4 INTRODUCTION. 
called Raila and Yapa. These—with all the various writers’ interpreta- 
tions of spelling—find place in the index of the vernacular to which they 
belong, but not in the general list. The index is intended to admit 
of the plant being identified with the smallest amount of trouble, the 
general list shows what I take to be the correct word only. An old 
cardener in England used to talk of the “Oak” as the “ Wuk,” and 
the “Elm” as the “‘ Hellum ”; no one would dream of writing as 
correct, the words “ Wuk” or “ Hellum,” although the local inhabit- 
ants would understand that mode of pronunciation better; and so it 
would be easier to find out Puliki or Polikias such from the index 
than to have to look for Ponaku, the correct (dictionary) method of 
writing one of the Sterculias in Telugu. 
7, I have entered English names, which were not inserted in the 
original list, and, here I have to confess that I have taken a great, 
some critics would say, unwarranted liberty. I have adapted a large 
number of English names; sometimes I have taken a specific English 
name, and have adapted it for a genus, or qualified it for two or three 
genera. In adapting it fora genus, I have further qualified it so as 
to distinguish to some degree between the species of that genus. I 
further admit that some of the names so adapted are extremely clumsy 
as names. My plea is this; the work is intended essentially for 
Rangers and Deputy Rangers who have no opportunity whatever of 
referring to the books of reference that have been at my command ; 
they have not even acopy of Brandis’ Trees. It is of importance that 
they should be able to discriminate between the different species of a 
genus, it is because of this want that so many vernacular names have 
been erroneously entered, and once erroneously entered it is most 
difficult to say that such a nameis wrong. It is hoped by this—albeit 
clumsy—means they will to a large extent be able to distinguish bet- 
ween the different plants, helped also by the insertion in this list (not 
in the original list) of the habit and habitat. Moreover the Forest 
Commissioner has kindly permitted now, a key of the divisions, orders, 
and genera to be inserted, which should also be of considerable help ; 
bot this permission was not accorded until after the English name 
adaptations were compiled. In a revision it would be better to have 
a key of the species, and simplify the English names. 
8. In the outset I tried to follow Hooker’s Flora of British India, 
as nearly as possible, as that was then, and still largely is, 
the standard work. I was kindly given the loan of Index Kewensis, 
and, as far as was practicable therefrom, deducted the recognized 
nomenclature. It will be seen that according to Brandis there are 
further modifications, e.g., he uses Palaquium for Dichopsis, Aphania 
for one section of Sapindus, and so forth; but to get the whole pro- 
perly into order I could not do this without a study at Kew, and this 
was not permitted to me. In the last column of the general list are 
numbers of synonyms, Suppose No. 2026 were one of such numbers, 
by referring to the Serial No. 2026 in the Botanical Index the name 
of synonym is found. 
