PREFACE.
The following pages have been committed to the Press at the desire of several Members of the Royal Institution, before whom the Lecture was delivered, as well as of many of the Subscribers. When the proposal was first made to the Author, he declined it, not considering himself warranted in merely publishing the Introductory Lecture without the succeeding ones; and as there were so many excellent elementary Books on Botany extant, he conceived their publication would be superfluous. The proposal, however, was renewed, and, although the Author feels himself under some difficulty in now bringing it before the Members, after so long a silence, yet he trusts this will be removed, when he assures them that his only aim is to promote the cultivation of a Science which has lately been so much neglected, except by a few supporters of it, who are too well known to require being named here; and should the perusal of it lead one person to follow the Science of Botany, the object of the Author will be answered.
