II 
Considering how rich the State of Louisiana must be 
in plants, this labour will only be considered as a mere 
specimen of its Botany, whence I have named it Flo- 
rula Ludoviciana; but this specimen, where so many 
new and interesting objects are introduced and des¬ 
cribed, will, I hope, claim the attention of our Bota¬ 
nists, and particularly of those who may reside or 
travel in Louisiana : it is to their future exertions 
that the correction and complement of the Flora of 
Louisiana must be entrusted. Let me suggest to them, 
that as Louisiana must produce at least as many species 
of plants as Georgia, say about 2000, a vast field is open 
to their researches, since only one fifth of that number 
is here described or enumerated ; should new genera 
and species exist yet, in the same proportion as in this 
Florida, more than 100 new genera and 700 new 
species will reward their exertions, many of which 
may be common to Mexico, since Louisiana, lying on 
the borders of that empire, must of course possess a 
Botany partly Mexican, and consequently highly in¬ 
teresting. I wish and hope, that these hints may in¬ 
duce some Botanists to dig again into that rich mine, 
and I look forward with confidence to the period, when 
the vegetable productions of the south-west corner of 
the Union, will be equally known with those of the 
opposite quarter. 
C. S. R. 
