PREFACE. 



The first edition of this work was published early in 1894, eight years 

 ago. Since then a number of trees, shrubs and climbers, new to the 

 Bombay presidency and some new to science, have been discovered 

 and included herein. Additional matter about distribution, bark, 

 woods and economic products, along with a large number of vernacular 

 (principally Kanarese) names, has been also added. At the same time 

 numerous typographical and other errors have been as carefully as possible 

 eliminated. The synopsis of Natural Orders and the keys to the genera 

 and species have been recast and arranged so that the reader may now 

 be enabled to more easily determine the names of the trees, &c., found 

 in the Bombay forests. This edition, entirely re-written and revised, con- 

 tains a fairly correct list of the indigenous ligneous vegetation of the 

 presidency, and it may reasonably be hoped that by the addition of the 

 botanical descriptions of the species and of the more important sylvicul- 

 tural and physiological facts relating to the principal indigenous timber 

 trees, the next edition will expand into a handy Bombay Forest Elora. 

 Our limited knowledge cff the life histories of the large number of plants 

 included in an Indian local forest flora as well as the small number of 

 botanical workers in the field, effectually prevent the writing of a work 

 like Mathieu's Flore Forestiere de la France, a model of its kind. A 

 hand-book on the lines of Brandis' Flora of North- Western and Central 

 India, with a companion volume of convenient sized plates of a large 

 proportion of the species described, is, however, within our reach and 

 hopes of practical accomplishment. The synonomy and citations are, as 

 in the first edition, for the most part restricted to Indian forest literature 

 and to Sir J. Hooker's Flora of British India, which latter work was not 

 completed when the first edition of this book was published. In conclu- 

 sion, the author has to thank the Superintendents of the Royal Botanical 

 Gardens, Sibpore, Calcutta, and the Curators of the Kew Est ablishment 

 for their ever ready and kind assistance in naming critical and other 

 species of plants referred to them. He also wishes to gratefully acknow- 

 ledge the kindness of the Bombay Government in allowing this book to 

 be printed at public expense. 



A note on the Bombay species of Memecylon received from Sir D 

 Brandis whilst this book was in the press is added as an appendix (over- 

 leaf). 



September 1902, 

 B 987— a 



