FOREWORD 



The textbooks of Botany commonly used in India 

 are not exactly suited to the requirements of the 

 Indian student. Most of the plants which they cite 

 to illustrate the text are foreign to the plains of India, 

 and serve no purpose other than to cram his memory 

 with facts which he has no means to verify by 

 actual observation. These textbooks naturally give 

 prominence to those Natural Orders which prevail in 

 Europe, while those of Indian importance find a 

 scanty notice. Then again, there are many points 

 of special interest in the Indian Flora which are 

 either left out or treated in inadequate detail. It is 

 hoped that the present Manual, by providing a book 

 based upon Indian Natural Orders, will supply this 

 real and long-felt want. 



