BOTANY OF BIHAR AND ORISSA. 

 i Hiii i+ 1. > in ]. ..I. . im from the arrang 



Flora. 







There has been no attempt at uniformity 





ans. These 



vary in detail according to the necessities of the ease, and the treatment 



of species is very unequal. In general ar 

 to adopt the arrangement used l, v Sir .1. 

 Flora of the British Islands, giving first 



i endeavour has 





D. Hooker in h 





a brief descripl 

 details and its m 





species, then its habitat, and finally fuller 





The work being primarily intended for 



the use of forest 



officers, it 



mil) be asked why it includes all horbac 



eous plants. Ir 





of Chota Nagpur only herbaceous plants 

 were described. Experience has shown tfi 









satisfactory 



arrangement. A forest officer has nume 







him as to the possibility of obtaining this 







If he does not find it in the provincial flora he may not km 





it occurs or not, and where a vernacular 





ven for his 



guidance in the indent, he may send so 



niething unite . 





what is intended. Or it may happen thai 







plant is a new discovery, and therefore, 



although it ma 





Jmndance, it will not have b< 







quote recent demands for Chenopodium a 

 and for Henbane (neither < 



occurs). If the plan? be °one It a gen 

 occur, it is very essential that each 1 

 species may be collected. This co 



relative uses of a book arranged on the key system" only, and one 

 with more complete descriptions. The first, when written by a 

 piot.-s.-ional botanist, is very useful to botanists, and also more 

 handy, but tor the majority of people uho take an interest in plant?, 

 whose technical kiwul.-dc, .. ,,„„, ,.,trieted, fuller descriptions of 

 species are essential to prevent errors in identification. Such errors 

 ate exceedingly likely to oc.ur when I he plant whose identity it is 

 sought to establish has not before been recorded from the province, 

 and is therefore not in the key— a circumstance likely to be of frequent 

 '"■'•""'-me in the pr, lit stat,- ,,| our knowledge of Indian provincial 



but I venture to think that those who study plants merely for the love 



of them and what they teach , n - as worthy of consideration as the 



is as much yvorthy to be known and named as economically the most 

 wishes to identil ",1 (!e','l i^'in a 



condition showing the particular characters for which the key is 

 adapted. In these cases as many characters as possible are necessary 

 for his purpose, both in descriptions of the larger groups and the 

 The work in the Calcutta Herbarium, carried on in a bad state of 

 health, would not have been possible had it not been for the very 



