viii Preface. 



determinations of some of the constituents of the grains and seeds, and 

 by the examination of additional and authenticated specimens. 



Specimens of most of the grains and seeds described in this Handbook 

 may be seen in the Museums of the Royal Gardens, Kew, and in the 

 Bethnal Green Branch of the South Kensington Museum. The collection 

 at Bethnal Green is particularly rich in specimens illustrating many out 

 of the hundreds of varieties of Indian rice; the examples there presented 

 of Indian wheat and Indian pulse are also numerous. 



Should a second edition of this brief and incomplete Handbook be 

 called for, I trust that I shall be able to fill in many of its gaps and to make 

 it more exact. The Indian and Colonial Exhibition at South Kensington 

 will doubtless furnish me with ample materials for extension and improve- 

 ment. I venture to express a hope that I shall not be held responsible 

 for the rendering of the Indian names introduced into my pages, for I 

 have no first-hand knowledge of the subject, and, having been obliged to 

 gather the names of places and products from a great variety of sources, 

 neither accuracy nor uniformity of transliteration has been secured. 



The chief works consulted in the preparation of this Handbook are 

 recorded in the appended Bibliographical Notes ; other books therein 

 named will be found useful by persons desirous of further information 

 concerning Indian Plants and Food Crops. But, after all, it is to the 

 indefatigable labours of Dr. Forbes Watson that I am chiefly indebted, 

 and it is to him that any merits to be found in this volume must be, 

 for the most part, attributed. 



May, 1886. 



