The genera of South African plants : arranged according to the natural system / by William Henry Harvey.

  • William H. Harvey
Date:
1868
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The genera of South African plants : arranged according to the natural system / by William Henry Harvey. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    INTEODUCTION. [The following passages from the Tirst Edition of the ‘ G-enera of Cape Plants,’ are equally applicable to this.— J. D. H.] I HAVE been requested by many admirers of flowers to re- commend some introductory work on Botany; and it would at first seem that I might have taken a much easier method of satisfying their demands than by writing a book for the pur- pose. So many excellent introductions to Botany have been published, that I could not have done better than to place them in a row before inquirers, to choose from. And this I should have done, had an Introduction to Botany been all that was wanting. But I soon found, on cross-questioning, that something very different was required. One lady told me that she knew already what “ calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistils, and all that” meant; and another had penetrated the mystery of Monandria, Diandria, etc., and did not want to be told that over again ; what they desired was, a book in which they could discover the names of every plant that struck their fancy in rambling through the fields—in short, a Eloea Capehsis. Here I found myself completely at fault, for there seemed little use in recommending the Elora of Thhnbeeo, or the more ancient writings of Bhemanh, for even could they be procured—which would not be without much difficulty—they would have proved perfectly useless to my lady friends, who, not being blue-stockings, could have derived little instruction from the crabbed Latin in which they are written. Being desirous, however, to alibi’d every assistance iu my power to these would-be votaries of my favourite study, the