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The author reveals that this compact volume of nearly 600 pages, adds another to the already long list of colonial floras prepared at Kew and issued under the authority and at the expense of the Colonial Government. It is arranged on the same plan as the other floras, many of them so well known, giving first, some general remarks on the physical geography and botany of the islands, and then that admirable outline of elementary botany prepared by Mr. Bentham, and which contains every definition necessary in descriptive botany, thus enabling the student to follow the technical descriptions given in the “Flora” itself. The work is almost entirely from the pen of J. G. Baker, and is only another example of the indomitable industry so characteristic of the author. The materials at the disposal of the author have been ample, and probably there is but little left to discover in Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Rodriguez, although many forms have not as yet been fully determined owing to the want of perfect specimens. Hence it is desirable that naturalists visiting the islands should endeavour to complete their knowledge of these imperfectly known plants. The smaller dependencies of Mauritius have not been explored botanically; hence there is probably a rich field for the investigator of these numerous islands. This is a purely botanical book, and gives a detailed account of the various species of flora that is present in these Indian Ocean islands, with special notices of the flowering plant and ferns there. The book has four chapters that describe the various parts of a plant, systematic botany, vegetable anatomy, and the collection and preservation of plants. This book is a reprint of the 1877 edition.
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ISBN : 9788121233811
Pages : 650
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