163 



Notes on Indian Botany. By Robt. Wight, M. D., F.L.S., 



Member of the Imp. Acad. Nat. Curios, of the Royal Bot. 

 Society of Katisbon^ 8$c. $c. 



On VACCINIACEiE and their affinities. 



Judging from the summary given at the head of Lindley's 

 * Vegetable Kingdom,' of the several attempts towards the 

 construction of a natural system of Botany, it may fairly be 

 assumed, that within the last few years, this most interesting 

 but difficult branch of the science has drawn to itself an 

 unusual amount of attention, and that its principles may now 

 be considered in a rapid state of transition from those 

 faintly recognized in the first attempts of Ray and Tourne- 

 fort, or that more perfect method so distinctly sketched by 

 the illustrious Jussieu, in his admirable genera. 



So partial indeed have Botanists, within these few years, 

 become to this mode of exercising their ingenuity, that we 

 scarcely ever meet with a new work on Botany in which the 

 author has not deemed it desirable to try his hand at the 

 improvement of already existing methods. 



Of the present long list of living Botanical authors, I 

 doubt whether there is one who has written so much as the 

 author of the l Vegetable Kingdom,' and few, if any, have 

 written to better purpose than he has : and, as a construc- 

 tor and amendator of natural methods of Botany, he has 

 no compeer ; each of the numerous publications of that ac- 

 complished and indefatigable author being almost sure 

 to present some modification of what went before from his 

 own pen, and his last great work, the * Vegetable King- 

 dom,' outstrips all its predecessors in that respect. 



Numerous however as are the changes introduced, I 

 believe I speak the general sense of Botanists, when I add 

 that most of these are considered improvements, and that 

 even those which are most objected to, still claim our respect 



