VI 
INTRODUCTION. 
portion. This last mentioned department has been undertaken by Dr. 
Hooker/ Professor of Botany at Glasgow, by whose assiduity eight 
numbers have been already published ; the remainder are in course of 
preparation, and the work when complete will comprise ten numbers, 
containing one hundred plates. 
It must be well known to those who are conversant with matters 
of science that a work of this nature could not have been presented 
to the public without a considerable loss to the publisher, had there 
not been among the community gentlemen, who were eminently quali- 
fied for the task, sufficiently liberal to bestow gratuitously their time 
and their talents upon the descriptions ; and had not the Government 
with its accustomed liberality and desire for the promotion of science, 
contributed towards the publication by granting a sum of money to 
defray the cost of the plates. 
To the gentlemen who have interested themselves in forwarding 
the work in so able and so liberal a manner, I have already exnressed 
my thanks in the narrative of my voyage, but I cannot forego the 
opportunity which now presents itself of renewing my acknowledge- 
ments to Professors Buckland, Hooker, Dr. Richardson, Messrs. 
Vigors, Bennett, and Owen’ for their cordial and ready co-opera- 
tion, Nor will I omit to repeat my thanks to Messrs. Collie, Lay, 
Now Sir William Hooker. 
