IXTRODUCTI* >N xiii 



Whenever possible I took about with me Endlieher's Genera Ptantarum, 

 Roxburgh's Flora Indica, Wight and Arnott's Prodromus, and in later 

 years Kurz's Forest Flora of Burma and other books as they appeared. 

 Whenever I could snatch an hour or two I examined the trees and shrubs 

 which I had found. Unfortunately for myself I never was a keen sportsman : 

 this, however, gave me time during my life in Burma, from 1851 I - _. to 

 record descriptions with rough sketches of the plants examined. Many 

 specimens of my old Burma collections are. in accordance with my wish, at 

 the Herbarium of the Royal Gardens. Calcutta, but a portion I have kept. 

 and Lt.-Colonel Prain has most kindly lent me some of my old specimens for 

 examination. Thus I have been able to utilize for the present book a 

 considerable portion of my old Burma notes, and this will I trust increase its 

 value. It must not be supposed that in those days I knew the systematic 

 names of the trees and shrubs of Burma. In January 1880, I was ahl 

 spend a few weeks with the late Dr. Thomas Thomson at the Calcutta gardens, 

 and while there obtained the names of some of the more important trees and 

 shrubs. Until then, and in most cases afterwards,I called theruby theirBurmese 

 names. In 1859 I drew up a descriptive account of eighteen kinds of bam? 

 all well known to me by their dimensions, their mode of growth, their culm- 

 sheaths and other characters, but until Munro's Monograph of Ban: 

 appeared in 18*36. I only knew them by their Burmese names. After I left 

 Burma and commenced work in the other provinces of the Empire. I had 

 even less time for botanical studies. The result has been that to the end 

 of my Indian career I remained ignorant of many trees and shrubs, to which 

 my attention had uot been specially drawn. Intelligent readers will discover 

 in thf Addenda appended to this book several species which I had omitted 

 because I did not know them. 



Third : Tin- specimens and notes sent to me by my younger friends and bv 

 my former colleagues. Before speaking of foresters I desire to state that the 

 Superintendent of the Royal Gardens, Calcutta, has for several years past 

 most kindly sent me duplicates, which it was thought uiijrht help me in mv 

 present work. Mr. John F. Duthie, the late Superintendent of the Saharaupur 

 Botanic Gardens, has sent me specimens, and has enabled me to 

 examine others collected by him in Northern India. Colonel A. A. Barrett 

 has at different times sent me most valuable material, with full notes, from 

 Abbotabad and from the Chitral valley, ami Dr. T. Cooke has most kindly, 

 in tli- - lifficult genera, permitted me to examine the specimens of 



rich collections made by him in the Bombay Presidency. 



The first collection from forest office - from Mr. A. E. Lowrie. at that 



time in charge of the forests "f Ajmer-Merwara. It dsted of a:; ah 

 complete set of well dried s] - of the trees and shrubs of that district, 



with copious and instructive not - apanied in many cases by pieces 



wood, which enabled me to understand difficult genera, such as Cordia, b 

 than before. 



From Mr. J. S. Gamble, C XE. and P.R.S., I eived repeated cou- 



Dments of splendid s| imens collected by him in Bengal and in the M 



Presidency, which have be if help to mi - work. Moreover. 



when 1 had neatly finished bamboos, Mr. Gamble at my reques 

 generously sent for my inspection and examination the specimens which he 

 had received from India since the publication "f his great work on the Indian 

 band <. including several new species named by him. 



Mr. d. \Y. i (liver, when < lonservator in Upper Burma, sent me several import- 

 ant collections, made, partly by him, partly by Mr. E, M. Buchanan, on the hills 

 in the Ruby Mines district, and in that remarkable region of dry country on 

 hoth sides of the [rawadi river between Thayetmyo and Mandalay. I'pper 

 Burma was annexed three years after I had left India, and these collections, 

 with Mr. Oliver's notes, as well as a number of specimens sent me by Mr. A. 

 Smythies, gave me some idea of the forest vegetation of that country. I had 



