P R E F A C E. 
The Plates, which form the principal part of this Work, have been 
entirely prepared from drawings made by Mr. Francis Bauer. They 
form but a small part of the invaluable materials illustrating Vegetable 
Anatomy and Physiology, to the execution of which Mr. Bauer’s long 
and active life has been devoted. 
To make the whole of such splendid specimens of art public by 
means of engravings capable of expressing the beauty of the originals, 
would be an object worthy of a liberal Monarch and an enlightened 
Government; to a private individual the large expense must necessarily 
prove an insuperable impediment. To publish a selection of such as 
throw the greatest light upon structure is all that so humble an indivi¬ 
dual as myself could venture to undertake, and even this the little 
encouragement given to such undertakings has obliged me to extend 
through a period of some years. 
It has been found indispensable to represent Mr. Bauer’s drawings 
by means of lithography instead of engraving on copper ; and unfortu¬ 
nately the former art, even in the most skilful hands, is seldom adapted 
to high finish or delicate touch ; when executed by a mere amateur (as 
part of the plates has been) it is still less calculated for such an object. 
It is however hoped that the principal facts explained by the drawings 
have been faithfully represented, and that the defects of some of the 
plates as works of art will not be prejudicial to them as illustrations of 
science. 
The sketches were commenced by Mr. Bauer in 1791 , and have 
been continued at intervals up to the present time ; a great part, parti¬ 
cularly those of the European plants, was executed between 1791 and 
