PREFACK. 
Xlll 
The characters of the orders, &c. have been carefully revised and 
corrected, partly from my own observations, and partly from the 
suggestions or descriptions of others. 
I have availed myself of the numerous monographs, and other publi- 
cations that have appeared since 1830, for augmenting the work not 
only with many additions to the sensible properties of the different na- 
tural orders,but also with new, more correct, or more extensive views of 
their affinities and analogies. 
With reference to collecting the orders into alliances and other groups, 
in the hope of obviating some of the greatest inconveniences of a lineal 
arrangement, I have endeavoured to develope and illustrate those views 
which I first attempted to sketch in the Nixiis plantarum^ and subse- 
quently in the Key to Botany, Notwithstanding the assistance that 
I have occasionally derived from the similar attempts of Agardh and 
Bartling, I feel that this part of the work is exceedingly imperfect, and 
will require many great changes and improvements before it can be 
considered at all established. Nevertheless, I feel confident that even 
in its present state it will be found to be attended with numerous advan- 
tages, and that every step which may be taken in determining the limits 
of natural groups, subordinate to the primary classes, must be a decided 
gain to the science ; for I think there can be among Botanists only 
one opinion as to the absolute necessity of more attention being paid 
to the synthetical principles of classification. So rapid is the advance 
of our knowledge of the vegetable kingdom, and so numerous are the 
new types of structure that present themselves to the systematic Bota- 
nist, that it is to be feared lest another chaos should be brought on by 
the masses of imperfectly grouped species A\dth which the science will 
soon abound. 
In connection with this subject, I have ventured upon a reformation 
of the nomenclature of the natural system, by making all the names of 
divisions of the same value end in the same way. The orders are here 
distinguished by ending in acece^ the sub-orders in ece, the alliances in 
alesy and the groups in osce. To some it may seem that such altera- 
tions are fanciful, but I think it will be found that many advantages and 
conveniences will attend the establishment of uniformity in these mat- 
ters. I fear, however, that I have in some cases been obliged to offend 
against the laws of construction in order to carry this into effect ; but 
I trust it will be found that I have done so only in cases of inevitable 
necessity. 
