INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 



Harrodsburg, Kv., December, 1882. 

 Hon. J o 1 1 x R. Procter, 



Director of the Kentucky Geological Survey . 

 Dear Sir : Inclosed you will find a catalogue of the plants 

 met with in the counties of Madison, Garrard, Lincoln, Wash- 

 ington, and Marion. With the list are some notes of general 

 and specific characters. If at times I have written feelingly, 

 it is because no man who loves and studies plant life can gaze 

 on its wanton destruction without emotion. 



Could 1 have written as I have sometimes felt, it would 

 have been a stronger plea to every heart to stop the wasteful 

 destruction ol our native; plants. Illustrating from them, such 

 a plea should have the grandeur of an oak, the solidity of a 

 beeck, the strength of a hickory, and withal, the finish of walnut. 

 It should also combine the beauty of the rose, the modesty of the 

 violet, the gracefulness of the fern, the purity of the lily, and 

 the fragrance of the mint. 



Respectfully, 



W. M. LINNEY. 



