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The DEDICATION.

vvhofe fingle Recommendation wou'd be fufficient to make thepublick vaiue their Productions: But I flatter my felf you willforgive me if I briefly inform you of the Method us'd in Com.piling and Translating this Work, wherein 1 hope you will beof Opinion I have done my Authors no Injuftice : For in thefirft Place I have taken Monfieur fomet for my Text, makinglife of the Liberty of throwing out Repetition or whateverelfe was foreign to the Purpofe, or better defcrib'd by others,efpecially Meffiures Toarnefort and Lemery, whom you know wellare more accurate and concife. And in the next Place 1 haveadded feveral Things to Mr. tpomet, wherein he was erroneousin Defcription, Dofe, or Choice of Druggs, which were muchbetter known in thefe Countries, and more in Ufe amongft us :And indeed I have purfued the fame Rule with Monfieur Lemery,but with more Caution; fo that it made this a Work of moreTime than I expected, when I firft engag'd in it : And yetperhaps I have not come up to.the Tafte of fome curious Gen-tlemen, who are more accurate in Botany than I can pretendto: Therefore I throw my felf entirely upon your Favour, be-caufe I am aifur'd you have too much Candour for Induftry,and Concern for ufeful Knowledge, not to pardon fmall Faultsfor the Sake of many Things that may be commendable andinftructive, and that otherwife wou'd not be fo readily ufher'dinto the World.

And tho' it is certain that the Knowledge and Choice ofDruggs is one of the moil ufeful and important Parts of Phy-fick, yet it has been the mod neglected of any to this t Day jand ic is not eafily apprehended how much the Publick fuflers inthe Sale, which is daily made of i know not what fophifticatedand decay'd Druggs, which are not capable of producing theEffects that are defign'd by them, and expected from them,cither to reftore or preferve the Health of Mankind. We may

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