4 INTRODUCTORy EXPLANATIONS. 



As yet, however, few British botanists have dii'ected their 

 attention towards the geographical relations of oui" native 

 plants. We have had general Floras of Britain from Ray, 

 Hudson, Smith, Withering, Gray, Lindley, Hooker, Mac- 

 gillivray, Macreight, Babington and other authors ; but 

 nothing like a Cijbele has hitherto appeared : unless we ex- 

 cept two small volumes which were printed for the writer 

 of these pages, in the years 1832 and 1835, under the titles 

 of ' Outlines ' and ' Remarks ;' to which may be added a 

 ' Fkst Part ' of the more expanded form of the same work, 

 ])rinted in 1843, but not continued into a Second Pait. 

 Some slight approaches towards a Local Cybele had been 

 made before the present author's own efforts commenced ; 

 and one among these which seems most deserving of 

 mention here, was an ' Essay on the Geogi-aphical Distri- 

 bution of Plants in the counties of Northumberland, 

 Dm"ham and Cumberland,' from the pen of the late Mr. 

 Winch. 



Of works wliich supply one kind of materials, requii"ed in 

 constructing a general Cybele of Britain — figm-atively, in 

 the same sense that bricks ai-e materials required in con- 

 structing a house, — ' The Botanist's Guide tluough Eng- 

 land and Wales,' by Tmner and DUlwyn, more especially 

 merits notice here. That useflil compilation (including 

 also many original facts) gave name and plan, as likewise 

 much of the contents, to another publication of the same 

 kind, extended to Scotland also ; which was printed in 

 1835, under the title of ' New Botanist's Guide to the Lo- 

 calities of the Rai-er Plants of Britain.' 



In addition to facts, or alleged facts, which were brought 

 together in those two more comprehensive works, a large 

 amount of similar materials may now be found in the many 

 local floras and lists recently published ; as well as in the 



