cryptogamia. 



The first edition of the Manual of Botany, by the late Prof. Eaton, of Troy, appeared in 

 1818. This well known work passed through eight editions, the last of which, in an en- 

 larged form, under the title of North American Botany, is dated 1840, and was prepared 

 by the united labors of Prof. Eaton and John Wright, M. D. The authors have indi- 

 cated most of the rarer plants which they had ascertained to be indigenous to New-York. 



The first volume of my Flora of tlie Middle and Northern States, according to the 

 Linna;an System, was published in 1823 and 1S24, and embraced the classes from Monan- 

 dria to Icosandria inclusive. Before the second volume was completed, the work was 

 interrupted by other labors, and finally abandoned, under the persuasion that I could better 

 serve the cause of North American Botany by adopting tlie natural system. A Compen- 

 dium of the Flora was, liov/ever, given to the public in 1826. These works -contain most 

 of the observations I had then made on the plants of New-York. 



In 1833, Prof. L. C. Beck gave us his well digested and comprehensive Botany of the 

 J^orthern Slates. With the exception of my account of Dr. James's plants collected in 

 Long's first Expedition, this was the first American work in whicli the Natural System was 

 followed. 



Tiie next publication relative to the Flora of our State, is a Catalogue of Plants 

 growing in the vicinity of Troy, Ijy Prof. J. Hall and Dr. J. Wright. This appeared in 

 1836. 



Beside tlicsc contributions to the Botany of New-York, various articles on the same 

 subject are inserted in scientific and other periodicals. 



In (he Transylvania Journal of Medicine for 1832, is a description of some new or rare 



