Excerpt from Handbook of the British Flora: A Description of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Indigenous to or Naturalized in the British Isles, for the Use of Beginners and Amateurs When revising the fourth edition of my late friend's Hand book of the British Flora, I abstained from making other additions or alterations than appeared to me to be absolutely necessary, and consistent with the object of the work, which is, as stated in the title-page, for the use of beginners and amateurs. In the Preface to the first, 1858, but in no sub sequent edition, Mr. Bentham explained his motives for pre senting his work to the public, and the method he followed in preparing it: and inasmuch as he therein gives his reasons for adopting a different treatment of British plants from what obtains in other works devoted to our native Flora, it appears to me to be expedient, now that the editorship has passed into other hands, to repeat what he there says in his own words. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.