10 PREFACE. 



structure. There is, I believe, no sufficient work of this kind in 

 the English language, adapted to our needs, and available even to 

 our botanists and botanical teachers, — for whom the only recourse is 

 to a botanical library beyond the reach and means of most of these, 

 and certainly quite beypiid ♦hpreliicH of tbose whose needs I have 

 here endeavored to supply, so far as I could, in this small volume. 

 The great difficulties of the undertaking have been to keep the book 

 within the proper compass, by a rigid exclusion of all extraneous 

 and unnecessary matter, and to determine what plants, both native 

 stjad exotic,, are common eppugh to de,ip^n(jl a place in- it, or so 

 uncommon that they may^be omitte^f It is, very unlikely that I can 

 ihave choseu wisely in all, cases) and, for all parts of: the country, 

 .apd, in view of the different requirements of botanic^ students on 

 the one hand and of practic^ cultivators^ on the other, — the latter 

 commonly ^riri^ more for m^e varjett^s, races, and. crosses, than 

 for species, which are the niain objects of botanical ^tudy.,, But I 

 have hene ijbrought liQgetber, wjithin .le^a, [th^n ^Q pages, brief and 

 ■phia botanical desidtiptioos orinptices of 2,650 speciep,^ belonging to 

 .947. genera;! andj have constructed keys to. the, natural families, 

 and analyses 'oftfaeircoii)tent8,,wlucb I hope may enable Students, who 

 have well studied the MrstLessonSi to find out the name, main char- 

 acters, and' jjlace of any of them which they wiH patiently exstmine 

 in blossoin, and, wMn practicable^ in fruit' also. If the booki an- 

 swers its purpose reasonabty weUj its shoticomings as regards culti- 

 vated plants maybe made up hereafter. As to the native plants 

 omitted, they are to be found, and inay best be studied, in the Man- 

 ual k>f the Sotdni/of'ihe Worthem United Sifaic*, *nd in Chapmian's 

 Flora of the Southern United States. 



This book is designed to be^the companion of the JVrg< Lessons m 

 ^<any, which serves as grammar and dictionary; and the two may 

 be bound together into one compact volume, forming a comprehen- 

 sive vScAoof ^ototy. ' 1^ ' 



For the account of the Ferns and the allied families of Cryptoga- 

 mous Plants I have to record' my indebtedness to Professor D. C. 

 Eaton of Yale CoUfeg^. • These beautiful plants are now much cul- 

 tivated by amateurs; and the means here so fully provided for 

 studying them will doubtless be appreciated. > 



Harvard Universitt Herbarium, ' 



Cambridge; Massachusetts, August 29, 1868. 



