« I N T R . D BY WILLIAM NICOL, 51, PALL MALL.
P R O S P E C T U S .
THE Plates, which form the principal part of this Work, will be entirely
prepared from sketches communicated to the Author by Mr. Francis
Bauer of Kew from among the numerous materials illustrative of Vegetable
Anatomy and Physiology, to the preparation of which his long and active
life has been devoted. This invaluable Collection has, unfortunately for
science, been hitherto known to those only who have been so fortunate
as to enjoy Mr. Bauer's personal acquaintance; but to all such it has
always been opened with a freedom which demands the warmest
acknowledgements.
To make the whole of these 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. But it has occurred to the Author,
that a selection of such as throw the greatest light upon structure could
not be otherwise than important, even if the manner in which the engravings
should be executed were much inferior to what the high finish of the
drawings demands. Mr. Bauer having, with a liberality eminently characteristic
of a mind which pursues science for its own sake only, consented
to waive the latter point, upon the representation that much benefit must
accrue to science by the publication : the commencement of a selection
of subjects illustrative of the structure of Orchideous plants is now laid
before the public, with the earnest entreaty on the part of the Author that
all imperfections in the execution of the plates may be ascribed to himself,
and not to Mr. Bauer. It has been found indispensible to make use
of lithography instead of engraving on copper; and unfortunately the