lexx | Jour., Bom. Nat. Hist, Soc., Vol. XX, No.5. (October 30, 1911. 
much trouble, I wish to ask you, which authors described best the 
mosses of Southern India?’ or: ‘I shoald like to buy a book 
which treats exhaustively of the fungi of the Deccan.’ 
These and similar questions set me ahunting after the botanical 
literature of India. But this is not an easy task in a country, 
where the libraries are few and where these few libraries have no 
special tendency towards developing a scientific taste in the minds 
of their subscribers. As I had no opportunity of consulting the 
library in Calcutta, I had to drop the idea of getting up a list of 
works on Indian Botany which might be called somewhat complete, 
and it was only after my return to Europe that I was able to work 
ap the bibliography to the present state, in which I wish to present 
it to my colleagues in India and Europe. Imperfect though it 
may be in many respects, I feel confident that the list, even in this 
form, will be welcome to many workers in Indian Botany, because, 
as far as I know, no attempt to supply the need has been made up 
to the present. 
I considered it convenient to include a good many papers which 
appeared in the publications of the Indian Departments of Agri- 
culture and Forestry, as well as papers from pharmacentical and 
horticultural journals. But I omitted all those which treat exclu- 
sively of the specific technical side of the respective branch of 
science. Opinions may, therefore, be divided in many cases as to 
the advisability of including or excluding a certain paper. I 
have, besides, catalogued some of the more important monographs, 
dictionaries, etc., which, though they do not deal exclusively with 
Indian Botany, contain, nevertheless, valuable information on the 
subject. 
As to the arrangement of the bibliography I have, after long 
consideration and on the advice of friends mterested in it, decided 
to divide the whole list into two parts. 
The first part (1) is to contain publications which treat of the 
Botany of India in general or of a greater part of India. It 
will also contain descriptions of single species which are not 
confined to a very limited locality and papers on plants of ex- 
tensive cultivation (whether indigenous or not), though they may 
be restricted to well defined areas. 
[2] 
