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PREFACE.

for persons, without trying to define the mutual affinities ofthose bearing the same name. It is hardly necessary to insistupon the need of searching all entries likely to give theinformation sought; thus, if an inquirer do not find hiswants satisfied when referring to * Materia Medica,’ he shouldlook up cognate headings, such as ‘Drugs’ and ‘Medicinal Plants .’

I should have been glad to include a complete series ofreferences to consular reports, also the selections of Indianpapers bearing on Vegetable Technology, but I found I couldnot attain even approximate completeness therein. Consularreports are often quoted in The Pharmaceutical Journal , whencethey are cited here, and a good series of the Indian selections isto be found in the Library Catalogue of the Royal Geographical Society . These publications are often regarded as ephemeral,and the department responsible for their issue rarely has acomplete set.

Parliamentary papers have not been quoted in full, for inthe majority of cases their value is commercial or manu-facturing ; in the Index, however, I have made references tosuggest paths which may be followed up by those who wantmore than I have given. The formulae ‘ Refer to’ and ‘Referalso to’ signify something outside this volume, whilst ‘See’and ‘ See also’ are ordinary cross-references.

The rules of the Index Society are followed in their spirit,the article preceding a name being used in the alphabeticalarrangement, so that ‘De Vrij,’ and similar Dutch names,figure under the article, with a cross-reference from the sub-stantive following. As in the Guide to the Literature ofBotany, modified vowels and diphthongs are spelled out, a, 6, ii,becoming ae, oe, ue, and so forth.