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HISTORICAL ann BIOGRAPHICAL 
Seek Be Te: Ctr Be Re > 
oF Thr PROGRESS of 
Po ey BNE Boa RD, 
FROM 
rome s O*Rer’ Grr’ x 
TO THE 
INTRODUCTION OF THE LINN_ZAN SYSTEM, 
BY 


RICHARD PULTENEY, 17.0. F.R/ 8, 


IN TWO VOLUMES. 
Ue é 0 ee 


LOND ON: 
PRINTED FOR T, CADELL, IN THE STRAND. 


1790+ 


* Quid quzrunt mortales in globo hocce 
lubrico et horario magis, obtenta fuppellectili ad 
vitam maxime neceffaria, quam quod levis modo 
et honefta recordatio nominis—perveniat ad pof- 
teros, duretque per aliquot dies ulterius ? Quot 
Heroes, Reges et Imperatores, quot fortes et 
ftrenui, non hanc ob caufam folam, ingluviem 
furentis Bellonz incurrerent, ut modo pofteris 
nomen eorum effet fabula, et cum fabula, me- 
moria? Cur non idem Bofanicis qui nec minora 
aufi funt.” LiInnavs. 


Si JOSEPH BANKS, Bart. 


Prefident of the Royal Society, 
&o &c. &c. 


DEAR rR, 


M S foon as I had determined to lay 
| before the public the enfuing 
Sketches, I could not hefitate in choof- 
ing whofe name I fhould wifh might 
honour the introduction of them into 
the world — To whom could a work 
of this nature, with fo much propri- | 
ety be addreffed, as to him who had 
not only relinquifhed, for a feries of 
years, all the allurements that a po- 
iifhed nation could difplay to opu- 
lence and early age, but had expofed 
; A 2 himfelf 


iv DEDVCAT Fon. 


himfelf to numberlefs perils, and the 
‘yepeated rifk of life itfelf, that he 
might attain higher degrees of that 
knowledge, which thefe fketches are 
intended to commemorate, in his pre- 
decefiors and countrymen; and as the 
refult of which, he has enlarged the 
{tock of natural fcience, beyond all 
prior example? a 

That liberality, Sir, with which 
you impart the fruit of your various 
labours, and that diftingmifhed pa- 
tronage you fo amply afford to natu- 
ral hiftory at large, and to botanical 
fcience in particular, as they demand, 
fo have they juftly fecured to you, 
the grateful acknowledgments of all 
lovers of that fcience, and of litera- 
ture, and philofophy in general. 

I have, Sir, on this occafion only to 
regret, that my diftant fituation has 
not allowed me, in the compilation 
of thefe pages, thofe benefits which 
your moft extenfive and valuable l- 
brary would have held forth to me; 

or | and 


DDG Arp t-O N. V 


and of which, you fo generoufly per- 
mit the communication, to fuch as 
defire to avail themfelves of its advan- 
tages. 

Permit me then, Sir, to have the 
honour of infcribing to you the fol- 
lowing SKETCHES, as to an eminent, 
and no lefs candid judge of the fub- 
ject: and, as:a public teftimony. of 
that moft perfect refpect and efteem, 
with which I am, 


DEAR SIR, 
Your much obliged, and 


Moft obedient humble Servant, 


RICHARD PULTENEY. 


BLANDFORD, 
Fep. 28, 179 


© 


Site <apaane 
i ai 


Bash, 


Spe ae 


aN 
De aeteny, 


Ay 


he a 
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a ag 


Bek «deh Rian Qk: 


N the enlightened ages of Greece and 

Rome, and under the moft flourifhing 
ftate of Arabian literature, Botany, as a 
fcience, had no exiftence. Nor was it till 
fome time after the revival of learning, that 
thofe combinations and diftinctions were 
effectually difcovered, which, in the end, by 
giving rife to fyftem, have raifed the ftudy 
of plants, to that rank it holds at prefent 
in the fcale of knowledge. 

If in the contemplation of flowers, man- 
kind at large, have in every age placed one 
of their pureft pleafures, how greatly muit 
thefe delights be enhanced to the enamoured 
votary of Botanical Knowledge! who, whilft 
he furveys that wonderfully varied elegance 
and beauty, which charm the eye of all, 
penetrates ftill farther, and at the fame in- 
tant, difcerns alfo, thofe analogies and dil- 

A 4 criminations, 


viii PR EF 4c 8; 


criminations, in the number, figure, fituation, 
and proportion of parts, on which are laid 
the foundations of modern Botanical Science; 
affociations and diftinctions, which are veil-. 
ed from the untaught eye of common ob- 
fervation, howfoever fenfible to the general 
beauties of Nature! And hence, indepen- 
dently of its real and ultimate utility, from 
the acceffion of knowledge it brings to the 
Materia Medica, and by its general affiftance 
to the various arts and elegancies of life, the 
ftudy of the vegetable kingdom, has prov- 
ed, to numerous fpeculative and inquifitive 
minds, the fource of much intellectual en- 
joyment. 

This Science is, by many, confidered as 
of fo eafy attainment, that it is not unufual 
to affign the name of Botanift, to any man 
whofe memory enables him to repeat the 
nomenclature of perhaps a few hundred 
plants ; howfoever uninformed he. may be, 
of thofe principles which entitle him, to the 
real name and character; With equal juf- 
tice might any man who knows the names 
only of the parts of a complex machine, 
affume to himfelf that fame which is due 

folely 


4 


be itl 2 SE SN ix 


folely to the inventor of it. By this de- 
grading idea, men of the firft learning and 
talents in this branch of knowledge, have 
frequently been levelled with the moft fu- 
perficial enquirers, and the moft ignorant 
pretenders. Hence alfo this Science, which 
even in a {peculative view, holds no mean 
rank, and, confidered practically, is clofely 
connected with medicine, and with the arts 
and elegancies of life, has been held forth 
as a trifling and futile employment. In 
truth, he properly is entitled, in any degree, 
to the character of the Botanift, whofe ac- 
quirements enable him to inveitigate, to de~ 
{cribe, and fy{tematically arrange, any plant 
which comes under his cognizance. But 
to thefe abilities, in order to compleat the 
character, fhould be united, an acquaintance 
with the Philofophy of Vegetables, and 
with the Hiftory of the Science, in all its 
feveral relations, both literary and practical, 
from remote antiquity to his own time: at- 
tainments which require a competent fhare 
of general learning, and no fmall degree of © 
painful toil and patient induftry, both in the 
fields and in the clofet. 

If 


x sa R BOR GA € S, 


If this defcription of the Botanitt be a 
true one, it manifeftly excludes a number 
of frivolous pretenders ; the fcience itfelf 
rifes in importance, and admits of great di- 
verfity of employment, to the tafte, the ta- 
Jents, and learning of thofe who direct their 
attention to it. Whilft then it is the pro- 
vince of fome to inveftigate new fubjects, 
to afcertain thofe imperfectly known, and 
to record the various improvements and dif- 
coveries of the day, let it be that of others, 
to do juftice to departed merit, to recall the 
icattered remembrances of the lives, and hold 
out the example of thofe who have labour. 
ed in the fame field before them, 

In tracing the progrefs of human know. 
ledge through its feveral gradations of im- 
provement, it is fcarcely poflible for an in- 
quifitive and liberal mind, of congenial tafte, 
not to feel an ardent wifh of information 
relating to thofe perfons by whom {uch im- 
provements have feverally been given: and 
hence arifes that interefting {ympathy which 
almoft infeparably connects biography with 
the hiftory of each refpective branch of 


Knowledge. 
Tn 


? 


? RP iF Aer. Ki 


In this age, when fuccefsful advance- 
ments in the ftudy of plants, have fo far 
extended its pleafures, as to render Botany 
almoft fafhionable ; and at a time, when 
Biographical writings find a reception here- 
tofore unknown ; it became matter of {pe- 
culation, that no one fhould have delineated 
the Rife and Progre/s of Botany in Britain, in 
connexion with the lives of thofe who have 
contributed to amplify and embellith it. 

Among the various enquiries which em- 
ploy the pens of the learned, none perhaps 
afford more general fatisfaction, than fuch 
as relate to the origin and progrefs of {cience 
and literature. But when thefe lead to ob- 
jects which we love and cherifh, they come 
recommended by a charm that fecures a 
welcome, and thus promife a more peculiar 
entertainment and gratification: however, 
difquifitions of this kind are of difficult ex- 
ecution, efpecially when applied to fubjects 
of a fcientific ‘nature, as requiring the union 
of various talents in the writer—an appro- 
priate fhare of learning, an extenfive literary 
as well as practical acquaintance with the 
fubject, united to all thofe qualifications re- 
| quifite 


XiL PoR EF A CE. 

quifite in a biographer, fuch as diligence and 
accuracy in inveftigating the difcoveries of 
his authors, and impartiality in charateriz- 
ing them, and in afligning to each his due 
degree of merit. To thefe perfonal requifites 
muft be added, the adventitious circum- 
{tances of a fituation favourable to his re- 
fearches, not only from manufcripts, and 
large libraries, but from actual intercourfe 
with the learned. 

Fully fenfible in this view of the little 
claim I have to the character and advan- 
tages here fpoken of, it becomes neceflary, 
to avoid the cenfure of temerity, that I 
fhould premife fome account of the original 

ccafion of this attempt. 

The attention I had given to Englith Bo- 
tany in my younger days, had prompted me, 
at one time, to plan a Féora of the plants 
of this kingdom, on an extenfive fcale; 
including, befides the medical and cecono- 
mical hiftory of each, a Pimax, in which 
it was my defign to have diftinguithed, as 
far as I was able, the firft difcoverer of each 
{fpecies, both among foreign writers and 
thofe of our own kingdom; and to have 


arran ged 


one 


PperraAa ce £. . Xu 


arranged all their fynonymis, at large, under 
each plant, in chronological order. To 
fuch a work the following /Retches, in a 
fomewhat more contracted form, were in- 
tended as an introduction. In the mean 
time, if more important avocations had not, 
the want of neceffary affiftance from books, 
would probably have ftopped the progrefs 
of a plan of fuch extent. Although this 
purpofe was relinquifhed, yet, as the mate- 
rials were collefted, and this part of the 
defign was independent of the other, I flat- 
tered myfelf, that, having made fome al- 
terations, and enlarged the whole, under fo 
total a want of any fimilar work, thefe anec- 
dotes might afford information to young 
Botanifts, and poflibly fome amufement to 
thofe of more advanced knowledge in the 
{cience. | 

Although botanical writings are the prin- 
cipal objects of thefe pages, yet, as feveral 
of thefe authors were con{picuous for their 
various attainments in different branches of 
literature, their other purfuits and publica- 
tions, where my refources have afforded 
opportunity, have occafionally been recited ; 
| / and 


XIV BOP BRA) Ce, 

and I have been more particularly folicitous 
to collect into one view, under each author, 
thofe various temporary and occafional pro- 
dutions, which, after the eftablifhment of 
the Royal Society, were communicated to 
that body, and form a part of the Philof- 
phical Tranfactions. ; 

In confidering the botanical writings, 
ef{pecially thofe of the firft eminence, I have 
had recourfe, with few exceptions, to the 
books themfelves ; but, confined to a pri- 
vate colleGtion, have yet too frequently had 
occafion to regret the want of more exten- 
five affiftance; and, although I have not 
formally quoted my authorities, on every 
occafion, they will be fufficiently manifeft 
to all fuch as are converfant in botanical li- 
terature. In the hiftorical and biographical 
parts, the moft material and authentic facts, 
have likewife been derived from the refpec- 
tive authors in botany: and, not unfrequent- 
ly, I have availed myfelf of feveral of the 
older periodical publications. Exclufively 
of thefe, befides collateral affiftance received 
from feparate works, and from various col- 
leCtions of {fmaller bulk, I more efpecially 

x acknowledge 


ER EP Ae Es xv 


acknowledge my obligation to the authors 
recited below *. 

In a work intended to exhibit the pro- 
erefs of the fcience in England, and to af- 
fign to each writer his refpective praife, I 
could have wifhed to have fubjoined a com- 


#* Gesnert, Bibliotheca Univerfalis. fol. Tigur. 1545. et ejufd. Epitome 
a Simlero et Frific. fol. 1583. item, cjufdem Proefatio in Libros 
de Natura Stirpium H. Tragi. 4°. Argent. 15526 


PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS, 4% 

Van der LinpeN, De Scriptis Medicis a Merckkno. a°. Norimd. 1686. 
HERBELOT, Bibliotheque Orientale. fol. 1697. Macfricht. & 1776 
Woop, Athettz Oxonienfes. fol. Lond. 2 vol. 1721. 


TouRNEFoRT, iIfagoge in Rem Herbariam. in Rei Herbariz Inftitu. 
tionibus. 4°. Parts, 1749. 


BorRHAAVE Methodus Studi Medici, 89.1710. Emaculata et auéta 
ab Hallero. 4°. 2 vol. fmf. 1751. : 


Cornxinott, Introducio in Univerfam artem Medicam. 4% 1726, 
Hal, ' 


Fratenp, Hiftory of Phyfic. 2 vol. 8° 1727. 

LeCrerc, Hiftoire de la Medicine. 4% @ 4a Haye. 1729. 
Mancett, Bibliotheca Scriptorum Medicorum. 4 vol. fol. Gea. 173%. 
GENERAL DicTIonaRys, 10 vol. fol. 1734—!741. 

Linn at, Bibliotheca Botanica. 8°. 1737. m/?. et 1751. 

SreGuiER, Bibliotheca Botanica. 4°. Hage Com. 1740. 

Tawwer, Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, fol. Lond. 1744. 
ScHMIEDEL, in Prefat, ad Gefneri Opera. fol. Norimd. 1753. 
BriocGRAPHTA BrRiraNnNica. fol. Lond. 7 vole & ad edit. 4 vol. 
Mart tutas, Confpeétus Hiftoria Medicorum. 3% Goring. 1761. 


Fasrictt, Bibliotheca Latina, 2 tom. 49. 1723 & 1734, & 3 tom. 8. 
ab Eacflo Lipf 1773. jufden Bibliotheca Latina media et in- 
fim: latinitatis, 6 vol. 8°. Hamb. 1735-1746. 


Harver, Bibliotheca Botanica. 2 tom. 4% 17726 

Gaancer, Biographical Hiftory of England, 4 vol. 8% 3d edit. 
1779. 

Nouveau Dictionnaire Historique. 5% 1765. 6'™ edit, 8 tora. 
Caen, 1786, 


Enroy, Diétionnaire Hiftorique dela. Medicine. 4% atom, Mons. totne 
6 3 oe . 
34998, 


plete 


XVI SR FP ke 


plete catalogue of all the Englifh plants, 
with the names of the firft difcoverer an- 
nexed ; or of that author in whofe work 
each firft occurs, as an Englith {pecies. 
The progrefs I had made in the intended 
Pinax above-mentioned, would have enabled 
me to have made this addition ; but, as fuch 
a catalogue could have afforded gtatification 
only to the more curious and critical bota- 
nifts, unlefs thrown into a form, by the addi- 
tion of other matter, which would have in- 
creafed the bulk of this work to another vo-= 
lume, it was judged moft proper to omit it. 
Confcious of the many defedts attending 
thefe /ketches, and fully fenfible that they 
merit no higher appellation than what the 
title imports, it is with much deference, even 
under that idea, that I fubmit them to the. 
infpection of the literary world ; and, per- 
haps, the indulgence they require, is great~ 
er than ought to be expected: but I am 
willing to hope, that they will find that 
reception from learned and candid judges, 
which fuch are wont to beftow on a firft 
eflay, in any department of literature. 


TABLE 


TMB of CHARTERS 


Gh. I, Pe IMAEVAL Botany, = Pager 
Druidical and Saxon Botany, - . i 
Ch. 2. Botany of the middle ages, - Se 
Ch. 3 hiftory. of, continued to the 
revival of learning mo Ba 
Ch. 4. Firft printed books on Botany, mo Ad 
Herbarius. Hortus Sanitatis, - 45 
Grete Herbal, fir Enelith printed 
book on the fubjecét  - - ues, 
Afcham: Copland: jfirft botanic 
gardens, ~ - = 80 
Ch. 5. Turner, and bis contemporaries - 56 
Cho 6, Bulleyn, E te ic oN 1, 
Penny, - - - me 182 
Maplet, and Morning, : - 86 
Chie. 7. deme, 2 _ - steal uel cite 
CHe/8. Lobel, and Newton, - - 96 
Ch. g. Dodoens and Gerard, - = Ie 
You. I. a Ch, .10. 


La VOL aE I, 


TAG LE 


é 


Ch. 10. Johnfon, x “ ~ Page 


Ch; 


hy 


Gh. 


Ch. 


Ch. 


Cis 


IA, 


15. 
10, 


. The Oxford phyfic garden founded, 


Catalogus Oxonienfis, = = 


Gocdyer, Bowles, and others, - 
Parkinfon, = = i 


Boel, Gordier, aud others - 7 


Hiftory of wooden cuts of plants 


Dr. How, - ~ = - 


Tradefcant, wah u zs 
Aftrological herbalifts, - - 
Turner, Culpepper, avd Lovel, 


Pechey, aud Salmon, ~ ~ 

Ray : bis Catalogus Cantabrigienfis 

Ray, covtinued: Catalogus Plan- 
tarum Angle; ef Stirpium 


E-xoticarum - - 


Ray, continued: Catalogus Plan- 
tarum Angle, fecond edition, - 
Ray, continued: Hiftoria Planta- 
rum, - - - 


Ray, continued: Synopfis Stir- 
plum, et Sylloge Stirpium, — - 


Ray, continued: Methodus Plan- 


tarum emendata, = ui 
bis death and charaéer, - 
Cowley, = e ty “ 
Merret, - z st Z 4 


4 C 


OF °C i A Pal ERs: 


126 
135 
138 
153 
155) 
164 
166 
169 
175 
179 


ST 8O 


¥ 


184. 


189 


203 


TARIL.F,OF CHAPTERS. 


Ch. 23. Moarifon, - - - Page 298 
Bobart,  - - - #1 O12. , 
Ch. 24. Hifory of the rife and progrefs of 
Siftem in Botany = = - 314 
Ch. 25. Difcovery of the fexes of plants = eagooe 
Ch. 26. Willifel, Thomas, - - 347 
Ploy - - = - 350 
Natural Hifteries of counties = aug 


Sir George Wheler, ° See! 


Vi Ohta ta Te 


Errors in the, Printing. 


Page 249. line 8. For Camepen, read CAMDEN. 
256. — 16, — apophthegms — apothegms. 


2 Gs 
ee 


HISTORICAL ann BIOGRAPHICAL 
S\ _Ma i Be TinGusd 1s: 
OF THE 
. PROGRESS or BOTANY, 


2 


PN EN Go AND, 


Con AP. Tt. 

The origin of Botany in general—Its fate in ihe 
druidical times—Rites obferved by the Druids in 
collecting the miffeltoe, vervain, and felaco— 
All but the miffeltoe difficult to be afcertained— 
Of the herba Britannica, and the roan-tree. — 

Saxon Botany—Manufcripts extant in toat lan 
guage—Saxon verfion of Apuleius. 


PRIM 2 VAL. BOTA-‘NY. 


FNHE origin of Botany, confidered in 


a. the moft extenfive view, muft have 
been coeval with man. Before the inven-~ 
tion of arts, the difcovery of metals, and 
the ufe of implements and arms, by which 
animals were more immediately fubjected 

Wor Pos B to 


2 CHAPTER fe 


to their power, it muft be fuppofed that 
the human race derived, from the vegetable 
creation, the chief part of their fuftenance, 
and the primary conveniences of life. Roots, 
fruits, and herbs, muft then have confti- 
tuted the food of man. Trials, and experi- 
ence, would teach him all that choice and va~ 
riety, which his different fituations allowed. 
The fame faithful directors would infenfibly 
“inform him of the various qualities, and the 
different effets of them on his body. As 
the {phere of his obfervations and experi- 
ence enlarged, he would derive the know-- 
ledge, and diftintion, of fuch as were of’ 
eafy, or of difficult digeftion. He would 
difcover the flatulent kinds, and fuch as 
corrected flatulency: which opened, or 
which conftipated, the body; which was 
motft nutritive, and probably, by fatal acci- 
cidents,. which were poifonous. Hence the 
rudiments of medical {cience. 

This various knowledge would be handed. 
down traditionally, from one generation to 
another, and with it, the names of fuch as 
were happily the firit difcoverers of new 
aliments, or medicinal properties, would 

defcend: 


Primeval Botany. 3 


défcend with increafing reverence, until, in- 
volved in obfcurity by length of time, fu- 
perftition raifed them to the rank of gods. 
Thus, in the early ages of mankind, as now 
among the ftill unlettered and uncultivated 
nations of the earth, the adminiftration of 
fimples, for the cure of wounds and difeafes, 
was almoft ever accompanied with fuper~ 
ftitious ceremonies and incantations. Hence 
too, in procefs of time, the character of the 
prieft and the phyfician was united ; and 
the fick reforted to the temples of the gods 
for relief: and, although inveftigation and 
rational fcience made flow progrefs, yet, 
in every nation, from the moft cultivated to 
the moft barbarous, the number of fimples 
ufed for medicinal purpofes, became by 
degrees very confiderable. Thus, when 
at length, phyfic aflumed a more regular 
form, and was taught in the {chools of 
Greece, the writings of HippocraATEs 
enumerate three hundred vegetables ufed 
in phyfic. Four centuries afterwards they 
were augmented by Dioscoripes to near 
feven hundred ;: and to thefe the Arabians 
added no inconfiderable number of valuable 

B2 articles. 


4 CMA P min Rk. 


articles. ‘There is room to believe, that 
the antient Gymnofaphiffs of the Eaft, pur- 
fued the ftudy of plants, with a faccefs 
equal to that of the Greeks ; and the mo- 
dern nations of the Eaft, the Japonefe, the 
Chinefe, and the Brachmans of India, incon- 
teftibly excel the enlightened nations of 
Greece and Rome, in their knowledge of 
Botany : witnefs the ‘‘ Garden of Mala- 
bar,” which comprehends near eight hun- 
dred plants; all which are defcribed, and 
the virtues recorded, with an accuracy and 
precifion, unexampled in the antient au- 
thors of Greece and Rome. But to approach 
nearer home: the Druids of Gau/, and of 
Britain, cultivated the knowledge of herbs, 
with no inconfiderable diligence. Whether 
_thefe antient Magz of the Weft, who were 
both priecfts and phyficians, fprung from 
thofe of the Eaft, and thus derived their 
knowledge from a common fource, a point 
which has hitherto divided the learned, or, 
whether their f{cience was the refult of their 
own inveftigation, I muft leave to the cri- 
tical antiquary to determine. 


Pe DRUI- 


(ca 


Ro UR DT Cl A EB Ou er AN vis 


Tn the mean time, in tracing the origin 
and progrefs of botanical {cience in Britain, 
a furvey of its {tate in the druidical times, 
ought to claim the firft attention ; but in 
fact, the little information tranfmitted to us 
from the antients, relating to this extraordi- 
nary fect, being almoft wholly confined to 
Cefar and Pliny, precludes any enlarged 
view refpecting my particular object. It is 
from Pény we learn, that to the mz/feltoe, 
the vervam, the felago, and the /amolus, 
thefe antient fathers of druidifm attributed 
efficacies almoft divine; and ordained the 
collection, and adminiftration of them, 
with rites and ceremonies, not fhort of re- 
ligious ftrictnefs, and fuch as countenan- 
ced the groffeft fuperftition. 

The muffeltee, for inftance, muft be cut 
_ only with a golden knife ; muft be gather- 
ed when the moon was fix days old; the 
prieft cloathed in white ; the plant received 
on a white napkin ; and laftly, two white 
bulls were to be facrificed ; and thus con~ . 


B 3 fecrated, 


ra 


oO CR APRs ks 1. 


fecrated, miffeltoe was an antidote to poifon 
The mifeltoe perhaps, is, of thefe plants, 
the only one fully afcertained at this time. 
Its parafitical growth, the preference 
which the Druids gave to that which grew 
on the oak, affifted by the defcriptions the 
antients have left of it, will fufficiently juf- 
tify the application to the vicum of the 
moderns. May I not add, that probably, 
amidft the manifold virtues antiently af- 
cribed to this plant, its power of curing 
the falling-ficknefs, which has accompa- 
nied it almoft to the prefent time, is the 
remnant of druidical ufe and tradition ? 


and prevented fterility *. 


The vervain, after previous libations of 
honey, was to be gathered at the rifing of 
the dog-ftar ; when neither fun nor moon 
fhone ; with the left hand only; after de- 
{cribing a circle round the plant, &c.; and 
thus prepared, it vanquifhed fevers, and 
other diftempers ; was an antidote to the 
bite of ferpents, and a charm to conciliate 
friendfhip +. 

* Pliny, lib. xvi. c, 44. 
+ £0. lib, xxv. G9. 


With 


Druidical Botany. 4 

With refpect to this herb, the Azercbotane, 
the facra herba of Dioscoripes, although 
the modern botanifts have now agreed to 
confine ‘the term to the verbena, which 
Priiny has defcribed, as having narrower 
and {maller leaves than the oak, it may be 
gwemarked, that there has been a diverfity 
of opinions among the commentators, re- 
Jating to the plant ; and it is acknowledged 
that verbena or verbenacea, was alfo applied, 
as a general term for all plants ufed about 
the altar in facrifices. To this day the 
Tufcans apply the word vervena to flips, 
fhoots, fuckers, or bundles of plants of any 
kind. 

The /elago was not to be cut with iren ; 
nor touched with the naked hand, but with 
the fagum ; the Druid cloathed in white, and 
his feet naked, with other magic ceremo- 
nies. Thus colleGted, and .confecrated, -it 
became a remedy for difeafed eyes, and a 
charm againft misfortunes *, 

It is, neverthelefs, equally difficult to 
determine the /e/ago of the Druids; PLiny 


* Jb, lib, xxiv. C. IIe 


Ba having 


8 CHAPTER I. 


having only defcribed it as like the /avin ; 
a defcription which will accord with a va- 
riety of plants of Europe. Moft authors, 
neverthelefs, have agreed, from this refem- 
blance, to confider it as a {pecies of wo/fs- 
claw moft, which is now called lycopodium 
felago. Cmsaxpinus, however, thinks it 
was a fedum; and GUILANDINUS, an erica, 
or heath, and. probably with more reafon.. 

Various, but equally fuperftitious, were 
the rites attendant on the /amolus, which 
was given to preferve oxen and {wine from 
difeafes. 

This is a plant of. which ftill greater 
doubts remain, Priny having faid nothing 
further of it, than that it grew in moift places. 
Hence the name is applied to a plant called 
round-leaved brookhme; but, as forming a 
feparate genus in modern arrangements, it 
has acquired the name given as above, from 
Pliny. Others have thought it a {pecies of 
puljfatilla, or pafque-flower ; fince one :of 
that kind retains, among the Bolognefe, the 
name of famiglh. 

The fame uncertainty attends all difqui- 
fitions relating to the Aerda Britannica, of 

Dioscoripes 


Druidical Botany. 7 Oy 


DroscoripeEs and Piiny, famed for hav- 
ing cured the foldiers of ‘Fulius Cafar, on 
the Rhine, of the Sce/otyrbe, or the difeafe 
fuppofed to be our fea feurvy. The ufes of 
this herb were thought to have been derived 
from the Britons; the name fuggefted this 
notion; but later etymologifts have found 
a different derivation: i. e. Brit. con/o- 
lidare; Tan. Deus, Ica {. Hica, ejetiz0; 
unde, Britannica dicitur herba, que jir- 
met et confolidat dentes vacillantes*. The 
commentators have applied the defcrip- 
tion given by thofe two antients, to a 
variety of fimples. By fome, it has been 
thought to be the polygonum perficaria, or 
{potted arfmart : by others, the primula 
auricula, or wild auricula: by our own firft 
herbalift, TuRNER, who obferved it plenti- 
fully in F riefland, the fcene of Phiy’s obfer- 
vations on its effects, the palygonum biftor- 
ta, or biftort: at length, 4érasam Munt- 
ING, a Dutch phyfician, publithed a treatife 
in 1681, profefiedly to prove, that the Bri- 
fannica was the bydrolapathum magnum, (ru- 


* Ray, Ai. Plant. i. p. 172: 


ULEX 


10 CHAPTER f, 


snex agquaticus ) or great water dock. In this 
opinion Ray, and others, have acquiefced. 

I fhould not have dwelt fo long on thefe 
circumftances, but to fhew the mortifying 
uncertainty attending the application of the 
names of plants from the antients, arifing 
from their vague andindecifive defcriptions. 
Tadd, that Mr? Licutroot thinks, there 
are fufficient traces in the highlands, of the 
high efteem in which the Druids held the 
quicken-tree, or mountain afh; fordus au~ 
cuparia, It is, more frequently than any 
other tree, found planted in the neighbour- 
hood of druidical circles of ftones, fo often 
feen in Scotland. Poffibly this fact may be 
more equivocal than the fuperftitious ules 
towhichit is {till applied. It is believed, that 
a {mall part of this tree carried about them, 
is a charm againft witchcraft and enchant- 
ment. The dairy-maid drives the cattle 
with a {witch of the roau-tree, for fo it is 
called in the highlands, as a fecurity againft 
the fame direful evils; and in one part 
of Scotland, the {heep and lambs are, on 
the firft of May, ever made to pafs through 
a hoop of roan-wood. 

Short, 


Druidical Botany, ai 

Short, andimperfeét, as this view of Drui- 
dical Botany may be, as delivered to us 
by PLiny, yet there can be no doubt that 
the Britons, like all other rude nations, 
drew their medicinal fources from the fim- 
ples growing around them, and were there- 
fore well acquainted with common plants, 
And, although there are not, as far as I 
know, any herbals extant in the antient 
Britith language, or in any tranflation from 
it, by which the degree and extent of their 
knowledge may be precifely afcertained ; 
yet, as far as re{pects the nomenclature 
merely, fome reafonable eftimate may, I 


apprehend, be formed from the lift of Welch. 


names of plants, preferved by GERARD, as 
communicated to him by Mr. Davies of 
Guifaney, in FPlintfhire: from the Irifb 
names, as we find them in Mr. HEATON’s 
catalogue, printedin THRELKELD’s Synop- 
fi towhichI may add, the Ev/e names 
communicated by the Rev. Mr. Stuart, 
to the late excellent and much-lamented 
botanift, the Rev, Mr. Ligutrroor. Thefe 
lifts might, without doubt, be greatly am- 
plified, by the adiduity of fkilful botanifts 


well 


a 


2 CHAP Pe RR wert 


well verfed in the refpective languages, 
THRELKELD’S lift, which is the moft co- 
pious, comprehends near four hundred 
names; and the analogy perceivable be- 
tween thefe and the Erfe names, fuf- 
ficiently marks a common origin. I am 
tempted to produce a few inftances *, | 

SAXON 


* Muiriunagh: Irifh. ee arenaria sf Spars 


; tum. 
Muran, £ fe. Sea Matweed. 


Crush Phadruig. Iri/h. % Plantago Major. 
Cuah- Phadruic. Fyfe. § Great Plantain. 


Slan lufs. Drip. Plantago lanceolata, 
Slan lus. . Er/e. Ribwort Plantain. 
Cran Tromain, rib. Sambucus. 
Andruman. E7fe. Elder-tree. 
Fraogh. Irifh, ) Evica. 

Fraoch. £rfe. Heath. 


Feirdrifs. Lri/). i Rofa canina. 
An-Fhearr-drifs. Ezfe. § Dog Rofe. 
Carmel. fri/h. Orobus fylvaticus. 
Cor, Cormeille. Ere. W ood-Peafe. 


Teed Coluim Kille. Jrz/d. Flypericum perforatum, 


Acklafan-Challum-chille er John’ BAW ost, 


nf 
Meacan tovach. Iria. Arfiium Lappa. 
Mac-an-dogha. rfe. Bur-dock. 


Liagh Lufs. fri/h. Artemifia vulgaris. 
An-liath-lus. Ere. } Mugwort. 
Gallan. IJrifp. pe dace Petafites. - 
An-gallan-mor. £rfe. Butter-Bur. 


Noinin, nonin. f7:/), } Bellis perennis. 
Noinein. Ere. Daily. 


Ahair 


MS 6 3) -\) 
SSAVXOUN' "BOD ACN iY. 

The hiftory of Saxon Botany mutt be 
very fhort. No nations, however rude, 
have yet been difcovered, who were fo re- 
gardlefs of health, as not to have a know- 
ledge of, and fome dependence upon, the 


virtues of certain fimples. ‘There is fufh- 
cient evidence, that our Saxon anceitors did 


Ahair Talham. Jri/h. Achillea Millefolium, 
A’chaithir-thalmhain. Ere. § Yarrow, or Milfoil. 


Sail Tovagh. rip, ee odorata. 

Sail Chuach. Eyfe. Sweet Violet. 
Behe.) raha: Betula alba. 
Am-Eeatha, Evr/e. -Birch-Tree. 
Fearnog. Iri/. Betula Alnus.» 
Am-Fearna. Erfe. { Alder-Tree. 
Cran Darrah, S/ri/p. Quercus Robur. 
An Darach, £7/. i The Oak. 
Guifagh. fri), Pinus fylveftris. 
An Guithas. Er/e. Wild Pine. Scotch Fir. 
Soileog. Saileagh. rij. 9 Salix alba. 
Sileach. Erfe. Willow. 

Ruideog. Raodagh. Iri/h. 7 Abjrica Gale ; or, 
Roid. L£rfe. Sweet Myrtle. 
Beecora lecra, Iri/h. Funiperus. 
Beeora leacra, Efe. i juniper. 


Raineagh muire. Jri/h, Pteris aquilina, 
Raineach. Erje. be ern, or Brakes. 


Garvogagh. Lrifh. Lycopodium Selaga, 
Garbhag-an-t-fleibh. Eyfe. § Wolfs-claw Mol. 
Duilleafe. Lrifh. Fucus palmatus. 
Duilleois. Erfe. Sweet Fucus. Dulfe, 


not 


i4. CHARTER 1: 


not wholly difregard this ftudy ; fince, als 
though rare, there are manufcript Saxon 
herbals extant in feveral public libraries, 
The two following occur in the Bodleian : | 


4123. HERBARIUM. Saxonice. 

gr6g. Liser MeEpIcINALIs, conti 
nens virtutes herbarum. Sax- 
onice. 


1 am unable to determine whether the 
above are the fame with the two following, 
which Dr. Ducare/ notices from the Har 
leian collection : 
5066. Entitled, HERBARIUM, Sax- 
onice. 

585: Trattatus, gui ab Anglo-Saxont- 
bus dicebatur LiperR MeEpt- 
CINALIS. 


The laft is faid to be an Anglo-Saxon 
verfion of ApuLEIUS, whom I fhall have 
occafion to mention hereafter. ‘The date 
of this tranflation is of the tenth century. 
The Saxons having been converted to 
Chriftianity at the latter end of the fixth 
century, the communication between Br7~ 
tain and Rome became by degrees very fre= 


Saxon Botany. 4 g 


quent, and learning was then firft intro- 
duced into thefe realms. 

The golden age, if I may be allowed 
that expreffion, of the Anglo-Saxon learn- 
ing, was the reign of Atrrep the Great. 
That munificent prince not only himfelf 
tranflated Latinauthors, but, as hiftoriansin- 
form us, encouraged in every way, the tranf- 
fufion of all the knowledge of the times into 
the common language of the kingdom. To 
this zra, therefore, may reafonably be refer- 
red the Saxon verfion of APULE1US; whofe 
book feems to have preferved popularity 
through all the middle ages, and was found 
in common ufe at the era of printing. 

As no publication of any Saxon herbal 
has ever taken place, we are unable to de- 
fine the extent of the knowledge of that 
time: at prefent, therefore, as in the in- 
ftance of antient Briti/> Botany, we can 
only recur to the nomenclature of the in- 
digenous names, by which fome of them 
are yet known; although many others have 
given way to Greek and Latin terms, and 
fome to other revolutions, occafioned by the 

graduak 


of. 
ii 


16 CHAP ER of: 


gradual progrefs of reformation throughout 
the fcience in general. 

A lift of the Anglo-Saxon names would 
be recoverable, in a great degree, by recur- 
ring to the old herbals, to SkiINNER’s Lexi- 
con, and other authorities of that kind. It 
would, I am perfuaded, be more extenfive 
than a fuperficial view might fuggeft, and 
would do credit to our Saxon anceftors. 
I cannot help remarking, that many mif- 
takes have probably arifen from the neglect 
of our firft reformers of Botany in England; 
after they had formed fcientific names, in 
not preferving alfo the old and provincial 
terms ; and that, on the whole, this ne- 
glect has retarded the progrefs of knowledge 
on this fubject. 


CHAP, 


ae ake ni 


COE AR 2a 

General ftate of Botanical knowledge during the 
dominion of the Saracens—Corrupt tranflations 
of Diofcorides—Avicenna—Afchard, or Ebn 
Beithar, the capital Writer in Botany among the 
Arabians—Schola Salernitana—Engelith Wri- 
ters during the middle ages—Henry of Wunt- 
ingdon — Arviel — Bray —Legle, or Gil- 
bertus Anglicus—Ardern—Daniel—Bollar— 
Horman—- 10'S. of anonymous Authors—Tranf- 
lations and editions of Apuleius and Macer, iz 
ufe in England at the invention of printing— 
Specimen of the fuperftition of Apuleius. 


MED DLE) AG Ens. 


EARNING and {cience follow the 

fate of empires. On the decline of 

thofe of Greece and Rome, and during that 
period in which the Saxons were eftablifh- 
ing themfelves in Britaim, medical know- 
ledge paffed into the hands of the trium- 
phant Saracens. Bagdat, under the Eaftern 
Caliphs, became the feat of learning. 
Much of the Greek phyfic and philofophy 
was corruptly tranflated by the command 
of Muffelmen ; among whom at length it 
Vor. 1, C received 


18 CHAP EER 2 


received due reception and encouragement. 
Schools were eftablifhed, in which Aris-~ 
TOTLE, GALEN, DioscoRrIDEs, and other 
writers, were ftudied ; and their dotrines 
at length pervaded the whole dominion of 
the Saracens, and finally flourifhed. in the 
univerfities of Spaz. 

Dioscor1DEs, though in a corrupt and 
mutilated ftate, formed the bafis of know- 
ledge in the Botany and Materia Medica of 
the Arabians. The fituation of Bagdat, 
and its connection with India, allowed them 
{cope to introduce into phyfic feveral ufe- 
ful fimples. Among others, we owe to 
thefe Orientals the milder purges of the 
prefent day; fuch as fenna, cafia fifiula, 
manna, tamarinds, rhubarb, and feveral drugs 
of other qualities, of which fome retain a 
place in the prefent reformed ftate of the: 
Materia Medica. AvicENNA,, we are told, 
had coloured drawings for the inftruction: 
ef his pupils in Botany ; and Profper AL- 
PINUS affures us, he faw at Cairo a volume. 
of paintings of the plants of Zgypt, dra- 
bia, and Ethiopia, which had been done for 
the ufe of a Sultan. 


Middle Ages. IQ 


It is not eafy, however, to judge, with 
precifion, of the extent of Arabian know- 
ledge on the fubject of our work ; fince, 
probably, the beft book of the Arabian 
{chool has yet remained unpublifhed, that 
of Edn BEITHAR. It is extant in the Pa-~ 
rifian, the Efcurial, and other libraries. 
This learned Arab was particularly attached 
to the botanical branch of phyfic. He 
was born in Spam; and after vifiting Africa, 
travelled into the Levant, 4/a, and even as 
far as the Indies, to improve his know- 
ledge. In his return he was patronifed by 
Saladin, at Cazro, and died in 1248. 

HERBELOT informs us, that from the 
fuperiority of his learning in this branch, 
he was ftyled /chard, or The Botanitt. 
He wrote ‘“‘ A General Hiftory of Simples, 
or of Plants, ranged in alphabetical order ;” 
in which he gives the Greek, Arabic, and 
vernacular names ; with the defcriptions of 
each ; and particularly, in a more detailed 
manner, thofe not defcribed by Dioscor1- 
DES and PLINY. 

There is, notwithftanding, but little room 
to believe, that more original knowledge 


Ciro could 


20 C0 HAS Ser 9, 


could be derived from the Arabian moau- 
ments of fcience in this, than in the other 
departments of phyfic.. In their beft au- 
thors, even the Greek names of plants are 
fo grofsly perverted, that they are pee: 
to be known. 

The Grecian authors having been inac- 
_curately tranflated at firft, and the language 
neglected afterwards, phyfic loft much un- 
der the dominion of the Arabians. It was, 
in the end, a corrupt Galenic theory, with 
an admixture of affrology and fuperftition. 
In this flate the learned of Europe found 
it, in the celebrated Moorish univerfities of 
Spam. Inthe weftern parts of Chriften- 
dom, efpecially after the lapfe of the Latin 
tongue in Maly, it was fcarcely lefs obfcured 
by the ignorance of the Monks, by whom, 
almoft folely, the praGice of it was en- 
grofied. 

Even the firft univerfity in Chriftendom, 
the renowned ichool of Salernum, founded by 
Ciarlemagne ia the beginning of the ninth 
century, received its dictates from the cor- 
rupt fources of the Arabians ; whofe works - 
are faid to have been at length tranflated 

into 


Middle Ages. 21 


into Latin by Con/fantine the African. The 
famous precepts de Confervanda Valetudine, 
iffued from that {fchool for the ufe of Ro- 
bert duke of Normandy, were, without 
doubt, well known in England, and proba-. - 
bly excited attention to the ftudy of Vege- 
tables ; concerning which, numerous rules 
and cautions occur in that remnant of the 
learning of thofe days. 

During all thefe ages, the original fources 
in the Greek authors were almoft wholly 
forgotten, and the productions of that long 
night of {cience were equally rare and un- 
improving, 

I hall, neverthelefs, enumerate briefly a 
few of thofe Englifh authors, who were 
moft confpicuous for any attention to the 
fimples ufed in medicine, which alone 
bounded the botanical knowledge of thofe 
times. | 

One of our earlieft writers, after the 
Conqueft, was the hiftorian Henry Arch- 
deacon of Huntingdon, in the time of king 
Stephen and Henry the II[d. Bibop Tan- 
NER informs us, that he left a MS. in 

C 3 eight 


22 CHA PTs. 2. 


eight Books, De Hersis, de: Aromatibus, 
et de Gemmis. Bib. Bodley. 6353. 

Of nearly the fame age are faid to be, 
fome manufcripts preferved in Brbl Regia 
Lond. under the following titles, De Na- 
tura Pecudum, ARBORUM, et Lapidum: and 
one De Naturis Herbarum.  Bithop Tan- 
ner mentions an Englifhman of the name 
of Henry ARvieL, who had travelled much, 
and refided fome time at Bo/ogna, about the 
year 1280. He left a manufcript De Bota- 
nica, five Stirpium Varia Hiftoria. 

The fame author notices a manufcript, 
in the Sloanean collection, of ‘fobn Bray, 
who lived in the time of Richard the IId. 
He ftudied Botany and Phyfic, and received 
an annual penfion from the king, for his 
knowledge and fkill in thefe feiences. It 
is entitled, Syxouyma de nominibus Herba- 
yum. It contains the names, in Latin, 
French, and Englith. 

Befides the Compendium Medicine of 
GILBERTUS LEGLE, or GILBERTUS AN= 
GLicus, who alfo flourithed in the thir- 
teenth century, a manufcript is recorded of 


0 On erat 


Middle Ages. 23 


that author, under the title of De re 
Herbaria, hb. 1. and others, De Viribus 
et Medicinis Herbarum, Arborum et Speci~ 
erum: et de Virtutibus Herbarum, hb... 

The famous Englith furgeon obn Ar- 
DERN of Newark, extolled by Dr. Friend, 
as the reviver of furgery in England, who 
flourifhed foon after ‘Yohn of GADDESDEN, 
in the middle of the fourteenth century, 
left a manuf{cript, which is in the Sloanean 
library, under the title of De re Herbaria, 
Phyfica, et Chirurgica. 

Henry DANIEL, a Dominican friar, faid 
to be well {killed in the natural philofophy 
and phyfic of his time, left a manufcript 
infcribed 4aron Daniels. He therein treats 
De re Herbaria, de Arboribus, Fruéticibus, 
&c. He flourifhed about the year 1379. 

Appertaining to my fubject I alfo men-~ 
tion, a treatife, written, as is fuppofed, in 
the time of Edward the IIId. by WALTER 
de HENLEY, entitled, De Yconomia five 
Houfbranda ; in which, Bifhop Tanner fays, 
he has treated his fubject well, according 
to the ufage of the time. 

Nicoras Boriar, educated at Oxford, 

C 4 whom 


24. CHAPTER: 2, 


whom TANNER reprefents as eminent for 
his knowledge in natural philofophy, wrote 
De Arborum Plantatione, lib. 3. De Gene- 
ratione Arborum et modo Generand: et Plan-— 
tandi, lib. 2. and other tracts now in ma- 
nuf{cript. 

There is a manufcript faid to be preferved 
in Baliol college, written by JoHANNES de 
S. Pauto, De Virtutibus Simphcium Medi- 
cinarum. "The age of thefe two laft is not 
fufficiently afcertained ; neither is that of a 
manufcript in Cams and Gonville college, 
Cant. entitled Cinema (Synonymia) Her. 
barum. 4 

The following authors, who wrote, at 
leaft prior to the introduction of printing 
into England, are enumerated, by Bifhop 
Tanner, and others. 

Henricus CALCOENSIS, a prior of the 
Benedictine order, is faid, by Dempfler, to 
have travelled into France, Germany, and 
Italy, folely to enjoy the converfation of 
the learned. He wrote Synopfis Herba- 
ria, Lib. 1. and tranflated PAaLLADIUS de 
re Rufitca, into the Scottifh tongue, about 
the year 1493. 

William 


Middle. A eS. 25 


William HorMAN, a native of Sak/bury, 
qwas educated at Winchefter fchool, and be- 
came a perpetual fellow of New College in 
1477. In 1485 he was chofen {chool. 
matter and fellow of Eton, and at length 
elected vice-provoft of the fame college. 
He was a man of extenfive and various eru- 
dition. Among numerous productions, he 
left a book under the title of Herbarum 
Synonyma. We wrote indexes to the an- 
tient authors De re Ruftica: to Cato, Var- 
ro, Columella, and Palladius, After feveral 
years of retirement, he died in. 1535, and 
was buried in the chapel of the college. 

The writers, and the age, of the two fol- 
lowing manu(cripts, are unknown. | 

Liber de Herbzs, in the library of Corpus 
Chrifti. 

Nomenclatura Vocabulorum in Meatcina 
receptorum, prefertim etiam Herbarum; im 
the library of Magdalen college. 

The underwritten, without any author’s 
names, are in the Afhmolean ieee with 
the annexed dates. 

Diverfe phyfical receipts with an Herbal; 
1438, N° 7704. 

An 


26 CHAPTER 2. 


An Hergat, Alphabeticum, 1443, N° 
7709. | 

An Herpat, in old Englith, 1447, 
N97 13. 

Phyfical Plants, Englith, 1481, N°7724. 
Alfo, 

A defeription of fome fireples—In the Bod- 
leian library, N° 2073. | 

Exlufive of many others, more ftrictly 
medical, the under-written * anonymous 
manuf{cripts, though the dates have not 
been precifely determined, are, with good 
reafon, fuppofed to have been written, if 
not prior to the invention of printing, at 
leaft before the introduction of that art into 
England. 

This 


* In the Bodleian library. 


2543. <Anonymus, de Arboribus, Aromatis, et Flri- 
bus. 

2062, An Herbal. 

2562. Gloffarium Latino-anglicum Arborum, Frudtuum, 
Frugum, &c. 

2.335. Nomina Herbarum, Latine, Gallice, Anglice. 

2257. Concerning the Virtue of fome Herbs, 

2072. De fedecim Herbis et earum Virtutibus. 

1798. Herbarium, 


Middle Ages. 27 


This lift, perhaps already too long, 
might have been confiderably extended, 
but that it would have unneceffarily {welled 
this article. As none of thefe manufcripts, 
however, haye been publifhed, the exa@ 
ftate and progrefs of the fcience cannot be 
afcertained ; yet enough is feen to convince 
us, that, although its advancement was flow 
and inconfiderable, it was not wholly loft 
in the darknefs of that night, which, for 
fo many ages, obfcured the fources of 
knowledge. It is highly probable, that 


ve ry 


3828. Herbarium Anglico-latinum alphabeticum. 
6206. De Plantis admirandis. 

2073. Defcription of fome Simples. 

2626. Lexicon Medicamentorum Simplicium. 


In the Afhmolean library. 
7762. <Alphabeta de diverfis Nominibus Herbarum. 
7541. De Naturis quarundam (animatium) Arbarum, 
&c. cum Iconibus pictis. 
7778.  Catalogus Plantarum, additis, fubinde, Nomini- 
bus Anglicis. 
1397. De Ditia Salutis, et Catalzus Plantarum. Lat. 
Angl. 
7634. “ An alphabetical Catalogue of Plants.” 
7537- ‘A Book of Plants, delineated in their natural 
| Colours,” 
-7694. Alphabetical Catalogue of Plants.” . 
In 


28 CHAPTER ‘2, 


very few of the manufcripts before enume- 
rated, exhibit any confiderable portion of 
original matter; but, that they are princi- 
pally extracts and compilations, from pre- 
ceding writers of the lower age; fuch as, 
Apuleius, Aimilius Macer, S. Sethus, If- 
dore, Confiantinus, the Pandeéts of Mat- 
thew Sylvaticus, Plateartus, fome of the 
later Arabians, and other writers of that 
fiamp. At the renovation of knowledge 
juft mentioned, thefe appear to have been 
the primary fources from which our an- 
ceftors of that generation derived affiftance ; 
fince we find many MSS. of the above au- 


In other colleCtions the following : 
976. Tratiatus de Herbis, Bibl. Caj. Gonv. Cant. 
$875. “Fhe Book of Simples; or a Treatife of 
Herbs and their Virtues.”’ Sloan, 
3747. De Herbis et Plantis. Coll. John. Bapt. Oxon, 
1695. Noétabilia de Vegetabilibus et Plantis, Bib. 8, 
Petri Cant. 
844. Nomina Herbarum, earumgue Fires. Bib. Caj. 
Gonv. 


8738. Nomina Herbarum, et de carum Proprietatibus. 
Sloan. an? idem cum priori. 


959. Aphabetum Herbarum, cum Synonymis. Bib, 
Caj. Gony. 
8746. Des Proprietés et Noms des Herbes. 
thors 


Middle Ages, — 29 


thors were in being, at the origin of print- 
ing, and were early iffued from the prefs as 
the manuals of that day, in various parts of 
Chriftendom. 

It has been obferved, that the laft-men- 
_ tioned Saxon manufcript, was a tranflation 
of Lucius Aputeius Madaurenfis; whofe 
work, from feveral other circumftances, 
there is room to believe, was, at that time, 
more diffufed and popular in England, 
than any other. This author, who lived 
in the age of the vtonimes, was born at 
Madura in Africa, at that time a feat of 
jearning. He afterwards fiudied at Car. 
thage, and at Athens, and for fome time ap- 
plied himfelf at Rome to jurifprudence, but 
at length quitted it, and devoted himéfelf 
wholly to philofophy and phyfic. He is 
well known as the author of the Milefian 
‘Fables, and other works of learning. His 
book De Herbis, five de Nominibus ac 
Virtutibus Herbarum, alone comes under 
our cognizance: In this he recites the 
names of medicinal herbs, in the Greek, 
Latin, Egyptian, Punic, Celtic, and Da- 
cian, and of fome in the oriental languages. 

q Thefe 


30 C HAP RGR 2. 

Thefe names form the bulk of the book, 
which confifts of one hundred and thirty 
chapters. After each name follows a 
fhort defcription of the plant, the place of | 
growth, and the properties.. Then the dif- 
eafes to which each fimple is applicable. 
The work neverthelefs abounds with grofs 
errors in the names of plants, and inculcates 
the moft abfurd ceremonies and fupertfti- 
tions in the adminiftration of remedies ; yet 
it was in much efteem throughout the dark 
ages.of literature. — 

It muft not however be concealed, that 
fome of the learned have judged, that this 
work, at leaft as it now appears, was not 
written by the author whofe name it bears, 
but at a much later period. Jounson, the 
editor of Gerard, imagined it to be a tranf- 
lation of a Greek writer of the eighth cen- 
tury; but his conjecture is not thought 
probable by Fabricius*. The remarks of 
‘fobnfon prove, that this work was in com- 
mon ufe in the ages I have fpoken of; and 
that the copies had been greatly corrupted 
and mutilated, by ignorant hands. 

® Bib. Latin. ab Ernefio, Lipf. 1774, toms 3. ps 44+ 
I will 


Middle Ages. 9% 


[ will give one inftance from APULEIUs, 
of that credulity and fuperftition, which, 
fan@tioned by antiquity, yet prevailed in the 
adminiftration of remedies; and exhibits a 
melancholy proof of the wretched flate of 
phyfic, which, through fo many ages, had 
not broke the fhackles of druidical magic 
and impofition. As a cure for a difeafe, 
called by the French Nouée [Equilfette, you 
are directed to take feven ftalks of the herb 
lons-foot, feparated from the roots; thefe 
- are to be boiled in water in the wane of the 
moon. The patient is to be wafhed with 
this water, on the approach of night, ftand- 
. ing before the threfhold, on the outfide of 
his own houfe, and the perfon who per- 
forms this office for the fick, is alfo not to 
fail to wath himéfelf. This done, the fick 
perfon is to be fumigated with the {moke 
ef the herb 4ri/folochia, and both perfons 
are then to enter into the houfe together, 
taking ftri€t care not to look behind them 
while returning ; after which, adds the au- 
thor, the fick will immediately become 
well. 

A. book under the name of Macer’s 

Herbal, 


32 CH Wiest Ei .2. 


Herbal, feems alfo to have been in common 
ufe in England, before the era of printing. 
Authors do not allow it to be the produ@tion 
of Amilius MaAcER quoted by Ovip, but 
of much later date, and by fome it is af- 
cribed to Opo, or OpoBoNnus, a phyfician 
of the later times, and probably a French- 
man. This barbarous poem is in leonine 
verfe, and is entitled De Naturis, Qualia 
tibus, ۤ Virtutibus Herbarum. Divers 
manufcripts of it are extant in the Englith 
libraries ; as, at Cambridge, inthe Bodleian, 
Lfhmolean, and Sloanean collections. 
It was tranflated into Englith, as Bithop 
TANNER informs us, by ‘fobz LELAMAR, 
mafter of Hereford {chool, who lived about 
the year 1373. His manufcript is referred 
to. as in Sloane’s library. Even Linacre 
did not difdain to employ himfelf on this 
work. “ Macer’s HERBAL prattyfyd by 
** Doctor Linacro, tranflated out of Latin 
**into Englifh, London, 12mo.” AMEs 
mentions an edition of it printed in 1542; 
and Palmer, one without date, printed by 
Wyre. This jejune performance, which 
is written wholly on Galenic principles, 
treats 


Middle Ages. 33 
treats on the virtues of not more than 
eighty-eight fimples. 

I fhall not detain the reader by dwelling 
on other authors of this clafs, whofe names 
I have before recited ; it will be fufficient to 
obferve, that, fetter ed as were the theories of 
this time with aftrology, and a ftrange mix- 
ture of the Galenic dotrine of the four ele- 
ments, it extended its influence, not to the 
human body alone, but to all the inftru- 
ments of phyfic. Not even a plant of me- 
dicinal ufe, bit was placed under the do- 
minion of fome planet, and muft neither be 
gathered, nor applied, but with obfervances 
that favoured of the moft abfurd fuperfti- 


tion, 


Vor. ‘I. D CHAP, 


( 34 ) 


Manu/cripts of the Patres Botanici /carce in Engs 
land—Reftoration of ancient knowledge, by the 
publications of Pliny; Diofcorides, and Theo- 

 phraftus—The era of commentators—Rife of 

true inveftigation by Brunsfelfius, Tragus, Cor- 
dus, avd Gefner—Famous MS. of Diofcorides, 
awith illuminated figures. 


KEE D D Le, .A 5G eS. 


. T this time manufctipts of Tazo- 

SS pHRASTUSs, DroscorIDEs,; and 
Puiny, were not only exceedingly rare 
throughout Europe, but thofe of the two 
former were unnoticed through ignorance 
of the Greek language ; otherwife we ean- 
not fuppofe our anceftors could have nes 
elected them, for the crude and barbarous’ 
works which have been mentioned. It was 
not till the opening of the fifteenth cen- 
tury, that opportunity was given to recur to 
thefe repofitories of antient lore. The flight 
of the Greeks into Italy, at the fubverfion 
of the Eaftern Empire, and the fubfequent 
Invention 


Middle Ages. 48 


invention of printing, by bringing to light, 
and diffeminating the purer remains of 
Greece and Rome, at length broke the 
chains of barbarifm and fuperftition, which, 
during fo many ages, had tyrannized over 
the underftandings of mankind. 

On this happy revolution, Botany, with 
other fciences, revived, and prefently re«# 
fumed another appearance. The publica- 
tion of the Patres Botanicz raifed, at once, 
a {pirit of emulation to invéftigate the fub- 
jects of their works. | 

Prrny was firft printed, if not at Verona, 
in 1468, as is afirmed by fome, and doubt- 
ed by others, at leaft in the fucceeding year, 
at Venice; and the avidity with which it was 
received, is manifefted by the numerous im- 
preflions of it, before the end of that cen- 
tury. 

DioscoripeEs came forth firft at Colgn, 
in a Latin tranflation, in 1478, and in the 
original, by d/dus, in 1495. It was after- 
wards publifhed in Latin by Hermozaus 
Barsarus and Ruetitus, in the year 
1516; by VERGILIUs, in 15183 and by 
CoRNARUS in 1529. The learned now 

D2 prefer 


46 CH AW OEE 4, 


prefer the edition with a tranflation by Sa 
RACENUs, printéd at Lyons in 1598. 

THEOPHRASTUS was firft printed in 
Greek at Venice, without date, and by 4/- 
dus, in 1495 and 1498. He was tranflated 
into Latin by Gaza in 1483, and this ver- 
fion has been preferred by fucceeding wri- 
ters. 

The reftoration of thefe fages of anti- 
quity, immediately raifed up a numerous 
fet of commentators. Every plant was 
fought for, and every plant was difcovered, 
in the works of antiquity. No drug ufed 
in medicine was efteemed frue, unlefs found 
in Dioscoripes. Scalger wrote animad-~ 
verfions on THEOPHRASTUS in 1566; in 
which he has corrected the verfion of Gaza 
in many places. Robert Conflantine produ- 
ced the parallel places in Pliny; and. Bo: 
pmuUs @ STAPEL, in 1644, aftonifhed the 
world, by a difplay of erudition on this au- 
thor, in which he exhaufted all farther dif 
quifition, by the profufion of his remarks, 
and collations, from all preceding writers. 

The commentaries on DioscoriDEs 
have been more numerous. The Corollaria 

of 


Middle A ges. 37 


ow, 


‘of HERMoLAUs BARBARUs was publifhed 
in 1492. To Hermolaus facceeded BRUNS- 
-FELSIUS, Petrus Leydenfis, LACUNA, AMA~ 
Tus LusiTANUs, Robert CONSTANTINE, > 
Val. Corpus, and ‘feveral others; and 
finally MATTHIOLUS, whofe work has fu- 
‘perfeded the reft. It was firft printed in 
-1554, and pafied through feventeen edi- 
‘tions. | If we may believe one of the corre- 
‘ {pondents of this author, thirty-two thou- 
fand copies had been fold before the year 
1561 *.. The beft edition, with the ac- 
.ceffions' of CAsPAR BAuUHINE in 1508, 
ftill finds a reputable place in modern li- 
_braries. , | | 
Among the illuftrators of PLiny, Her- 
molaus Barbarus in 1492 ‘ftood foremott. 
His Cafligationes Phniane, were publithed 
in 1492, in which he fuccefsfully corrected 
the text; and Leonicenus, in the fame 
year, was the firft who employed critical 
knowledge on this author, The corrup- 
tions of the text afforded great {cope after- 
wards to GALENIUs, RHENANUs, PiNn- 


¥ Marruror, Oper. Omn. Ed. 1674. in Epi. p. 150, 


D:..3 TIAN, 


a8). CHARTER 3. 


rani, and others. The Exercitationes 
Phniane of SALMAsStvs, are well known. 
Thofe of the laborious and paradoxical 
Harpwuin, are the principal refort of mo- 
dern times. | 
It is a mortifying reflexion in the annals . 
of human knowledge, that the bulk of thefe 
learned men, after their immenfe labours, 
miftook, in numberlefs inftances, the road 
to truth, and did but perplex the {cience 
they wifhed to enlighten. The defcriptions 
of plants in the antient authors, were, at 
beft, fhort, vague, and infufficient ; and 
with this inconvenience, the ftudy of nature 
herfelf was neglected. In the mean time, 
there arofe a genuine fet of cultivators, 
who, difcovering this error of the commen- 
tators, ftudied plants in the fields, where 
alone the beft comments could be made. 
As the foremoft of thefe, ftands Bruns- 
FeLsius. He was followed by Tracus, 
Fucusrvs, Val. Corpus, GESNER, Cz- 
SALPINUS, and above all Cxusius, to 
whom mutt be added our own countryman 
TurNeER. Still, even among thefe genuine 
reftorers of natural knowledge, many did 
not 


Middle ve 39 


not fufficiently recollect, that all the plants 
of DioscoribDEs, were not thofe of Europe, 
but principally thofe of A/a; whilft, in- 
ftead of traverfing the fields of Greece, Cih- 
cia, and the Eaft, they were ftraining all the 
defcriptions of this author, to accommo- 
date them to the vegetables of Europe. It 
is not ftrange that their endeavours were 
but little fuccefsful. Even, after the la- 
bours of RAuwo.Lr, who traverfed Syria, 
Mefopotomia, Paleftine, and Aigypt, in the 
fixteenth century, and thofe of the enlight- 
ened TouRNEFORT in the prefent, it does 
not appear, that of the feven hundred plants 
in the Mazeria Medica of DioscorIpDEs, 
more than four hundred, at the fartheft, are 
properly afcertained at this time. 

We learn from Puiny (lib. 25. c. 2.} 
that there were paintings of plants in his 
day; but he complains, that, through the 
inaccuracy of copiers, they were not to be 
depended on. SazMasius tells us, he 
infpected 2 Greek MS. of DroscoripEs 
more than a thoyfand years old, in which 
the plants were figured with fufficient ele- 
gance indeed, but with little regard to truth 

D4 and 


AO CHAR TER” 3. 


and exact refemblance.. There are now 
exifting feveral manufcripts of Drosco- 
RIDES, with illuminated figures, particu- 
Jarly the famous one in the imperial library 
at Vienna, of which LAMBECIUS treats 
largely. 
~ It was procured by Bu/bequius, the em- 
peror’s refident at Con/fantinople, about 
1560; and is faid to have been copied at 
the expence of JuLIANA ANICcIA, daugh- 
ter to the emperor Flavius Anicius Olyber, 
about the year 492. It has been regretted 
by fome of the learned, that this MS. had 
not been brought earlier into Europe; by 
which means the commentators might nage 
been faved much trouble. Antient, how- 
ever, and fplendid as this is, it may juftly 
be doubted, whether the publication of it 
would have much conduced to the reftora- 
tion of ancient Botany, and Materia Meatica ; 
fince, if we are allowed to judge of the 
figures, from the fpecimens copied by Do- 
DONZUS, nothing can exceed the rudenefs 
of them, or more ftrongly juftify the re- 
mark of Salmafius. ‘And as feveral of thefe 
are copied into GrRArp’ s Herbal, for the 
fatisfaction 


— SSS 


Middle Ages. at 


fatisfaction of the curious, I refer in the 
note* to fome of thefe figures in both au- 
thors. 

olf juttice, however, to thefe valuable re- 
mains, it muft be obferved, that, from later 
information, we find, there is, befides this 
Conftantinopolitan MS. which is in folio, an- 
other, fuppofed to be more ancient, in 4to. 
which i is diftinguifhed by the name of Nea- 
politan : that the figures in both thefe agree 
extremely well; and, as Ha//er informs 
us, are fufficiently exact to enable the bo- 
tanical tra veller, with fuch drawings in his — 
hands, to diftinguith the plants of Dres- 
CoRIDES in the native places of growth. 
It is particularly {pecified, that the pericly- 
menunt of thefe manufcripts evidently ap- 


* Coronopus. Dod. ed, 1583. p. rcg. Ger. em. 
F190. 
Artin. Dod. 849. Park. 1374. 
Hyffopus. Dod, 286. 
LTippophaés. Dod. 373. 
Aconitum Lycaétonum. Dod. 437. Ger. em. 972+ 
Stebe. Dod. 123. Ger. em. 731. 
Lotus Sylveftris. Dod. 562. 
Lotus Agyptia. Dod. 562. | 
Tithymalus Dendroides, Dod. 368. Ger. em. 501. 


pears 


42 CH AL She aaa, 3. 


pears to be the convolvulus major of the mo- 
derns; and the ¢elephium, the cerinthe minor. 
Finally, that if thofe enumerated in the 
note fo ill exprefs the plants. defigned, it 
muft be wholly attributed to the fault of 
the copier or engraver. This intelligence 
is attended with regret, when we further 
learn, that after fome of thefe icons were 
lately engraved, with a view to the publi- 
cation of the whole, the defizn has. been 
laid afide. 

I thall be thought, perhaps, in the fore. 
going pages, to have digreffed too much, 
I have to allege, that a brief view of the 
general ftate and progrefs of phyfic, with 
which my fubject is infeparably connected, 
during the dominion of the Saracens in the 
-Eaft, and in the ages of ignorance preceding 
the fourteenth century in the Weft, feemed 
neceflary in order to throw light on the 
introduction of it into this ifland. And as 
England thared the improvement arifing 
from the reftoration of antient knowledge, 
a fhort notice of the three principal botanic 
authors was deemed not lefs proper. 

wiet 


Middle Ages. 43 


At this diftance of time, perhaps it may 
require fome warmth of imagination, to 
picture to the mind that fatisfaction, which 
ingenuous and learned men muft have ex- 
perienced, who lived when the veil was re- 
moved, which for ages had obfcured and 
confined thofe elegant fources of intellec- 
tual enjoyments, which the writings of the 
antients difplay ; when the means of attain- 
ing them were, by the invention of print- 
ing, fo happily amplified, and the progrefs, 
not only of thofe arts and f{ciences which 
embellifh, but of thofe which alfo dignify 
human nature by their utility, was no 
longer retarded. 


CH A P. 


hase: 


CH AOP, 4, 
Account of the earlieft Botanical publications on the 
Continent —The Book of Nature—The Herba- 
rius—Tbe Hortus Sanitatis—The/e works the 
bafis of the * Grete Herbal” in 1516; the firft 
Botanical publication in England—Account of 
that work—A{cham—Copland, doth herbalifts 
of the aftrologic Se—Firft Botanical gardens. 


HORTUS SANITATIS, 


YT was not till feveral years after the era 

of printing, that any original work, 
ftrictly botanical, made its appearance, even 
en the continent; and {till longer before 
England produced any publication of im- 
portance in that way. 

Previous to the firft dawning of this {ci- 
ence in Exgland, it is almoft neceflary to 
mention fome of the productions abroad, as 
they were the bafis of what was here firft 
publifhed, although, in fact, there was no 
original work before the Herbal of Tur- 
NER. | , 

In the opinion of SrcuierR, the firft 
book on plants, with figures, was printed 
at 


- 


Hortus Sanitatis. Ae 


at dugfeurgh, foon after the invention of 
wooden cuts, or tables, between the years 
1475 and 1478, in the German tongue; 
with the title of “* The Book of Nature.” 
It treats of animals and plants ; of the lat- 
ter, a hundred and feventy+fix kinds are no-~ 
ticed, and many of them figured. The work 
is made up chiefly from Piiny, [/dore, and 
Platearius. 

This book feems to have been foon fu- 
perfeded by the famous Herbal of Mentz, in 
1484, ftiled imply “ HerRBaRivus;” which 
gave rife, the next year, to the well-known 
work OrtTus SANITATIS, afcribed to 
CusBa, aphyfician of dug/burgh, and after- 
wards of Frankfort ; who, if not the author, 


“was at leaft the editor of an enlarged and 


improved edition. This work, under dif- 
ferent editors, was the bafis of ail the Ffer-. 
bals of Europe, for many years. 

Its object is the Materia Medica from all 
nature; but vegetables occupy the greater 
part. The firft edition was comprifed in 
four hundred and thirty-five chapters: in 
one, printed at Venice in 1511, which is in 
the black letter, they are extended to a 

 thoufand 


46 CHARCOT ER? 4. 


thoufand and fixty-fix; of which, one half 
treat on the vegetable kingdom. ‘The au- 
thor profeffies to have drawn his refources 
from HirppocraTes, GALEN, PLINY, 
AVICENNA, SERAPION, Mesves, Dios- 
CORIDES, PLATEARIUS, VINCENTIUS, 
the Pandedis, PALLADIUS, CONSTANTIN, 
ALMANSER, and others. At the head of 
each chapter ftands a cut, than which, 
fcarcely any thing can be conceived more 
rude; and, in fome cafes, nothing is more 
puerile or ridiculous. The pages, if printed 
with numbers, would amount to more than 
feven hundred. Many copies of this. pers 
formance are remaining, although the Her 
barius is become very f{carce. | 


G Re! PeE io HEB RB ae 


‘Thefe books were undoubtedly the fotine 
dation of the firft printed botanical work 
of any confequence, or popularity in Eng- 
dand; and which appeared under the title 
of * The Grete Herbar, with cuts ;” 
printed for Peter Treveris, as Ames tells uss 
int16. Before the impreflion of this book 
in England, fome editions of the ** Herba- 

; a FA 
rius, 


Grete Herbal. 44 


> 


tius,’ on the continent, had been aug- 
mented fo far as to contain five hundred 
figures of plants. The ‘* Grete Herbal” 
feems to have been well received in Eng- 
land, fince there are fubfequent copies, 
which bear the following dates; 1526, 
1529, 1539: and in the Continuation of 
Ames, an edition is mentioned of the ** Great 
Herbal,” about the year 1550, “ without 
the cuts.’ There is alfo an edition of 
this book fo late as the year 1561, which 
is ten years after the date of Turner’s 
© Herbal.” That of 1526 bears the fols 
lowing title : | 

“© The GRETE HERBALL whiche geveth 
parfyt knowledge & underftandyng of all man 
ner of Herbes and there gracyous vertues which 
God hath ordeyned for our profperous welfare 
& helth; for they hele and cure all manner 
of dyfeafes SG fekeneffes that fall or mif 
fortune to all manner of creatoures of God 
created, prattyfed by many expert and wyfé 
mafters; as AVICENNA and other Gc. And 
t-geveth full parfyte underftandyng of the 
book lately prented by me (Peter Treveris) 
named the noble expériens of the vertuous 


hand - 


‘as 


48 CHAPTER 4s 
bandwarke of Surgery.” Tmprinted at Lon: 
ion in Southwarke by me Peter Tteveris; 
dwelling in the Sign of the Woedows: 1526: 
the 27th day of “fuly. 
This volume is of the Seal fli fata; : 
and if printed with numbered pages, would 
make three hundred and fifty, exclufive of 
the Preface and Index. It includes the 
animal, vegetable, and mineral fubftances, 
ufed in medicine; and is faid in the Intro- 
duction to be “* compyled; compofed, and 
** auctoryfed by divers and many noble Doc- 
“ tours and expert Mayfters in Medycynes ; 
‘as Avicenna, Pandetta, Conftantinus, Wil- 
“¢ helmus, Platearius, Rabbit Moyfes, Foban- 
‘© nes Mefue, Haly, Albertus; Bartholomeus, 
- 6€ and more other, &c.” 

There is no author’s name to it; but 
there are indubitable traces of its being fa- 
bricated from the Hortus Sanitatis; and pro- 
bably from the French tranflation of that 
work, printed by Caron, at Paris, in 1499, 
with fome alterations and additions. 

It abounds with the barbarous and mif- 
{pelt names of the middle ages, and is un- 
doubtedly the work which Turner refers 

to 


Grete Herbats 49 


to in the Preface to his «« Herbal,” where 
he obferves, that, “ as yet there was no 
«* Englifh Herbal but one, al full of un- 
‘© learned cacographees, and falfely naming 
‘© of herbs.” } it 

‘The general order is that of the alphia- 
bet, according to the Latin names, each 
fubjeé&t forming a chapter, in the whole five 
hundred and five; of which, more than four 
hundred refpect the vegetable productions ; 
and of thefe one hundred and fifty bear the 
names of plants which are natives of Exg- 
land: ‘put the writer remarks no other dif- 
tinction, by which they are known from 
the exotics. The names are given in La- 
tin and Engelifh, but throughout the whole 
{carcely any defcriptions. The qualities, 
whether Zot or cold, dry or moifft, accord- 
ing to the Galenic mode of the time, is in- 
variably noticed, followed generally by a 
prolix account of the difeafes to which the 
plant is applicable, and thé method of 
ufing it. | 

To each is prefixed a coarfe wooden-cut 
- figure, as in the Hortus Sanitatis, from 


Vou. I7 E which, 


50 cHa er Pe u. 

which, on a fomewhat fmaller fcale, they 
are evidently copied ; confifting generally of 
‘outlines only. Each block is two inches 
high, and nearly as wide. Many of thefe 
figures are fictitious, and many mifplaced. 
In a variety of inftances the fame figure is 
prefixed to different plants, and in very few 
are they fufficiently expreffive of the habit, 
‘to difcriminate even a well-known fubjeét, 
if the name applied did not fuggeft the idea 
of it. In fome, thefe icons are whimfically 
abfurd, efpecially in the animals and mine-. 
-rals, being alfo copies of thofe in the Hortus 
Santatis. Thofe of the Mandrake, for ex- 
ample, exhibit two perfectly human figures, 
with the plant. growing from the head of 
each ; though, to do the writer juftice, he 
acknowledges, that no fuch thing exifts in 
nature. At the end is fubjoined, “an ex- 
planation of fome terms ;” and “a traét 
on urines.” 


ASCHAM. 
Anthony ASCHAM, a prieft, and vicar of 
Burnifhton in Yorkfbire, to which he was 
preferred 


Afcham and Copland. ‘gi 
preferred by Edward VI. after a liberal edu- 


cation, which it might have been expected 
would have fecured him from fuch delu- 
fion, gave himfelf up to the ftudy of aftro~ 
logy, on which fubject he publithed feveral 
tracts.’ He wrote alfo ‘‘ on the Leap Year ;” 
and the following : 

« A Lyrret Hersat of the proper- 
** ties of Herbs, newly amended and correct- 
“ed, with certain additions at the end of the 
** boke, declaryng what herbs hath influence 
‘¢ of certain ftarres and conftellations, where- 
“‘ by may be chofen the beft and moft lucky 
‘‘ times and days of their miniftration, ac- 
«€ cording to the Moon being in the figns of 
*¢ heaven, the which is daily appointed in the 
«© Almanack; made and gathered in the year 
«© M.D.L.xiiFeb.byANTHONYE AsCHAM, 
»  Phyfigian, Lond. 1550. 12”. 


COPLAN D. 


I am not able to afcertain the exact date 

of the underwritten, publithed by William 

_Copianp, a London printer. 

“<A Boke of the Properties of Herbs, 
as * called an Herball; whereunto is added the 

i ‘E’2 «< tyme 


$2 CHAPTER 4. 


‘“tyme that Herbes, Flowrs, and Seeds 
‘* fhould be gathered, to be kept the whole 
“‘yere, with the Virtue of Herbes when 
“* they are ftilled. Alfo a general Rule of 
‘¢ all manner of Herbes, drawn out of the 
« auncient Book of Phyfick by W, C.” 
London, by W™ Copland. 12mo. 


BOTANICAL GARDENS. 


The revival of Botany, and the confe- 
quent eftablifhment of profefforfhips, gave 
rife to Botanical gardens ; a new fpecies of 
luxury in horticulture, of fingularemolument 
to fcience. Thehiftory of antient gardens, hi- 
therto not fufficiently illuftrated, merits the 
inveftigation of the moft learned and able 
writer: of the pen ofaRapin,aMeEurRsius, 
a SEGUIER, or a GRonovius. We learn, 
however, that even Botanical gardens are of 
antient date. Ifit may be credited, what is 


related of ATTALUs, the laft king of Per-_ 


gamus, who from his love of phyfic has 
been ftiled the phyfician, he colledted in his 
garden hellebore, henbane, aconite, and other 
poifonous herbs, to make experiments on 
criminals with counter- poifons. Crete, from 


the 


Botanical Gardens. ee 


the earlieft times renowned for the produc- 
tion of medicinal herbs, was the phyfic-gar- 
den of Rome. The Emperors, we are told, 
maintained in that ifland, herbarifts, and 
gardeners, to provide the phyficians of Rome 
with fimples. Caftor, a Greek, praifed 
both by Priny and Gaten, is faid, not 
only to have written many volumes con- 
cerning plants, but to have had a garden at 
Rome, in which, Puiiny relates, that Cas- 
Tor, at upwards of an hundred years of 
age, demonftrated plants, and taught. him 
to diftinguith feveral rare and ufeful fpe- 
ics, 

The utility of thefe inftitutions are felf- 
evident. By public gardens, medicinal 
plants are at the command of the teacher 
in every leflon. By private ones, the eye, 
and the tafte of the opulent and {cientific 
owner, is perpetually gratified with the 
fucceflion of curious, {carce, and exotic 
luxuries ; in comparing the doubtful fpecies, 
and examining them through all the ftages 
of growth, with thofe to which they are 
allied. Add to which, that all thefe ad- 
vantages are accumulated ina thoufand ob- 

3 ge | jects 


$4 CHAP Tee 2, 
jets at the fame time. The firft public 
inftitution of this kind, in more modern 
times, was that of Padua by the Venetians, 
iN, thie “year 5 9 9 Lucas Gurnus, the 
firft public profeffor of Botany in Europe, 
was a ftrenuous promoter of the fame de- 
figns ; and by his influence procured ' the 
eftablifhment of a garden at Bologna, in 
1647, where Turner himfelf imbibed 
much of that knowledge, which afterwards 
gave him fuch pre-eminence in his own 

country. - “ 
Among the earlieft private gardens of the 
fame kind, was that of Eurrcius Corpus, 
the difciple of the yenerable Lzonicenus, 
and of Mawnarpbus, two of the firft com- 
mentators who difplayed true Botanical 
criticifm, on the works of the antients. 
CorpDuUsS fhewed himfelf afterwards worthy 
of fuch mafters. In his Botanologicon, print- 
édin1 5 34, he mentions his own garden, and 
‘that of Norpecius at Café/. About the 
fame time there were feveral opulent pa- 
trons of this fcience in Italy, Germany, and 
France, who followed this example. Ges- 
NER conftructed a garden at Zurich in 
. 1500 § 


Botanical Gardens. oe 


1560; the firft of the kind in Switzerland. 
He not only delineated plants himfelf, but 
maintained, at his own expence, a draughtf- 
man and engraver, for the fame purpofes. 
TURNER appears to have had a garden for 
rare plants, even during his refidence ‘at 
Cologn. In England he records the garden 
of the duke of Somerfet, at Sion Houfe, of 
which he feems to have had the direc- 
tion; and, at a later period, as hath been 
before obferved, mentions alfo his own at 
Wells, 


E4 CHAP. 


wo 


- ( 30°) 


€ HA P. 6. 


Turner — Anecdotes of his life — Account of his 
writings preceding the Herbal—His Herbal : 

the firft original book of Botany, publifbed in 
England—m account of that work—Contem- 
porary Botanifis mentioned by TuRNER, as 
Falconer, Wooton, Merdy, Clement — Tur- 
ner's book on baths—Turner not fufficiently ap- 
preciated by fucceeding Botanifis. — ) 


TURNER. 


a HE hiftory of Englith Botany to this 
period, from its imperfect, and even 
barbarous ftate, may perhaps not unaptly 
be confidered as the fabulous age of the 
{cience among us. But we are now arrived 
at the true Era of its birth in England, 
I cannot call it the reftoration, fince this 
nation, like Jfa/y in the flourifhing ftate 
of Rome, had never been enlightened by the 
writings of Greece. It was much later be- 
fore the works of thofe fages reached this 
kingdom. Manufcript copies of the PaTREs 
BoTanici, as hath been before obferved, 
in were 


Turtier. 87 


were exceedingly rare; and the language 
itfelf in which they are written, had made 
{mall progrefs in England. 

On this head, indeed, my fources of in- 
formation are very narrow; as far as they 
reach, I am not able to find, that one ma- 
nufcript of THEOPHRASTUs exifted at this 
period, in any of the public libraries of 
England. Of DioscorineEs, there are two 
MSS. in the Bodleian, N° 3637, which bear 
the title of “* De Herbarum Natura et Vir- 
futibus, cum Iconibus elegantibus.”’ And in 
the fame collection, N° 840, an Arabic 
verfion of the five books, cum Nominibus @ 
Thoma Hyde adjeétis, Of Priny, there is 
faid to be an entire copy in Bahol library, 
N° 279; an imperfect one, of eighteen 
books only, in the Norfolk collection, N* 
2996 ; and an epitome, in oe) ees 
Cambridge, N° 459. 

Even of the works of Hippocrates, 
{carcely any were known except his pho- 
rifms and Prognoftics ; and Linacre firft 
made the Englith phyficians acquainted 
with GALEN. But to return; the true Era 
of pera in England, muft commence 

with 


58 CH A'P/yeR” c. 


with Dr. William TURNER, who was un- 
queftionably the earlieft writer among us, 
that aifcovered learning and critical judg- 
ment in the knowledge of plants; and 
whofe ** Book of Herbs,’ as Dr. Bur- 
LEYN obferves, ‘ will always grow green, 
‘¢ and never wither as long as Diofcorides is 
‘* held in mind by us mortal wights.” But, 
before I turn my attention to TuRNER, 
I will remark, that, in an interval of 
thirty-four years between the firft edition 
of “© The Grete Herbal,” in 1516, and that 
of TURNER, in 1550, J have it not in my 
power to refer to any publication on my 
fubject, in the Englith tongue. That there 
were tranflations of feveral of the writers of 
the middle ages, has been noticed. Among 
thofe, on the continent, there were {feveral 
by whofe means Betany made a rapid pro- 
grefs. The principal were BRUNSFELSIUS, 
Evuricius Corpus, Rue iuius, Valerius 
Corpus, Fucusius, and above all Ges- 
NER, who, pofflefling a genius and induf- 
try, almoft unparalleledin thefe {tudies, com- 
prehended this rifing branch of knowledge, 
with a more expanded view than any of his 

| predeceflors, 


Turner. 69 


predeceffors, and extended its bounds beyond 
the limits, which, till that time, Materia 
Medica alone, had prefcribed to it. But 
Gesner’s talents, though in Botany they 
were original, were ftill more confpicuous 
in his knowledge of the animal kingdom, 
in which, his writings will long be valued 
and efteemed, by thofe efpecially, who, 
without painful refearches, would fee an- 
tient literature in a concentrated view. I 
fpeak not of his abilities as a philologitt 
and critic, in which characters he held a 
diftinguifhed place. But to proceed, 
WIELIAM TURNER was born at Mor- 
peth in Northumberland, and educated at 
Pembroke college, Cambridge, under the 
patronage and affiftance of Sir Thomas 
Wentworth. I find hima ftudent of that 
college about the year 1538, where he ac- 
quired great reputation for his learning. He 
applied himfelf to philofophy and phyfie, 
and early difcovered an inclination to the 
ftudy of | plants, and a with to be well ac- 
quainted with the Materia Medica of the 
antients. 
Hie complains of the little affiftance he 
could 


60 CH A Pogi@ir os. 


could receive in thefe purfuits. ‘ Being 
«* yet a {tudent of Pembroke hall, whereas 
“I could learn never one Greke, neither 
‘‘ Latin, nor Englifh name, even amongtt 
** the phyficians, of any herbe or tree : fuch 
‘** was the ignorance at that time; and as 
** yet there was no Englifh Herbal, but one 
“© all full of unlearned cacographies and 
‘* falfely naming of herbes.” 

At Cambridge, "TURNER imbibed the 
principles of the reformers, and afterwards, 
agreeably to the practice of many others, 
united, to the character of the phyfician, that 
of the divine. He became a preacher, tra- 
velling into many parts of England, and © 
propagated, with fo much zeal, the caufe 
of the reformation, that he excited perfe- 
cution from Bifhop Gardimer. He was 
thrown into prifon, and detained a confi- 
derable time. On his enlargement, he fub- 
mitted to voluntary exile, during the re- 
mainder of the reign of Henry VIII, 

This banifhment proved favourable ta 
his advancement in medical and botanical 
ftudies ; he refided at Baf/, at Stra/burgh, 
at Bonn ; but principally at Cologn, with 


Turner. 61 


tnany other Englith refugees. He dwelt 
for fome time at Wieffenburgh ; he travelled 
‘into Italy, and took the degree of Do&tor 
of Phyfic at Ferrara. As, at this period, 
the learned were applying with great affi- 
duity to the iluftration of the antients, it 
was a fortunate circumftance to Dr. Tur- 
NER, that he had an opportunity of attend- 
ing the lectures of Lucas Guinus, at Bo- 
logna, of whom he fpeaks in his ** Herbal” 
with great fatisfaction ; and frequently cites 
his authority againft other commentators. 
GHINUs was the firft who erected a fepa- 
rate profefforial chair for Botanical fcience; 
from whence he gave lectures on Drosco- 
RIDES, which he continued for twenty- 
eight years with great applaufe. He pro- 
cured the phyfic-garden to be founded at 
Bologna, to demonftrate the plants he {poke 
_ of. He was the preceptor of CHsaLpi- 
Nus and ANGUILLARA, who became two 
of the foundeft critics in the knowledge of 
plants, that the age produced. Turner 
refided a confiderable time at Baf/, from 
which place he dates the dedication of his 
book “On the Baths of Exgland and 


ee Germany.” 


62 CHARMER £: 


-*© Germany.” During his refidence in Swit= 
zerland, he contratted a friendfhip with 
-GESNER, and afterwards kept up a corre- 
{pondence with him. 

GersNneER had a high opinion of Tur- 
NER, as appears by the following paflage 
-in his book De Herbis Lunarus, printed 
Amo nigggecet* Ante cannot 16, aut .circiter 
_cum Anghcus ex Italia rediens, me falutaret 
(TurNERUs) és fuerit vir excellentis tum in 
re medica tum altis plerifque difciplinis doc- 
tring, aut alius quifpiam vix fatis memini, 
TER 

At the acceflion of Edward VI. he re- 
turned to Exgland, was incorporated Doc- 
_tor of Phyfic at Oxford, appointed Phyfi- 
_cian to Edward Duke of Somerfet, and, as 
a divine, was rewarded with a Prebend of 
York, a Canonry of Windjor, and the Deane- 
_ty of Wells. He {peaks of himfelf in the 
othird part of his Herbal, when treating on 
the Jerba Britannica, which he took ‘to be 
the Biftort, as having been phyfician to the 
Erle of Embden, Lord of Eaft Prief- 
land.” In-15%1 he publithed the firft part 
_ of his hiftory of plants, which he dedicat- 
eae ed 


Turner. 63 
ed to. the duke, his patron. His zeal in 
the caufe of the reformation, which he had 
amply teftified by feveral religious traéts, 
induced him to retreat to the continent, 
during the whole reign of Mary. At her 
deceafe, Queen ELIZABETH reinftated him 
in all his church preferments. In the de- 
dication of the compleat edition of his 
St. dierbal,’’to the queen, in. 1568) safter 
complimenting her majefty on account of 
her fkill in the Latin language, and the 
fluency with which fhe converfed in it, he 
acknowledges with gratitude, her. favours in 
reftoring him to his benefices, and in other 
ways protecting him from troubles ; hav- 
ing, at four feveral times, granted him the 
great feal for thefe purpofes. He feems to 
have divided his time between his deanery, 
where he had a Botanical garden, of which 
frequent mention is made in his ‘* Her- 
bal,” and -his houfe in Crutched Friers, 
London. He alfo fpeaks ‘of his garden at 
Kew. From the repeated notices he takes 
of the plants in. Purbeck, and-about- Port- 
Jand, 1 fhould fuppofe he muft have had 
fome intimate connedtions in Dorfetfhire. 

1B, ¥ 


64 CHAPEER é. 


Dr. Turner died July 7, 1568, a few 
months after the publication of the laft part 
of his ** Herbal.” He left feveral children: 
his fon Peter was educated to phyfic, tra~ 
velled, and took degrees abroad; was incor= 
porated doctor at Cambridge, and at Oxford ; 
and died aged 72, in 1614; but I do not 
find that he inherited his father’s turn to 
Botany. 
| "Turner’s firft work on the fubjec& of 
plants, if BumaLDwvs is not miftaken, was 
printed at Co/ogn, under the title of ““Hiforia 
de Naturis Herbarum Scholis et Notzs vallata.” 
Colon. apud Gymnicum 1544. 8°. Bumaldus 
is the only writer, in whom I find any 
mention of this book; and I fufped, it 
was not republithed in England. It was 
followed by a {mall volume under the title 
of ** NAMES oF HERBEs, in Greek, Latin, 
Englifh, Dutch, and French.” Lond. 12°. 
1548. This nomenclator is, I believe, be- 
come very {carce; fince it has not yet found 
its way into the copious and magnificent 
collection of Sir ‘fofeph Banks. 

Dr. TURNER’s knowledge in natural Be 
tory was not confined to Botany ; his earlieft 

publication 


Turner. 65 


publication appears to have been, a treatife 
on birds, under the following title : 

“© Avium precipuarum quarum apud Phnti- 
um ct Ariftotelem mentio eft brevis et fuccind a 
hiftoria, ex optimis quibufque fcriptoribus con- 
texta. Schoho idluftrata et aucta. Adjecits 
nominibus Grecis, Germanicis, et Britannicis.” 
Colonie 1543. 8. Not having feen this 
volume, I can only fay, that TURNER is 
mentioned by his friend GrsnER, in re- 
fpectful terms, as an ornithologift. ** 4vium 
quidem nomina et naturas ante nos et pauct et 
breviter attigerunt ex quibus Gyb. Longohus 
Germanus, et Guhelmus ‘TURNER daglis 
virt dotlifimi precipuam merentur laudem.” 
Gefn. Pref. ad Avium iff. TuRNeER alfo 
contributed to enrich GESNER’s mufeum 
(the firft colle@ion of that kind,) with na- 
tural curiofities, which he fent from Eng- 
land. To which I add, that Dr. MerRRET 
gives the following teftimony to the worth of 
‘TURNER, in the Preface to his ** Pinax :” 
“© Confului in quibufdam Turner nofra= 
tem inter viros fue e@tatis exercitatifimum 
gui librum de avibus edidit mole parvum at 
judicio majorem.” 


VoL. F, , F Prefixed 


66 cr eee 6. 


Prefixed to the third volume of the 
Frankfort edition of GESNER’s” Hiftorta 
Animahum, in 1620, we find a letter from 
Dr. TuRNER, relating to the Englith fithes; 
which fufficiently proves, that he had no 
inconfiderable degree of knowledge in that 
part of zoology. He makes an apology for 
the imperfections of it, as being written from 
memory, and at a diftance from all his notes 
and obfervations. It confifts of three pages, 
in which he has briefly defcribed more than 
fifty fpecies; and it feems to be intended 
principally to give GesNeR information on 
the Englith names, which TurNneER has 
carefully noted, and often added the pro- 
vincial appellations. He takes in both fea 
and river fifth, and includes alfo the fcal- 
lop and the cockle. This letter was writ- 
ten from Weiffenburgh, and is dated Nov. 1, 
3557. He undoubtedly purfued this branch 
of zoology much farther; fince it appears 
from his dedication to the queen, that he 
intended ‘* to fet out a book of the names 
*¢ and natures of the fithes of her majefty’s 
&¢ realms.” 

But the work which fecured his reputa~ 
tion to pofterity, and entitled him to the 

character 


Turner. 67 


character of an original writer on that fub- 


ject, in England, is his ‘* Hiftory of Plants,” 
printed at different times, in three parts, in 
folio, with cuts. The firft at London, in 
1s51, under this title, “ A NEw Her- 
‘* BALL, wherein are contayned the names 
“* of herbes in Greeke, Latin, Englifh, Duch, 
«< Frenche, and in the Potecaries and Herba- 
*‘ries Latin, with the properties, degrees, 
- *fand natural places of the fame gathered. 
**For Steven Mierdman.” Lond. 1551. 
The fecond part at Colgn, 1562, during 
his exile in the reign of Mary. With this 
was reprinted the firft part; and his ‘* Book 
“on the Bathes of Englandand Germany.” 
In 1568 thefe were reprinted, with the 
addition of the third part, which bears the 
following title: “ The third part of W" 
TURNER'S HERBAL, wherein are contain- 
ed the herbes, rootes, and fruytes, whereof 
is no mention made of Dzofcorides, Galene, 
_ Plinye, and other oldauthors. Imprinted at 
Collen, by Arnold Birckman, in the year of 
our Lord 1566.” ‘The dedication, how- 
ever, to the company of furgeons, is dated 
from Wells, June 24, 1564. 
E2 Dr. 


é§ CHAS Wet £. 


Dr. TuRNER’s ‘* Herbal” is printed in 
the black letter, agreeably to the general 
ufage of the times, and is embellifhed with 
the figures of moft of the plants he de. 
{cribes. 

The arrangement ts alphabetical, accord- 
ing to the Latin names; and, after the de- 
{cription, he frequently f{pecifies the places 
of growth. He is ample in his difcrimina- 
tion of the fpecies, as his great object was, 
to afcertain the Materia Medica of the an- 


cients, and of DroscoRIDEs in particular, 


throughout the vegetable kingdom. To this 
end he beftows much criticifm on the com- 
mentaries of Fucusius, Tracus, MaT- 
TH1oLUus, and other of his contemporaries ; 
and profefies to have corrected many of their 
miftakes, in the application of the names 
ef DioscoriDESs. Inall this he has fhewn 
much judgment, and, I may add, much 
moderation, in avoiding, more than ufual, 
the licence taken by many of the commen- 


tators, of applying the names of plants de-. 


{cribed in THEoPHR AS TUS, DicscoRIDES, 
and Piiny, to thole of the weftern parts 
of Europe. What he fays of the virtues of 


plants, 


Turners, 69 


plants, he has drawn from the ancients ; 
but has, in numberlefs inftances, given his 
epinion of their qualities, in oppofition to 
_thofe fages, and recorded his own experi~ 
ence of the virtues. He no where takes 
any doubtful plants upon truft, but appears 
to have examined them with all the preci- 
fion ufually exercifed at a time when me- 
thod, and principles now eftablifhed, were 
unthought of ; every where comparing them 
with the defcriptions of the antients and 
moderns. He firft gave names to many 
Englith plants; and, allowing for the time 
when fpecifical diftin@ions were not efta- 
blithed, when almoft all the fmall plants 
were difregarded, and the Cryprogamia almotft 
wholly overlooked, the number he was 
acquainted with, is much beyond what 
could eafily have been imagined, in an ori- 
ginal writer on his fubjec. 
The third part of his ‘* Herbal,” dated 
_ from Welles, June 24, 1 564, he dedicates to 
the company of furgeons; and apologizes 
for its imperfections: ** Being fo much 
** vexed with ficknefs, and occupied with 
*f preaching, and the ftudy of divinity, and 
3 €*" exerciie 


70 CHAPIER 5. 


‘* exercife of difcipline, I have had but 
‘¢ fmall leifure to write Herballes.” 

In this part, he profeffes to treat on the 
plants not known to DroscoriDEs and the 


antients. It confifts of near an hundred 


articles, among which we find introduced 
many of the exotic fubjeats, which had be- 
fore been but little known; fuch as cafia 
jiftula, cubebs, guaiacum, nutmegs, myroba- 
lans, nux indica, nux vomica, anacardium, 
rhubarb, farfaparilla, fenna, and tamarinds. 
For thefe, many new figures were cut, 
which are executed in a ftile fuperior to 
the others. The remainder are principally 
the productions of our own country. | 
Thecompleat edition of TURNER’s *‘ Hers 
bal,” in 1568, was printed at Colgn, un- 
queftionably to receive the advantage of the 
figures, probably at that time the property 
of Birkman the printer. They are the fame 
with which the o€tavo edition of Fucustus 
was firft printed in 1545; in all five hun. 
dred and twelve. Of thefe, TuRNER has 
ufed upwards of four hundred ; to which he 
has added about ninety new, making the 
whole number five hundred and two. 
There 


Turner. vA! 


There are fome inftances of the wrong ap- 
plication of thefe figures; an error that 
might readily happen, when the author was 
at fuch a diftance, and was common in al- 
mott all fimilar works of that time. There 
are alfo feveral figures to which no defcrip~ 
tion of the plants can be found; for in- 
ftance, the fix fi gures of the Geraniums from 
Fucustius occur, with a flight mention of 
only two {pecies in the text. 

TurRNER is the firft author who has 
given a figure of the Lucern ; which, I ap- 
prehend, he firft brought into England, and 
named Horned Chver. He treats largely 
of its-.cultivation, from, Puiny,,PALLa- 
pilus, and CoLUMELLA: 

In the dedication to the firft edition of 
his “ Herbal,” in tost, Dr. Turner 
{peaks in very refpectful terms of the bo- 
tanical knowledge of feveral of his con- 
temporaries ; and apologizes for his under- 
taking fo arduous a matter, while there were 
learned Englifhmen better qualified. He 
enumerates Dr. CLemENT, Dr. MeRpy, 
Owen Wooton, and Mafter FaLtconer. 

Fr 4 The 


~ ats 


Wie CHA PYNER ¢, 


. “The laft-mentioned is feveral times introdu- 
ced in the body of the work. I can fcarcely 
doubt that he was ‘fobn Fartconer, who 
is recorded as having communicated many 
Englith plants to AmMaTus LusiTAnus, 
who taught phyfic at Ferrara and Ancona, 
and made himfelf known as a commentator 
on DioscoRIDEs in1553. In treating on 
the Glaux, of which TuRNER gives a new 
figure, he fays, ‘‘ He never faw it in Eng- 
“<< Jand, except in Matter Fa/coner’s book ; 
‘* and that he brought it from Ivaly.” From 
- this and other like citations, it may reafon- 
ably be conjectured, that “ F alconer’s Book” 
was an Hortus Siccus; and if fo, muft have 
been among the earlieft collections of that 
kind, that is noticed in England. 

In appreciating the merit of Dr. Tur- 
NER as a Botanift, due regard muft be had 
to the time in which he lived; the little 
affiftance he could derive from his contem- 
poraries, of whom, BRUNSFELSIUS, RUEL- 
Lius, Fucustus, and Tracus, when he 
publifhed his firft part of the “ Herbal,” 
were the chief ; in which view, he will ap- 


pear 


Turner. hig ¥) 


Lod 


‘pear to have exhibited uncommon diligence 
and great erudition, and fully to deferve the 
character of an original writer. 

Our author paid early attention to mine- 
ral waters. He was provably the firft who 
wrote on the baths of Bath, in Somerfet- 
fore. He vifited feveral of the mineral 
{fprings in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy; 
and drew up, whilft abroad, a fhort account 
of ten of thofe waters; to which he pre- 
fixed a more enlarged hiftory of the waters 
of Bath. ‘This was written, as it fhould 
feem, at Ba//, and is dedicated to his ** well- 
** beloved neighbours of Bath, Briflow, Wells, 
* Winfam, and Charde,’ March 10, 1557. 
He adjudged the principle of Bath water 
to be brimftone, and poffibly a little copper, 
from the vicinity of that metal in the neigh- 
bouring mountains. He fays, he had been 
informed, that, befides brim{tone, the King’s 
bath held alum, and the Crofs bath falt- 
petre ; but that he could find neither. He 
concludes his account of the baths, by a fet 
of general rules for all who drink mineral 
waters; many of which ‘do him no difcre- 

dit, 


74 CH A'P.2.R x 


dit, when compared with the injunctions of 
modern phyficians. 

Our author alfo wrote ** On the Nature 
‘© of Wines commonly ufed in England,” 
in vindication of the ufe of Rhenith wines. 
To this was annexed a tract “ On the Na- 
* ture and Vertue.of Treacle.” But, as J 
never faw thefe treatifes, I can Give NO ac~ 
count of them. : 

Dr. TuRNER was the author of many 
polemical and religious treatifes, chiefly 
written in defence of the Reformation. Of 
thefe, a liflis given in the Athenee Oxonten= 
fes, and a more accurate and enlarged one 
in Buhop Tanner’s Bibliotheca. Several 
of his tracts are yet in manufcript, in vari- 
ous libraries. He collated the tranflation 

of the Bible with Hebrew, Greek, and La- 
tin copies, and corrected it in many places. 

He procured to be printed at Antwerp, 
a new and corrected edition of the Hi/foria 
Gentis nofira, {, Anghe, written by Willam 
of Newburgh, from a manufcript he found 
in the library of We//s; but complains, that 
the printer not only omitted to infert cer- 

tain 


} 


Turner. 78 


fain articles fent by him, but left out the 
preface he fent him, fubftituting one of his 
own. Our author alfo tranflated feveral 
works from the Latin, particularly “« The 
* Comparifon of the Old Learning and 
‘< the New ;” written by Urédanus Regius. 
Southwark. 1537. 8°; and again 1538 
and 1548. 

I will not conclude this fhort memoir of 
Dr. TurNeER, without remarking, that the 
fucceeding Herbalifts, GzRarp, JouN- 
sON, and PARKINSON, feem not to have 
paid due honour to his merit and learn- 
ing, from the filence they obferve rela- 
ting to him in their writings. GERARD, 
indeed, mentions in his Preface, ‘* that ex- 
€¢ cellent work of mafter Dr. TuRNeER;”’ 
and, in another place, files him <* that ex- 
‘** cellent, painefull, and diligent phyfition, 
<oMr’ Dr. “FURNER, ‘of -late: memorie.”’ 


on juttice to TURNER, they fhould have 


noticed all the plants he has recorded, par- 

ticularly the natives of England. 
Ray, at the diftance of near a century, 
was fenfible of his worth, having ftiled 
| him 


“6 , €H APR g; 


him ‘* a man of folid erudition and judg 
Somicnt*. 


* In honour of Turwer, his name has been annex. 
ed, by Plumier, the French Botanift, to a hew genus of 
plants, well known at this time in the Englith gardens. 
It was firlt difcovered by SLoaws, in amatca, and des 
fcribed by him under the title of Cifus Urtice faliog 


CHA, Ps 


Wyre 


CHA PG. 


Dr. Bulleyn—Anecdotes of bis life—His Herbal; 
or Book on Simples—His Defence of the Fertility 
of England. 

Dr. Thomas Penny: Short Anecdotes of — The 

friend and correfpondent of Gelner, Clufius, and 

Camerarius. 


Maplet—Morning. 


= 


51 8 i en Ns | 


Ontemporary with Turner lived Dr. 
Wilham. BuLLEYN. Although this 
writer does not come firictly within my 
plan; yet, as he lived at a period bar- 


ren of interefting materials, and, as we: 


learn from him feveral curious anecdotes 
re{pecting natural hiftory and the ftate of 
gardening in England at that period, he 
cannot be paffed over in filence. 

Bifhop Tanner briefly notices Dr. But- 
LEYN, and his writings; but his life is 
amply written in the Brgraphia Britannica, 
to which I muft principally be indebted for 


my information, 


‘He 


78 CHA P’MeR. 6. 


He was born in the Ifle of E/y, in the 


early part of Henry the Eighth’s reign, and 
was educated at Cambridge, though, as Wood 
fays, he afterwards refided fome time at 


Oxford. It appears that he had travelled. 


over feveral parts of Germany ; that he vifit- 
ed Scotland, and had taken many tours in 
his native country ; in all which, he ftudied 


the natural productions with a zeal and. 


fuccefs not common in that age. In an 
early period of his life, he was much con- 
verfant about the city of Norwich. In June 
1550, he was inflituted to the rectory of 
Blaxball, in Suffolk, where his relations re- 
fided. This preferment he refigned in 
1564. Where he tock the degree of doc- 
tor in phyfic, is not afcertained ; but, from 
his prior attachment to phyfic, his known 
oppofition to the doctrine of Tranfubftan- 
tiation, and the refignation of his living in 
the beginning of Mary’s reign, it may be 
fairly conjectured, that he did not take his 
devrees in that faculty till after that period, 
and probably abroad. After this, we find 
him removed to the city of Durham, where 
he practifed phyfic, and became poffefied of 

| | property 


me 


Bulleyn. 79 


property in the falt-pans, near Tiamouth 
Caftle. On the death of his patron, Sir 
Thomas Hilton, he removed to London, 
where he became a member of the college of 
phyficians, and acquired reputation as a 
phyfician, and a man of learning. ‘This 
event took place about the year 1560. He 
had the misfortune to lofe great part of 
his library, with his manufcript upon 
** Healthfull Medicines,” by fhipwreck ; 
and after this difafter, met with moft un- 
juft and malevolent treatment, from a bro- 
ther of Sir Thomas Hilton, by whom he 
was accufed of having murdered his late 
patron, who died, in fact, of a malignant 
fever. And although his innocence was 
fully manifeited, yet his enemy perfifting 
further in his perfecution, found means to 
throw him into prifon, for debt, where he 
wrote a great part of his medical treatifes. 
He died Jan. 7, 1576. He appears to have 
been much attached to the principles of the 
reformation. Bifhop Tanner fays he was 
a man of acute judgment and true piety. 
Tam not acquainted with any print of 
Dr. Turner. Of Dr. Butieyn there is 
| ea a profile 


Sau CH Pie R (6. 


a profile with a long beard, before hig 
«Government of Health,’ and a ‘whole 
length of him in wood prefixed to the 
<¢ Bulwarke of Defence;” which book is a 
collection of moit of his works. He was an 
anceftor of the late Dr. SruxeLy, who, in 
1722, was at the expence of having a fmall 
head of him engraved. 

The part of his works; which has the 
neareft connection with my fubjedt, is in 
his ‘* Bulwark of Defence,” in fol. 1562. 

it is entitled, “‘ A Book of Simples, be- 
‘ing an HerBat in the form of a dia- 
“logue, at the end of waich are the cuts. 
*‘ of fome plants in wood.” In this piece 
he obferves, that. ¢ormenti, in paftures, 
prevents the rot in fheep; and adds, that 
the fact was confirmed by the fhepherds in 
fundry parts of Norfolk. In his enumera- 
tion of the virtues of fimples, from other 
authors, he does not fail to Rey” his own 

inact on the power of feveral, in re- 
moving fevere difeafes. Of the effects of Dit- 
tander, calamus aromaticus, the Daify, and 
others, he adduces particular inftances. It 
were to be wifhed, that fucceeding obferva- 

tions, 


Bulleyn. 81 


tions, had confirmed his reprefentation. 
His travels, and the great attention he had 
paid to the native productions of his own 
country, had given him a comprehenfive . 
view of the natural fertility of the foil, and 
climate of Exgland which, from the te- 
nour of his writings, feems to have been, at 
that time, by fome people much depreci- 
ated. He oppofes this idea with patriotic 
zeal and concern, and alleges various ex- 
amples, to prove, that we had excellent 
apples, pears, plums, cherries, and hops, 
of our own growth, before the impor- 
tation of thefe articles into England by the 
London and Kentifb gardeners, but that 
the culture of them had been greatly ne-. 
glected. He endeavours to confirm the na- 
tural fertility of the land, from the memor- 
able inftance of the fea peafe, on the beach, 
near Orford and <Aldborough; by an im- 
_ menfe crop of which the poor were pre- 
ferved in a time of dearthy in the year Igc5. 
Of which fee further accounts in ‘fohufon’s 
GERARD, p.1250; PARKINSON’s © Thea~ 
‘tre,’ p. 1060; and Loper’s Iuftra- 
tiones, p. 164. : 

Mou. I. G To 


S2 CHAPTER 6. 


To conclude, Dr. Bulleyn’s {pecific 
knowledge of Botany feems to have been 
but flender. His zeal for the promotion of 
the ufeful arts of gardening, the general 
culture of the land, and the commercial in- 
tereits of the kingdom, deferved the higheft 
praife, and for the information he has left 
of thefe affairs, in his own time, pofterity 
owe him acknowledgments. 

Although the progrefs of gardening does 
not enter into my plan, yet [ am tempted, 
in this place, to remark, that, notwith- 
ftanding culinary herbs and roots, and many 
fruits, are faid to have been imported in the 
reign of Henry the Exghth, from Holland 
and France; and that the true «ra of im- 
provement in this art, cannot be carried, at 
the moft remote time, beyond the fame 
_ reign, yet it may juftly be doubted, whether 
it was then in fo low a flate as hath been 
ufually reprefented. With other arts, in 
its progreflion weftwards, that of Horticul- 
ture muft be fuppofed to have reached the — 
Low Countries and France, before England ; 
and a general, and prior fuperiority to our 
neighbours may be granted; and that a 


fafhion, 


Bulleyn and Penny. $3 


fafhion, and a too great fondnefs for ra 
rities of foreign growth, might influence 
the London market, of which the {pirit of 
commerce would not fail to take advan- 
tage, muft likewife be admitted. But, to 
the arguments and proofs alledged by Dr. 
BuLLEYN, in defence of the fertility of 
his native foil, and the perfection of our 
own products ; and, as a proof of the fuc- 
cefsful cultivation of thofe times, I add, 
that from an infpection of our old Herbals, 
and particularly of PARKINsoN’s Paradi- 
» fus, we find the various f{pecies of culinary 
herbs, roots, and of fruits, multiplied in 
England to {uch a variety, as implies a pre- 
ceding courfe of culture carried on for a 
feries of time, inconfiftent with that po- 
verty of produce which hath been fur- 
mifed. | 


PENNY, 


Having introduced to the reader, the two 
firft refpe@table writers on Botany in Exg- 
and, I cannot but regret my want of fuf- 
ficient information, to refcue from an al- 
-moft total obfcurity, the name of Dr. 
G2 Thomas 


o4 CHA PAG ER 6. 


Thomas Penny, an Englifhman of the fame 
age; who, although not an author himéelf, 
was indubitably a man of great attainments 
in the natural hiftory, and efpecially in the 
Botany, of his time. GERARD ftiles him 
“© A fecond Diofcorides, for his fingular 
“« Knowledge in plants.” I cannot afcertain 
the date of his birth. It appears that he 
was a fellow of the royal college of phyii- 
cians, and that he had travelled into vari- 
ous parts of Europe. He had refided. in 
Switzerland, and had vifited, if not made 
fome ftay in, the ifland of Majorca. ‘That 
he had diligently fearched both the northern 
and fouthern parts of Exg/and is manifett, 
from the variety of rare plants difcovered 
by him, and communicated to LoBEL and 
GERARD. He was perfonally known ta 
GresneR and CAMERARIUS, and after- 


wards frequently fupplied them with rare 


plants, for their refpective Herbaria and 
gardens. 


During his refidence in Switzerland, he 
collected many plants of that country, and 


from the confines of France. He affifted 
GESNER, as appears by his obfervations 
and. 


————S— ee 


Penny. 85 


and animadverfions on that author’s tables, 
publifhed by ScumMrepeEx from the col- 
leGtions of TREW, in 1753, in which the 
moft honourable teftimony is given to his 
abilities. I fufpect he was in Switzerland, 
at the time of GesneR’s death, and affift- 
ed Wo tr in arranging the plants, and me- 
morials of their deceafed friend. | 

There can be no doubt that PENNy and 
Cxiusius were alfo perfonally acquainted. 
They appear to have had a ftri€@t intimacy, 
and the latter was obliged to PENNY fora 
variety of curious articles inferted in his 
Rarwres, and in the Exotice. Dr. PENNY 
brought from Majorca the hypericum ba- 
learicum, which CLusius named muyrto- 
ciftus PENN #1 after him, as he did a gen- 
tian, now the /wertia percnnis. "The fame of 
the geranium tuberofum. The cornus her- 
bacea, that beautiful native of the Cevior 
hills, was firit revealed to the curious by 
- this induftrious naturalift. 

Dr. Penny's acquirements in natural 
hiftory extended beyond the knowledge of 
plants. He is one of the firft Enelifhmen 
whom I have met with, who had ftudied 

G 3  Hnteetss 


86 CH AREER» 6. 


infects. There are letters witten by him 
to CAMERARIUS, in the year 158s, 
preferved in Trew’s collections, which 
prove his knowledge in entomology, to have 
been extenfive in that day: and it is 
fuppofed by ScHMIEDEL, that GESNER’s 


drawings of Papzlio’s, pafled into the hands 


of Penny. ‘This fuppofition is rendered 
more probable, when it is recollected, that 
the Theatrum Infeciorum of Mouret, was 
a work begun by Dr. Edward Wooton, 
Conrade GESNER, and Dr. Penny, and 
received only the finifhing hand from Mov- 
FET. . 

Dr. Penny died in 1589, and is faid by 
JuncERMAN to have left his papers to 
MovretT and Turner; but, in this ac- 
count there is furely a very ftriking ana- 
chronifm, fince TuRNER himfelf died in 
the year 1568. 


MAPLET. 


‘fohn MAPLET, matter of arts, of Cam- 
bridge, publithed in the year 1567, “ A 
© GREEN Forest; or, Natural Hif- 
* tory ; wherein may be feen, the fove- 


‘ raion 


Maplet and Morning. 87 


“* raign vertues of all kinds of ftones, and 
** metals, Aerbs, trees, beafts, fouls, and 
“* fifhes; 112 leaves, 8°.”’ I have not feen 
Maplet’s book; but from the title of ano- 
ther work of his, ** The Dial of Deftinie ; 
*¢ or, Influence of the Seven Planets over 
«* all Kinds of Creatures here below,” pub- 
lifhed in 1581, it may fairly be  pre- 
fumed, that he was deep in the fancies of 
the aftrologic fect. 


MORNING. 


Between the publication of TuRNER’s 
Herbal, and that of LyTes, I find a book, 
of which, not having feen it, or been able 
to refer to any account, I can only recite the 
title. “* The Treafure of Euonymus by 
** Peter Morninc 3 with wooden cuts, 
** Tmpranted by John Day.” 4°, 1575. 


Ths CHAP, 


(: 88,4) 


CH A P.. 7. 


Lyte—Anecdotes of—Not an original writer in 


Botany--His Herbal a tranflation from Clu- 
fius’s verfion of Dodoens—Small acceffion made 
to Englith Botany by this work. 


OS ais task es 


ENRY Lyte, Efq; of an ancient fa- 
mily, at Lytes-Carey, in Somerfet/bire, 


was the next after TURNER who publifhed 


an Englfh Herbal. We was born in 1529, 
and became a ftudent at Oxford in the lat- 
ter end of Henry VIII. about the year 1546. 
He afterwards travelled; and at length re- 
tired to his patrimony, where, as Wood fays, 
‘ by the advantage of a good foundation 
of literature made in the univerfity and 
abroad, he became a moft excellent {cho- 
Jar in feveral forts of learning.” He was 
the author of various publications of the 
hiftorical kind, which are enumerated in the 
Atbene Oxonienfes, Ke died at the age of 78, 

and 


~” 


aA 


¢ 


&¢ 


6é 


Lyte. : 89 


and was buried at Char/ton-Mackere?, in the 
fame county. He left a fon, who drew up 
a genealogy of Yames I. for which the king 
rewarded him with his picture in gold, fet 
with diamonds ; and the prince, afterwards 
Charles I. gave him alfo his picture in 
gold. 

Although Mr. Lyte. does not rank a- 
mong original writers in Botany, his work 
neverthelefs feems to have been well re- 
ceived. Even the arrangement alone would 
inftantly give it a great advantage over 
Turner’s book. It is profefledly a tranfla- 
tion from the French verfion of the Dutch 
Herbal of DoporENs, written by the au- 
thor in 1553, and tranflated by C/u/us in 
1557; being the firft of his publications. Of | 
Dopoens, it will be neceffary to give fome 
account; but I fhall defer it till I {peak of | 
GERARD, as the improved editions of Do- 
DOENS’s book were the bafis of that au- 
thor’s work. 

The firft edition of Lyrr’s Herbal was 
publifhed at Antwerp. It is printed in the 
black letter, and bears the following title : 

‘* ANIEWE HERBALL, or HIsTORIE OF 

“« PLANTES, 


90 CHAPTER 9. 


‘* PLAN TES,Wherein is contayned the whole 
«¢ difcourfe and perfect defcription of all forts 
©* of herbs and plantes ; their divers and fun- 
°¢ dry kindes ; their ftraunge figures, fathions, 
<‘ and fhapes; their names, natures, and ope- 
‘¢ rations and vertues : and that not only of 
‘< thofe which are here growyng in this our 
“* countrie of Englande, but of all others alfo 
** of forayne realmes, commonly ufed in phy- 
“‘ficke. Firft fet forth in the Doutche or 
«¢ Almaigne tongue, by that learned D. Rem- 
‘¢ bert DoDoENs, phyfition to the emperor ; 
‘and now firft tranflated by 


“* Henry LY TE, Ejquyer. 


«¢ At London, byme, Gerard Dewes. 1578.” 
——-The Colophon, “‘ imprinted at Autwerpe, 
‘© by me, Henry Loe, book-printer.” pp. 
779 : , 

Mr. Lyre dedicates his work to queen 
Elizabeth; and has prefixed the preface and 
appendix in Latin, from DopoENs, or 
Doponzus. The latter of thefe is a col- 
lection from DioscoripEs and CATo, but 
chiefly from Priny, relating to the rife 
and progrefs of botanical and agricultural 

knowledge 


Lyte. OL 
knowledge among the Romans; and in 
commendation of gardens, with rules for 
laying them out, and managing them to 
advantage. 

He has followed his original in dividing 
his fubjects into fix books; and, although 
the general arrangement is confufed, Lyre 
has the merit of having introduced a parti- 
cular order in each chapter, or genus, much 
| fuperior to that of TuRNER ; having di- 
vided the {pecies, defcription, place, time, 
names, nature, and virtues, under thefe fe- 
veral titles, into diftin@ feGions. This ar- 
rangement was adopted by GrerarRp and 
PARKINSON. 

Lyte defcribes one thoufand and fifty 
fpecies, of which eight hundred and feventy 
are figured. ‘The blocks are, I believe, the 
fame with which Cuusius’s own tranfla- 
tion was printed; being, as far as thofe ex- 
tend, copies from the octavo edition of 
Fucusius. Moft of Turner’s figures are 
found in Lyte. The remainder are fuch 
as had been cut for the fubfequent works of 
DopboeENs, and afterwards embellithed the 
Pemptades of that author, and GERARD’S 

hiftory. 


g2 CHA PYTR R 7. 


hiftory. The Englith tranflator added about 
thirty new ones. Among thefe, feveral are 
in a ftyle fuperior to thofe of CLustus and 
GERARD; fuch are particularly, the Sa/via 
Aiithiops ; the Stratiotes aloides; the Rha, 
er Centaurea Rhaponticum ; and others. 

- Some are original: I cite only the Erica 
Tetralix, of which I find no figure prior to 
Lyte’s; that of GeraRp (or, which is the 
fame, of C/ufus) applied to it by Joun- 
soN, being certainly intended to reprefent 
another {pecies, and is accordingly referred 
to the Mediterranea by LinnAUS. 

The firft edition of Lyte is adorned with 
a finely-cut impreffion in wood of Dopo- 
ENS, in the thirty-fifth year of his age; 
and a large engraving of Mr. Lyte’s coat 
of arms. 

This firft edition was undoubtedly printed 
at Antwerp, to receive the advantage of the 
figures. ‘The fubfequent editions, there- 
fore, afterwards printed in Emgland, are 
without figures. It was reprinted, as Ames 
informs us, in 1586, and in 1595; and, 
according to Wood, by Ninion Newton, at 
London, in 1589, in quarto alfo, without 

cuts, 


Lyte. 93 
cuts. . I find editions mentioned, with the 
dates 1600 and 1619, which, if genuine, 
and not in the title-page only, is a proof of 
its popularity; and that it was not fuper- 
feded by the larger work of GERARD in 
1597. SEGUIER even quotes one, fo late 
as the year 1678. 

As in the interval between the. publica- 
tion of Crusius’s French tranflation in 
1557, and the Englith verfion of it by 
LyYTE in 1578, the author had at different 
times compleated the feveral parts of his 
Hiftorte Plantarum, it may be prefumed, 
that Lyre profited by thofe works. From 
fome of the commendatory verfes prefixed, 
it fhould feem, that Dodoens himfelf com- 
municated additions to Lyre. As I have 
not had an opportunity of comparing the 
French verfion of Clufius with Lyre, I 
cannot notice the nature of his alterations, 
or the extent of his additions. The intro- 
duction of the Englifh names was a necef- 
fary augmentation. 

In the mean time, there feems to be no 
ground for the criticifm of THRELKELD ; 
who accufes Lyre of havi ing omitted the 


Pur cantium 


94 | CHAPSER 7. 


Purgentium Hifortiad of Doponaus, of 
which Ly Te appears unqueftionably to have 
introduced the moft material fubjects._ 
Englifh Botany, however, received little 
or no acceffion from Lyte himfelf. It is 
not in more than about twenty inftances, 
that he has even pointed out the local fitu- 
ation of any rare Englifh plants; and, in 
thefe inftances, there is {carcely one, which 
had not been thus /pecijically recorded by | 
TURNER and Lose, before him. 
Hence, I am not able to give Lyte the 
credit, although he lived at fo early a pe- 
riod, of being the firft difcoverer of a fin- 
gle {pecies of rare growth. Yet, as it is 
but juftice to fuppofe him well acquainted 
with all the common plants, fo a large 
number of thefe, which had been unnoticed 
by TuRNER, or are not eafily afcertained 
in his work, will be found firft announced 
to the Enelifh Botanifttin Lyre. I con- 
fefs, however, that it is extremely difficult 
to determine, in a variety of inftances, whe- 
ther the general places of growth, as men- 
tioned in this author, are inferted from his 
own knowledge, or whether they ftand as 
Q tranflated 


| Lyte. 95 
tranflated by him from Cuiusivus. It is this 
doubt that has induced me, not unfre- 


_. quently, to afcribe to GERARD, or JoHN- 


son, the firft knowledge of many common 
plants certainly afcertained by them, that 
occur, neverthelefs, in LyTr’s work. 

This author furnifhes very few obferva- 
tions which tend to illuftrate the ftate of 
the {cience, between the time of TuRNER 
and his own. Nor does he mention, in 
more than one or two inflances, any of his 
contemporaries. Under the article Verba/- 
cum, he {peaks of <* the pleafant garden of 
‘* “tames Champaigne, the deer friende and 
** lover of plantes:’’ but without any infor- 
mation of his charaGer, or place of abode: 
And, under that of Sweet Trefoil, ‘* the 
‘ oarden of maifter Rich.” 


% bat A Po 


Cee ARE ee 


Lobel— Anecdotes of —-Of Flemith extraction, bus 
lived chiefly in England— Travelled with Lord 
Zouch—Entitled Botanift to King James— 
The Adverfaria, written jointly by him and 
Pena—Lobel a learned man, and well verjed 
in the Materia Medica — Englifh Botany 
greatly augmented by bim—Promoters of Bota- 
ny and gardening mentioned by him. 

Newton—His Herbal to the Bible—only a tranfla- 
tion from Lemntius. 


LOBEL. 


ATT HIAS de Lozer, though not 
a native of Brifaim, contributed fo 
largely to the emolument of Englifh Bo- 
tany, that he juftly claims attention in the 
object of this work. Lopez was of Fle- 
mifh extraction, and was born in, 1538 at 
Lifle, where his father was in the profef- 
fion of the law. 
He informs us, that, at the age of fix- 
teen, he was enamoured with the love of 
plants ; 


Lobel, 97 


plants ; and had an unconquerable defire to 
know the names and properties of thofe 
ufed in phyfic. He ftudied at Montpeler, 
under the famous RoNDELETIUS. MDur- 
ing his refidence there, he travelled over 
the fouth of France in fearch of fimples. 
At Nardone he formed a conneétion with 
Peter Pena, whowas jointly concerned with 
him inchis firft work the Adverfaria. On 
leaving France, he extended his refearches 
by travelling over Switzerland, the county 
of Tyrol, {ome parts of Germany, and Italy ; 
and on his return fettled as a phyfician at 
Antwerp, and afterwards at De/fft. He 
was then made phyfician to Wiliam Prince 
of Orange, and to the States of Holland. 
On what occafion he removed into Eng- 
land, or at what period of his life, I cannot 
afcertain. From the circumftance how- 
ever of the 4dverfaria bearing date at Lon- 
don in 1570,.1t fhould feem to have been 
before that time, which opinion is fome- 
what corroborated, by his informing us, 
that Dr. Turner had given him, “ long 
before,” the feeds of the /ea kale. 
_. In England, he obtained the patronage of 
Nox, I. W Lord 


98 CHABRRER, 8. 
Lord Zouch, whom he attended in rsgz, 
in his embaffy to the court of Denmark. 
This tour furnifhed him with further 
means of augmenting his knowledge in 
Botany ; and, through the correfpondence 
he formed there, of introducing into England 
feveral exotic rarities, before that time un- 
known to this country. He had thefuperin- 
tendance of a garden at Hackney, which he 
calls a phyfic-garden, cultivated at the ex- 
pence of his patron. He-was afterwards. 
ftiled Botanift to King ‘ames, as appears 
by the wprimatur to the fecond edition of 
the Adverfaria; and by his own letter 
prefixed toGzRARD’s ‘‘ Herbal.” Whether 
any emolument was annexed to this title, E 
am, unable to decide. He had a daughter 
married to a Mr. ‘fames Cort, who lived 
at Highgate, near Loudon; and. it. is\ pro= 
bable, from the very frequent mention that 
LopeL makes of that place in his laf 
work, the [/ujrationes, that he refided in 
the latter years of his life with his fon-in- 
law. | | : 

He died in 1616, aged 78. There was a- 
printof Lope, but it is very fearce, Lhave 


Lobel: 99 
enly feen it in the collection of the late Mr. 
Gulfion. 

The firft of Loget’s publications, and 
which more eminently agrees with the de- 
fign of this work, as it brought a large ac- 
ceffion to Englifh Botany, was the Sterpzum 
Adverfaria. The profefied intention of this 
work was to inveftigate the Botany and 
materia medica of the antients, and parti- 
cularly of DioscoripEs ; and LoBeL is 
judged to have corrected the errors of 
MaTTHIoLvs, upon that author, in many 
inftances. : 

As Pena was jointly concerned with 
Loser in this work, it is become impof- 
fible, at this time, to affign to each their 
feparate fhare. The firft edition of the 
Adverfaria, dated at London 1570, was 
dedicated to the queen. This dedication 
was omitted in an edition printed at 4x/- 
werp in 1576. Editions bearing date 1571, 
1572, are recorded, but it may be doubted 
whether thefe were more than title-page 
alterations. To that of the whole Adver- 
faria, which bears date London 1605, by 
Purfoot alfo, is prefixed Lozpet’s Animads 

H 2 verfiones 


100 CHAPTER 8. 

verfiones in Rondeletu methodicom Pbharma- 
ceuticam oficinam ; containing 156 pages. 
After this, the title, and a dedication to the 
profeflors at Montpelier, printed by Pur- 


Soot; but the fucceeding firft part of the 4d- 


verfaria, is on a much better paper, and in 
a finer type, and evidently printed by Plontin 
as far as to page 450; to which fucceeds 
one leaf, added in Purfoot’s type, contain- 
ing the account of the Plocamos of Port- 
land, and of the Barnacle, the fabulous 


hiftory of which he relates, without wholly . 


denying it. Then follows, (the pages being 
continued,) the fecond part of the Adver- 
faria, now firft printed by the London 
printer. ‘To which is annexed, Lopet’s 
<¢ Tract on the Balfams, Cinnamon, Caf- 
<* fia,” and various other matters; with a 
fmall treatife on the dropfy, and the e/- 


phantiafis, written by his much reverenced 


mafter RONDELETIUS. 
The fecond edition bears the following 


title, “‘ Dilucide Simphcium Medicamentorum 


explicationes, et STIRPIUM ADVERSARIA, 
perfacilis vefligatio, luculentague accefio ad 
prifcorum, prefertim Diofcoridis et recentiorum 

Materia 


Lobel, 10! 


Materia Medice folidam cagnitionem. Metho- 
do exquifitifima, a notioribus fummifque claf- 
fium generibus ad ultimas ufque fpectes digefta. 
Authoribus PetroPena,etMatthia de LoBer 
medicis. Quibus accefit ALTERA Pars, cum 
prioris Wuftrationibus, cafigationtbus, aucta- 
ris, rartortous Plantis. Seleétioribus remediis, 
fuccts medicatis et metalhicis, medicine thefau- 
ris, optt opiati antidotz, decantatifimigue chy- 
miftarum et germanorum laudani optatt for- 
mulis. Opera et Studio Matthie de Lobel, 
Londint 1605. pp. 549. | 

Accefit Matthie de Lobel, in Rondeletu 
Methodicam Pharmaceuticam animadverfiones 
cum Myret paragraphis. pp. 156.” 

Reprinted at Frankfort in 1651. 

In the execution of this work, there is 
exhibited, I believe, the firft fketch, rude 
as it is, of a natural method of arrange- 
ment; which, however, extends no far- 
ther than throwing the plants into large 
tribes, families, or orders, according to 
‘the external appearance, or habit of the 
whole plant or flower ; without eftablith- 
ing any definitions or characters. ‘The 
whole forms forty-four tribes. Some con- 


Hi, 3 tain 


102 CHAPEeER By 


tain the plants of one, or two modern ges 
‘nera: others many; and fome, it muft be 


confeffed, very incongruous to each other. 
On the whole, they are much fuperior to 


DopoENs’s divifions; and fufficiently tef- 
tify, that the author was fenfible of the 
want of a better arrangement than the mere 
alphabetic order, or that formed from the 

fuppofed qualities, and ufes in medicine. 
At the head of each tribe, or family, he 
prefixes a fynoptical view of all the {pecies 
to be defcribed under it. His method, then, 
is to give the Greek and Latm name; and, 
wherever he can, the name of the genus 
and f{pecies, in German, Dutch, French, 
and Engh/b. ‘Then the defcription of the 
plant, the time of flowering, the country in 
which it grows fpontaneoully; and, in Exg- 
land, he points gut the particular, {pot, 
where fome of the more rare are found: 
Mr. Ray, however, has remarked, that in 
this refpect Lopex has been inaccurate, or 
trufted too much to his memory; fince 
many have been fought for in vain, in the 
fituations he fpecified. Frequent reference 
is made in the margin to the figures in 
| FucHSIUS, 


Lobel. 102 


J 
Fucustvus, MATTHIOLUS, DoDoN #Us, as 
far as p. 200; after which, this affiftance is 
wanting. Lopet’s own figures are fmall, 
and infufficient in many cafes to exprefs the 
habit of the plant, the delineation of which, 
was almoift the extent of the efforts of thofe 
"days. 

Loser having carefully ftudied the an- 
tients, on the Materia Medica; having tra- 
velled much, and feen plants in various 
countries, was enabled to exercife critical 
fill, and to detect numerous errors in the 
difpenfation of fimples, which he does not 
fail to point out. His ftrong attachment to 
the ftudy interefted him powerfully in the 
gnveftigation of new pla ints, and enabled him 
to make large acceffions to knowledge. He 
travelled over various parts of Exgland, and 
difcovered many vegetables before unnoticed. 
He added to the graffes a number of new 
{pecies; and, although his ftile is univer- 
fally condemned as harfh and incorrect, and 
his defcriptions frequently obfcure and in~ 
fufficient, the Aaverfaria | yas, on the whole 
great merit, abounding with much curious 
intelligence, and fomeé new difcoveries. 


Higa The 


104 CH A Piignr: 3. 


The fecond part of the 4dverfaria is but 
a {mall part of the whole. It prefents us 
with a Jift of one hundred and thirty fpe- 
cies of grafles, known to the author: this is 
followed by the figures and defcriptions of 
fome new and rare kinds, of the fame tribe. 
A number of new plants of the liliaceous 
and bulbous-rooted order; a copious. ac- 
count, with a figure, of the yucca, lately 
introduced ; concluding with a catalogue 
from Cxiusivs, of thirty-eight varieties of 
Anemone—a proof of the flourifhing ftate of 
the Florift’s art, in the beginning of the 
laft century; at which time it is certain, 
from Losew’s book, that many people were 
very afliduous in the cultivation of exotics. 

In 1576, LoBEL publifhed a book, well 
known, and much quoted fince, by the. 
name of ** OBSERVATIONES; /rve Stirpium 
Hiftoria, cut annexum eft Adverfartorum Vo-~ 
lumen. In fol. cum Iconibus.” 

By the affiftance of Plantin, this volume 
was accompanied with 1486 figures, which 
had been cut for the works of CLusius, 
MATTHIoLUus, and Dopon#£us. | , 

In 1581 it was tranflated into Dutch, to- 

2 gether 


Lobel. ios 


gether with the Adverfaria, and the figures 
augmented to the number of 2116. The 
fame year the écons were feparately caft off, 
on paper of the oblong form ; the figures 
amounting to 2191. Some of thefe im- 
preflions were accompanied with an index, 
in feven languages, which rendered it a very 
popular book for many years. It preferves 
fome value to this day, as being the edi- 
tion that Linn&us quotes throughout his 
works. 

Lose had meditated a very large work, 
which was to have borne the title of “ IL- 
‘ LUSTRATIONES PLANTARUM;; but he 
lived not to finifh it. Some of his papers 
fell into the hands of PARKINSON, and were 
incorporated into his Theatrum. A frag- 
ment of the above-mentioned work was 
publifhed by Dr. How, in 1655; which 
contains the defcriptions of many grafles, 
and other plants newly difcovered, or lately 
introduced. Of the graffes, many here re- 
corded were firft difcovered by Loser. The 
preface contains fome fevere cenfures on 
| GERARD, and reflexions on the treatment 
Lope had received from bookfellers ; all 

written 


106 CHA BBE R “8. 


written in a ftile very reprehenfible in a 
man of letters. He may be juftly accufed 
of uncandid and difingenuous conduc to- 
wards GERARD, whom, while living, he 
had treated with the appearance of friend- 
fhip and efteem, and of whofe abilities, and 
zeal, he had fpoken in the higheft terms ; 
as is manifeft in various parts of the 4d- 
verfaria, in the atteftation to the catalogue 
of GERARD’s,Garden, and by the recom- 
mendatory letter prefixed to his Herbal. 

I regret that I am not able to do more 
than barely enumerate the following per- 
fons, who were zealous promoters of gar- 
dening, and botanical knowledge, in the time 
of Loget, and liberal in their communi. — 
cations to kim. 

Dr. Fames CarGir, of Aberdeen; of 
whom, however, fome brief mention will be 
made hereafter. | 

Edward SAINT LOO, Efq; of Somerfet- 
hire, whom he {peaks of as much attached 
to ftudies of this kind.- 

james CoeL, of Highgate, fon-in-law ta 
LoBEL, 


Oe Ge 


Lobel, i07 


. ¥. NasmytTu, furgeon to James the 
Firft. Aue: 

‘fobn De FRANQUEVILLE, a merchant 
in London; a celebrated florift, and a great 
lover of all rare plants, as well as flowers ; 
from. whofe care, as Parkinfon fays, “ is 
‘‘ fprung the greateft {tore that is now 
*¢ flourifhing in this kingdom.” 

Hugh Morcan, apothecary to queen 
Elizabeth ; of whofe garden very frequent 
mention occurs, in both parts of the 4d-— 
verfaria; and allo in Grrarp’s Hiltory 
afterwards, who ftiles him ** a curious con- 
s¢ fervator of fimples.” , 

William Coys, of Studbers, in the parith 
of North Okington, in Effex, poffeffed a 
garden, which both LoBEL* and Gerarp 
inform us, was richly ftored with exotics. 
Under his care, the yucca firft flowered in 
England, in the year 1604, 

To 


* The name of Loret was perpetuated by PLumrer, 
who gave it to a plant, which is a native of both the In- 
dies, fince denominated Sczvola. But the Swede has 
preferved the name to a numerous fet of plants of the 
Sjngenefious clafs, among which rank the cardinal flowers, 
and two Englifh fpecies. 

PLUMIER 


108 CHA (PYRE R &. 


To thefe muft be added the well-known 
names of GERARD and PARKINSON. 


N.E WT ON. 


There is © an Herbal to the Bible,” faid 
to be written by Thomas NewTon, and 
printed in 1537. 8°. This author, after 
having practifed phytic, became a divine and 
fchoolmafter, at Mord, in Effex ; where he 
died in 1607. His book, I believe, is only 
a tranflation of “ Levini Lemnit Exph- 
catio Similitudinum gue im Biblus ex berbis 
et arboribus fumuntur.’ LemMnius, who 
was a phyfician in the province of Zealand, 
briefly defcribes the plants of the holy Scrip- 
tures, and produces a number of curious 
‘philological obfervations refpeCting the ufes 
of plants in ceremonial and facred rites. 
He alfo wrote a memorable work, De M- 
racults occultis Nature. ‘The fingular pro- 


Prumrer alfo commemorated Pena, by giving his 
mame to one of his new American plants; which, as it 
proved to be a fpecies of Polyzala, was transferred by the 
author of the fexual fyftem, to an Ethiopian plant of the 
tetrandrous clafs, though allied in habit to the Evic@ and 
Pafferina, 

perty 


Lobel. 10g 


- perty of madder in colouring red the bones 
of animals that are fed with it, appears to 
have been known to Lemunius; but whether 
he learnt it from AMzaldus, or the latter 
from him, I know not. His book was 
among the earlieft productions in its way, 
and feems to have been well received, as 
may be judged by its pafling through twelve 
or thirteen editions, from its firft publica- 
tion in 1563 to 1627. | 

I conceive this TZomas New Ton to have 
been the writer of thofe commendatory 
lines prefixed to Ly tx’s Herbal; in which, 
after complimenting the author for his ju- 
dicious feleG@ion of ufcful knowledge from 
former writers, he has ver/jfed, in lefs than 
two pages, the names of more than two 
hundred worthies in medical {cience, from 
the earlieft antiquity to his own times. 


CHAP. 


( ‘S¥eny 


ol: a aan mr 


Account of Dodoens, and bis Pemptades, as intros 


dufory to the Herbal of Gerard— Circumfiances 
of the times favourable to Gerard. 
Account of Gerard—The catalogue of bis garden— 


Account of his Verbal; a popular work for more 


than a century—Contemporary Botanifis : Wel- 


' keth—Garet : the corre/pondent of Clufius— 


Lete, and others. 
GERARD. 


OBEL’s writings, howfoever efteem- 

ed by the learned, having never beer 
tranflated into Englifh, could net become 
popular ; and, at the conclufion of the fix- 
teenth century, TuRNER’s book was, pro- 
bably no lefs obfolete, than LyTE’s wag 
imperfect. Thefe circumftances, confpiring 
with the growing tafte of the times for gar- 
dening, it may be prefumed, incited GrE-~ 
RARD to undertake his Herbal: a work 
which maintained its credit and efteem for 
more than a century; and, pleafing as it is 
to reflect on the rapid progrefs and im- 


provement of Botany, within the laft half — 


century, yet there are many now living who 
can 


Gerard. IIk 


can recollect, that when they were young in 
fcience, there was no better fource of Bota- 
nical intelligence, in the Exg//h tongue, 
than the Herbals of Gerarp and PARK-~ 
INSON. 

It has been obferved, that the early edi- 
tion of DoporENs’s book, as tranflated by 
Cxusius, had been the bafis of LyTr’s 
Herbal ; and, as the laft edition of the fame 
author became the foundation of GeE- 
RARD’s, this circumftance renders it not 
unfuitable here to take fome notice of an 
author, although a foreigner, to whom he 
owed fo much of that credit, which has 
pseferved his memory to the prefent times. 

Rembert DoDoENs, or DoDoN £US, was 
born in 1517, near Mechiin in Flanders. 
He became confpicuous for his various eru- 
dition when young ; was phyfician for fome 
time to the Emperor Maximilian, and his 
fon Rodolph IY. The importunity of his 
friends procured his difmiffion from the 
Emperor's. fervice, and he {ettled at Axz- 
werp ; was afterwards profeflor at Leyden, 
and died in 1586. He wrote on aftronomy, 
geography, and phyfic; but is remembered 


now, 


112 CHA SSR R oO. 


now, principally, by his botanical works. 
His attachment to this ftudy, and the op- 
portunities he enjoyed of gratifying it, en- 
abled him to turn it to the moft advantage- 
ous purpofes. He began to publifh in 1552, 
and continued his acceffions and improve- 
ments to the year 1583, when he collected 
all his writings, on this fubject, into one 
volume, under the following title, “‘ Srir- 
pium Histori@® PEMPTADES Sex, five 
Libri XXX. Ant. ex officin. Plant.” in folio. 
cum icon. 1341. pp.872. Each Pemptade 
is divided into five books. 

The 1 comprehends a number of dif 
fimilar plants in alphabetic order. 

2. Flower-garden plants; and the um- 
belliferous tribe. 

3. Medicinal roots: purgative plants : 
climbing and poifonous plants; ferns, mofles, 
and fungi. , 

4. Grain: pulfe: grafles: water and marth 
plants. 

5. Edible plants: gourd plants: efculent 
roots: oleraceous: thiftles and fpinofe plants. 

6. Shrubs and trees. 

It was reprinted in 1612 and 1616, with 

fome 


a 


4 


Gerard, ti3 


fome fall additions, and being tranflated 


alfo into Dutch, with great enlargement, 
became a popular book in that language. 
The judicious felection of all that was 
ufeful, relating to the fuppofed plants of 
the Materia Medica of Dioscor1pDEs, and 
of the Arabians, the introduction of all the 
new f{pecies from Criusivus, and other dif- 
coveries of the time, added to the inftruction 
and embellifhment derived from the figures, 
which exceeded in number thofe of any | 


preceding author, rendered Dodoens’s book 


ufeful to the medical profeffion throughout 
the world. It fill preferves fome value, as 
being referred to by Linnamus, for the 


jlluftration of the European plants. 


As GERARD could not attempt an entire 


new. work, there was then extant no other 
to which he could give the preference, as 
a bafis to his defign; for as fuch only it 


muft be confidered, fince the interval of 
time between the publication of Dopo- 


- NzUs’s work in 1583, and the printing of his 


own ** Flerbal,” had given him opportuni- 
ties to interfperfe large additions, both in 


exotic, and indigenous Botany. In this in- 
MWor, 1.) i terval 


114 CHAPTER 0. 


terval the fcience had been augmented, and 
not lefs enriched, by the writings of Ca- 
SALPINUS, in 1583; by the Epitome of 
CAMERARIUS, in 1586; by the Hi/loria 
Lugdunenfis of DALECHAMP, in 1587; by 
the Sy/va Harcyma of Tuatius ; and ef- 
pecially by the Hz/forza and Icones of Ta- 
BERNA MONTANUS, In 1588 and 1590. 
To thefe may be added, a number of 
collateral refources, which the growing 
commerce and fpirit of the times rendered 
favourable to his purpofes. I will briefly 
mention the following: the Materia Mes 
dica had, for a feries of years, been per- 
petually augmenting, by a variety of new 
drugs, which were eagerly fought after, 
the origin of which, notwithftanding, was 
in many inftances obfcure, and in others 
as yet unknown. At length the publication 
of GArcias ab Horro on the fimples 
of the Eaft Indies, of Monarpes on thofe 
of the Weft, and afterwards of Cdri/fopher 
a CostTa’s book, fatisfied, for a time, the 
impatience of the public. 
Thefe authors were tranflated into Eng 
lifh. ‘fames FRampToN, a merchant of 
London, 


Gerard. 115 


London, who had refidea long at Sevi/k, 
from whence he returned in 1576, tran{- 
lated Monarpes into Englith the next 
year, under the title of ‘* Joyful News out 
<¢ of the New Founde World, from the Spa- 
“ nith of Monardus,” in 4°. Ciusius put 
Garcias ab HorTo into Latin, in 1567; 
and Yames GARET had alfo tranflated from 
the Spanifh the work of gCosta. ‘Thefe 
. books were incentives to curiofity ; and the 
thoufand novelties which were brought into 
England by our circumnavigators, RAs 
LEIGH and CAVENDISH, in 1580 and 
1588, excited a degree of attention, which 
at this day cannot, without the aid of con. 
fiderable recollection, be eafily conceived. 
Rareicu himéelf appears to have pof- 
feffed a larger fhare of tafte for the curious 
productions of nature, than was common. 
to the feafaring adventurers of that period. 
And pofterity will rank thefe voyagers among 
the greateft benefactors to this kingdom, in 
having been the means, if tradition may be 
credited, of introducing the moft ufeful root 
that Providence has held forth for the fer- 
viceofman. A voyage round the globe, how- 

| | foever 


116 CHAPTER 9g. 

foever familiarized in ours, was in that age 4 
moft interefting and fruitful occafion of 
enquiry. | 

The return of RALEIGH, and the fame 
ef his manifold difcoveries and collections, 
brought over from the continent the cele- 
brated CLusius, then in the scth year of 
his age. He, who added more to the ftock 
of Botany in his day, than all his contem- 
poraries united, vifited ENGLAND, for the 
third time,. to partake, at this critical junc- 
ture, in the general gratification. 

At this eventful period, GERARD was in 
the vigour of life, and without doubt felt 
the influence, and reaped the advantage of 
all the circumftances J have enumerated. 

“fobn GERARD was born at Nantwich, 
in Chefbire, in the year 1545, and was edu~ 
cated a furgeon. He removed to London, 
where he obtained the patronage of the 
great Lord Burleigh, who was himfelf a 
lover of plants, and had the beft collection. 
in his garden of any nobleman in the king-~ 
dom. GERARD had the fuperintendance 
of this fine garden, and retained his em- 
ployment, as he tells us himéelf, for twenty 

years. 


Gerard. liz 


years. He lived in Holdorn, where alfo he 
had a large phyfc garden of his own; which 
was probably the firft of the kind in Ezg- 
Jand, for the number and variety of its pro- 
duétions. It fhould feem, that in his 
younger days he had taken a voyage into 
the Baltic, fince he mentions having feen 
the wild pines growing about Narva. 
GERARD appears alfo to have been fa- 
-voured by the college of phyficians, and is 
highly extolled by Dr. Butteyn. Both 
Lope, and Dr. Browne, phyfician to 
the queen, wrote, in Latin, commendatory 
letters to him, on the publication of his 
Herbal. He attained to {uch eminence in 
his profeffion, as to be chofen matter of the 
eompany. He died about the year 1607. 
There is a half fheet print of Grrarp 
prefixed to his own edition of the *‘ Her- 
“* bal,’ donein the 53d year of his age, and 
a {mall oval one at the bottom of a full half 
fheet frontifpiece, before JoHNson’s edi-~ 
tion. | a ’ 
_ The earlieft’ publication of GERARD 
avas the lift of his own garden in Holborn, 


13 ynder 


118 CHAPTER <9. 


under the following title, “* Catalogus Ar- 


borum, Pruticum, ac Plantarum, tam indige- 
narum quam exoticarum, in horto JoHANNIS 


GERARDI, ¢ivis ac chirurgi Londinenjis is (ah : 


centium. Impenfis J. Norton, proo. a 
and again in 1599. 

The firft edition was dedicated to Lord 
BurLeicu ; but that nobleman dying be- 
fore the publication of the fecond, it was 
infcribed to his patron, Sir Walter Ra- 
LEIGH. 

This little piece, from the nature of the 
publication, is become very icarce. © Dew 
lieve there is only a manufcript copy of it 
in the collection of Sir Josepu Banks. 

Weare informed, in the life of Dr. Bur- 
LEYN, that GERARD’ s Garden contained 
near eleven hundred forts of plants, of fo- 
reign and domettic growth ; from whence, 
fays Mr. Oldys, “it may appear, that our 
‘ground would produce other fruits be- 
«¢ fides hips and haws, acorns and pignuts ;” 
for at this time, “* kitchen- garden wares 
ce were imported from Holland, and fruits 
" from France.” There are one thoufand 


and 


eel 


Gerard. 11g 


and thirty-three f{pecies in this Catalogue, 
and the following atteftation, written by 
LoBEL, is annexed. | 
“< Herbas, flirpes, frutices, fuffrutices, et ar- 
bufculas hoc catalogo recenfitas, quamplurimas 
ac fere omnes me vidiffe Londini in borto Fo- 
hanmt GERARDI, chirurgi et botanici per- 
optim (non enim omnes eodem fed variis tem- 
poribus anni pullulafcunt, enafcuntur et flo- 
rent). Atteftor Matthias De LOBELL, zp/is 
calendts “funu 1596.” 
In 1597, came out his ** HERBAL, or 

‘So GENERAL) HisToRY. of. PLANTS 3” 
printed by John Norton, in folio; and 
fome authors mention another impreffion 
in 1599. 

' That the foundation of this work was a 
tranflation of DopoENs’s Herbal, a compa- 
rifon of the two afcertains beyond a doubt. 
Lose t, both in his animadverfions on Ron- 
DELETIUs, and in his Stzrpium IMuftratio- 
nes, informs us, that Dr. Priest, at the 
expence of Mr. Norton, had been engaged to 
make a tranflation of Dopon xus’s Pemp- 
_tades ; and, dying foon after he had finifhed 
it, the manufcript came into GERARD’S 


120 CHAPTER oo. 


hands; who has been cenfured for having 
endeavoured to conceal his poffeffing thefe 


papers, and for afluming to himfelf the me. ~ 


rit of the tranflation, when it is generally 
agreed, that his knowledge of the Latin 
language was not equal to fuch an under- 
taking. Lopet, indeed, judged the fame 
of Dr. Priest, and points out inftances of 
his infufficiency. It muft, however, be al- 
lowed, that GERARD is not backward in 
confeffing his want of fkill in the learned 
languages. Loget farther informs us, that 
when the work was in the prefs, and that 
part of the firft book printed relating to 
graffes, his friend, Fames Garnet, a perfon 
eminently {killed in flowers and exotics, ad- 
monifhed Norton of fome grofs errors; on 
which, the printer engaged Loge to fu- 
erintend the work; that he actually did 
correct it “in a thoufand places ;” and that 
there were many other miftakes, which 
Grerarp would not allow him to alter, 
alleging that it was fufficiently correé, and 
that ** Lozper had ec ison the mee 
‘© language.” } 
In-order further to conceal his plagiarifin, 

: LoBEL 


Gerard, gi I yo 


* Loser adds, that he has inverted the diftri- 
bution of the chapters in DonoENs’s book, 
and adopted that of the Adverfaria. This 
may be confidered as a futile objection, and 
even turned into an approbation of Lopet’s 
method ; but he charges him alfo with 
largely plundering the Adverfaria, without 
any acknowledgment. 

GERARD comprifes the whole vegetable 
kingdom in three books. The ji? con- 
tains the graffes, grain, ruthes, reeds, flags, 
and bulbous-rooted plants. The /econd, all 
herbs ufed in diet, phyfic, or for ornament 
and pleafure. The ¢hird, trees, fhrubs, fruit- 
bearing plants, rofins, gums, rofes, heaths, 
moffes, mufhrooms, and fea plants. The. 
whole divided into upwards of eight hun-~. 
dred chapters, which, in the arrangement 

_ of that time, may, if the expreffion is al- 
lowable, be confidered as fo many genera. 

In each chapter the feveral {pecies are 
defcribed; then follow the place, time of 
flowering, names, and virtues, 

The figures Mr. Norton procured from 
Frankfort, being the fame blocks which had 
‘been ufed for the Dutch Herbal of Tasrr- 

NZ MONTANUS 


g.. CHAP TORR QO. 


NAMONTANUS in 1588. In this manner, 
Gerarpb, with Dopoens for his founda- 
tion, by taking in alfo many plants from 
Crusius, and from Loset, by the addition 
of fome from his own ftock, publithed a 
volume, which, from its being well timed, 
from its comprehending almoft the whole 
of the fubjects then known, by being writ- 
ten in Enelith, and ornamented with a more 
numerous fet of figures than had ever ac- 
companied any work of the kind in this 
kingdom, obtained great repute. To this 
we muft add the fortunate circumftance of 
its acquiring afterwards fo Jearned an edi- 
tor as Jounson, which eftablithed the cha- 
racter of it, and gave it precedence as a po- 
pular book, for more than a century. And 
notwithftanding his manifeft inferiority to 
Lose in point of learning, it muft yet be 
owned, that GERARD contributed greatly 
to bring forward the knowledge of plants 
in England. Wis connection with the great, 
and his fituation in Loudon, favoured an ex- 
tenfive correfpondence, both with foreigners 
and his own countrymen ; and his fuccefs 
in procuring new exotics, as well as {carce 
indigenous 


Gerard. 123 
indigenous plants, was equal to his diligence 
and affiduity. In fact, we owe to GERARD 
and his friends the difcovery of many new 
Englith plants ; and his name will be re- 
membered by botanifts with efteem, when 
the utility of his Herbal is fuperfeded. 
‘That he was confidered as poftefiine a 
very extenfive fhare of this fcience, we are 
juftified in believing, on the teftimony of 
Mr. George Baker, chief furgeon to the 
queen, who aflures us, that he faw him 
*¢ tried with one of the beft {trangers that 
s© ever came into England, and was ac- 
‘© counted in Paris the only man, being 
¢¢ recommended to me,” fays Baker, “ by 
‘¢ that famous man, AMBROosSE PaREy; 
«* and he being here, was defirous to go 
‘* abroad with fome of our herbarifts, for 
«¢ the which I was the mean to bring them 
** together, and one whole day wg fpent 
«¢ therein, fearching the rareft fimples: but 
<* when it came to the trial, my French- 
** man did not know one to his four *.” 


* PLUMIER gave the name GERARDIA to a plant of 
the didynamous clafs, difcovered in thetropical regions of 
America; to which Lixwevs has fince added five {pe- 
cies, 


Among 


124 CH AR Gar oO. 


Among the many who promoted Gra 
RARD’s work by their communications, I 
muft not omit the names of Thomas Hes- 
KETH, of Lancafbire; Thomas EpWARDs, 
apothecary, at Exeter; both fkilled in the 
knowledge of Englifh plants. 


Fames GARET, of London, apothecary, 


*¢ a curious fearcher of fimples.” He was 
the correfpondent of CLusius, to whom 
he communicated a great number of natu- 
ral curiofities, particularly of exotic growth, 
and is mentioned with great refpe@t by that 
learned foreigner, in numerous places of his 
Libri Exoticorum. He feems to have been 
one of the principal cultivators of tulips, 
which he propagated by feeds and bulbs 
for twenty years, every feafon bringing forth, 
as GERARD obferves, ‘* new plants of fun- 
‘¢ dry colours not before feen, ali which to 
ee defcribe particularly, were to roll S7/- 
‘* pbus’s ftone, or number the fands.” 

I find three perfons of the fame name, 
‘fames GARETT the father, and ames the 
fon, and Peter, as I fuppofe, the brother of 
~Fames the clder. Parkinson, fpeaking 
probably of the laft, informs us, that he 
was originally a druggift in Lime-ftreet. 


ye He 


| Gerard. bag 
He was, I believe, the tranflator of 2 Cos- 
A, as hath been before noted. 

Mr. Bredweil, ** practitioner in phyfic, a 
** learned and diligent fearcher of fimples,” 
in the weft of England. : 

Mr. Nicholas LETE, a merchant of Lon- 
don, ‘* greatly in love with rare and faire 
« flowers, for which he doth carefully fend 
¢* into Syria, having a fervant there at 
«¢ Aleppo, and in many other countries ; for 
‘ which myfelf and the whole land are 
‘ much bound unto him.” 

Dr. fobn Mersue, of Cambredge. 

Mr. “ames Cote, a merchant of London, 
** a lover of plants, and very fkilful in the 
*« Knowledge of them.” 


a = 


ty 


Among thofe of eminent ftation, who 
patronifed the fcience, Grerarp does due 
~ honour to Sir Walter RaLteicu; Lord Ed- 
ward Lovucu, the patron of LopeL, who 
brought plants and feeds with him from 
Conftantimople; and to Lord Hunspon, 
Lord High Chamberlain of England, who, 
he fays, ** is worthy of triple honour for 
‘* his care in getting, as alfo for his curi- 
** ous keeping, fuch rare and ftrange things 
# from the fartheft parts of the world.” 

CHAP. 


( 126. ¥ 


CPA E. Free 

Johnfon the improver of Gerard’s book— Anecdotes 
of—His Iter in Agrum Cantianum the firft 
Englith local catalogue—Enters into the king’s 
army, and is killed at the fiege of Bafing—His 
edition of Gerard—Mercurius Botanicus—Ver- 
fron of Parey’s works. 

Contemporary affifiants — Goodyer — Bowles — 
Tunttal — Glyn — Morgan, 


JOHNSON. 
p,2OMAS JouNnson was born at Se/= 
by, in York/bire, and. bred an apothe- 
cary in London. He afterwards kept a 
fhop on Sxow-Hi/], ** where, by his un- 


eo 


* wearied pains, advanced with good natu- 
<¢ ral parts,’ fays Mr. /Vcod, “ he attained 
“¢ to be the beft herbalift of his age in Eg 
«© Jand,” : . 7 

He was firft announced to the public, by 
a {mall piece under the title of ** IrER 1N 
Acrum CANTIANUM, 1629; ct ERI- 
ceruM HamsTEDIANuUM, 1632 : which 


welg. ) 


Sobn font. a 
were the firft local catalogues publifhed in 
England. He {oon after acquired great credit 
by his new edition and emendation of Gr 
RARD’s * Herbal.” 

In the civil wars, his zeal for the royal 
caufe led him into the army, in which he 
greatly diftinguifhed himfelf ; and the uni- 
verfity of Oxford, in confideration of his 
merit and learning, added to that of his 
loyalty, conferred upon him the degree of 
doctor of phyfic, May 9, 1643. 

In the army, he had the rank of lieute~ 
nant colonel to Sir Marmaduke Rawpon, 
governor of Bajinghoufe. Mr. Granger in- 
forms us, that “ he fet fire to the Grange, 
“near that fortrefs, which confifted of 
“ twenty houfes, and killed and burnt about 
“ three hundred of Sir William Waller's 


** men, wounded five hundred more, and 
€¢ 


Lal 


took arms, ammunition, and provifions 
** from the enemy.” Wood adds, ‘* that 
<¢ going. with a party on the 14th of Sep- 
“< tember, 1644, to fuccour certain of the 
*¢ forces belonging to that houfe, which 
** went to the town of Bafg to fetch pre- 
s€ vifions thence, but beaten back by the 
| i ‘‘ enemy, 


a 


A 


128 Cu APSR 10. 


«© enemy, headed by that notorious rebel; 


«© Colonel Richard Norton, he received a 
¢ thot in the fhoulder, of which he died in 
«© a fortnight after. At which time his 
«© worth did juftly challenge funeral tears ; 
<¢ being then no lefs eminent in the garri- 
<¢ fon for his valour and conduct as a fol- 
<¢ dier, than famous through the kingdom 
“‘ for his excellency as an herbalift and 
«© phyfician.” 

I have mentioned Johnfon’s Iter Can- 
_tianum, and Ericetum Hamffedianum ; but 
not having feen either, I can give no ac 
count of them. 

In 1633, he publithed his improved edi- 
tion of GERARD, under the title of ‘* The 
‘S HERBAL, or GENERAL History of 
«| Prants, gathered by Yohbz GERARD, 
<¢ of London, very much enlarged and a- 


a 


wm 


€ 


ww 


mended by T/omas JouNson, citizen and 
apothecary of London, for Iflip and Nor- 


>? 


é 


nN 


€ 


n 


ton. 
1630. : 
An interval of thirty-fix years, from the 
date of Gerard’s work, had effected a great 
change in the ftate of botanical knowledge; 
. many 


-.7633. fol: ; and again 1696anpp. “ 


“fobnfon. 129 
many new plants had been introduced, and 
many valuable works publithed on the con- 
tinent, particularly the Hortus Ey/tetten- 
fis in 1613, and the Prodromus of Bau- 
hine in 1620. No publications had ap- 
peared at home, except fuch as were | 
adapted to the Florift and Gardener ; Ga/~ 
par Baubine’s invaluable Pinax had facili- 
tated and fhortened the labour of confulting 
preceding authors. All thefe circumftances 
were favourable to JouHNson ; and his ac- 
knowledged fuperiority to GERARD in the 
learned languages, might juftly raife the ex- 
pectation of the public ; infomuch that it 
becomes a matter of {peculation, why Joun- 
SON acquiefced in the character of an editor 
only. It may indeed be converted into a 
ftrong prefumption of the value fet by the 
public on GERARD ; which probably pre- 
vented the rifk of a new title. 

The general expectation was not difap- 
pointed. ‘The advantages above noted en- 
abled ‘JoHNsSON to amplify and improve 
his author to fuch a degree, that his book 
eminently deferves the encomium that Har- 
LER has beftowed upon it, when he calls 

Wor, I, K it 


120°) CH A: Pn Tibi 10. 


it “ dignum opus, et tottus rei herbaria es 
“© evo note, compendium.” : 

After what has been faid of the plan, as 
it ftands in GERARD, it remains only to 
thew briefly what Jonson has done. In 
about twelve pages, he has prefixed a con- 
cife, candid, and judicious account of the 
moft material writers on the fubject, from 
the earlieft ages to the time in which he 
wrote; concluding with a particular account 
of his own work, from its origin in Dr. 
Priest’s tranflation. After this follows 
a table, pointing out, with great precifion, 
all his additions ; by which we learn, that 
he enriched the work with more than eight 
hundred plants not in GERARD, and up- 
wards of feven hundred figures, befides in- 
numerable correftions. By procuring the 
fame cuts that GERARD ufed, (to which 
collection a confiderable acceflion had been 
made) and by having fome new blocks cut, 
his work contained a greater number of 
figures than any Herbal extant ; the whole 
amounting to 2717. He informs us, in 
an apology he makes for not inferting his 
additional matter in the edition of 1636, 

that 


tobnfon | 131i 
that he intended to travel throughout the 
: kingdom in fearch of the more rare plants, 
and afterwards to comprife all his difcove- 
ries in an appendix. 

In 1634, he publithed «¢ MERCURIUS 
BoTanicus ; sve PLANTARUM gratia fuf~_ 
| cepti Itineris, anno 1634, DeEscRIPTio ; cum 
earum Nominibus Latinis et Anghcis.” Lond. 
8vo. pp. 78. 

It is dedicated to Sir Theodore MAYERNE, 
and others of the college, in his own, and 
the names of his affociates in the excurfion, 
who were all of the company of the Apo- 
thecaries. It was the refult of a journey, 
through Oxford, to Bath and Briffol, and 
back by Southampton, the Ile of Wight, and 
Guildford, made with the profeffed defign 
to inveftigate rare plants. He has defcribed, 
in not inelegant Latin, their rout, which 
took up only twelve days, and the agree- 
able reception they met with among their 
medical acquaintance. We meet with a 
lift of exotics, amounting to 117, cultivated 
by Mr. George Gisss, a furgeon at Bath, 
who had made a voyage to Virginia, from 
whence he brought many new plants ; 

which, as it exhibits the advanced ftate of 
| Koa) > gardening 


1g2 CH A’Por Pam) 96. 
gardening in this country at that time, is 
now a matter of curiofity. 

‘The plants of fpontaneous growth enu- 
merated in this fhort tour, varieties being 
excluded, exceed fix hundred, which, at 
a time when the cryptogamie were fcarcely 
noticed, and in the feafon when neither the 
very early nor late plants could be feen, is 
no inconfiderable number. In this ca- 
talogue are feveral not difcovered in Eng- 
land before. With this tour JoHNson gave 
his {mall tract, ** De Thermis Bathonicis, 
five earum defcriptio, vires, utends tempus, 
modus, &c.” Lond. 1634. pp. 19. There 
are three {mall plans of the baths, and 
one of the city, which feem to be copied 
from Speed’s map. Thefe are now pleafing 
curiofities to the lovers of antiquity, and to 
all who contemplate the aftonifhing increafe 
of the city fince that time. 

This was followed by ‘“‘ Pars AETERA, 
five PLANTARUM gratia fufcepti Tineris 
in Cambriam feu Walliam DuscriP rio.” 
Lond. 1641. 8°. | 

Jounson, if not the firft, was among 
the earlieft Botanifts who vifited Wales, 
and Snowden, with the fole intention of 

difcovering 


“fobnfon. 133 


difcovering the rarities of that country in 
the vegetable kingdom. ‘The journey feems 
to have anfwered his purpofe, and afford-. 
ed him a rich harveft. In this expedition 
he firft found the yellow poppy, papaver 
cambricum : mountain faw-wort, /ferratula 
alpina: rofe-root, rhodiola rofea ; and feveral 
other plants. 

I cannot afcertain the age of JoHNsoN 
at his death, but there is reafon to think he 
could not be far advanced in life, if indeed 
he was arrived at the meridian of it. I 
_ ground my opinion on the circumftance of 
LoseL’s total filence relating to him, in 
his Adverfaria, printed in 1605. En- 
gaged as JOHNSON was, in the exercife of 
a profeflion, which, independent of the 
calls of duty, demands much facrifice of 
time, to the forms and civilities of life, 
his HERBAL is an ample teftimony of zeal 
and induftry. I do not find that he was 
the author of any other publications, than 
thofe, of which I have civen fome account ; 
but, he tranflated the works of Ambrofe 
Parey, which he publithed at London in 
1643. They were reprinted, if I miftake not, 

: K 3 for 


134 CHAP TES Te: 


for the laft time in 1678. This excellent 
man, who in the character of furgeon, fuccef- 
fively ferved four fovereigns of France, was 
attached to the proteftant caufe; and for 
his extraordinary merit, and his having 
cured Charles IX. of a tendon wounded in 
bleeding, was faved from the maflacre of 
St. Bartholomew. He furvived this event 
1g years, and died in 3590. His works 
were collected by himfelf, in 1582, in folio, 
and ran through nine or ten editions on the 
continent. PARery’s improvements in his 
profeffion had been fingularly important ; 
there can be no doubt, therefore, that our 
author performed a very acceptable fervice 
to his countrymen, by putting his writings 
into an Englifh drefs *. | 


* MILLER confecrated the name of Jounson by af- 
figning it to a berry-bearing fhrub of Carolina, belonging 
to the tetrandrous clafs; firft figured by PLukenet, 
tab, 136. f. 3. and fince by CaTessy, vol. 2. tab. 47. 
The Englifh Botanifts, who muft confider JoHNson as 
entitled to fo honourable a diftin@ion among. their 
worthies, will regret that his name fhould not be re- 
tained in the Linnzan fy{tem, in preference to Callicarpa, 
by which term this fhrub is now well known in the 
Englifh gardens, M Blinc dig hs oe 

Before 


“Fobnfait. V9 

Before Jounson is difmiffed, it would 
be unjuft not to notice fome of thofe, to 
whom the author was efpecially indebted 
for affiftance, and for the communication 
of Englith plants. Among thefe, the firft 
place is due to Mr. ‘fobn Goopyer, of 
Maple Durham, in Hamp/bire, whofe name 
occurs repeatedly in GzeRarRp’s ** Herbal,” 
and very frequently in PARKINSON’s, in 
which he is ftiled * a great lover and 
*¢ curious fearcher of plants ; who, befides 
‘* this” (fpeaking of the geranium faxa- 
tile) ** hath found in our country many 
*‘ other plants, not imagined to grow in 
‘ourtand.,” - Ele feems not only to have 
been what may be called a practical Bota= — 
nift, but learned, and critically verfed in 
the hiftory of the fcience. This may be 
_ fairly inferred from his curious communi- 
cation, relating to the manufcripts under 
the name of ApuLEetus Madaurenfis, and 
from his obfervations on the /axifrage of 
the ancients, inferted at p. 604. The great 
number of rare Englith plants, which Mr. 
GoopYerR firft brought to light, entitles 


K 4 him 


136 CHAPTER IO. 


him to the moft reputable rank among 
thofe who have advanced the botanical! 
knowledge of this kingdom. 

_ Mr. George Bowes, of Chifelburft, in 
Kent, alfo diftinguifhed himfelf by his fuc- 
cefsful inveftigation of many new plants. 
He fpent fome time in Wales, where his 
difcoveries were very ample; and he is 
mentioned with particular attention, in 
numerous inftances, by our author. 

The names of JoHNson’s affociates in 
his Kentith, and other fimpling excurfions, 
occur in the preface ; and in the body of the 
work we meet alfo with the following : 

‘fobn TRADESCANT the elder, who be- 
came famous afterwards for his fine garden, 
and mufeum of natural curiofities. 

Sir Fohn 'TunsTAL, gentleman uther to 
the queen, is recorded as poffefling a garden 
at Edgcome in Surrey, f{tored with plants, 
which are faid to have belonged to the 
queen. ve 

Mr. Thomas Guyn, who firft found that 
elegant plant the exephalum marinum, on 
the coaft of Wales. | 
| Mr, 


Sfobufons 139 

Mr. Hugh Morean, apothecary to the 
queen, before mentioned under the article 
Of on but 4" 

Mr. Robert Azsot, of Hatfield, near 
St. Albans, a learned preacher, and an ex- 
cellent and diligent herbarift. 

Boe ttiusor Bott, of whom further no- 
tice more properly comes under the article 
of PARKINSON. | 

Mr. Yobn Repman, “ a fkilful herba- 
‘¢ rift,” an inhabitant of the northern part 
of England, 

Frequent and refpectable notice is alfo 
taken of Mr. Yobn Parkinson, the fub- 
ject of the fucceeding article. His Paradifus 
Terrefiris is much commended, and his 
garden referred to as abounding in choice 
plants. 


C AP, 


Cera ) 


Ce SAR et P. 


Parkinfon—Brief. account of his life—His Pa- 
radifus : the left view of the fate of the flower 
garden in that age—Theatrum Botanicum: @ 
more original and laboured performance thai 
Gerard’s Herbal—Jts merit not fufficiently ac- 
knowledged by bis fucceffrs. 

Boel : and other contemporaries of Parkinfon. 


PAREKINSON. 


OHWN PaRKINSON was born in 1567, 

I regret that Tam not enabled to fup- 

ply a more ample account of this laborious 
man, whofe learning and abilities appear 
to me not to have been juftly appreciated. 
He was bred an apothecary, and lived in 
London. We was contemporary with Gr- 
RARD and Lozet, during the latter part 
of their lives; and furvived Jounsow feve- 
tal years. Loset, in the fecond part of his 
Adverfaria, and Jounson, in his Gerardus 
Emaculatus, {peak of him as a man of emi- 
nence in his profeflion, and as poffefled of 
6 a garden 


Parkinfon. 139 


a garden well ftored with rarities., In fact, 
he rofe to fuch a degree of reputation as to 
be appointed apothecary to King “fames; 
and at the publication of his ‘* Theatre of 
«¢ Plants,” he obtained, as we learn by Sir 
Theodore MAYERNE’s commendatory letter 
prefixed to it, the title from Céarles the 
Firft of Botanicus Regius Primarius. The 
time of his death I cannot afcertain ; but, 
as his ** Herbal” was publifhed in 1640, 
and he appears to be living at that time, 
he muft have attained his 73d year. There 
is a print of him prefixed to his Paradifus, 
in the 62d year of his age, and a final 
oval one, in the title of his ‘* Herbal,” or 
rr heatreot Plants,” 

His firft publication was the “ PARaA- 
“* DISI INSOLE PARADISUS TERRESTRIS; 
** or, a garden ofall forts of pleafant flowers, 
‘¢ which our Englith ayre will permit to be 
*¢ nurfed up: with a kitchen garden of all 
‘© manner of herbs, roots, and fruits, for 
“meat or faufe; ufed with us, and an or- 
‘* chard of all forte of fruit-bearing trees and 
** fhrubbes fit for our land; together with 
¢* the right ordering, planting, and preferv- 


‘ 66 3 
ny 


140 CH ARTE a1. 


“fang of them, and their -ufes and vertues, 
** Collected by ‘fobn PARKINsoN, apothe- 
-§€ cary of London 1629.” Folio. pp. 612, 

‘There was a fecond edition publithed 
after the author’s death, corrected and en- 
larged, in 1656. 

As the*fubject of this book interefts the 
florift and gardener merely, it comes lefs 
within the {cope of this work than his 
** Herbal.” It is dedicated to Queen 
Elizabeth; and, agreeably to the panegyri- 
cal cuftom of the times, is fet off with re- 
commendatory verfes ; among which we 
meet with fome in Latin from Thomas 
Jounson, doubtlefs the editor of GERARD, 
anda Latin letter, in a high ftrain of eu- 
logy, from Sir Theodore MAYERNE, 

The plants are arranged without any 
other order than that exprefled in the title 
page. Garden flowers are divided into 1 34 
chapters, according to the generical names of 
the time; kitchen plants into 63 chapters ; 
fruit trees and fhrubs into 24 chapters ; 
and a corollary of 22 {pecies. Nearly one 
thoufand plants are feparately defcribed; of 
which feven hundred and eighty are figur- 

ed 


Parkinfon. 141 


éd on one hundred and nine tables, which 
appear to have been cut on purpofe for this 
work. Many are copied from CLusius 
and Lopet. ‘The figtres are lefs com- 
mendable for the defign than the execution, 
and are much inferior, on the whole, to 
thofe of Gerarp’s ** Herbal.” In the 
Latin names, the author has made ufe prin- 
cipally of Ca/fper BAUHINE; fome are 
‘taken from Logpet. The mode of arrange- 
ment in each chapter is fimilar to that of 
‘Gerarp. After the defcription of all the 
{fpecies, follow the place, time of flowering, 
fynonyms, and virtues. Lefs is fpoken of 
_ the culture than feems to be requifite. 
Several Englifhmen had written on gar- 
dening and agriculture in the fixteenth 
century, of whom the firft on hufbandry, | 
as faras I can find, was Antony FITZHER= 
BERT, a famous lawyer and juftice of the 
King’s Bench, whofe ‘* Booke of Huf- 
** bandrie” was printed firftin 1534. One 
of the earlieft, if not the ficft on gardening, 
is Thomas Hix, ‘* His profytable Art of 
“* Gardening,” printed in 1 B74. Lh ne next 
was, ** The new Orchard and Garden,” by 
| William 
A 


142 CHAP -P ewe vit. 


William Lawson, in 1597. In 1600, Sir 
Hugh Pratt, the author of many other 
ufeful tracts, put forth his ‘* Garden of 
** Eden ;” a book of great merit in its 
time. All thefe paffed through numerous 
editions, and the lait preferved credit to the 
end of the century. 


ParxKINsON however, as I apprehend, ~ 


was the firft author, who feparately defcrib- 
ed and figured the fubjects of the Flower 
Garden. The Paradifus Terreftris is there- 
fore, at this time, a valuable curiofity, as 


exhibiting the moft compleat view of the. 


extent of the Englifh garden at the begin- 
ning of the laft century. Intertropical 
productions had been but fparingly import- 
ed. The real ftove plants are very rare 
throughout the book. There are fome 
American {fpecies, and particularly from 
Virginia, as being a part of that continent 
with which England had the moft frequent 
intercourfe. But the principal productions 
of the Englifh gardens were exotic Euro- 
pean, and Grecian plants, fome Afiatic, and 

a few from the northern coafts of Africa. 
A modern florift, wholly unacquainted 
with 


Parkinfon. 143 


with the ftate of the art at the time Par- 
KINSON wrote, would perhaps be furprized 
to find that his predeceflors could enume- 
rate, befides fixteen defcribed as diftin@ 
{pecies, one hundred and twenty varieties of 
the tulip, fixty anemonies, more than nine- 
ty of the narciffus tribe, fifty byacinths, 
fifty carnations, twenty pinks, thirty cro- 
cufes, and above forty of the zrzs genus. In 
the orchard we find above fixty kinds of 
plums, as many apples and pears, thirty 
cherries, and more than twenty peaches. 
In 1640, Parxinson publifhed his 
“ THEATRUM BoTANICUM; or, Theatre 
“6 of Plants, or an Herbal of a large extent : 
‘* containing therein a more ample and ex- 
«© a&t hiftory and declaration of the phyfical 
‘‘ herbs and plants that are in other alle 
*‘ thors; encreafed by the accefs of many 
 bundreds.,.of new,,.care, » and, ftrange 
** plants from all the parts of the world; 
‘* with fundry gummes, and other phyfical 
‘* materials, than hath been hitherto pub- 
* lifhed by any before: and a moft large 
“* demonftratien of their nature and virtues. 
‘‘ Shewing withal, the many errors, differ- 
“* ences. 


144 CH AR TR at, 


“ences, and overfights of fundry authors 
<¢ that have formerly written of them, and 
‘6a certain confidence, or moft probable 
‘* conjecture of the true and genuine herbs 
‘and plants: diftributed into fundry claffes 
‘‘ or tribes, for the more eafy knowledge 
leaf the many herbs of .oné' naire’ and 
“¢ property, with the chief notes of Dr. 
‘© Lobel, Dr. Bonbam, and others, inferted 
“therem 0’ Londons Folie. poe 1770. 
SEGUIER mentions an edition in 1656, 
which I never faw, and fufpect it was not 
anew impreffion. 

This work was the labour of PARKIN- 
son’s life, and was not publifhed until he was 
arrived at a very advanced period. He tells 
us, in the preface, that, owing “ to the dif- 
“‘ aftrous times,” and other impediments, 
the printing of it was long retarded. Orri- 
ginally it was intended to have contained 
only the medicinal herbs, under the title 
of “ A phyfical Garden of Simples,” but 
he enlarged his plan, and endeavoured to 
comprehend all the Botany of his time. It 
is manifeft, even from a curfory view of it, 
that it is a work of much more originality 

than 


Parkinfon. 145 


than that of GERARD; and it contains 
abundantly more matter than the laft edi- 
tion of that author, with all JouHNnson’s 


augmentations. In the general difpofition 
of the fubject, the order is chiefly founded — 
on the known, or fuppofed qualities, and 
virtues of the plants; being divided into 

feventeen tribes, as follow: 


ili 


2e 


Plante odorata. Sweet-fmelling plants. 


Cathartice. Purging plants. 


3. Venenate, narcotice, nocive, et alexi 


pharmice. Venemous, fleepy, and 
hurtful plants, and their counter- 
poifons. 


. Saxifraga. Saxifrages, or break~ftone 


plants. 


. Vulneraria. Wound herbs. 


. Refrigerantes, et intubacee. Cooling, 


and fuccory-like herbes. 


. Calida, et acres. Hot, and fharp-biting 


plants. 


8. Umbelifere. Umbelliferous. 


Q. 


Cardut, et fpinofe. Thiftles, and thorny 
plants. 


Vou. I. L 10. Filices, 


146 CHAE Pee. rr. 


io. Filices, et herbe capillares. Ferns, 
and capillary herbes. 
ti. Legumina. Pulfes. 
12. Cerealia. Corn. 
13. Gramina, junci, arundines. Grafles, 
rufhes, and reeds, 


14. Paludofe, aquatice, marine, CL 


et fungi. Marth, water, and fea 
plants, moffes, and mufhrooms. 
1s. Mifcellanez. ‘The unordered tribe. 
16. Arbores, et frutices. Trees, and 
fhrubbes. 
17. Exotica, et peregrine. Outlandifh 
plants. } 
18. Appendix. 


This heterogeneous claffification, which 


feems to be founded on that of Dodvens, 


fometimes on the medicinal qualities, fome- 
times on the habit, and on the place of 
growth, fhews the {mall advances that had 
been made towards any truly fcientific dif- 
tribution. On the contrary, both Ger- 
RARD, JoHNson, and Parxinson, had 
rather gone back, by not fufficiently purfu- 
ing the example of LoBEL. 


In 


Parkinfon, “147 


. In the particular difpofition of the fub- 
jects, under each chapter or genus, PaR- 
KINSON follows the rules of GERARD, and 
JouNson, by giving, after the Latin and 
Englith name, the defcriptions at large ; 
then the place of growth, and time of 
flowering ; the fynonyms, and laftly, the 
virtues and ufes. | 

Nice difcrimination of {peciés from each 
other, or from varieties, muft not be ex- 
pected in this work, more than in Ge- 
RARD, or his Emaculator. Almoft every 
Botanift was then a Florift too. CLusius 
himfelf, who had enlarged the {cience, by 
his own difcoveries, beyond any other man, 
continued to raife tulips from feed, for more 
than 35 years. PARxKiNnson’s “ Paradifus’ 
proves his attachment to the Flower Gar- 
den, in the early part of his life ; and this 
bias influenced him throughout the ‘* Thea- 
“* tre of Plants.” As yet, no line had been 
drawn with fufficient accuracy, between 
{pecies and variety, between nature and the 
eifect of culture, or of foil and fituation, nor 
was thisbrought about till the effential parts 
ef vegetables, the flower,andthe fruit, became 


La objects 


r48 CHAPTER ri; 


objects of clatiification, inftead of the va cue’ 


diftinGtions hitherto obferved ; of which it 
rhay be fufficient te adduce one example, 
out of hundreds equally futile. Vhé fea 


cabbage, (draffica orientalis ) a filiquofe plant, 
is ranked by GerarpD and Jounson, as: 
well as by PARKINSON, even contrary to 
the examples of CLusius and Dopon aus, 


under the fame generical name with the 
thorow wax, (éupleurum A an umbelliferous 
plant, merely becaufe the leaf is of the 
perfohate kind. 

T hefe are defects common to the age, and. 
Parkinson muft not be appreciated by 
modern improvement, but by comparifon. 
with his contemporaries. In this. view, if 
Iam not miftaken, he will appear more. 
of an original author than GERARD, or 
JouNson, independent of the advantages he 
might derive from being pofterior to them. 
His ‘* Téeatre” was carried on thro’ a long 
feries of years, and he profited by the works 
of fome late authors, which, though equal- 
ly in JoHNsoNn’s power, he had neglected 
to ufe. PARKiINson’s defcriptions, in. 
many inftances, appear to. be new. He is. 

more 


Par kinfon. TAQ 


more particular in pointing out the places 
‘of growth. In the enumeration of the 
fynonyms, he has not only given nearly the 
wholeof Bauyuine’s** Pyzax,” but, very fre- 
quently, ‘has. himfelf confulted the original 
-authors, and enters minutely into a difcuf- 
fion of their doubts. In the account of the 
virtues, and ufes, PARKINSON 1s diffule. It 
was his profefled defign to make his work a 
Materia Medica; and if, in him, we meet 
with the qualities of plants eflimated on 
Galenical principles, by the degrees of hot 
and cold, moift and dry, &c. it was the 
theory of the day, from which authors of 
higher eminence were not emancipated. 

He not only gives the opinions of the Greek 
and Roman phyficians, but of the Arabi- 
ans, and has tranflated from the moderns, 
and his contemporaries, whatever could il- 
luftrate his neuen and render it as perfect 


fu 


as the intelligence of the times would al- 
dow. ‘To this end he has extracted largely 
from..Gin ws tus si  Exotics,”’ from.) A. 
cosTA, Monarpes, and Garcias ab 
HorTo on the drugs and fimples of the 
Eaft and Weft Indies; of which, at that 
Ly 3 time, 


{50 CHM ACP e RY 


time, many were newly introduced, and 
imperfectly known. 

PARKINSON’s work is much more ex- 
tenfive than Jounson’s, in the number of 
fubjects defcribed, he having taken, as be- 
fore obferved, advantages which the Ema- 
culator of GERARD neglected. Many of 
the plants of egypt, from Profper AuPi- 
Nus, many of the North American, or Ca- 
nadian plants, from CornurTus, and fome 
from CoLtuMNa’s work, are introduced. 
He negiected no opportunities of procuring 
new plants from abroad. ‘The-nature ef 
his profeffion did not allow him to make 
diftant or frequent excurfions in Eugland ; 
but, by the affiftance of his corref{pondents, 
and fome of Lope’s pofthumous writings, 
which he purchafed, he was enabled to en- 
Jarge, not only the catalogue of Britifh 
plants, but to introduce-many exotics be- 
fore unknown. } 

Jounson had defcribed about 2850 
plants, PARKINSON has near 3800. Thefe 
accumulations. rendered ‘the “* Tura 
f FRUM BoTANicumM” the moft copious 
book on the fubje@ in the Englith lan- 


guage 3 


Parkinfon. 151 


guage; and it may be prefumed, that it 
gained equally the approbation of medical 
people, and of all thofe who were curious 
and inquifitive in this kind of knowledge. 
Both this work, and GeRARD’s afterwards, 
acquired confequence by the references of 
Mr. Ray, who may be faid, in the lan- 
guage of the Catalgus Oxonienfis, to have 
raifed them to claffical eminence in En- 
glifh Botany, and preferved them from ob- 
livion as long as his own works remain. 
Without any defign of depriving Jounson 
ef his due praife, yet it is obvious, from 
the. recollection of certain circumftances, 
that PARKINSON laboured under difadvan- 
tages and impediments, which probably 
tended to deprefs his work at the time, al- 
though it had undoubtedly been carrying on 
through a longer feries of years than ‘febn- 

Jon's, and was more copious in its defign. 
Jounson had the opportunity that Ge- 
RARD himfelf obtained, of procuring all 
the cuts from abroad, PARKINSON’s, on 
the other hand, though copied from the 
fame figures, appear to have been cut anew, 
purpofely for his work. The delay occa~ 
a fioned 


152 CYHAT PINT ty wx fine 


fioned by this circumftance, befides the 
great expence, was, probably, among the 
obftacles the author complains of, which fo 
long retarded the publication of his work. 
Add to this, that the figures were after all 
inferior to the old tables, both in number 
and execution. JoHNson’s exceed thofe 
of PARKINsoN, by more than an hundred. 
Both thefe works may be confidered as Dz- 
gefts of the Botany of the age, in the Eng- 
lifh tongue ; but it is to be feared the fame 
cenfure lies againft them which Ca/par 
BAvHINE lodged againft DALECHAMP’s 
hiftory, publifhed in 1588, in which he de- 
moniftrated, that more than 400 plants were 
twice defcribed. 

Nor is it wonderful that the attempt to 
comprehend, and difcriminate the whole 
vegetable kingdom, was a plan too exten- 
five for one man, efpecially in the aug- 
mented ftate in which ParKinson found 
it. The magnitude of the defign necef- 
farily involved a multitude of errors, and 
expofed both GERarD and PARKINSON 
to the cenfures of malignant critics. Had 
the candour of Lose been equal to his 

, learning 


Parkinfon. 153 
learning and knowledge, he had {pared 


much of his acrimony againft thefe induaf- 
trious writers, whole laudable endeavours 
rather merited his applaufe. 

Among thofe contemporaries, whofe col- 
lateral affiftance is acknowledged by Par- 
KInNSON, Mr. (or, as he is ftiled in fome 
parts of the work, Dr.) Willam Bort 
claims particular notice. He was a native of 
the Low Countries, and had travelled into 
various parts of Germany and Spam; had 
been in Barbary, refided at Punis, and, at 
the publication of ‘* the Herbal,”’ lived at 
Lifbon. From all thefe countries he fent _ 
feeds of many plants before unknown in 
England. He was the correfpondent of 
Cuusius, and feems to have been very 
zealous for the improvement of natural 
knowledge. | 

Mr. “fobn Gorpier, ‘* a great: lover 
*« and curious fearcher of plants, who, be- 
** fides this,” ({peaking of the Geranium 
lucidum) ** hath found in our country other 
** plants, not imagined to grow in our 
§© Jand.. 

In ParRKinson’s works we alfo find the 

name 


554 CHAP TOR. ar. 


name of Mrs. Tomazin TuNsTAL, a lady 
whom he celebrates, not only for her tafte 
in cultivating a garden which was well 
{tored with exotics, but for her knowledge 
of Engh/> botany, and her difcoveries of fe- 
veral curious vegetables found about Ingle- 
borough Hill, in Lancafhire; which were not 
known before to grow in England. Whe- 
ther fhe was allied to Sir ‘Fohbu ‘TunsTAL, 
noticed in the account of Jounson, I can- 
not afcertain, 

Befides the names of Bow tes, Goon. 
VER, TRADESCANT, and others, men- 
tioned by JoHNson, we meet with the 
following, as having contributed to the 
general ftock, ‘fohu Newron, fargeon, 
at Colliton, Somerfetfhire ; Dr. Antony San- 
LER, phyfician at Exeter; Mr. Wilkam 
Quick, apothecary, London; Mr. Brap- 
SHAUGH, Of York/hire ; Mr. ea of 
Dubhn, and divers others * 


* PARKINSON is commemorated for his botanical 
Jabours by PLuMigR, in having his name applied toa 
decanarous tree, a native of the Caribbec illands, and of 
the adjacent continent, well known in the Englifh ftoves, 


and calledin Jamaica the Firu/alem thorn 


CH AP. 


C157) 


Ey AS cdr 


Hiftory of wooden cuis of plants—Plantin’s ac- 
cumulation of thefe figures—Fate of Gelner’s 
excellent engravings—-Of thofe to the Herbals 
of Turner, Gerard, avd Parkinfon—Parkin- 
fon’s the laft of imporiance (except Salmon’s) 
which were exbibited in England—fizft copper- 


plates of plants. 


WOODEN CUTS. 


S we are now arrived at the period, 

when wooden cuts were about to be 
fuperfeded by engravings on metal, Par- 
KInson’s ‘* Herbal” being the lait of any 
importance in which they were ufed in 
England, it may not be incongruous to our 
plan to notice the origin and progrefs of 
that art, which contributed not a little to 
facilitate the knowledge of plants. Rude 
as thefe reprefentations were, compared 
with the elegance of modern times, yet, in 
an age when fpecific diftinétions were not 
fixed, and the diagnoftic of the plant de- 


pended 


150 CH A Pete | ae. 


pended fo much on habit, they fpoke to 
the eye, and often difcriminated the fubje@, 
when the laboured defcription failed. 

It has been before obferved, that Sz- 
GUIER is of opinion the firtt Herbal with 
wooden cuts was the “* Puch der Natur,” 
«« The Book of Nature,” printed at dug/- 
burgh, in 1478, if not three years earlier. 
Thefe are thought to have pafled into the 
HERBARIUS, printed at Menéz in 1484; 
from which book was compiled the OrTUus 
SANITATIS, prin ted at the fame plare in 
1485; with eapre ovements in the work in 
general, and better figures, by Cua. Of - 
this work fome ie has before been taken, 
as the foundation of the Englifh ‘* Grete 
“« Herbal... firft fupemnied here unwsa0. 

The Hortus SANITATIS was tranflated 


1 


into various languages, and in fome new- 
modeled, without concealing its origin, 
according to the fancy of different editors 

and printers ; and pafied through innume- 
rable editions on the Continent; having 
been the popular book on the fubje@, as 
the “ Grete Herbal” was inEngland, for fifty 
or fixty years. 


6 It 


Wooden Cuts. 107 


It does not appear that CuBpa was pub- 
licly known as the author of the Hortus 
SANITATIS, until EGenotr, a bookfeller 
of Frankfort, gave an improved edition, 
with an entirely new fet of figures, under 
the care of EucHarius RwopIon or Ro- 
ESLIN, a phyfician of the fame city, in 
1533. Egenoif’s book paffed through va- 
rious editions, until a better work was com- 
pofed by DorsTEN, under the title of  Bo- 
tanicon,” in 1540, at Frankfort ; in which 
the fame figures were employed. They 
were ufed alfo in the “‘ Encyclopedia Medica” 
of J. DRYANDER, in 1542; and in the 
fucceeding year, in an edition of Diosco- 
RIDES, by Hermann Ryff, printed by Ege- 
nolf. Finally, Apam Lonicsr, the fon- 
in-law of Egenolf, having totally reformed 
the work of Cusa, employed them in his 
Herbal, printed in 1546. In fucceeding 
editions, he introduced new figures, took 
others from Tracus to the number in 
the whole of 880, and compofed a work, 


ad 


which pafled through a great number of 
editions, and was not fuperfeded in the 
prefent century, as appears by an edition 


printed 


158 CHAP Tee 312. 


printed fo lately as in 1723, and even in 
Ee oie 

We are informed by Tracus, that Ege« 
nolf {pared no expence in the encourage- 
ment of artifts to procure thefe icons, rude 
and imperfect as they appear to us. He {e- 
cured to himfelf, by this means, the mo- 
nopoly of printing Herbals, for a fucceffion 
of years; and acquired both fame and 
riches. 


At length, thefe were all fuperfeded by 


thofe of Brunsrexsiuvs to his Herbal, 
printed in 1532; which were drawn. from 
nature, and appear to have been the firtt 
that were worthy of notice. Thefe were, 
however, greatly excelled by Fucusivs, in 
1542; whofe figures, although only out- 
lines, are uncommonly beautiful, and not 
lefs juft. .They confift of five hundred 
figures in folio, of the moft common and 
ufeful plants; and were copied, in a {maller 
fcale, by many fucceeding authors. Tra- 
Gus took moit of them into his ‘* Hiftory 
<< of German Plants,” to which he added 
many new ones, to the amount in all of 
567. ‘Thole of Tracus are, little more 

a | than 


— a 


“Weeden Cuts, age 


than outlines ; and, allowing for the time, 
they fufficiently well exprefs the habit of 
moft of the fubjects. 

E.genolf having fet the example, printers, | 
after this time, themfelves bore the expence 
of cutting the blocks; by which means, 
certain printers monopolifed the printing of 
Herbals; anda kind of commerce between 
them and authors tock place, and mutual 
exchanges were made for the ufe of each 
other’s books. Among thefe, no one pof- 
feffed at length a greater collection than 
the famous PLANTIN, of Antwerp; who 
recommended himfelf fo highly by the 
excellency of his types, and mode of exe- 
cuting his works. Hence he became the 
common printer to feveral of the celebrated 
botanic writers of the fixteenth century. 
When Crustius publithed his French tranf- 
lation of DopoEns, with Loe, at Antwerp, 
he gave figures copied from FucHsIUs ; 
all which Plant bought. He afterwards 
acquired the figures cut for CLusius’s own 
works, and thofe of Loper. Doponaus, 
befides fome new blocks, had the ufe ofall the 
above in the ‘* Pemptades,” in 1684, which 
work contains 1300 figures, TABERNZ-~ 

MON TANUS 


3: 


Too CH AP sO hme Nike. 


MONTANUS obtained the ufe of this col- 
- Fection, namely, thofe of Fucusius, Civ- 
sius, LoBer, and Doponaus; to which 
he added thofe of Marruiotus; info- 
much that his Herbal, printed at Frankfort in 
1588, comprehends more than two thou- 
fand figures. Datecuamp, in his ‘* Ge- 
** neral Hiftory of Plants,” printed about 
the fame time, augmented them to near 
two thoufand feven hundred. 

The fate of GrsNner’s excellent figures 
I can but briefly mention ; it forms a mor- 
tifying, but curious anecdote, in the literary 
hiftory of the fcience. Of the fifteen hun- 
dred figures left by GESNER, prepared for 
his ‘“‘ Hiftory of Plants,” at his death, in 
1565, a large fhare pafied into the “* Epz- 
tome Matthiol,” publifhed by CaMERA- 
Rivs in 1586, which contained in the whole 
1003 figures; and in the fame year, as alfo 
into a fecond edition in 1590, they embel- 
lifhed an abridged tranflation of Mar- 
THIOLUS, printed under the name of the 
<* German Herbal.” In 1609, the fame 
blocks were ufed by Ufenbach for the Her- 
bal of Castor DuRANTES, printed at 


Frankfort. ‘This publication, however, 


comprehends 


Wooden Cuts. 161 


eompreliends only 948 of thefe icons, nearly 
another hundred being introduced of very in- 
ferior merit. After this period, CaMERA- 
Rius the younger being dead, thefe blocks 
were purchafed by Geer/in, a bookfeller of 
Ulm; and next ferved for the “ Parnaffus 
Medicinahs iluftratus” of BrcueEr, printed 
at that city in 1663; the fecond part of 
which work contains all thofe of the ‘“‘ Epz- 
tome,” except fie, fiaures':; lin. 1679, they 
were taken into a German Herbal, made up 
from Matruiotus, by Bernard VEeR- 
ZASCHA, printed at Bafi7; and fuch was_ 
the excellency of the materials and work- 
manfhip of thefe blocks, that they were 
exhibited a fixth time in the ** Theatrum 
Botanicum,’ or Krauterbuch of ZWINGER, 
being an amended edition of VERZAscHA, 
printed alfo at Bafi/ in 1696, with the addi- 
tion of more than one hundred new blocks, 
copied from C. Bauuine and TaserRnaz- 
MONTANUS; and finally, into a new edition 
of the fame work, fo late as the year 1744. 
Thus did the genius and labours of GrEs-~ 
NER add dignity and ornament to the works 
of other men, and even of fome whofe en- 
Amity he had experienced during his life-time. 
Vou. I. M Befides 


162 CHAP BRER\ te. 


Befides the above mentioned, Gresner 
left five volumes, confifting entirely of 
figures, which, after various viciffitudes, 
became the property of TREw, of Norim- 
berg. Senfible that whether we view the 


extent of GrsnerR’s knowledge and learn. | 


g, or his fingular induftry, fuch muft be 
the veneration for his character, that any 
of his remains muft claim the attention of 
the curious, the pofleffor gratified the pub- 
lic, by the pen of Dr. ScuMIEDEL, with an 
ample {pecimen, publifhed in 1753. 

Thus far for foreigners. The rude icons 
of the ** Grete Herbal,” it has been ob- 
ferved, were evidently copied from thofe in 
the Hortus SanitaTis; for that they 
were not the fame tables, appears from the 
diminifhed fize. Of the figures in TURNER’s 
Hiftory, which amount to upwards of soo; 
the greater part are thofe of Fucusius’s 
octavo fet ; and the remainder, nearly 100, 
were new. LyTe printed his tranflation 
of DopdoEns with Loe, at Antwerp, for 
the conveniency of his figures, which are 
alfo borrowed from Fucustus; to which 
Lyte added about thirty new ones. 

GERARD, in 1597, and Jounson, his 

66 Bimacu- 


ing 


Wooden Cuts: 163 
 Emaculator” afterwards, in 1633 and- 
1636, procured all the blocks from Frank- 
foré, with which the Herbal of Tasrrna- 
MONTANUS had been illuftrated. Joun- 
son by this means accumulated upwards of 

2700 cuts. ; 

The blocks for PARKINsoNn’s ** Thea 
trum,” and his ‘* Paradi/us,” were, I appre- 
hend, cut in England; and thofe for the firtt 
feem to be copies from Grrarp, though 
much inferior in execution. The laft of 
the kind ufed in England, were a new fet cut 
for Satmon’s “* Herbal,” in 1710; except, 
I believe, thofe for a very indifferent per- 
formance, under the name of ** An Herbal,” 
publifhed fince that time, in quarto. 

The earlieft copper-plates of plants on 
the Continent, are faid to be thofe of Co- 
lumna in his ** Phytobafanos,” in 1592. In 
England, except fome fingle figures, and 
the few plates in the firft edition of PLot’s 
‘‘ Oxfordfhire” in 1677, thofe of the ‘* Hz/~ 
torta Oxonienfis” are the firft exhibition of 
any great work ;-and of thefe, the grafles 
are, to this time, perhaps unparalleled in the 
neatnefs and accuracy of the execution. 


M 2 GH A’ P. 


( 164 3 


Coat (a PE tg. 


The botanical Garden founded at Oxford by Henry 
Earl of Danby—Jacob Bobart the jirft Inten- 
dant-——T wo editions of the Catalogus Oxonien- 
fis—Account of the authors, the Bobarts, Ste- 
phens, avd Browne. : 

Dr. How, fome account of—His Phytologia the 

- firft Englifh Fiora, or feparation of Englifh 
from exotic botany—The authors affiftants in 
this work, Stonehoufe, Bowles, aud. others— 
How, the editor of Lobel’s pofthumous Iuftra- 


_ tiones. 


HORTUS OXONIENSIS. 


YITHERTO Botany, however fuc- 
AE. cefsfully it might have been culti- 
vated by individuals in Emgland, had re- 
ceived no encouragement fromi any public 
inftitutions ; but the time was now ar- 


rived, when it acquired additional vigour 
and improvement from the foundation of a 
phyfic-garden at Oxford. 'Thefe elegant 
and neceflary aids to fcience had confidera~ 
bly multiplied fince the firft foundations of 

the 


Bt ——————— 


Hortus Oxonienjis. 165 


the kind, before noticed, in Italy and elfe-+ 
where. Several univerfities in the more 
northern and weftern parts of Europe had 
procured the eftablifhment of gardens: Pa- 
ris,in1s70; Leyden, in 1577; Lepfc, in 
1580; Montpelier, in 15983 ‘fexa,in 1628 ; 
and Ox/ford, in the year 1632. This laft was 
owing to the munificence of Henry Earl 
of Danby, who gave for this purpofe five 
acres of ground, built green-houfes and 
ftoves, and an houfe for the accommodation 
of the gardener; endowed the eftablifhment, 
and placed in it, as the fupervifor, ‘Yacod 
BoBarT, a German from Brunfwick, who 
lived, as Woop tells us, in the garden- 
houfe, and died there on February 4, 1679. 
A lift of the plants was publithed, under 
the title of ‘‘ CaTALocus PLANTARUM 
Horti medici OXONIENSIS Latino-anghicus et 
Anghico-latinus: alphabetico ordine.” Oxon. 
1648. 12°. pp. s4and st. DiLLentus 
informs us, that BoBartT drew up this 
catalogue. In the preface we are told the 
garden contained 1600 {pecies, by which 
muft be underftood both exotic and indi- 
genous, including varieties of each. ‘The 

M 3 planta 


166 CHAPTER 13, 


plants are barely enumerated, without any 
fynonyms, or references to any author. The 
number of Englith fpecies recited, extends 
to 600, or nearly. ‘The copioufne(s of this 
catalogue fets the zeal and diligence of 
BosartT in a favourable light, Under 
his care, and that of his fon, the garden 
of Oxford continued to flourifh for many 
years. 

‘The CaratoGus OxoNIENSts was re- 
publithed in the year 1658, in a much im- 
proved ftate, by the joint affiftance of Dr. 
STEPHENS, Mr. Wilkam Browne, and 
the two Bozarts, father and fon, under 
the following title, ““ CaTALocus HorTI 
BotTanici Oxoniensis, alphabetice digef- 
tus, Guas preterpropter, plantarum chilia- 
das compleétens, priore duplo auctior, idemque 
elimatior, nec non etymologus, qua Grecis, Gua 
Latinis, hinc inde petitis, enucleatior : im quo 
gomma Latina pariter et Greca verndaculis ; 
et in eus feguiore parte, vernacula Latinis 
preponuntur. Cut acceffere plante minimum 
Jexaginta fuis nominibus infignite, que nullibi 

iff in boc opufculo memorantur. Curé et 
operd foie Poilippi STEPHANI, MOD. 
scl 


Fiortus Oxonienfs. 167 


Gulielni Broune, A. M. adbibitis etiam in 
confilium D. Boserto patre, hortulano aca- 
_— demico ejufque filo, utpote ret herbarie callen- 
tifjimis.’ Oxon. 1658. 8°. pp. 214: 

Of Dr. Philip STEPHENS, whofe name 
ftands firft among the authors of this cata- 
logue, we find little mention elfewhere, as 
eminent in botanical fcience. He was born 
at the Devizes in Wilt/hire, and was firft of 
St. Alban’s Hall, Oxon; afterwards made 
Fellow of New College by the vifitors, and 
became Principal of Magdalen Hall. We 
died at London after the Reftoration. | 

MERRET, without any notice of Dr: 
STEPHENS, exprefsly calls Mr. BRowNeE 
the author of this Catalogue; and Wood 
fays, that he -had the chief hand in it. 
Wiham BROWNE was a native of Oxjord, 
became Bachelor of Divinity, and Senior 
Fellow of Magdalen College. He died in 
March 1678, aged about 50, and was bu- 
ried in the outer chapel of his college. | 

In this enlarged edition, the authors have, 
in every inftance where it was poffible, not 
only adopted the ipecifical appellations giv- 
en by GrRARD and PARKINSON to each 

1 Oe a plant, 


168 C.WyA P ERR, 


plant, but quoted the page of their works, 
This is the firft book, as far as I know, on 
the fubjedt, printed in England, in which 
the latter of thefe circumftances takes place. 
Itis remarkable, that fo obvious an afliftance, 
after having been introduced by Ca/par Bau- 
HINE in his ‘‘Pdytopmnax,”’ fhould be want- 
ing in the “ Pzmax”’ itfelf. Had GERARD 
and PARKINSON retained, throughout their 
works, the exact fynonyms of the authors 
from whom they transferred their plants, and 
quoted the pages, they would unqueftionably 
have rendered their writings much more 
ufeful to pofterity, and have preferved them 
from difufe and ablivion, for a much longer 


period. ‘The fame'may be obferved of Mr. 


Ray, who has totally neglected this valu- 
able improvement. So novel was the prac- 
tice, that the authors of the Hortus Oxo- 
NIBNSIS thought it neceflary to apologife 
for it, and fhield themfelves under the au- 
thority of the ** Hortus Byflettenjis.” 


There are many dubious and ill-afcer-. 


tained plants in this Catalogue; and thofe 


marked as new, are almoft wholly varieties. 


Englith Botany feems to have received little 
; or 


Haw. 169 
or no acceffion by it; and 1 am not aware 
of one indigenous plant firft mentioned in 
this lift. 

The fecond part, or alphabetical lit of 
Englith names, is intended only to lead to 
the Latin generical term in the firft part. 


H O W. 


Until this period, no attempts had been 
made in Eizg/and to feparate the indigenous 
from exotic botany. It is true, Dr. Joun-~ ~ 
son, as before mentioned, had publifhed 
local catalogues of the plants of certain dif- 
tricts ; but no one had effayed a general lift 
or defcription of the Englifh plants alone, 
in the way of what is now called a Fura: 
aterm, which, as far as I can find, was firft 
adopted by Szmon Pavti, for a catalogue 
of the plants of Denmark, publithed in 1648. 
It is to Dr. How that we owe the firft 
{ketch of a work of this kind; and, though 
he does not entitle his book Flora, he yet 
mentions that term in his preface. 

Wiham Wow was born in London in the 
year 1619, and educated at Merchant Tay- 
lors {chool. He became a commoner of 
St. John’s college, Oxford, at eighteen ; he 

| took 


170 CoH AP I be, 


took his bachelor’s degree in 1641, and 


that of mafter of arts in 1645; and entered | 


on the phyfical line. It does not appear 
that he ever took his do&or’s degree, though 
he was commonly called Dr. How. With 
many other {cholars of that time, he en- 
tered into the king’s army, and for his loy- 
alty. was promoted to the rank of captain, 
in a troop of horfe. Upon the decline of 
the royal caufe, he profecuted his ftudies in 
phyfic, and practifed in that faculty. He 
lived firft in St. Lawrence Lane, and after- 


wards in Milk Street. He died about the. 


beginning of September 1656, and was bu- 
et by the erave of his nn r, in St. Mar- 
aret’s church, Weflminfler ; icaving behind 
him, as Mr. Wood fays, ‘‘ a choice library 
of books of his faculty, and the character of 
a noted herbalift,” 

Dr. How’s principal publication, and 
for which he is here recorded, bears the 
following title: 

‘“ Pry ToLociA BrRirTANNICA, natales 
exbibens indigenarum 'Stirpium fponte emer 
gentium.’ Lond. 1650, 12°. pp: 133. 

The plants are arranged in the alphabe- 

tical order of the Lat names, with one or 
twa 


How. 17% 


two fynonyms, taken, as beft pleafed the 
author, from various writers on the conti- 
nent, as well as from GERARD, PARKIN- 
son, and Lopei.. The place of growth to 
each plant is noticed, and the particular 
{pots where the rare ones grow, are {pecified. 
The lift contains 1220 plants, which (as 
few moffes and fungi are enumerated) is a 
copious catalogue for that time, even ad- 
mitting the varieties, which the prefent {tate 
of botany would reject. 

The author of this little volume was 
unqueftionably a man of very confiderable 
learning, and had a ftrong paflion for the 
knowledge of plants; but his fituation in 
jife does not feem to have allowed him the 
opportunity of travelling into the various 
parts of Exgland, to gratify his tafte in Eug- 
_ fife botany, with which he was not criti- 
cally and extenfively acquainted. Mr. Ray, 
in the preface to his ‘* Catalogus Plantarum 
Angle,” has given a lift of more than thirty 
{pecies in the ‘* Phyzologia,” which have no 
title toa place as indigenous plants of Eng- 
fand, Some of thefe being inhabitants of 

Southern 


7 


172 Ci A Pr THER: 12. 


Southern Europe; others evidently the ac+ 
cidental outcafts of gardens ; and fome, as 
certainly, miftaken for other plants, as ap- 
peared from the impoffibility of finding them 
in the fpots which How had pointed out. 
The rare plants were almoft wholly com- 
municated by his friends, Mr. SToNE- 
House, Dr. Bowes, Mr. Heaton, Mr. 
Loccins, Mr. Goopver, and others. 
He drew fome from a manufcript of Dr. 
Jounson, the editor of Gzrarp. I with 
it were in my power to commemorate thefe 
perfons in a more ample manner, who, at 
an early period, contributed to extend and 
iluftrate Englifh botany. Mr, Srone- 
HOUSE, in particular, has deferved highly 
of the lovers of this fcience, He appears 
to have travelled much in Englgnd, from 
his recording the plants difcovered by him 
in many counties. In Yorkfhire he was 
particularly converfant; and, I conjecture, 
he lived at a place called Darfield, near 
Barnfley, in that county. 
P Dr. BowLes, and Mr. Goopver, are, 
I believe, the fame perfons mentioned under 


the 


| How. 174 
the article of Jounson. Of Mr. Hea- 
ton, I fhali take further notice in the fe- 
quel of thefe anecdotes. 

It has been obferved, that fome of Lo- 
BEL’s papers fell into the hands of Par- 
KINSON, and fome into Dr. How’s poffef- 
fion. Thefe were the fragment of LoBEt’s 
‘great work, which How publithed in TOGs, 
-under the fubfequent title: . 

“* Matthia de Losey, M.D. botanographé 
regii eximil, STIRPIUM ILLUSTRATIONES, 
plurimas elabcrantes tnauditas plantas fub- 
reptitiis “fob. PARKINSONI rapfodits (ex co- 
dice M.S. infalutato) /parfim gravate, ejuf- 
dem adjeGa funt ad calcem Theatri Botanict 
Apaptypoja. Accurante Guill. How, Augh.” 
Lond. 168%. 4°.’ pp. 170. 

This work has been noticed under the 
article of Logpex. It is fufficient to obferve 
here, that the notes which the editor has 
affixed, would almoft perfuade the reader 
that he had publithed the work with a view 
to take an invidious retrofpect of PARKIN- 
son's “* Theatre.” In the preface to the 
“¢ Phytologia,’ and in that of this work, both 
written in a flowery and bombaft file, as well 


as 


174 Ci A PER) 14. > 

as throughout the notes, he fpeaks of Pax- 
KINSON in very contemptuous language, — 
and reprefents him as having made LoBet’s - 
obfervations his own, without acknow- 
ledgment. Whatever may have been the 
cafe in particular inftances, the attack, on 
the whole, was uncandid ; fince PARKIN- 
SON, in the very title of his ‘‘ Teatre,” pro- 
feffes to have made ufe of, and inferted, Dr. 
LoxBe_’s notes, together with thofe of Dr. 
BonuAM and others. In fact, there isa pe- 
tulance and an acrimony in the ftile, both of 
the author and of the editor of this work, 
which, howfoever exampled in the laft age, 
is, happily, much lefs frequently the lan= 
guage of literature in the prefent. 


CHA Ps 


f) rp) 


GUH AVR 54. 


Sowe account of the Tradefcants, father and fon— 
The firft who formed a mufeum of natural bif- 
tory in this country—Account of Yradefcant’s 
publication—The mufeum bequeathed to Afh- 
mole. | 

The aftrological herbalifts : Robert Turner, Cul- 
pepper, and Lovel—The loft the moft. refpec- 
table of the fel® in that time—Account of bis 
Pambotanologia — Pechey’s Herbal — Sal- 
mon—du account of bis Herbal, 


a RA DB) Ss) CAN FE 


LTHOUG H it does not appear that 

the TRADESCANTS contributed 
materially to amplify what is more efpeci- 
ally aneant by Englifh Botany, or the difco- 
very and illeftration of the plants fponta- 
neoufly growing in England: yet, in a 
work devoted to the commemoration of 
Botanifts, their name ftands too high not 
to demand an honourable notice; fince they 
contributed, at an early period, by their 
garden 


176 CH A Pinte | 14. 
garden and mufeum, to raife a curiofity that. 
was eminently ufeful to the progrefs and 
improvement of natural hiftory in general. 

‘fobu "'TRADESCANT was by birth 4 

Dutch man, as we are informed by Az 
Wood. On what occafion, and at what 
period, he came into Exg/and, is not precife- 
ly afcertained. He is faid to have been, for 
a confiderable time, in the fervice of Lord 
Treafurer SALIsBuRY and Lord WooTon. 
He travelled feveral years, and into various 
parts of Europe; as far eaftward as into 

Rufia. He was in a fleet that was fent 
againtt the A/gerines in 1620, and mention 
is made of his collecting plants in Barbary, 
and in the ifles of the Mediterranean. He 
is faid to have brought the srifolium /fella- 
tum Lin. from the ifle of Fermentera ; and 
his name frequently occurs tn the fecond 
edition of Gerarp by Jonnson; in Par- 
KINSON’s ** Theatre of Plants,’ and, in 
his ‘* Garden of Flowers,” printed in 1656. 
But I conjecture that TRADESCANT was 
not refident in Exgland in the time of GE~ 
RARD himfelf, or known to him. 

He appears however to have been efta- 
: blifhed 


Tradefcant: ‘ey 


blithed in England, and his garden founded 
at Lambeth ; about the year 1629 he ob- 
tained the title of gardener to Céarles I. 
TRADESCANT wasa man of extraordinary 
curiofity, and the firft in this country, who 
made any confiderable collection of the fub- 
jects of natural hiftory. He had a {on of the 
fame name, who took a voyage to Virginia, 
from whence he returned with many new 
plants. ‘They were the means of introduc- 
ing a variety of curious fpecies into this 
kingdom ; feveral of which bore their name. 
Tradefcant’s Spiderwort, Tradefcant’s After, 
are well known to this day; and LiInna&us 
has immortalized them among the Bota- 
nifts, by making a new genus, under their 
name, of the Spiderwort, which had before 
been called Ephemeron. His Mufeum, called 
Tradefcant’s Ark, attracted the curiofity of 
the age, and was much frequented by the 
great, by whofe means it was alfo much 
enlarged, as appears by the lift of his bene- 
factors, printed at the end of “ his MusruM 
TRADESCANTIANUM;” among whom, 
after the names of the king and queen, are 
found thofe of many of the firft nobility. 
This fmall volume, the author entitled 
Wout. 1. N “< MuszumM 


178 CHAPTER 14. 
Nee Musrum TRADESCANTIANUM; Of, @ 
** Collection of Rarities preferved at South 

«<< Lambeth, near London. By “fobu 'TRa- 
““ DESCANT.” 1656, 12°. It contains lifts of 
his birds, quadrupeds, fifh, fhells, infects, 


ininerals, fruits, artificial and mifcellaneous 


curicfities, war inftruments, habits, utenfils, - 


coins, and medals. Thefe are followed by 
a catalogue, in Enelifh and Latin, of the 
plants of his garden, and a lift of his be- 
nefactors. "The reader ‘may {ee a°curiotis 
account of the remains of this garden, drawn 
up in the year r749, by the late “Sir 
William WAT son, and printed in the 46th 

volume of the Philofophical Tranfactions. 
eres to this volume were the prints of 
both father and fon; which, from the cir- 
cumftance of being engraved by Hoitiar, 
has rendered the book well known to the 
collectors of prints, by whom moft of the 
copies have been plundered of the impref- 
sons." 

In what year the elder TRADESCANT 
died, is not certain, but his print above- 
mentioned reprefents him as a man ad- 
vanced in age. | 

The fon inherited the mufeum, and be- 


queathed 


~ ————— 


Lovell. 179 
queathed it by a deed of gift to Mr. Asu- 


-MOLE, who lodged in Tradefcan?’s houfe. 


It afterwards became: part of the A/hmolean 
mufeum, and the name of TRADESCANT 
was unjuftly funk in that of Afbmole. John, 
the fon, died in 1662. His widow erected 
a curious monument, in memory of the 
family, in Lambeth church yard, of which 
a largeaccount, andengravings from adraw- 
ing of itin the Pepy/ian library at Cambridge, 
are given by the late learned Dr. Ducar- 
REL, in the 63d volume of the Phzls/ophical 


Tranfactions*. 


R, TURNER, CUL PEPPER, 
and Lov & Lhe 


The influence of Aftrology in Phyfic and 
Botany, was far from being worn out in the 
middle of this age. By the credulity and 
fuperftition of fome, and the dithonefty of 
others, it {till maintained its ground. Se- 

* The name TRapDESCANTIA was firft applied by 


Ruppius, a German, in his Flora Fenenfis, toa plant 
introduced into the Englifh gardens, by TRADESCANT 


himfelf, and fufficiently known by the appellation ‘of 


Tradclcant’s Spiderwort, to which genus Linnaus: has 
fince reduced fix other fpecies. 
N. 2 veral 


180 CHAP THRR 1,4, 


veral phyficians, and other men of learning, 
fhewed fome bias towards it. Many prac- 
titioners of an inferior clafs, and numerous 
empirics, were {till advocates for aftrological 
influence in the preparation and application 
of fimples. | 

Tirere is an Herbal written by Robert 
TURNER, who calls himfelf Botanolgie 
Studifus, under the title of ** BoraNno- 
‘“Lrocia, the Britith Phyfician ; or, The 
“¢ Nature and Vertues of Enelith Plants ; 
‘© exactly deferibing fuch as grow naturally 
‘©in the land, with their feveral names, 
_ «© Greek, Latin, or Englith; natures, places 
‘¢ where they flourifh, and are moft proper 
‘“< to be gathered ; their degrees of tempera- 
ture, applications, and vertues, phyfical 
‘and aftrological ‘ufes ‘treated of, del? 
London, 1664,’'12°) «But, of the afiree 
logical herbalifts, Nicholas. CULPEPPER 
ftands eminently forward. His ‘* Herbal,” 
firtt printed in 1652, whichc ontinued for 
more than a century, to be the manual of 
good ladies in the country, is well known; 
and, to do the author juftice, his defcriptions 
of common plants were drawn up witha 

" | clearnefs 


Lovell. 181 


clearnefs and diftinG@ion that would not 

have difgraced a better pen. 
. Yet there is one author of this order, whofe 
re{pectability might exempt him from to- 
tal oblivion. Robert Love y’s “* compleat 
“* Herbal,” although faid to be written by 
him whilft a young man, is of fo fingular a 
complexion, as to merit notice in a work 
of this kind, were it only to regret the mif- 
application of talents, which demonftrate 
an extenfive knowledge of books, a won- 
derful induftry in the collection of his ma-~ 
terials, and not lefs judgment in the ar- 
rangement. The firft edition was printed 
in 1659 ; the fecond in 1665, in 8°. at Ox- 
ford, pp. 672, exclufive of the introduc- 
tion of 84 pages, and bears the following 
title, *\ PamBoTANOLOGIA: /ive Exnchi- 
‘* ridion Botanicum; or, A compleat Her- 
«‘ bal; containing the fum of antient and 
‘© modern authors, both Galenical and 
«¢ Chymical, touching trees, fhrubs, plants, 
“‘ fruits, flowers, &c. in an alphabetical 
f‘ order, wherein all that are not in the 
** phyfic garden in Oxford are noted with 
of afterifks, Shewing their place, time, 
N 3 “* names, 


182 CHA Pie 94. 


“* names, kinds, temperature, virtues, ufe, 
‘“‘ dofe, danger, and antidotes; together 
“* with. an introduction to herbarifme, &c. 
“* an appendix of exotics, and an univerfal: 
“* index of plants, fhewing what grow wild: 
*‘in England ; 2d edition with additions.” 
Oxford, 1065, 12°. | 

To thofe whofe curiofity leans that a 
it may not be eafy to direct them to a more 
concife, or more perfectly methodical ar- 
rangement of fimples, according to the Ga- 
lenical principles of the four elements, tem- 
peraments, and qualities, than may be met 
with in the introduétion to this book. 

The arrangement of the matter.in the 
work itfelf is according to the alphabet of 
the Englith names ; to which is fubjoined 
the place of growth, the time of flowering, 
then the name in Greek, and the Latin of- 
ficinal term, ‘There are no defcriptions of 
the plants; but the qualities and ufes of 
each are collected from a profufion of au- 
thors, and applied to all the fpecies under 
each generical term; the form in which 
_the medicine fhould be given, the authority 
for each carefully cited, and the officinal 

compounds 


Lovell. 183 


compounds into which they enter affidu- 
oufly noticed. The author includes fimples, 
both of exotic and of indigenous growth. 

He profefles to have cited near two hun- 
dred and fifty authors, of which he gives 
the litt tah Da 4d begins an appendix on 
the drugs of the Eaft and Weft Indies, ex- 
tracted from the Arabians, and from Her- 
NANDEZ. A copious index of names to 
all the plants | of his “ Herbal,” with the 
fynonyms ; efpecially of the older au- 
thors ; of fuch as are mentioned in Tra- 
DESCANT; Bauuine’s Pimax ; of thofe 
which are in the foreign botanical gardens, 
and not in that of Oxford; and laftly, of 
thofe inthe PeyroLtocia BRITANNICA. 
The work concludes with a large index of 
difeafes, with the appropriate remedies from 
the fimples of his work. In his catalogue 
of authors, he gives the number of figures 
contained in their works, which I tranfcribe 
as a matter of curiofity, that cannot fail to 
gratify the botanical reader *. 


? PECHEY. 
* Apollinaris {. Albertus, - - I4t 
Alpinus, Profper - 46 


Bauhinu, F - 3547 
: N 4 Brunsfelfius 


( Bip) 


POE CB Bie 


After the recital of CuLPEPPER and 
Lovet, I cannot refufe admittance to an 
author of more refpectability, though not 
deeply {killed in botanical knowledge. — 

‘© The compleat Herbal of Phyfical 
*« Plants ; containing all fuch Exgi/b and 
‘* foreion herbs, and fthrubs, and trees, as 


«are ufed in phyfic and furgery. By Yobz 


Brunsfelfus = ° 288 
Camerariuss - 1003 
Cluftus, Rariores - 11 35 
a — Exotica, = ar (er | 
Golumna, he - 205 
Cordus, Log = 272 
Dodoneus, ~ © ¥305 
Durantes, - * 879 
Ly fettenfis Fortus - 1083. 
Fufchfius, - 2 516 
‘Fobnfon’s Gerard, « 2730 
Lobell, 2 2116 
Lonicerus, - 832 
Matthiolus, 5 & 957 
Parkinfon, s 2786 
Rauwolf, * x ie Ae 
Renealme, _ i 42 
Ruellius, ‘a ‘ 350 
Tragiss, - oF 1g Oy 


PT ECUEY 4 


Salmon. 185 


& Pecnry, M.D. fellow of the college of 
‘¢ phyficians.” 8°. 1694; reprinted at 4m- 
 fterdam the fame year, and in 1707. The 
defcriptions, which are fhort, are taken 
from Ray’s hiftory; the virtues from a 
variety of authors. The natural places of 
growth of the Englifh plants are {pecified ; 
but the author betrays his want of botani- 
cal knowledge, by enumerating feveral in- 
digenous as exotic plants. PrcHEY was 
the firft who introduced into ufe the cafz- 
munar ; of which he is faid to have madea 
fecret, and confidered it as a corrector of the. 
Peruvian bark. 
In the fame year was publifhed, ‘* Pu1- 
LOBOTANOLOGIA: f. Hiftoria Vegetabilium 
facra; or, A Scriptural Herbal. By Wiliam 
WesTMACcOTY.” 8.1694. Not having 
feen this volume I can give no further ac- 
count of it, % 


SALMON, 


If my readers will excufe the anachronifm, 
I am here tempted to anticipate the name 
ef an author, the complexion of whofe 
: . writings 


186 CH A REAR. I4. 


writings. renders it not improper, to. notice 


him after. CuLpeppeR and Love.t; al- 
though in the. time he lived, the. influence 


of aftrology had loft till more of its power. - 


To the faftidious critic in Botany, it might 
need fome apology, that I introduce, into 
thefe anecdotes the nameof SaLMon; well 
known as a multifarious writer, and. author 
of numerous publications in phyfic, all of the 
empirical caft. I confefs, however, I could 
not pafs over, in total filence, a writer to 
whom, although no praife can be due as a 
botanift, yet the commendation of induftry 
ought not to be withheld from a man who 
could beftow twenty years labour, in the 
compilation of * an Herbal” of 1296 pages, 
in folio: I will recite the title, which will 
fufficiently fhew the nature of his work. 

‘« The Encuish Herat; or, Hit 
‘tory of Plants; containing, 1. Their 
“names, Greek, Latin, and Engh/b. 2. 
‘‘ Species, or various kinds. 3. Defcrip- 
‘tions, 4. Places of growth. 5. Times 
*‘ of flowering and feeding. 6. Qualities 


wn 
€ 


*‘ or properties. 7. Their {pecifications. 


«© 3. Preparations, Galenic and Chymic, 
5 ie s* g. Virtues 


Salmon. 8; 


eg, Virtues and ufes. 10, A compleat 
«© florilegium of all the choice flowers culti- 
‘* vated by our florifts, interfperfed through 
‘¢ the work, in their proper places, where 
‘¢ vou have their culture, choice, increafe,. 
“‘ and way of management, as well for pro- 
‘¢ fit as delectation, adorned; with, exquifite 
‘<* icons, or figures of the moft confiderable 
““fpecies. By William Saumon, M. D.” 
London, fol. 2 vol. 1711. 

The order of SanMon’s book is alphabe- 
tical, and, as itis a work of mere compila- 
tion, he profefies to have confulted all the. 
botanical authors of repute, and enumerates, | 
the names of fuch. His def on was to treat 
on medicinal herbs principally. As a bo- 
tanical work it is beneath all criticifm ; the 
errors in this way being enormous, both in 
multitude and degree. In detailing the 
powers of fimples, he follows the Galenic 
terms of expreffion ufed by the writers of 
the preceding century, and diftributes, with — 
a lavifh hand, extraordinary and numerous 
powers to almoft every herb he defcribes. 
Exclufive of his induftry, fome merit is due 
to Satmon for the regular arrangement of 


hig. 


183 CHAPTER 14. 


his fubje&s, fubordinate to his method; 
qualities which, under the direGion of 
more {kill in Botany, and a founder judge- 
ment in difcriminating the properties of 
fimples, might have enabled him to have 
executed more effectually what feems to 


have been his purpofe, that of fuperfeding 


the Herbals of GeRarp and ParKINson, 


in which he totally failed. His tables, 
I have noticed heretofore, in fpeaking on 
wooden cuts. But from thefe authors I 
return to writers of dignity and importance; 


and, with peculiar fatisfaction, to the view, » 
efpecially, of a character, from whofe pene- | 


trating genius, and perfevering induftry, not 
Botany alone, but Zoology, may date a new 
era. On this occafion I fingularly lament, 
that Iam not furnifhed with any new ma- 
terials to illuftrate the life of Ray ; of whom 
it may with truth be maintained, that in 
thefe branches of natural hiftory, he became, 
without the patronage ofan Alexander, the 


time, 


CHA P. 


Ariftotle of England, and the Linn us of the 


Te 


Co ah rg 


- Retrofpettive view of botanical fcience in the period 
immediately antecedent to Ray—<A detailed ac- 
count of the life and writings of Ray—His 

_ Catalogus Cantabrigienfis—Ray’s three firft 
Lotanical tours—Appendixes to the Cambridge 
Cataloeue—Foreign travels—Fourth tour in 
Eneland—Eleéted fellow of the Royal Society. 


Re AY. 


F we here take a retrofpective view of 
the progrefs of botany during the firft 
period of the feventeenth century, we find 
that, however particular individuals, both 
in England and on the continent, might 
have laboured in its advancement, it was 
not, on the whole, in a flourifhing ftate, 
either here, or in any other part of Europe. 
From the time of the Bauuines, even 
to that of Ray, its progrefs as a fcience 
was flow. The Remains of Fohn Bau- 
HINE, his “* Hiforta Plantarum Univer- 
fats,’ printed in 1650, in three large 
folio 


\ 


Igo CHW POP BR 1s. 


folio volumes, at the expence of 40,000 
florins, defrayed by F. L. @ Graffenreid, 
was the principal performance on the con- 
tinent, and that indeed was invaluable. It 
is a monument of learning and:induftry, of 
which few examples can be expected in any 
one age. ‘That which GresneRr performed 
for zoology, ‘fobn BAUHINE effected in 
botany. It is, in reality, a repofitory of all 
that was valuable in the ancients, in his 
immediate predecefiors, and in the difcove- 
ties of his own time, relating to the hiftory 
of vegetables, and is-executed with that 
accuracy and critical judgment which can 

only be exhibited by fuperior talents. _ 
‘The obftacles to the improvement. of 
botany were various. Europe had been in- 
volved in war, the perpetual enemy to free 
intercourfe -among the learned; and to 
commerce, which is ever friendly to natural 
f{eience. Simples were neglected in phyfic, 
for medicines drawn from chymiftry.. Even 
-alchymy yet employed the induftry of many 
in every nation of Eurcpe. Botanical gar- 
dens, although feveral, both public and pri- 
vate, had-been eftablifhed, did not, however, 
flourifh. 


Ray. | ¥9r 
flourith. ‘The Indies had not yet poured in 
their treafures with that liberal hand which 
was foon after experienced. Even the paf- 
fion of the florift for varieties aflifted in 
deprefiing the genuine fpirit of the bota- 
_ nift. But the time was now approaching, 
when botany was about to receive a capi- 
tal advantage and embellifhment, by the 
introduction and eftablifhment of /y/fem ; 
of the rife and progrefs of which, it will 
not be incongruous to my plan to give a 
fhort account, fince this great revolution 
formed a new era in the hiftory of the 
fcience. As the revival of it, however, did 
net take place till the time of Mr. Ray 
and Dr. Morison, I will poftpone what 
I have to fay on this fubject, till I have 
given {ome account of the writings of thofe 
juftly celebrated naturalifts, by whofe la- 
bours fyftem itfelf was reftored and im- 
proved. 

The earlieft anecdotes of Mr. Ray, to 
which I can refer, are fome brief outlines of 
his life, in the “‘ Compleat Hiftory of Eu- 
** rope for the year 1705.” A more cont 
nected account of this learned and’ excellent 
man may be feen in the ‘* General Dictio- 

nary,” 


192 CHAPGER 15, 4 


33 


nary,” and the ‘‘ Biographia Britannica ;” 
but the moft detailed relation is that of 
Dr. ScorrT, publithed in 1760, from ma- 
terials collected by Dr. Deruam. . This. 
is well abridged in the Biographical Dittio- 
nary. tis much to be regretted, that our 
curiofity has not been more amply grati- 
fied than by thefe fhort and imperfect me- 
moirs. 

A more circumftantial narrative of the life 
of Mr. Ray would, even at this -diftance of 
time, be a valuable acceflion to biography, 
and highly grateful to thofe, who are fenfible 
of the great improvements which he gave 
to the {cience of natural hiftory in general ; 
nor could fufficient juftice be done to his 
manifold talents, difcoveries, and writings, 
but by a pen of the firft eminence in bio- 
graphical literature. 

‘The limits of my plan will not allow of 
more than a general detail of the principal 
events of his life, as conneéted in chrono~ 
logical order with his writings. 

John Wray, or, as he always {pelt his name 
after the year 1669, Ray, was born at B/ack 
Notley, near POM es in Effex, Nov. 29, 

(1629, 


Ray. 193 

1628. His father, though in fo humble a 
fituation as that of a blackfmith, fent his 
fon to the grammar-fchool at Braintree ; 
and in 1644, entered him at Catherine Hall, 
in Cambridge ; from whence he removed, 
in lefs than two years, to Trinity College, 
where the politer {clences were more culti- 
vated. Dr. BAaRRow was his fellow pupil, 
and. intimate friend, and, on account of 
their early proficiencies, both were the fa- 
vourites of their learned tutor, Dr. Du- 
port. He was chofen minor-fellow of 
Trinity, in 1649; in 1651, was made Greek 
JeGturer of the college; in 1653, mathe- 
matical leCturer; and in 165¢, humanity 
reader. Thefe appointments were fufficient 
_teftimonies of his talents and abilities at 
this early period. He afterwards pafled: 
through the offices of the college, and be- 
came tutor to many gentlemen of honour- 
able birth and attainments, who gave him 
due praife and acknowledgments for his 
watchful care of them. He alfo diftin~ 
guifhed himfelf, while in college, as a fen- 
fible and rational preacher, and a found 
divine. As his favourite ftudy was the 
You. I, O works 


194 CHA PGE R oc. 


works of God, he laid, at this time, in 
his college leCtures, the foundation of his 
‘¢ Wifdom of God in the Creation,” and 
of his ‘* Three Phyfico-theological. Dif; 
“© courfes ; which were afterwards fo well 
received by the public. 

At the period when Mr. Ray turned his 
attention to the ftudy of nature, the know- , 
ledge of plants was not highly fuperior to 
the ftate in which TurRNER had found it, 
in the fame place, more than a century be- 
fore. In this ftudy Ray could find no ~ 
mafter. Iam not able to fay, that a fingle 
publication, of a fcientific nature, on the 
fubject of plants, had ever appeared at Cam- 
bridge ; for Maplet’s <« Green Foreft.” will 
{carcely be thought worthy of that appella- 
_ tion. Oxjford had, indeed, not only experi- 
enced the benefit of private encouragement, 
but of public munificence, in the eftablith- 
ment of a Garden. But at the fifter uni- 
verfity Mr. Ray ftood alone, himfelf indeed 
an hoft! Self-taught as he was, and full 
of ardour, he fo forcibly difplayed the uti- 
lity of botanical knowledge, and its inti- 
mate connection with the arts, and conve+ 

niences 


Ray. 195 


niences of life, independent even of thofe 
charms, which the views of nature ever af- 
ford to contemplative minds, that he foon 
made it an object of attention ; and num- 
bered among his affociates in thefe ftudies, 
Mr. Nip, a fenior fellow of his own col- 
leoe, Mr. Francis WitLucuBy, and Mr. 
Peter CourTuore. - The firft of thefe 
‘gentlemen became his infeparable compa- 
nion ; but he had the misfortune to deplore 
‘his death, a little time before the publica- 
tion of his firft work, which came out under 
the title of “* CaTALoGus PLANTARUM 
CIRCA CANTABRIGIAM NASCENTIUM,” 
Cantab. 1660.” pp. 182. cum Indicibus, 
Fe. pp 103. 12°. 

“This little volume contains all the plants 
which the author had obferved ae 
oufly growing in the neighbourhood of 
Cambridge, amounting to 626, all varieties 
‘and dubious plants excluded. The num- 
‘ber is {mall, when compared with many 
modern catalogues ; but not fo, when it is 
recollected, that, at that period, a very few 
of the Cryptogania clafs, and not many of 
| 02 the 


196 CHAP IER ie, 


the Graminaceous tribe, had been invefti- 
gated. : : 
The plants are difpofed in the alphabeti-. 
cal order of the Lat names; and the fyno- 
nyms of the four principal authors then in 
ufe given at length. Thefe are GERARD 
and PARKINSON, and the two BAUHINES; 
nor are others wanting, when chara¢terittic 
of the plant. Prefixed is a lift of the au- 
thors, fo accurately and inftructively drawn 
up, as not to have loft its utility to this 
day. Mr. Ray has interfperfed many fe- 
lect obfervations, on the medicinal and ceco- 
nomical ufes of the plants; on the ftruc- 
ture of the flower ; on varieties: and. has 
not only defcribed fome new plants, difco- 
vered by himfelf, but given accurate dif- 
tinctions of many, before imperfectly known. 


Subjoined, the reader finds an index of the 


Engh/b names, preceding the Latm ; an in- 
dex, {pecifying the particular places of the 
more rare plants; then, a copious etymo- 
logy of the names, and an explanation of 
the terms ufed in the fcience. In fine, he 
has done every thing to facilitate the labour 

of 


Ray. A 97 


of the ftudent in this part, as in the for- 
mer to inftruct and entertain the more 
erudite reader. 

I have been the more diffufe on this {mall 
volume, as the author has obferved nearly 
the fame plan, in his fubfequent catalogues, 
and Synopsis. Moles parva, Vis magna. 
When the time in which this publication 
was. made, and the meagre ftructure of pre- 
ceding catalogues is confidered, I may fafely 
appeal to modern judges, whether this was 
not an extraordinary production. Few lo- 
cal catalogues had been publithed at home; 
and, I believe, not one abroad, that dif- 
played any thing like a comparable thare of 
{cience and erudition, fo aptly united. 

Among the variety of notes in this cata- 
logue, there is one, poffibly not of public 
notoriety. Mr. Ray informs us, that the 
people of Norwich had long excelled in the 
culture and production of fine flowers; and 
that in thofe days, the florifts held their 
annual feafts, and crowned the beft flower 
with a premium, as at prefent. 

‘There can be no doubt. that this volume 
met with the moft favourable reception 

O 3 irom 


198 CHA PER Ls. 


from the learned in this way; that it pro- 
moted the ftudy of plants; and, by raifing 
the reputation of its author, encouraged: 


him to profecute his ftudies with vigour. 

Thefe occupations, however, did not di- 
vert Mr. Ray from his object of entering 
into the miniftry. He was, in Dec. 1660, 
ordained both deacon and prieft, by Dr. 
Sanderfon, bifhop of Lincoln, and conti- 
nued fellow of Trinity College till the Bar- 
tholomew act; which, as he did not fub- 
{cribe, necefiarily fuperfeded him. This 
event took place Sept. 18, 1662. 


The defire Mr. Ray had to extend his 


knowledge of Exgh/b botany, had induced 
him, in the autumn of 1658, to take a jour- 
ney, which he performed alone, through the 
midland counties of England, and the nor- 
thern part of Wales, in fearch of plants. 
This tour held him from Auguft g, to 


September 18. Of this, and of two other: 


tours, Mr. Ray preferved fome fhort me- 
morandums, in which hehas noticed his daily 
progrefs, fome remarkable facts that occur- 
red, fome obfervations on the antiquities 
that he met with, and fome of the rare 

plants. 


‘ Ray. a ne oe 99 
plants. Dr. ScorrT has publithed thefe 
Itineraries, with his life. 

In his fubfequent journies, he was com- 
monly accompanied by fome friends of a 
congenial tafte; thus, in his fecond tour, 
in the autumn of 1661, Mr. WitLucuesy, 
and fome other gentlemen, travelled with 
Mr. Ray into Scotland, through the coun- 
ties of Durham and Northumberland, to Edin- 
burgh, Glafgow, and back through Cumber- 
landand Weftmorland. 'This journey held fix 
weeks, from July 26, to Auguft 30. In 
1662, Mr. Ray, accompanied by Mr. 
WILLUGHBY, took his third and moft ex-- 
tenfive Engh/b tour; through the middle 
countiés of Exgland, into Chefhire; thence 
into North Wales, and through the middle 
Welch counties, into Pembrokeflire, coatting 
the fouthern part, to Bath and Brifio/; thence 
to the Land’s End, through Somerfet and De- 

on; returning through Dorfei/bire, Wilt- 
foire, and Hampfhire. They were abfent in 
this excurfion, from May 8, to July 18; 
and Mr. Ray gathered a plentiful harvett, 
which afterwards enabled him to enricli his 
ote ‘© Catalogue of Exgij/h Plants,” 
O4 then 


200 CUA P.WHR ‘ay. 


then in meditation; nor did he omit to avail 
himfelf of every opportunity, particularly 
at Tenby, in Wales, and in Cornwall, of de- 
{cribing fuch birds and fithes as were lefs 
frequent in other parts, preparatory to his 
intended publications in the zoological 
way. 

In 1663 he publithed an Appendix to the 
** Cambridge Catalogue,” containing emen- 
dations, and the addition of forty-two 
plants. And in 1685, came out another 
Lippendix, with the addition of fixty more, 
not noticed before; which were. principally 
communicated by Mr. DenT, of Cambridge. 
Thefe little tracts are become very {carce. 
Thofe who are curious to fee what. thefe 
additional plants were, may find them dif- 
tinguifhed from the others in Profeffor 
Martyn’s “* Plante Cantabrigienfes.” 

_ Being now at liberty from the conftraints 
and bufinefs of a college life, he was led to 
accompany Mr. WiLtLucusy, Mr. Sxip- 
pon, and Mr. Nathaniel Bacon, two of 
them his pupils, to the continent, Mr. 
Ray was abfent from April 18, 1663, to 
March 1665-6; during which time, they 

vifited 


Ray GE 201 
vifited France, Holland, Germany, Switzer- 
jand, Italy; and extended their journey to 
Sicily and to Malta. The fruit of this ex- 
pedition will afterwards appear. 

On his return from the continent, he 
fpent the fummer of 1666 between his 
friends in Effex and Suffex, and in reading 
- the publications which had appeared in 
England during the three years of his ab- 
fence. The winter paffed in reviewing and 
arranging the mufeum of his friend and pu- 
pil, Mr. WILLUGHBY, rich in animal and 
foffil productions ; in arranging his own 
catalogues for his general lit of Engh/h 
vegetables ; and in framing the tables for 
Dr. Witkins’s “ Real, or Univerfal Cha- 
Facter:?? 
In the fummer of 1667, Mr. Ray, ac- 
companied by his much-honoured friend, 
Mr. WiLLuGuey, made his fourth excur- 
fion into the diftant counties. They left 
Middleton Park on June 25, and took their 
route to the Land’s End, through the coun- 
ties of Worcefier, Gloucefter, and Somer fet ; 
and returned through Hants to London on 
ei 13. In this journey, befides the 
pointed 


202) CHAP SRR irs. 


pointed objects of their purfuit, they took 
notes on the mines, and fmelting, and on 
the method of making falt; and Mr. Ray 
did not omit to make, as he had done be- 
fore, ample additions for his collections of 
proverbs and of local Augh/b words. 

On Nov. 7, of this yeas he was chofen 
fellow of the Royal Society, and was pre- 
vailed on by Bifhop Witxins to tranflate 
liis ** Real Charatter” mto Latin. This 
he performed, though it was never pub- 
lifhed ; and the manufcript is extant in the 
library of the Royal Society. The latter 
end of the year, and the beginning of 1668, 
he fpent with gentlemen who had all been 
his pupils at'Frinity; Mr. Burret, and Mr. 
CourTuopPE, at Danny, in Sufex; Sir Ro- 
bert BARNHAM, at Boéion, in Kent; and 
with Mr. WitLuGHBy, in Warwick/bires 
In the autumn of this year, he took his 
fifth journey, alone, into York/hire and Weft- 
morland, returning in September to Midale- 
ton Hall; and fpent. the winter. with Mr. 
WILLUGHBY, then lately married. 


CUR A Ps 


rE 203 pet 


CHA, PAW TO. 


Account of Ray continued—Makes experiments on 
the motion of the fap—Catalogus Plantarum 
Anglia —Sixth tour ia Eneland—Deceafe of bis 
friend Mr. Willughby— and of Bp. Wilkins— 
Nomenclator Clafficus — His marriage — His 
Obfervations topographical and moral, &c. 
made in bis foreign travels : with the Catalogus 
Stirpium Exoticarum, annexed. 


Ri A UY .« 


¢ BOUT this time Dr. Toner, Dr. 


BEAL, and fome other philofophical 


gentlemen, in Exg/and, were bufied in ex- 
periments relating to the motion of the fap 
in trees. Among thefe alfo, in the fpring 
of 1669, Mr. Ray and Mr. WiLLuGHBY 
entered upon a fet of the like experiments, 
and induced Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Lis TER, to 
profecute the fame. Thefe experiments were 
made on the birch, the fycamore or greater 
maple, the alder, the ath, the hafel, chefnut, 
walnut, and willow ; of which the two frit 

? were 

: A. 


204 CHAPTER 16. 


were found to be the beft adapted to the 
purpofe, from their bleeding moft freely. 
The experiments of Mr. Ray and Mr. 
WittuGusy, which were printed in the 
fourth volume of the Philo/ophical Tranf 
actions, proved the afcent and defcent, as 
well as the lateral courfe, of the fap ; but 
thefe gentlemen declined giving any deci- 
five opinion, as to a real circulation up- 
wards by the veflels of the wood, and 
downwards by thofe bétween the wood 


and the bark; which was the doctrine main- 
tained foon after this time by GREew and 


Mazpuici, and tndeed afterwards adopt- 
ed by Mr. Ray hinfelf. 

This do€trine of the circulation of the 
fap, I need fearcely remark, gave way to 
the experiments of Dr. Haves and others ; 
which teaches, that the fap rifes and falls, 
in the fame fyftem of veflels, as it is affected 


by the joint operations of air and warmth. 


Yet there have not been wanting ingenious 
men of late years, alfo, who, conceiving the 
analogy between animals and vegetables to 
be greater than is ufually imagined, and 
even that Biante not only live, but feel, have 

advanced 


Ray. | 205 
advanced it as ftill probable, that there is a 
real circulation of the juices ; the /uccus com- 
munis rifing from the roots, and the fuccus 
proprius defcending towards them. Whe- 
ther thefe phyfiologies will yield to the pro- 
lepfis plantarum of the Linn@an {chool, 
time muft evince. 

When Mr. Ray was at Chefer, in 1669, 
he availed himfelf of an opportunity of 
viewing a young porpefs, and of attend- 
ing the diffeCtion of it. Of the anato- 
mical ftructure of this animal, he com- 
municated a circumftantial account to the 
R.S. in 1671 ; and it was printed in the 
Philofophical Tranfactions, N° 74. and 76. 

In 1671, Mr. Ray wrote a paper, print- 
ed in the Philofopbical Tranfacitons, N° 74, 
on the fubject of “ Spontaneous Genera- 
‘“‘ tion,” a point of philofophy which had 
been much difcuffed, and to which fome 
among the learned were yet attached. - It 
appears from this paper, that he very early 
rejected this doctrine, and was confirmed in 
his opinion by the experiments of Rept. - 

We are now to reap the fruit of Mr. 
Ray’s repeated journies into the various 
| parts 


206 CHAPTER 16. 


parts of England, taken with a profeffed 
view, to afcertain the Yocz natales of all the 
native plants, more accurately than had yet 
been done; to inveftigate the more rare, and 
perchance to difeover new ones. In each 
of thefe departments he had proved fuccefs- 
ful, and in this year drew up his ‘* Cata- 
“« logue,” and dedicated it to his friend and 
Maecenas Mr. WILLUGHBY, under the fol- 
lowing title, ““CaTALoGuUs PLANTARUM 
ANGLIZ ef infularum adjacentium tum 
indigenas tum in agris pafim cultas com- 
pleciens.” Lond. 1670, pp. 358. 8°. 

This work is modelled after the Cam- 
bridge Catalogue in general, as to the order 
of the fubje&t, except that the author has 
been much more {paring of the fynonyms, 
from all authors but: the four claffial ~wri- 
ters, GERARD, PARKINSON, and the two 
Bauuines. Several new plants are de- 
{cribed in this volume, and many doubtful 
ones difcriminated, with that critical accu- 
racy which fo fingularly marked his pen; 
and which had not. before been feen in any 
Englifh writer. | 

Hitherto the crypéogamous and gramma- 

| 6C0US 


Ray. ° ae ‘207 


weous tribe, had engaged but little atten- 
tion ; and in this.volume, thefe clatles do 
not far exceed the number regiftered in the 
Cambridge Catalogue. The whole number 
of plants in this lift, amount to about 1050 
only. This fmall number had been owing 
to the extreme caution of Mr. Ray, not to 
admit any varieties to hold the place of 
fpecies ; and to exclude all others on doubt- | 
ful authority. How;in his ‘* Phytologia,” has 
upwards of 1200; and MrrretTT, in his 
‘* Pinax,” upwards of 1400 ; certain proofs 
that the authots had not fafficiently ftudied 
the nicer diftinctions, which guided the 
judgment of Mr. Ray; and as a proof, it 
may be obferved, that many of their plants 
are to this day undifcovered. Senfible as 
Mr. Ray was of the errorsof MERRETT’S 
** Pinax,” he purpofely omitted quoting it 
ashe writes to Dr. LisTER, that he might 
avoid that cenfure of it, which could thot 
properly have been withheld, had he given 
his impartial opinion of that performance.’ 
In this year, he informs Dr. Lister, 
that he had, what he thought, a moft libe- 
ral offer, of one hundred pounds a year, and 
all 


208 CHAPTER 26. 


all his expences defrayed, to accompany three 
young gentlemen abroad. But he declined 
it, although he much withed to have taken 
a review of the alpine plants. Indifpofi- 
tion had fome fhare in this refufal, and we 
find that in the next fpring, 1671, he fuf- 
fered much from a jaundice. He was fo 
far recovered, however, before ‘fuly, as to be 
able to fet off on his fixth journey, in which 
he took with him Tomas WILLISEL, an 
unlettered man, but one, whofe love for 
plants, and his zeal and affiauity in colle@- 
ing them, merits commemoration. They 
travelled through Derby/bire, York/bire, and 
all the northern counties, as far as to Ber- 
wick, and back through the bithoprick of 
Durbam. 

* In the fame year died, to the unf{peakable 
lofs and grief of Mr. Ray, his moft valua- 


ble friend Francis WittucuBy, Efq; on 


“fuly 3d, in the 37th year of his age. The 
ftriteft intimacy had fubfifted - between 
them, from the time of their being fellow 
collegians ; and it was cemented by a con- 
geniality of tafte, which not unfrequently 
forms a ftronger bond of union, than the 

ties. 


Ray. | 209 


ties of blood. Mr. WiLtLucuBy hadim- 


bibed, very early, a ftrong tafte for the 


{tudy of the animal kingdom, and had made 
extraordinary colleCtions for compleating 
the ‘* Hiftory of Birds and Fithes ;” in 
which he had ever been affifted by his 
friend Mr. Ray; who experienced his 
high attachment and confidence, in being 


left one of his executors, and charged with 


the education of his two fons, the eldeft of 
whom, was not four years of age. To this 


care he liberally annexed an annuity of fixty 


pounds per annum for life, which was ever 
regularly paid. 

Immediately after this melancholy event, 
he defifted from journeying again into the 
weftern counties, as he had intended ; and 
refufed an invitation from Dr. LisTER, to 
live with him at Yor; in order to give 


himfelf up to the faithful difcharge of his 


truit. 


For the ufe of thefe young gentlemen, 
Mr. Ray drew up, in 1672, his Nomen- 


_ lator Clafiicus, induced thereto by obferv- 
ing the multitude of errors in the names 


of plants and animals, in the manuals of 
daily ufe. This compilation had authority 
Mou. 1, P enough 


210 CH ARG 26. 


enough to recommend. itfelf to fubfequent 
writers of dictionaries and lexicons, and has 
been reprinted feveral times. 3 


On November 19th, 1672, he fuftained, — 


in the death of Bifhop Wiikrwns, the lofs 
of another of his beft friends. For this 
candid, ingenious, and learned man, he had 
a fincere efteem and veneration. 

In the lot of human life, fuch chafms 
are not eafily filled up after the age of forty- 


five. It is however not unreafonable to con- 


jeCture, that thefe privations added ftrength 
to his motives for domeftic retirement, and 
accelerated at leaft, that connexion he 
made the next year, when he married Mar- 
garet the daughter of Mr. ‘Ychu Oakely, of 
Launton, in Oxfordfhire. ‘They were mar- 
ried in the church of Middleton, on “fune 
the 5th, 1673. 

In the fame year Mr. Ray gave to the 
public the fruit of his foreign travels, under 
the title of, “‘ Obfervations, topographical, 
“« moral, and phyfiological, made in a jour- 
“¢ ney through part of the Low Countries, 
** Germany, Italy, and France.’ London, 
1673. 8°. pp. 499. 

The great object of accompanying his 

three 


Ray. 211 


three affociates in this tour, was, the en- 
largement of his knowledge in natural hif- 
tory, and particularly in the vegetable king- 
dom; and the great number of plants ob- 
ferved and collected by him, exceeded, as 
he informs us, his expectation: not that 
any opportunities efcaped him of defcribing 
the birds and fithes of the feveral countries 
they pafied through, in aid of Mr. WitL- 
LUGHEBY's plans. His notes concerning 
thofe of Germany, were unfortunately loft. 
The volume before us, however, is by no 
means confined to natural hiftory. Mr. 
Ray treats on the manners of the people, 
and expatiates often on the excellencies and 
defects of the feveral governments, particu- 
larly of the cities on the continent, and on 
_ the ftate of the academies and univerfities. 
He does not omit to notice the antiquities 
that occurred and of thofe at Rome, he gives 
a very methodical account. Befides many 
mifcellaneous remarks on various other 
parts of natural hiftory, he has taken occa~- 
fion to make a digreffion, which, at that 
time, muift have been of a very interefting 
nature, on the moft remarkable places, 

Pig where 


212 CHA PURER) 16. 


where petrified fhells and figured foffils 
are found, both in England and elfewhere ; 
and on the various opinions of authors, re- 
lating to the origin of thefe bodies. He 
freely declares his fentiments, that they are 
the remains of once-organized bodies, in 
oppofition to thofe who imagined them to 
be the product of what they called a plaflic 
power. He afterwards confirms his pofi- 
tions, by additional arguments recited in 
a letter to Dr. Rogpinson. See Letters, 
ps 105. | 

In the courfe of their journey, he every 
where notices thofe plants that are not na- 
tives of England, and gives copious cata- 
logues of them. They {pent in the whole, 
fix months at Geneva, which gave Mr. 
Ray an opportunity of informing himfelf 
largely, relating to the plants of Switzer- 
land, particularly thofe of Mount Suk 
leve, the Dol, and of Mount "fura. He 


even difcovered fome that were unknown 


to the preceding botanifts, although thefe’. 


were the regions of GEsNER, and the 

BAUHINES, ! 
The celebrated Hatier, even ranks 
him 


Ray. a8 ie 


him among thofe who made large acceffions 
to the Botany of that country, and gives 
the ftrongeft teftimony of his fkill, fidelity, 
and judgment, in difcriminating, defcribing, 
and extricating the plants of that fruitful 
regions: . 
_ To the end of thefe.«* Obfervations,”’ is 
affixed an alphabetical lift of the plants 
- mentioned in the body of the book, under 
the title of ‘‘ CATALoGus STIRPIUM IN 
EXTERIS REGIONIBUs, @ nobis obfervata- 
ruin, que vel omnino vel parce admodum in 
Angha fponte proveniunt.” pp. 115. 

In the arrangement he cites the fame au- 
thors for fynonyms as in his preceding ca-~ 
-talogues, and occafionally introduces obfer- 
vations on the qualities and ufes. 


3 COH ATP. 


( ag). 


CoA oP 17. 


Account of Mr. Ray continued—His various eru- 
dition—Colleéftion of Englifh Proverbs—Col- 
leétion of Englifh Words—Second edition of the 
Catalogus Plantarum Anglie—Pudli/bes Wil- 
lughby’s Ornithology, doth im Latin, and in 
Englith—Engaged by the R. S. to make experi- 
ments in natural biffory—Removal to Black 
Notley, 2 Effex—Pudlifbes Willughby’s Ic- 
thyology. 


RAY. 


wMHLE talents of Mr. Ray were not 
# confined to natural hiftory. He had 
a relifh, among other departments of litera- 
ture, for philological enquiries, and the ge- 
nius of the English language had engaged 
much of his attention. Of his purfuits in 
this way, he has ieft memorials, which 
have extended his reputation beyond the 
fphere of natural hiftory, and made him 
known to the learned world in general. 

I refer to his ‘* Collection of Exghjh 
*§ Proverbs,” and to his ** Collection of 


6 << Enghifh 


Raye 3 215 
“ Eugh/b Words.” The foundation of thefe 


publications was laid in his various tours 
through the different parts of England. 
His “ Proverbs”, were finifhed for the prefs 
in 1669, but not publifhed till 1672, and 
a fecond edition, much enlarged, in 1678, 
under the following title: ‘* A CoLLeEc- 
‘‘ TION OF ENGLISH PROVERBS, digefted 
‘* into a convenient method for the {peedy 
*« finding one upon occafion; with fhort 
‘‘ annotations. Whereunto are added local 
** proverbs, with their explications, old pro- 
‘¢ verbial rhythmes, lefs known, or exotic 
‘* proverbial fentences and Scotti/h pro- 
** verbs. Enlarged by the addition of many 
‘* hundred Exgi/b, and an appendix of He- 
‘* brew proverbs, with annotations and pa- 
* yallels.” Cambridge. 8°. pp. 414. 

It has been reprinted many times, and, I 
think, fo lately as in the year 1768. 

To collect thefe fententious maxims of 
knowledge, both of a moral, prudential, 
and even a jocular nature, has not been 
deemed unworthy employment, by men of 
eminent learning and intelligence. The 
Adagies of Erasmus furnifh a fufficient 

P 4 example 


BG). CHAP SR 17. , 


example of the eftimation he gave them. 
They were an oral and traditionary kind of 
didactics, which bore a greater value before 
the diffufion of knowledge by the ufe of 
printing ; and, in oriental countries, are {till 
a favourite and ufual mode of inftruétion. 
Of fuch as have been handed down in 
Britain, from father to fon, through nu- 
merous generations, Mr. Ray’s collection 
contains an ample ftore. It is, I believe, 
the principal in its way; and the author has 
interfperfed many notes, which illuftrate 


the origin and fenfe of thefe aphoriftic lef-. 


fons, and throw no {mall light on the 
manners and cuftoms of various people. 

In 1674, was publifhed, his ‘*‘ CoLLec- 
‘‘ TION OF ENGLIsH WorRDs not gene~ 
‘rally ufed, with their fignifications, and 
_ original, in two alphabetical catalogues, 
~ & one of the northern, and the other of the 
* fouthern counties. To which is added, 
‘* an account of the preparing and refining 
*« fuch metals and minerals as are gotten in 
‘6 England.” London, 12°. 

This little volume is dedicated to his 
friend Mr. CourRTHoPE, at whofe fuggef- 
tion, 


A 


Ray. ZV 
tion, he tells us, it was undertaken, and who 
contributed largely to augment it. In the 
firft edition was a catalogue of the Euglifb 
birds and fifhes; but this was omitted ina 
fubfequent improved and enlarged edition, 
in 1691, Mr. Ray having then projected 

his “* Synopfis Animahum.” 

_. This is one of thofe philological collec- 
tions, which tends to amufe and gratify gene- 
ral curiofity, is of ufe, not only to ftrangers 

and thofe who travel, but to thofe who {tay 
much at home; while it contributes to en- 

large the extent, and illuftrate the conftruc- 

tion of the Exghjb tongue. Mr. Lhore/by, 

— of Leeds, fent to Mr. Ray, a large addition 

to this lift in the year 1703, which was 

printed in his ‘* Philofophical Letters,” by 
Dr. Derham. : 

In 1675, he communicated to the Royal 
Society {ome experiments, made, I believe, by 
Mr. WitLuGuBy, accompanied with his 
own obfervations, tending to afcertain the 
true ule of the azr-b/adder in fifhes. They 
are fuch as the prefent phyfiology of fithes 
have confirmed; and were printed in the 

| Philofophical Tranfactions, N° 115. 

To 


218 CHA PSR Ty. 


In the year 1677, his ‘* Catalogue of 
“« Engh/b plants’ being out of print, he 
gave another edition, augmented with new 
obfervations, and the addition of 30 {pecies 
of the more perfect plants, and 16 fungufes ; 
feveral of thefe were new difcoveries. He 
herealfogives thefigures of the pentaphylloides 
fruticofa, (potentilla fruticofa Lin.) and the 
Jungus phalloides (phallus impudicus Lin.) 

Mr. Ray continued, after his marriage, to 
-refide at Middleton Hall, where his engage- 


ments at this period of his life, were fuch | 


as called forth all the talents of his literary 
abilities, and demanded all his care as a 
faithful guardian. He was employed in a 
double duty, that of his truft to the fons of 
his late eftimable friend, and of editor to 
the remains of their father, “ On the Hif- 
** tory of Birds and Fithes.” The Orzztho- 
fogy was firft publifhed, to which, as it 
confifted of loofe papers, written in Latin, 
and in an undigefted ftate, Mr. Ray gave 
method, and fupplied, from his own obfer- 
vations, a large fhare of valuable materials, 
~ Jt was publithed under the following title: 
‘*ORNITHOLOGI4 LIBRI TRES: mM quibus, 


Aves 


Ray. 219 


Aves omnes hacienus cognita, in methodum nae 
- turts fis convenientem redate accurate defcri- 
buntur. ILconibus elegantiffimis et vivarum 
avium fimillimis ert incifis Muftrantur. Totum 
opus recognovit, digefit, fupplevit “fobannes 
Ratus.” Lond. 1676, fol. pp. 307, t. 77; 
f. 353. ) 
Mr. Ray tranflated this work into Ezg- 
ii/b, and publifhed it, with large additions, 
in 1678, with figures engraved at the ex- 
pence of Mrs. WittuGuBy. The exe- 
cution of the figures was wholly inadequate 
to the merit of the work. Thefe occupa- 
tions, however, did not prevent him from 
renewing a correfpondence with Mr. Ot- 
DENBURGH, fecretary of the Royal Society, 
a learned German, who, after having re- 
fided fome time at Oxford, had been chofen 
into that office at the firft eftablithment of 
the fociety. Mr. Ray, in the year 1674, 
was induced to engage, at the requeft of 
the fociety, with other diftant members, to 
furnifh obfervations on the fubjects of na- 
tural hiftory, to be read at their meetings ; 
the fociety notwithftanding the extreme di- 
sigence of the fecretary, and fome few 
others, 


220 CHAP ER a7. 


others, being, at this juncture, rather in a 
languifhing ftate. | 


On this occafion he wrote feveral papers, ee 
of which fome were afterwards printed in 


the Philofophical Tranfactions. Among thofe, 
which were not publifhed, as we find by 
his letters, were the following. ‘‘ On the 
Acid of Ants: On a Foflil of the figured 
Kind, found in Ma/ta, and known by the 
name of St. Paul’s Baftoons Letters, p. 
120: On the Trochites: On Muthrooms : 
On the Darting of Spiders : On the Seeds of 
Plants; and on the fpecific Differences of 
Plants.” | | 

On the death of the mother of his friend, 
the Dowager Lady WititucGusy, and 
the removal of his fons from under Mr. 


Ray’s tuition, he retired, fome time in the | 


year 1676, to Sutton Cofield, about four 
miles diftant from Middleton Hail, where 
he remained till Michaelmas 1677, ekie 
then made a fecond removal to Falkborne 
Hall, near Black Notley; at which laft 
place he built a houfe, and finally fettled 
June 24, 1679. 

Mr, WiLLuGcuBy’s Icthyology remaining 


yet 


Ray. 221 


yet unpublifhed, Mr. Ray, in 1684, ar- 
ranged the materials, which had been left 
in a very imperfect and indigefted ftate. 
Perhaps no one but Mr. Ray could have 
fulfilled this pofthumous office ; certainly 
no man fo effectually, fince Mr. Ray had 
not only himfelf entirely furnifhed Mr. 
WILLUGHBY with many, but even the 
remainder had chiefly been collected during 
their almoft daily intercourfe, and whilft 
travelling together. 

He wrote the two firft books himéfelf; 
revifed, methodifed, and enlarged the whole; 
and fent it to the Royal Society ; the mem- 
bers of which contributed to furnith the 
plates; and, by the affiftance of Bifhop 
FELL, it was printed at Oxford; the Royal 
Society being at the whole expence. It 
came out under the following title: 

‘© Francifctt WALLOUGHBEI, Araug. De 
Historia Piscium, LiBri guatuor, juffu 
et fumptu S. Ray. Lond. editi. Totum opus 
recognovit, coaptavit, fupplevit, hbrum etiam 
primum et fecundum integros adjecit J. RAius.” 


Oxon. 1686. fol. pp. 343. 


C BiAuk, 


(.ge8 ) 


CORA Bui TRL ote 


Account of Mr. Ray continued—Meditates the 


writing of bis General Hiftory of Plants— 
Methodus Plantarum, as introductory to that 
work—Two firft volumes of the Hittory, ix 
which are defcribed near feven thoufand plants 
—Fafciculus Stirpium—Firj? edition of the 
Synopfis Stirprum Britannicarum. 


Bs Yi 


WR. Ray being fettled at Black Not- 

¥ H /ey, and delivered from that anxiety 
sihiols had attended him fince Mr. WiL- 
LUGHBY’s death, refumed with great vigour 
his wonted ftudy of plants; and, having al- 
ready acquired a reputation that juftified any 
expectation his friends might have formed, 


he, in compliance with their wifhes, at- — 


tached himfelf ferioufly to write ‘* A Gene- 
** ral Hiftory of Plants.” 

Preparatory to this great work, which he 
intended to arrange fy{tematically, he put 
forth, in 1682, his ‘* Metruopus Pran- 
TARUM,’ enlarged, and improved, from the 

fynoptical 


| Ray. 229 
fynoptical tables, which he had printed in 
Bifhop Wiixkins’s ** Real Character,” in 
1668. It bears the following title: 

‘“‘ METHODUS PLANTARUM NOVA 6re- 
vitatis et perfpicuitatis caufa fynoptice in ta= 
bulis exbibita: cum notis Generum tum fum- 
morum tum fubalternorum characterifticts. 
Objfervationibus nonnullis de feminibus Plan- 
tarum et indice copiofo.” Lond. 1682. 8°. 
pp. 166. ze 

Linna#@vus, on what authority I know 
not, mentions an edition of this work, with 
the date of 1665, totally feparate from that 
‘of 1682; but as tnat is earlier than Bifhop 
Wicxkins’s Table, it is probably a mif- 
take, : aa 

The firft principle of Mr. Ray, in this 
work, is to preferve all plants together, as 
far as poflible, in the natural characters, 
arifing from conformity in the fructitica- 
tion, and in. the general habit. Hence arofe, 
with him, in common as with others, too 
great a neglect of the flower, and too much 
attention to the leaves. He adheres to the 
ancient divifion of the vegetable kingdom, 
into trees, fhrubs, and herbaceous plants ; 

ranking, 


Z24. CH A. PugeE Rk 18. 


ranking, however, with the latter, fuch as 
had been called Suffrutices, or fhrubby. 
Trees he divides into nine clafles, account- 
ing the lat anomalous ; ; Shrubs into fix ; 
and Herés into forty-feven. 

In the progrefs of his improvements afte 
wards, he reduced thefe clafles to thirty- 
three. His method, which is indeed ex- 
tremely elaborate, will beft be feen by a 
view of the claffes. It will, however, be 
but juftice to refer the account to the laft 
edition, that it may appear in the greateft 
perfe@tion which he gave it. 

To this book Mr. Ray has fuhigined a 
clear, concife view, and a fynoptical table, 
of the fyftem of CasaLPINE, and gives 
his reafons for not adopting it; although 
he candidly confeffes his obligations to the 
author, whom he acknowledges to be the 
parent of fyftem. 

In 1683 and 1684, Mr..Ray and Dr. 
Tancred Ropinson exchanged feveral let- 
ters, while the latter was on a foreign tour, 
relating to various undetermined facts in 
natural hiftory; among which, it had been 
difficult to fettle the exact fpecies of the 

Macrufe, 


— Rey. 225 
Macrufz, a bird allowed by the Roman 
Catholics to be eaten in Lent. Their ob- 
fervations relating to this particular were 
published in the PAv/. Tranf. for 1685, in 
No. 172. It proved to be the Scoter; or 
Anas nigra Linnet. 

We are now come to that performance, 
which Linnaus and Hatter fo juftly 
ftile Opus immenfi laboris ; and which, con- 
fidered as the work of one man, has per- 
haps been exceeded by none, unlefs indeed 
by that of Yobu BauHine, who, however, 
did not live to put the finifhing hand to his 
labour. 

Mr. Ray stds us, that it was at the 
perfuafion of his friend, Mr. WILLUGHBY, 
that he began to collect materials, with 
a view to a General Hiftory of Plants. 
But that, after the lofs of his friend in 1672, 
he relaxed; and, on hearing that Dr. Mo- 
RISON was employed on a fimilar defign, 
from which confiderable expectations were 
formed, at length gave up his purpofe. On 
' the deceafe of Dr. Morison in 1683, who 
left the much greater part of his work un- 
finifhed, by the perfuafion of his friends, 

Vor. I. Cy and 


226 CH A PT R 78) 


and particularly of Mr. Hot Ton, to whom | 
it was dedicated, he refumed his defign, and 
profecuted the work with vigour. We can- 
not fufficiently admire the wonderful affi- 
duity and addrefs of this great man, which 
enabled him, in four years, to collec fuch 
a ftock of matter, as to furnifh two folio 
volumes, of near one thoufand pages each. 
it even does not appear that he had the 
afiiftance of an amanuenfis in this labour; 
which he effeGted, however, with a {kill 
and judgment that gained him the applaufe 
of all fucceeding matters in the fcience. 
This important undertaking was intended 
by the author to comprehend the whole 
botany of the age, by defcribing feparately, 
and reducing to his own fyftem, all the 
plants of the Baunines, and of thofe who 
had enlarged the ftock by fabfequent dif- 
coveries. Thefe, at the publication of Ra y’s 
firft volume, were, the plants of Mexzéo, 
from HERNANDEZ; thofe of Brafil, from 
Piso and MaRCGRAAVE; and of the Ea/ 
Indies, from Bontius. The rare plants of 
italy, from ZANoN1; the new plants of 
Morrison, Breynivs, and MENTZEL. 
: : The 


Ray. Fb 


The Sicilian plants of Boccone; but above 
all, the vaft treafure of the fix firft volumes 
of the Hortus MALaBARICus ; with 
many from works of leffer note. | 

After prefixing an inftructive lit of the 
writings of near an hundred botanical au- 
thors, quoted by him in the body of the 
book, and giving an explanation of terms, 
there follows a very comprehenfive account 
of the philofophy of vegetables ; in which 
the anatomy and phyfiology of plants, from 
Matpuici, from Grew, and from his own 
experiments; the differences of the parts 
of vegetables, from JunGius and others, are 
explained and illuftrated, with that judg- 
ment and knowledge of the fubject, and 
with that concifenefs and methodical accu- 
racy, which, I believe, had rarely, if ever, 
been equalled by preceding writers. This 
has rendered the introduction to his Hif- 
tory, a choice compendium of all that was 
valuable in the fcience of his day; nor is 
the information it conveys fo far fuperfeded 
by any fubfequent difcoveries, as to render 
it, even now, an uninterefting tra@t. It is 
not eafy to refer the modern fludent to a 


Oia ah more 


2.28 CHAPTER 1. 


more perfect view of the ftate of this {ci+ 
ence near the clofe of the laft century, than 
will here be found; while the work itfelf 
exhibits the great improvement it had re- 
ceived, fince.the beginning of the fame pe- 
riod, and to which the author had himéelf - 
contributed in an eminent degree. 

The firft volume was publifhed in the 
year 1686, under the following title: ‘¢ H1s- 
TORIA PLANTARUM GENERALIS : /pecies 
haétenus editas ahafque infuper multas noviter 
znventas et defcriptas complectens ; in qua agt- 
fur primo de plantis in genere, earumque par- 
tibus, accidentibus, et differentus ; deinde gene- 
ra omnia tum fumma tum fubalterna ad fpecies 
ufgue infimas, notis fuis certis et charaéteri/- 
ticis definita, methodo nature veftigiis infiftente 
difponuntur ; fpecies fingule accurate defcri- 
buntur, obfcura iluftrantur, omiffa fuppleatur 
fuperfiua refecantur, fynonyma neceffaria adjt- 
ciuntur : vires denique et ufus receptt compen~ 
die traduntur.  Accefferunt Lexicon Botant- 
cum, et INomenclator Botanicus, cum indicibus 
neceffarits nominum morborum et remediorum.” 
Folio. Vol. I. pp. 984. Vol. II. pp. 985 
—i944. preter indices. 1688, | 

x In, 


Ray. | 2.29 


In the general arrangement of the fub- 
- ject, according to his own fyftem, he has in 
various inftances improved the clafies. At 
the head of each book or clafs is prefixed 
a fynoptical table of all the chapters or ge. 
Nera. 

In the particular difpofition, after prefix- 
ing to each chapter the etymology of the 
generical name, he gives the character of 
the genus ; and in the enumeration of the 
fpecies, ‘quotes at length the fynonyms of | 
Cafpar BAvHINE, from his ** Pzzax,” and 
thofe of fohn BaunINe, GERARD, and 
PARKINSON, from their refpective hiftories ; 
feldom introducing others, where the plant | 
was known to any of thefe writers. 

His defcriptions of the old plants are 
taken from the above-mentioned authors. 
They are commonly abridged, however; and 
in numberlefs inftances amended, from his 
own knowledge of the plants. He fails not 
to notice from whom they are taken, and has 
every where diftinguithed the Briti/h plants 
from the exotics. He has carefully marked 
ail fuch as he had not had an opportunity 
of infpecting himfelf. He adds the places of 


3 grow th, 


230 CHA BoE R 18. 


growth, and times of flowering, and fub- - 


joins fele&t obfervations, from the moft re- 

fpectable authorities, relating to the quali- 

ties and various ufes of them. : 
In the “ Hiftory of Trees,” the no- 


bler and more capital parts of the vegetable 


kingdom, as being dignified by the variety 
of their ufes in human ceconomy, he has 
extended his refearches, and collected, with 
much affiduity, a greater variety of intereft- 
ing particulars. Mr. Ray has purpofely 


avoided entering into nice and critical dif. ~ 


quifitions relating to the fpecies'; for, befides 
that this would have {welled his work to 
an enormous bulk, it was become lefs ne~ 
ceffary, after the defcriptions given by ‘fohz 
BauuHINE, CLusius, and others, fo much 
fuperior to thofe of their predeceffors ; and 
the more curious and critical examiner might 
be referred to thefe authors, for ample {cope 
to his curiofity, 

Mr. Ray. has defcribed, in thefe vo- 
lumes, about 6900 plants; including, how- 
ever, in this number, many which modern 
botanifts have fince confidered as varie- 
tics. 7 

The 


Ray, 231 


The Addenda to the fecond volume con- 
tain feveral interefting catalogues; fuch 
are thofe of Zanownti’s Hiftory, confifting 
of new Italian, Swifs, and Milanefe plants ; 
thofe of BreyNius; a catalogue of the 
plants of Virginia, obferved by Mr. Bants- 
TER; and acompend of thofe of Mexico, 
from HERNANDEZ, Who, at the expence 
of fixty thoufand ducats, had procured 
the paintings of 1200 {pecies, which pe- 
rifhed in a fire of the Efcurial. 

In the preface to the firft volume, Mr. 
Ray acknowledges his obligations for af- 
fiftance received from many of his friends. 
Among thofe who had more effentially 
contributed to enrich his work, were, Sir 
Edward Huse, Dr. Tancred RoBinson, 
Dr. Stoane, and his near neighbour, Mr. 
Date. ‘To thefe he adds, in the fecond 
volume, the names of Wi/iam CouRTINE, 
Eiq; of the Middle Temple, Dr. PLuKE- 

ET, Mr. Doopy, and Mr. PETIVvER. 

There are copies of Ray’s Hiftory, 
with the date of 1693; but I believe the 
titleepage only to be new, the remaining 


Q% copies 


23% CHAP PRE R 43. 


copies of the impreffion by Faithorne, fal- 
ling into the hands of Swzth and Walford 
about that time. Foreign writers mention 
an edition fo late as 1716; but this I fu 
pect to be a miftake, or owing to another 
transfer of the copies. 

After the firft edition of the ** Catalogus 
Plantarum Anglie” was out of print, Mr. 
Ray had been exhorted by his friend, Dr. 
Ralph Jounson, to arrange the fecond ac- 
cording to fyftem; but not having fufh- 
ciently elaborated his method, at that time, 
he declined it; and it came out in 1677, 
in the alphabetical order. - | 

A third edition being wanted, however, 
after the publication of the ** Hiftory of 
‘* Plants,” he meditated throwing it into 
the fyfiematic form; and, in the mean time, 
put forth, in 1638, * FascicuLus STIR- 
piUM BRITANNICARUM, po/? editum Plan- 
tarum Anglie Catalogum obfervatarum.” 
Lond. 8°. By this little volume, a con- 
fiderable acceflion was made to Eughfh 
botany: feveral very rare mountainous or 
Alpine plants, from Wales ; fome {carce ones 

boy from, 


Ray. 233 
from Cornwall; fea plants; new fungi; 
moffes, and graffes, make their firft ap- 
pearance in this little catalogue. : 

The ‘“* Synopsis,” although finithed for 
the prefs foon after this * Fa/fczculus,” was 
not publifhed, owing to the delay of the 
printer, till 1690, when it appeared under 
this title, <« SyNoPsIs METHODICA STIR- 
PIUM BRITANNICARUM, ™ gua tum note 
generum charattertftice traduntur, tum fpe- 
cies fingule breviter defcribuntur: 230 plus 
MINUS NOVE Species, partim futs locis inforan- 
LUur, paritin in appendice feorfim exbibentur ; 
cum indice et virtum epitome.” 8°. pp. 317. 

As Mr. Ray had dedicated the ** 4/pha- 
betical Catalogue” to his great friend and 
Mecenas, Francis WitLueusy, Efq; fo 
he now fhews the fame refpett to Thomas, 
the only furviving fon of his much-ho- 
noured patron ; whom he exhorts to puriue 
the example of his exceilent father, and for 
whom he pours forth, in the moft energe- 
tic language, all thofe ardent wifhes which 
gratitude and refpect for the memory of the 
father, and love for the pupil, could alone 
in{pire. 

In 


234. CHAP Ger 18, 


In the preface, Mr. Ray acknowledges 
the affiftance he received from Mr. Bo- 
BART, fuperintendant of the garden at Ox- 
Jord; Mr. Date, his neighbour,,a learned 
and ingenious apothecary at Braintree; Mr. 


Matthew Dopswortu; Mr. Samuel Doo- 


DY, an apothecary in Loudon, memorable 
for having been the firft who extended the 
Cryptogamous clafs; Mr. Thomas Lawson, 
of Strickland, in Weftmorland; Mr. Fames 
NewrTon, a diligent and {kilful botanift ; 
Dr. Edward Lioyn, of Oxford; Mr. ‘fames 
Petiver; Dr. Roberf Plott; Dr. PLUKE~ 
NET; Dr. Hans Stoane; Mr. Wilham 
SHERARD, at that time fellow of St. fohn’s 
College, Oxford; and Dr. Lancred Rozin- 
son, to whom Mr. Ray communicated 
_his manufcript of this work, and for whofe 
corrections and additions, he held himfelf 
eminently obliged. 


The Appendix contains a lift of {carce 


plants, communicated by Mr. BoBarT ; 
fome new plants by Mr. SHeRaARD; a lift 
of thofe of Yerfey, by the fame; new and rare 
{pecies, with critical obfervations, from Dr. 
PLUKENET ; mujci and rare plants, by 

Mr. 


Ray. : 23.8 
Mr. Doopy ; emendations and additions, 
by Dr. Yancred RoBInson ; and a cata- 
logue of thirty-four {pecies, common both 
to England and ‘famaica, communicated by 
Dr. Stoane. In this work, Mr. Ray has 
thrown the obfervations on the qualities 
and ufes into the index. 

From this time the ‘‘ Synopsis” became 
the pocket companion of every Exgl/h bo- 
tanift. It contributed not a little, both to 
facilitate and improve the fcience. It dif- 
fufed the knowledge of fyftem; and, by ob- 
liging thofe who wifhed for improvement, 
to attend more minutely to generical cha- 
racters, led to a nicer difcrimination of 


both genera and _fhecies. 


CHAP, 


(esa) 


ete eet ngs 


_iccoudt of Ray's works continued—W ifdom of God | 
manifefted in the Works of the Creation— 
Phyfico-theology— Ray confidered as a zoologift 
—The firft truly fftematic writer on animals— 
Synopfis Quadrupedum—Avium et Pifcium 
—~-Publifoes Rauwolf’s Travels, with valuable 
additions—Strpium Europearum Sylloge— 
Controverfy with Rivinus—Provincial cata- 
dogues of plants for Gibfon’s Camden —Great 
improvement to Enelifh Botany given by Ray— 
LEvidenced by the fecond edition of the Synopfis 
——De variis Plantarum Methodis—Epiftola ad 
Rivinum—Zis Perfuafive to a Holy Life, 


RAY. 


7 \O this period Mr. Ray had appears 
&. ed to the public principally as a na- 
turalift; but he now united to this charac- 
ter that of the theologift, It is needlefs to 
fay, that he fucceeded in this department, 
perhaps beyond moft of thofe who had be- 
fore written on the fame fubje&. His firft 
publication of this kind, we are told, was 
originally, 


Ray" | 237 
originally, and in its outlines, College Exer- 
cifes only, or Common Places. 'Thefe he 
now wrought up, and enlarged into a con- 
venient volume, and trufted it to the care 
of his friend, Dr. Tancred Ropinson, who 
procured five hundred copies to be printed, 
under the following title: ‘* THe Wis- 
‘‘poM oF GOD MANIFESTED IN THE 
“¢ Works oF THE CREATION.” 8°. 1691. 
It was reprinted the next year. The ele- 
venth edition was publifhed in 1743; and 
a twelfth in 1758; and, I believe, feveral 
times fince: and it has been tranflated into 
foreign languages. Thefe are fufficient tef- 
timonies of the efteem with which it was 
received by the public. 

It is not immediately within my plan to 
enlarge on this work, or to determine whe- 
ther the arguments @ priori, or d pofteriari, 
are beft calculated to obtain the obje€ of it, 
“‘ Demonftration of the Being of a God.” 
“‘ Dui hiftoriam nature, nature etiam Creato- 
rem colit.” | may be allowed to obferve, that 
Mr. Ray, from that comprehenfive view of 
nature which his mind embraced, was fingu- 
Jarly well qualified to difplay the manifold 


wonders 


238 CHAPTER to, 


wonders of the creation, and the wifdom of 


its omnipotent Author. And thus, while - 


his penetrating views enabled him to unfold 
the various ceconomy and evolutions of na- 
ture to the greateft advantage, his piety and 
humility give a force to his reafonings and 
deductions, that carries with it a conviction 
of that great truth he fo fincerely wifhed to 
inculcate. : 

The favourable acceptance the public 
* encouraged 
Mr. Ray to publith, the next year, his 
«© 'THREE PHYSICO-THEOLOGICAL Dts- 


gave to the ‘“‘ Demonftration,’ 


** COURSES concerning the primitive Chaos, 
«¢ and Creation of the World. _ The general 
<¢ Deluge, its caufes and effects. The Dif- 
<< folution of the World, and future Confla- 
“< prationy? 48°. F692. and 169%? Ty. 
pp 46. rear. 1732. Tt is: embellifhed 
with a plate of the pamzan medal, and 


three tables of figured foffils ; and is dedi- | 


cated to Archbifhop TiLLoTson. 
This work is a convincing proof of the 
extenfive reading, the various erudition, and 


multifarious knowledge, of this great and — 


good man. Independent of all the theories’ 
it 


Ray. 239 
it contains, this volume exhibits fuch an 
affemblage of fa&ts, relating to the ftruc- 
ture of this globe, to the changes it has 
undergone, and to the hiftory of figured 
foffils, that it may be read to advantage, 
even in this age of advanced curiofity, and 
knowledge in the profefled object of this 
book. Even the faftidious critic, who is 
verfed in all the more modern theories, 
down to the “‘ Epochas of Nature,” and 
thofe of 14. De Luc, and De SovuLavie, 
will allow that this volume, when: refpec& 
is had to the time of its publication, muft 
have conveyed a large fhare of intelligence 
to thofe who were capable of gratification 
from difquifitions of this nature; and that, 
with a deference to the opinions of the day, 
there is yet a freedom of enquiry that dif- 
tinguifhes the author, as a friend to true 
philofophy, and as a modeft and candid en- 
quirer after truth, in thofe points of natural 
hiftory, which ftill continue, and probably 
long will, to be involved in great obfcurity. 
“’En “thes? rydar, ir. Ray wrote fome 
‘* Obfervations on the Planting of Marze 
** inftead of Peafe,” occafioned by a pro- 

5 — ~pofal 


24d CH AP Oe 8 iG. 


pofal of Sir Richard BuLKxEy; in which 
he fays, that he had found the greateft 
yield of peafe to be twenty barrels reaped 
for one fown ; whereas, from one grain of 
Judian wheat, he had calculated the pro- 
duce would be upwards of 2000 grains for 
one. Thefe Obfervations were printed in 


the. Phd. Tranf...N°.205. ...Mr. Ray. swase 


not fanguine in his expectations from the 
culture of that grain; neither have fubfe- 
quent trials proved the utility of it in this 
climate. ; 

The botanical latours of this eminent 
man were now remitted, at leaft for fome 
time ; and we find, that after the publica~ 
tion of his “* Hi/fory,” and the * Synopfis,” 
his exertions were turned into another 
channel, in which he alfo ftood unrivalled 
in his day. It was not botany alone that 
he raifed from a drooping ftate; to zoo- 
logy, confidered as a fcience, he might be 
faid to have given birth, in thefe kingdoms ; 
fince, except what himfelf and Mr. WiL- 
LUGHBY had performed, nothing of im- 
portance on the hiftory of animals exifted. 

\ WOPSELL's ‘‘ peieteee of GESNER,” 

MoFrratT’s 


Ray. Be ee det 


MorrAaAt’s ** Book on Infects ;’ and the 
fhort and imperfect eflays of CHARLETON, 
in his ** Onomafticon,” and of MERRET, in 
his ‘* Pinax,” were almoft the only Exgiijh 
writers to be confulted. To affert that 
better helps were wanted, is not to injure, 
or to degrade thofe authors. Mr. Ray had 
been urged by his friends, and particularly 
by Dr. Ropinson, to undertake an entire 
Fauna ANGLICcA, and a hiftory of Iof- 
fils alfo; but age and infirmities began now 
to opprefs him, and he thought himfelf in- - 
adequate to the attempt. He lived, how- 
ever, to perform more than his fears, or his 
humility permitted him to hope. 
In 1693, he publifhed his ‘* Synopsis 
METHODICA ANIMALIUM, QUADRUPE- 
DUM, éf SERPENTINI GENERIS; vd/gariumt 
_ notas characterifiscas, rariorum defcriptiones 
integras, exbibens : cum biftoris et obfervationi~ 
bus anatomicis, perquam curiofis. Premittun- 
tur nonnulla de animalium in genere, fenfu, gene~ 
vatione, aivifione, Sc.” Lond. 8°. pp. 336. 
In this volume we fee the firft truly fy{- 
tematic arrangement of animals, fince the 
days of ARISTOTLE; an arrangement which 
a oe as his 


242 CH A PAO R | 10. 


his fucceflors in the fame line have equally 
applauded, and availed themfelves of. It is 
profeffedly the bafis of that method, by 
which the prefent eminent zoologift of this 
nation, has chofen to convey his learned 
publications, and by which he has not lefs 
happily diffufed a tafte for this fcience, than 
he has fuccefsfully improved its ftore. 
In treating on animals in general, intro- 
ductory to his work, he difcufles fome im- 
portant queftions, which had not then 
ceafed to agitate the philofophical world. 
He controverts, with extreme force of rea- 
foning, the ideas of equivocal or f{ponta- 
neous generation; the Lewenhoekian hypo- 
thefis; and that of all animals being created 
from eternity, and only latent in an in- 
volved ftate. I know not where the reader 
can fee thefe queftions difcuffed with equal 

concifenefs and judgment united. 
Mr. Ray’s Diftribution of Animals is not 
wholly founded, as to the grand divifions, 
on the 4rifoteian diftinctions ; ‘though he 
‘admits many of them. It is not within my 
plan to enter on this fubject; it is fufficient to 
obferve, that re here form two great 
- divifions, 


) Ray. 242 
divifions, as they are hoofed or digitated ; 
the former, as they are whole or cloven; 
the latter, as they are divided into more, or 
fewer claws ; admitting alfo of fubdivifions 
or genera, from the number of the claws, 
and in fome, from the confideration of the 
teeth. | 

At the time when Mr. Ray lived, few 
people had acquired a tafte for this kind of 
knowledge, and commerce had not lent her 
friendly aid, as in later times. What ani- 
mals came under his own in{fpection, he 
has defcribed with his accuftomed accu- 
racy; from GrsnER and ALDRovAND he 
borrows his defcriptions of others; and: 
many later difcovered fubjeéts he drew from 
Piso and MarcGRAAVE, from CLuU- 
sius, HERNANDEZ, LaET, and NIEREM= 
BERG. ye 

In the courfe of this work, he has, in va- 
rious inftances, given the anatomical ftruc- 
ture, from: Dr. Tyson, from the “ Parifan 
‘« Diffections,” and other works. ‘Through- 
out the whole, he has fhewn how intimately 
he was acquainted with the learning of the 
ancients, and particularly with ARIsTOTLE, 

: | R 2 . whom, 


244 CHAPTER wo. 


whom, as the parent of zoological know- 
ledge, he failed not to confult on all oc- 
cafions, but by no means implicitly to fol- 
low, in his fubtleties and obfcurities. 


On finifhing th¢ « Synopfis of Quadru- 


«* peds,” Mr. Ray immediately drew up 
that of the Bzrds and Fifbes. This was an 
eafier tafk at this time, fince they are to be 
confidered as compends of his preceding 
labours with his friend, Mr. WiILLUGHBY; 
although there were many things new in 
both, and that of the Fifhes was very 
sreatly improved as to the arrangement and 
method. He informs us, that the addi- 
tions were, the Mexican birds, from Her- 
NANDEZ; fome defcriptions of new fpecies, 
out of NIEUHOFF ; MartTin’s Birds and 
Fithes of Greenland; StBBALD’s Whales ; 
SLOANE’S ‘famaica Birds and Fifhes ; and 
fome from the Leyden Catalogue, by Dr. 
ROBINSON. 

In thefe branches of nature, Mr. Ray 
again appears as the parent of method. 
The accurate Brisson regards Ray and 
Witiucusy, as the firft true fyftematic 
writers on birds. Thefe works were finifhed 

in 


Bae a 2.4.5 
in the year 1693 or 1694, as we learn from 
Mr. Ray’s letters, and from the teftimony 
of his friend and neighbour, Mr. Date. 
Yet, excellent as they were, fo fcanty was 
the tafte for natural hiftory at this period, 
that the manufcripts lay unpublifhed in the 
bookfellers hands, till they were purchafed 
by Mr. Innys, and prepared for the prefs 
by Dr. Deruam, who added the figures, 
and inferted Mr. Bucktey’s Birds from 
Madrafs, and Mr. JAGo’s Corni/h Fithes. 
They were publifhed in 1713, under the 
titles of ““ SyNoPsis METHODICA Avi- 
uM.” 8°. pp. 198. t.2; and “ Synop- 
SIS METHODICA Piscium.” 8°. pp. 162. 
t. I. 

In the fame year, 1693, Mr. Ray became 
the editor of a tranflation of “‘ Dr. Rau- 
$6 wotr’s Travels.” This phyfician, who 
was the next after Beton, whom the love 
of natural hiftory alone, led to travel into 
the eaft, {pent the years 1573-4-5 in tra- 
verfing Syria, Mefopotamia, Paleftine, and 
fEgypt, induced, as he tells us, by his defire 
to behold, in the native places, the plants 
of the Greek and Arabian phyficians. 

R32 His 


28 aa CHAPTER 19. 

His ‘* Travels” having been publithed 
in 1583, in the German language, had hi- 
therto been locked up from the Enghj/b 
reader. Sir Hans Stoanté having, how- 


ever, read them, was induced, in concert 


with Capt. HarTon, to procure a tranfla- 
tion of them, which was done by Nicholas 


STtaPpHorst. This verfion was put into 


Mr. Ray’s hands, to revife and correct, 
He did more; he made a choice {election 
from other authors, who had made the 
fame tour, BELon, Axrpinus, Sir George 


WHELER, &c. and he drew up a Cata- 


logue of the more rare Plants of thofe 


countries through which RauwoLrF tra- 


velled; and added lifts of thofe of Agypz 
and Crefe. From this circumftance, the 
book has gone by the name of ‘‘ Ray’s 
«: COLLECTION OF TRAVELS; and it 
was reprinted with his own ‘* Obferva-~ 


3? 


‘* tions,” in 1738. Rauwotr made an 
‘© Herbarium,’ while in the eaft ; which, 
with his European plants, conftituted four 
large volumes. Thefe became the property 
of Queen Chriffina, and afterwards, by her 
means probably, of J/azc Vosstus, who in- 

| 7 formed 


= 


Ray. 24.7 
formed Capt. Hatton, that 4Q0/. fter- 
ling had been offered for them. They were 
purchafed of his heirs by the univerfity of 
Leyden; and the late Dr. Frederick Gro- 
Novius conftructed from them an elegant 
and learned ‘** Flora Orientals ;’ of which 
he much enhanced the value, by prefixing 
to it Melcher Apams’s ‘* Life of Rav- 
<< woLr,’ with large additions of his 
own, | 

The “ CaTALoGus STIRPIUM IN EX- 
TERIS REGIONIBUS OBSERVATARUM” 
being out of print, Mr. Ray was induced 
to give.a new edition of it, with fuch large 
augmentations, as to make it a new work. 
He added from Cuiustus, from the Bav- 
HINES, and other authors, a number of 
plants growing in thofe regions through. 
which he paffed in his tour; and fo many 
catalogues from other authors, as to render 
it a tolerably complete lift of all the Euro- 
pean plants, not natives of England. As it 
does not immediately refpec&t Engij/h botany, 
it will be, fufficient to recite the title-page, 
from which its fcope may be underftood: .__ 

Ԥ STIRPIUM EvROPAARUM extra Bri- 

R 4 tannias 


248 CHAP HER Jo. 

tannias nafcentium SYLLOGE. Quas partin 
obfervavit ipfe,. partim a C. Clufii Hiftoria ; 
C. Baubinit Prodromo, et Catalogo Bafilienfi ; 


F. Columne Ecphrafi; Catalogis Hollandi-« 


carum A. Commetint; Allorfinarum M. Hoff- 
manni ; Sicularum P. Bocconi; Monfpelien- 
fium P. Magnoli ; collegit Ff. ne Adji- 
ciuntur Catalog: rariorum Alpinarum et Py- 
renaicarum, Baldenfium, Hifpanicarum Grif~ 
lett, Grecarum et Ortentalum, Creticarum, 
fEgyptiacarum, seo > ab eodem.” Lond. 
1694. 8°. pp. 445. 

In the preface to this work, Mr. Rees 
for the firft time, entered into controverfy; 
having taken occafion to throw out fome 
ftrictures on the method of botany pub- 
lithed by Rivinus in 1690. It is not 
enough interefting at this day to dwell on 
the nature of it. It is fufficient to obferve, 
that our veteran in {cience was diflatisfied 
with the German, for throwing the trees 
promifcuoufly into the claffes with other 
plants, and for breaking into the natural 
orders, for the fake of agreement in the 
flower alone. In fact, Rivinus’s method 
being founded wholly on the flower, to 


which 


[ ae ee 


“Ray. 249 
which part Ray had paid but {mall regard, 
the fources of controverfy were endlefs; 
fince the fundamental principles of each 
were totally irreconcileable. 

About this time Mr. Ray communica- 
ted ‘ The Provincial Catalogues of Plants,” 
printed at the end of each county, in the 
edition of “* CAMBDEN’s Britannia,” pub- 
lifhed in 1695 by Mr. Gisson. His re- 
peated travels throughout moft parts of 
England, for the fole purpofe of inveftigat- 
ing the fubjects of nature, had enabled 
him to accomplifh more than had been 
done by any man before his time; and his 
unqueftionable {kill and accuracy, added an 
authenticity to thefe lifts, which could 
not eafily have been derived from any other 
hand. 

To the county of Cornwall Mr. Ray 
added many other particulars; which, how- 
ever, were not printed, probably becaufe 
the correfponding circumiftances could not 
be procured from other counties. Thefe 
were, ‘* Catalogues of the Sea Fifh, and Sea 
Fowl, with the fynonyms ;” fome account 
of two or three forts of {tone dug there ; 
of fea fand, as manure; an account of the 

hurlers, 


250: CHAP HER 49. 


hurlers, and other ftones; and notices re-' 
{pecting the manners and language of the 
inhabitants. ! : 

Such as are converfant with that {cience, 
which was the favourite object of Mr. Ray, 
muft be fenfible that nothing could have 
happened more conducive to the revival and 
improvement of it at this juncture, than the | 
circumftance, of its having been taken up 
by a man of fuch patient induftry, capable 
at the fame time of giving it all the em- 
bellifhments, and advantages that learning 
could afford. They will readily grant that 
his writings and example alone, added more. 
vigour, and brought more difciples to this 
{choo] of natural fcience in England, than 
all the exertions of foregoing writers. 

I cannot confirm and illuftrate the truth 
of this pofition more effectually, than by 
calling to the attention of the curious in 
this kind of knowledge, the vaft augmenta~ 
tion it acquired, in the interval between 
the publication of Mr. Ray’s “ Catalogus 
Plantarum Angle,” and that of the “ Sy- 
nopfis;’ and more efpecially between the 
time of the firft and fecond edition of the 

— latter 


* Ray, 251 
latter work ; during which, exclufive of 
the difcovery of many fubjects, among what 
were called the more perfect plants, a new 
‘and very extenfive field had been opened, 
by exciting attention to the Lf perfec? (as 
they were then accounted) and minuter 
kinds of vegetables, the Fungi, Fuci, 
Mujfci, and Alge, known now by the name 
of Cryptogamie. During the firft of thefe 
periods, 250 {pecies had been added to the 
Enghfh Flra; and the acceflion in the 
— Jaft exceeded that number. 

In no part of Europe had the fame pro- 
erefs been made in the inveftigation of 
thefe hitherto much-neglected fubjects, as 
in England, during the period above men- 
tioned. This is fufficiently evinced by 
comparing the fecond edition of the «* Sy- 
<‘ nopsis” with the contemporary writings 
of foreign botanifts. 

This fecond edition of the “‘ Synopsis” 
was’ printed ‘in 1696. -9°.- pp. 346.. Mr. 
Ray himfelf had but a fmall thare in the 
augmentations that were made to this edi- 
tion. His advancing years and infirmities 
prevented him from making excurfions. His 
| principal 


452 CHAPTER 409. 


principal auxiliaries are mentioned in the 
preface; in which, additional to the names 
in the former “‘ SyNopsis,” we meet with 
thofe of Mr. Edward Luuwyp, Walter 
Moyvte, Efq; and Mr. Wilham VERNON, 

fellow of St. Pefer’s College, Cambridge. 
To thofe who are fenfible of the obliga- 
tions which the fcience owes to Mr. Ray, 
it cannot but be grateful to read, with what 
fatisfaction the good man records, in this 
preface, the progrefs he had lived to fee his 
favourite ftudy make in his own country, 
and with what delight he augurs and con- 
templates its future improvement. In the 
{pace of little more than twenty years, 
and under his own pen, he had feen the 
Enghfh Flora acquire an acceflion of up- 
wards of soo new fubjects. The ‘* Ca- 
TALOGUS PLANTARUM ANGLIZ” of ° 
1670, containing about 1050, and the 
fecond edition of the ‘‘ Synopsis” in 
1696, full 1600 fpecies; and, notwith- 
ftanding thefe have not all ftood the teft of 
the difcriminating character of the prefent 
age, yet, in juftice to this great man, and 
his affociates, it muft be acknowledged, 
4 | that 


Ray. 268 


that the retrenchments are comparatively 


». few: 


With this edition of the ‘* Synopsis,” 
was publithed the “ DissERTATIO DE 
VARIIS PLANTARUM METHODIS BRE- 
vis; in which Mr. Ray fhews, that the 
feparation of plants into claffes and genera 
from the fructification alone, muft be a 
very gradual and progreffive affair; that 
it was not eafy to exclude the habit from 
having a fhare in this diftribution, fince 
there were many plants that were fel- 
dom or never feen in flower by the early 
botanifts. He alfo obferves, that number- 
lefs plants, which agree in the ftructure of 
the flower; differ materially in habit, and 
others vice verfa. And although: his own 
method is principally founded on the fruit, 
yet he freely acknowledges its imperfections ; 
but thinks the fame objections hold againft 
the flower; which he illuftrates by fhewing, 
in TouRNEFORT’s fyftem, the uncertainty 
of the bounds between the Flores infundi- 
buliformes, hypocrateriformes, and the caryo- 
phyller. Uf-Mr. Ray paid lefs regard to the 
flower than its importance feemed to de- 
mand, it feems rather to have arifen from 


the 


254 CH AP NER 10- 


the principles of his method, than from his 
want of opportunities of examination, ow- 
ing to his diftance from botanical gardens, 
as was alledged by his opponents ; a cir- 
cumftance, however, which he very feeling- 
ly laments in the preface to his “ Mrtuo- 
pus,” and elfewhere. | 

To this is » annexed, ) °°; Epis Tema, .de 
Metuopo PLANTARUM wirt clarifimi D. 
A. 2. Rivini ad Ramm, cum ejufdem refpon- 
feria, in qua D. Fof. Pitton Tournefortit, 
M. D. Elementa Botanica tanguntur.’ 

On the method of Rivinus, Mr. Ray, 
as was before noticed, had thrown out fome 
ftri€tures in the preface to his ‘* Syl/oge,” 
which drew from that author the anfwer 


here publifhed, and Mr. Ray’s reply ; in 


which our author takes occafion alfo to. 


defend his method from the objeftions of 
TourRNEFORT, who had been unbecom- 
ingly fevere in fome animadverfions made 
in the ‘“* Elements of Botany,” publifhed in 
1694. TouRNEFORT, however, afterwards 
did ample juftice to the merits of our au- 
thor. | “i 
The modern botanift fees that all thefe 
controverlics are become too little intereft- 


ing 


Ray. 25% 
“ing to dwell upon at this time. The prin- 
«iples of the Coro/ifte, and the Fructifia, 
as Linna&us ftyles them, can never be 
affimilated, and all attempts to reduce 


_ the whole vegetable kingdom into natural 


claffes have hitherto failed. 
— In 1697, he wrote ‘* Some Obfervations. 
~ €£ on the Poifonous Effects of a Root eaten 
** inftead of Parfneps,” fuppofed to have 
been that of the Hemlock ; but of which 
Mr. Ray had fome doubt, alledging, that 
it was more probably the Crcutaria vulgaris, 
(Cherophyllum fylveftre, Lin.) See Phil, 
Tranf. N° 231. In N° 238, he communi- 
cated ** Remarks on the Poifonous Effects 
“ of the O¢cnanthe crocata,’ too fatally 
confirmed by later miftakes of the fame 
kind. 

In the year 1700, Mr. Ray publithed 
« A PERSUASIVE To A Hoty Lire, from 
** the Happinefs which attends it both in 
‘© this World and in the World to come.” 
Lond. 8°.. Reprinted in 1719. pp. 126. 
He tells us it was drawn up at the is 
of his friend, Mr. Edmund Elys, and that it 
is ae a on the model of Bithop WiL- 
KINS’S 


256 CH A. PrRER 76, 


xiIns’s “¢ Treatife on Natural Religion.” 
It is wholly of a moral and practical nature, 
written in a plain, but forcible and argu- 
mentative ftyle, and is entirely deftitute of 
any of thofe enthufiaftic or myftical opi- 
nions, which fo highly tin¢ctured the writ- ; 
ings of many divines of the laft century. 
On the contrary, Mr. Ray, ever confiftent 
and rational, although he deduces his prin- | 
cipal motives to the practice of virtue, as. 
conducive to happinefs, even in this life, | 
from the precepts of Chriftianity ; yet does 
not difdain, particularly in treating on plea- 
fure, on riches, and the advantages of tem- 
perance, to enforce his arguments by opi- 
nions and apophthegms from the writings 
of the philofophers and moralitts of ancient 
Greece, and Rome. 


GC H AP, 


(aay) 


CH, A) Pox) 20% 


Account of Ray continued—Improved edition of the 
Methodus Plantarum—Outlines of Ray’s /y/- 
tem—Third volume of the Hiftoria Plantarum 
—Methodus Infectorum— His Death and 
Charafer. 


Row Xs 


HE peaceable mind of Mr. Ray 
could not delight in the contentious 

field of controverfy; on the contrary, he 
regretted the occafions that drew him into 
it: yet were they not without ufe, fince 
~ they unqueftionably ftimulated him to pu- 
rify and correct his own Methodus. ‘This he 
effected in the year 1698, although at this 
time much declined in his health, being 
afflicted with ulcers of the lower extremi- 
ties, the pain of which rendered his nights 
frequently fleeplefs, and wholly prevented 
him from making excurfions to London, as 
he much defired, to examine the gardens 
and 4erbaria of the curious. | 
moi, I. 9 So 


} 


258 CHAPTER ao. 


So fmall, however, was the demand for 
books in this fcience, at the entrance of this 
century, that the London bookfellers, were 
unwilling to rik the printing of it: and it 
was finally fent to Holland, and printed at 
Amfrerdam, under the care of Dr, Hot- 
TON, the botanical profeffor at Leyden, who 
fupervifed the prefs, and procured 1100 
copies to be thrown off, under the title of 
‘ Metuopus PLANTARUM EMENDATA 
ET AuCcTA: accedit Methodus Graminum, 
Funcorum, et Cyperorum fpecials.” 8°. pp. 
202. 1703. Dr. Horton gave a further 
fanCtion to the fyftem of his friend; he 
taught it in his lectures to the pupils of 
that univerfity, and informed Mr. Ray of 
the good acceptance it met with on the 
continent, particularly in Italy. This vo~ 
lume was reprinted at Amflerdam in 1710, 
and at Tudmmgen in 1733. 

In the preface he recapitulates his own 
progrefs in the formation of his fyftem, and 
dates it from the tables drawn up in 1667 
for the ufe of Bifhop WiLkins. He very 
juftly reprehends Dr. Morison, for affect- 
ing to have formed his method entirely. 

a .. from: 


Ray. 269 
from his own obfervations, without acknow-~ 
ledging the fmalleft aid from former wri- 
ters ; briefly recites his objections to the 
methods of Rivinus, TOURNEFORT, and 
HerRMAN; and defends his own. He eftab- 
lithes fome axioms, to be obferved in fram- 
ing afyftem of botany. Infact, Mr. Ray’s 
method, though he affumes the fruit as the 
foundation, is an elaborate attempt, for that 
time, to fix natural claffes. He eftablifhes 
it asa rule, that no plant is to be feparated 
from its tribe for a fingle note of difference; 
but that all are to be affimilated, as far as 
habit will allow. The characters of the 
genera are, however, highly incongruous ; 
_ they are taken from vague principles, fuch 
as the fhape of the leaf, colour of the flower, 
tafte, {mell, and fometimes from the fize of 
the plant, and other as unftable diftinCions. 

In this amended edition, Mr. Ray ftill 
adheres to the ancient divifion into trees 
and herbaceous plants, having dropped the 
diftinction of fhrubs, preferved in the firft 
edition. Here, all herbaceous, and fhrubby- 
ftalked plants are divided into twenty-five 
genera or Claffes ; as follow: 

32 1. Sub- 


260 


4. Capillares. 

5. Apetale. Before, in two tables. 

6. Planipetale laétefcentes. 

7. Difcoidee. Before, in two clafles. _ 
8. Corymbifere. Before, in two claffes. 
9. Capitate. Before, in two clafles. 
10. Herbe femine nudo folitario, fore fim- 


bend 
Lan 


on | 
Re Ww N 


Te el 
CON Wh 


i 
“Oo 


4Qe 


CH A P Pye Ree. 


. Submarine. Ot Sr 
. Fungi, In the firft. Methodus,. thefe 


two claffles were formed into one 
clafs, or fynoptical table. 


plict perfecto. 


. Umbelhifera. 

. Stellate. 

. Afperifolia. 

. Verticillate. Before, divided into 


two; Herbacee, et Fruticoje. 


. Polyfperma, Formerly, in two clafies. 
. Pomifere. : 

. Baccifere. 

. Multifihque. 

. Vafculifere, Monopetale. Before, in 


three clafles; et Dipetale. 
Siiquofe, et Siiculofe. Formerly, in 
three claffes ; e¢ dnomale. 
3 21. Pa- 


hoon, 


me 28 


ay 


24. 


a, 


26. 


Die 
28. 


29: 
Zi 


31% 
32. 
B05 


Rays 2 261 


— Papihonacea; f. Leguminofe. Former- 


ly, in four claffes. 
Pentapetale. Before, in two claffes. 
Florifere, Graminifoha. Yormerly, in 
four claffes ; e¢ Bulbofis affiines. 


-Staminee, Graminifohe. Before, in 


three tables. 
Anomale. 


Trees, and Shrubs. 


Arundinacee. 

Flore a fruétu remoto ; fea Apetale. 

Fructu umbihcato ; f.. Pomifere, et 
Baccifere. 

Fructu non umbilicato; f. Prunifere. 

Fructu ficco ; non fitiquofo, nec umbilt~ 
cato; et Mifcellanee. 


Siliquofe, non Papihonacee. 


Siiquofe, Papilonacee. 
Anomale. 


At this time, the confideration of Mr. 
Ray’s method is a matter of mere curio- 


fity ; 


yet, in juftice to this great man, it 


muft be remarked, that his fyftem, though 
lefs artificial than that of CasALPINE, is 


33 much 


262 CHAPTER 20, 


much more highly elaborated than that of 
Morison: and, though Mr. Ray mutt 
have taken infinite pains with it, yet is it 
difficult in practice ; fince the bafes of the 
clafles are not uniform. Of the thirty- 
three, however, twelve are nearly com- 
pofed of natural orders, Such are the fol- 
lowing : 


Fungi, Afperifoha, 
Mu/fct, Verticillate, 
Capillares, Pomifere, 
Planipetale, Siliquofe, 
Unbellifere, Leguminofe, 
Stellate, Culmfere, 


The remaining clafies are combined of 
fubjeéts lefs conneéted by habit and ftruc- 
ture; and are therefore fubject to more ar- 
bitrary rules, drawn from the confideration 
of fome one, or more parts, in the fructifi- 
tion. | 
In the ** MeTuopus Graminum, Funco~ 
yum, et Cyperorum fpecials,” annexed to this 
book, Mr. Ray’s diftribution refts princi- 
pally on what may be called the habit of 
the fruGtification ; all thofe genera, which 

in 


Ray. 263 


in the Liznean fyftem are known by the 
names of Phalaris, Alopecurus, Dacttylis, 
Agrofiis, dia, Poa, Briza, &c. being called 
Gramen fimply, with the epithets of the old 
authors annexed, expreflive of the mode of 
bearing the parts of the fructification, whe- 
ther in {pikes, or panicles; as, Gramen tri- 
ticeum ; Gramen lohaceum; typhinum; Gra- 
men paniculatum ; mihaceum, &c. In this 
Confpectus, however, all the fpecies are 
introduced, to the amount of two hun- 
dred. 

Sixteen years had now elapfed fince the 
publication of his ‘* Hiftory of Plants ;” in 
which interval botany had affumed a new 
face, and experienced a much greater revo- 
lution and acceffion, than had ever taken 
place before. Syftem had been ftudied, and 
in fome meafure eftablifhed, both at home 
and abroad. An incredible number of new 
plants had been introduced, from all parts 
of the world, and cultivated with extreme 
care in the gardens of Europe. In the 
mean time, thefe circumftances had given 
rife to a great number of valuable publi- 
cations. ‘The remaining fix volumes of 


S 4 that 


264 CHAPTER 20. 


that ineftimable work; the “ Hortus 
Macasaricus,” had appeared: Brey- 
Nius, HERMAN, TouRNEFORT, Prvu- 
MIER, PLUKENET, Boccone, CoMME- 
LINE, BoBART, CuPani, VoLKAMER, 
and Rivinus, had enriched botany with 
valuable performances. ‘Thefe large aug- 
mentations to the {cience induced Mr, 
Ray, notwithftanding his advanced years 
and ill health, to attempt a colleCtion of 
thefe fcattered materials, in order to form 
a fupplemental volume to his “ Hif- 
‘* tory ;” and his induftry enabled him to 
effect his purpofe. Additional to the affift- 
ances derived from all thefe printed works, 
he had accefs, by the favour of Sir Hans 
SLOANE, to the MS. of his ‘* Hiftory of 
‘«¢ Famaica Plants”. (of which the ‘* Pro- 
dromus” had been publifhed in 1696) with 
liberty to felect what he thought proper to 

his defign. reer: 
From the fame gentleman he enjoyed the 
benefit of an Herbarium of feveral hundred 
new and undeicribed plants, collected in Ma- 
ryland, by Mr. Vernon and Mr. Kreic, 
who had made a voyage thither- for the 
fole 


Ray. 265 
fole purpofe of gratifying their tafte in bo- 
tany. Mr. Periver freely communicated 
his ftores, at that time very ample, though 
afterwards abundantly more fo; and Dr. 
SHERARD engaged, befides Rising more 
than a thoufand fpecies himfelf, to take the 
trouble of infpecting the whole work before 
it went to the prefs, and of making fuch cor- 
rections and additions as he judged proper. 

It was the laft of his works publithed in 
his life-time, and came out in 1704, with 
the following title: | 

‘* HistoRi# PLANTARUM Tomus 
TERTIUS, gui eff SUPPLEMENTUM duorum 
precedentium ; fpecies omnes, vel omiffas, vel 
poft volumina ila evulgata editas, preter in- 
numeras fere novas et indictas ab amicts com- 
municatas, complectens : cum fynonymis necefJa~ 
ris, et ufibus im cibo, medicina, et mechanicis.” 
Lond. folio. pp. 666; and the ** Dendro- 
fogia,” pp. 135... App. pp. 137. 

The diftribution is the fame as that of 
the two former volumes. In a compilation 
of this kind, colleéted from fo numerous a 
fet of authors, and in many inftances from 
dried and imperfeé& {pecimens, there mutt 

neceffarily 


266 CHAPTER 20, 


neceflarily arife a multitude of repeti- 
tions. The author was fufficiently aware 
of this; but it was unavoidable. In this 
volume there are upwards of 11,700 ni 
enumerated. 

The Appendix contains feveral catalogues, 
which muft have been interefting to the 
curious at that time. Father Came tt, a 
learned Jefuit of Manila, who had not only 
defcribed, but delineated, a great number of 


the plants of Luzone, tranf{mitted his work — - 


to Mr. Ray; and it forms an extenfive 
part of this Appendix, It muft have been 
much regretted, that the Rev. Father had 
not been furnifhed with books to have en- 
abled him to adapt the fynonyms ; fince 
there are few inftances in which any other 
names occur, than the Spani/b, and the in- 
digenous appellations of the natives and 
Malays. 

Mr. Ray then gives a lift of TouRNE- 
FORT’s oriental difcoveries, from the ** Co- 
rollarium ;’ thofe of Dampizr, from New 
Holland and elfewhere, and of MaRTENS’Ss 
Greenland Plants; of ComMELINE’s Rare 
Exotics; a copious Catalogue of Céine/e, 

Madrafs, 


Ray. 267 


Madrafs,and African Plants, communicated 
by Mr. PeTiveER, of which, thofe from Ma- 
drafs had been colle&ted by Mr. Browne, 
a furgeon ‘at that fettlement; and laftly, a 
lift of the new, or hitherto very imperfeCtly 
defcribed fpecies, contained in Mr. Peri- 
' vER’s Hortus Siccus, amounting to upwards 
of 800. 

An advertifement had been printed at the 
end of the firft volume of Mr. Ray’s ** Hif- 
tory,” in 1688, inviting to a fubfcription 
for a fet of figures to the work; and it was 
propofed, that thofe belonging to each tribe 
or clafs, fhould be publithed in regular fuc- 
ceffion; but it did not fucceed. The fcheme 
was again revived, while the Supplement was 
printing; and, among other of Mr. Ray’s 
friends, Dr. Compton, bithop of London, 
had given his patronage, and ftrongly re- 
commended it. Conferences were held with 
Dr. SHERARD, Sir Hans SLOANE, Dr. Ro- 
BINSON, and Mr. PETIVER, relating to it ;. 
but it was relinquifhed as impracticable. 

Mr, Ray’s infirmities were very preffing 
upon him during the later years of his life. 

. In 


963 CH A’? THe R (60. 


In a letter, written in the {pring of 1702, 
he informs Mr. DERHAmM that he had not 
been half a mile from his own houfe for 
four years. Yet, under thefe circumftances, 
he wrote his fupplemental volume to his 
‘* Hiftory of Plants,” which, he fays, had 
engrofied almoft his whole time for two 
years. 

We have now brought Mr. Ray’s bo~ 
tanical works to a conclufien ; but his la- 
bours did not ceafe here. His aétive and 
indefatigable mind prompted him, at the 
age of feventy-five, to begin a work on Jn- 
__fedis; to which he had been encouraged by 
Dr. DerHAm:; and for which he had been 
accumulating materials during many years. 


This was intended to comprehend only the — 


Englifh {pecies ; although, at the fame time, 


his friends were wifhing to engage him to © 


defcribe the exotics of the London Mujfea, 
which were then beginning to abound in 
thefe fubjects. 


He had paid fome attention to the hif-. 


tory of Sprders, indeed, many years be- 
fore, when intimately connected with Dr. 
LISTER; 


Ray. 269 


Lister; but the greater part: of his 
work was drawn up from his own actual 
defcriptions, and partly from Mr. Wit- 
LUGHBY's papers, and the contributions 
of friends, Mr. Petriver, Mr. Dan- 
DRIDGE, Dr. Stoane, Mr. Morton, 
and Mr. STONEFLEET. 

He tells us, that in the later years of his 
life he had difcovered 300 kinds of Papzlis, 
diurnal and nocturnal; and knew there were 
many more. The Beetles, he obferves, were 
as numerous, and the F/es not lefs fo. I 
mention thefe circumftanees to prove the 
extenfive knowledge of nature which this 
extraordinary man poffeffed, at an era when 
he ftood fo nearly alone in thefe branches 
of {cience. He did not live to finifh this 
work. It was publifhed by Dr. DERHamM 
in, P7 EO; dm 42. pp. 398% 

I believe Mr. Ray was the firft who 
gave to thefe minuter animals a real and 
{cientific diftribution. He had drawn up a 
fhort ** MetTuopus INsEcTorRuM,” which 
was publifhed the year after his death. Of 
the hiftory itfelf, it is fufficient to fay, that 
it bears all the charaCters of that accurate, 

difcriminating, 


270 CHAPTER 020, 


difcriminating, and fy{tematic genius, which 
guided him in all his refearches in the field 
of nature; and that it is every where quoted 
by the eminent Swede with the higheft 
commendations, for the faithful defcriptions 
it contains. 

Mr. Ray’s infirmities and afflictions, 
painful and grievous as they were, did not, 
we are told, prevent him from profecuting 
his ftudies till within about three months 
before his death ; which event took place 
on Jan. 17, 1704~5. | 

He died at Black Notley, and was buried, 
as Dr. DERHAM fays, according to his own 
defire, in the church of that parith. The 
writers of the ‘* General Dictionary,” in the 
mean time, inform us, that, ‘‘ although the 
“* rector of the parith offered him a place of 
<‘ interment in the chancel of the church, 
‘< vet he modeftly refufed it, choofing rather 
“© te be buried in the church-yard with his 
“‘ anceftors, where a monument was erected 
‘© to him,” as Dr. DERHAM relates, at the 
charge of fome of his friends, with a Latin 
infcription; which may be feen in the “‘ Ge- 
*< neral Dictionary,” and in Mr. ScorT’s 

3 ‘of Remains. 5 - 


Ray. a7 tn 


“* Remains ;” and of which I infert a copy © 
below *. : 

As Mr. Ray did not inherit any pater- 
nal eftate, and had often refufed preferment, 
his circumftances could never have been 
affluent ; and the legacy of Mr. WiLLuGH- 
BY is faid to have been the greateft part of 
what he enjoyed. His own eftate, what- 
ever that might be, he fettled on his wife. 

He 


* The Infcription on Mr. Ray’s Monument. 


Eruditifimi Viri Jonannis Rau, M.A. 
Quicquid mortale fuit 
Hoc in angufto Tumulo reconditum eft, 
3 At fcripta 
Non unica continet Regio : 
Et Fama undiquaque celeberrima 
} Vetat Mori. 

Collegii SS. Trinitatis Cantab. fuit olim Socius, 
Nec non Societatis Regize apud Londinenfes Sodalis, 
Egregium utriufque Ornamentum. 

In omni Scientiarum Genere, 

‘Tam divinarum quam humanarum 
Verfatifamus : 

Et ficut alter Solomon (cui forfan unico fecundus} 
A Cedro ad Hyflopum, 

Ab Animalium maximis ad minima ufque Infeéta 

Exquifitam nactus eft Natitiam, 
: Nec 


272 CHA Peer (26. 


He had four daughters, three of whom fur- _ 


vived him. ‘* He left a {mall legacy to the 


6é 


A 


é 


Trinity College, in Cambridge, to pur- 
“© chafe books for the library there. All 
© his collections of natural curiofities he 


‘* beftowed 


a 


Nee de ftantis folum quee patet Terra Facie, 
Accuratiffime difleruit ; 

Sed et intima ipfius Vifcera fagaciffimé rimatus, 
Quicquid notatu dignum in Univerfi Natura 
Defcripfit. 

Apud exteras Gentes agens, 

Quz aliorum Oculos fugerant, diligenter exploravit, 
Multaque {citu digniffima primus in Lucem protulit. 
Quod fupereft, e4 Morum Simplicitate praeditus, 
Ut fuerit abfque Invidia doctus : 

Sublimis Ingeni, 

Et (quod raro accidit) demiffi fimul Animi et modefti. 
Non Sanguine et Genere infignis, 
Sed (quod majus) 

Propria Virtute illuftris. 
De Opibus ‘Titulifque obtinendis 
Parum follicitus, | | 
Hec potius mereri voluit, quam adipifci : 
Dum fub privato Lare fua Sorte contentus, 
Fortuna lautiori dignus confenuit. _ 
In Rebus aliis fibi Modum facilé impofuit, 
In Studiis nullum. 


Quid 


poor of his own parith, and five pounds 10. 


Raye: 4 agi 
beftowed on his friend and neighbour, 
«© Mr. Samuel DALE, author of the Phar- 
-* macolegia, to whom they were delivered 
‘¢ about a week before his death.” 

Mr. Ray’s pofthumous papers were en-— 


wr 
at 


Quid plura ? 
Hifce omnibus 
Pietatem minimé fucatam adjunxit, 
Ecclefize Anglican 
(Id quod fupremo Habitu confirmavit) 
Totus et ex Animo addictus. 
Sic bene latuit, bene vixit Vir beatus, 
Quem prefens AXtas colit, Poftera mirabitur. 


This monument beginning to want repair by ftanding 
expofed in the church-yard, was removed and fet up in the 
chancel of the church; and to the epitaph is added, on the 
table of the eaft fide, what follows : 


Hoc Cenotaphium 
Olim in Coemeterio fub Dio pofitum, 
Inclementis Coeli Injuriis obliteratum, 
; Et tantum non collapfum, 
Refecit et fub TeCtum tranfpofuit 
J. Lecce, M.D. 
xvi kal. Aprilis, A. D. 1737. 


On the weft fide, 


Nat. 29. Nov. 1628. 
. Ray 9 
uh a Ob 17. Jan. 1705-6, 


‘Vor, I. T trufted 


oy4. CHAP OR go. 


trufted by his widow to the careof Dr. Der-~ 
HAM; who, after publifhing the ‘ His- 
“© roRIA INsEcCTORUM,” felecteda number 
of his letters, and printed them, in 1718, 
under the title of “‘ PHrtosopHicaL LET- 
‘s teRs between the learned Mr. Ray and 
“* feveral of his Correfpondents, natives 
“* and foreleners.”’ . 8°... pps, 367. 

This collection contains 218 letters; of 
which, fixty-eight were written by Mr. 
Ray himfelf. Among his correfpondents, 
the moft frequent were Dr. Lister, Sir 
Philip Skippon, Dr. Tancred ROBINSON, 
Sir Hans SLoANE, Mr. Luwyp, Mr. Jes-_ 
sop, Mr. Jounson, and Mr. Ox1peEn- 
guRGH. The firft of Mr. Ray’s letters 
bears date in 1667, the laft in 1705. 

The correfpondence of learned and fcien- 
tific men, feldom fails. to be a welcome pre- 
fent to thofe of fimilar literature and pur- 
fuits; for, befides the perfonal intereft we 
take in their concerns, they commonly de- 
lineate, in the moft faithful colours, the 
characters of the writers, frequently afcer- 
tain difcoveries, and enable, their fucceffors 
to trace the progrefs of knowledge in a. 

“ r more 


Ray. 276 
more interefting manner than by hiftorical 
detail. 

As the general fubject of thefe letters is 
natural hiftory, fo botany bears a prevail- 
ing portion. Befides numberlefs critical 
obfervations that occur on particular fpe- 
cies, we meet with a long catalogue of the 
rare plants of the north of England, by Mr. 
Lawson; Dr. PLUKENET’s Obfervations 
on the firft edition of the ‘* Synopfs ;” 
thofe of Dr. PREsTON on various Briti/h 
Plants; a paper of Tsomas WILLISEL’s 
fpecifying the different kinds of trees, on 
which, in his travels, he had feen the M/~ 
feltoe growing ; and a lift of fuch exotics as 
were thought rare at that time in the Che/- 
fea Garden, and at Fulbam, 

There is, moreover, among thefe letters, 
an interefting paper, written by Mr. Ray 
himfelf, in anfwer to the queftion, “© What 
<« number of plants there are in the world?” 
in which he difcuffes the difficulty, or im- 
poffibility, of gaining fatisfaCtion on this 
point, arifing from the want of fufficient 
bounds between fpecies and variety. He 
communicated to the Royal Seciety fome 

<2 _ remarks 


276 CHAP TER. 26: 


remarks on this head, which were printed 
by Dr. Biren, in the third volume of the 
‘«¢ Hiftory of the Royal Society.” 

Dr. DERHAM meditated writing the life 
of Mr. Ray; but he appears not to have 
fully executed his plan. His papers, how- 
ever, were publifhed by Mr. Scorr, in 
1760, under the title of ‘* Select Remains 
‘‘ of the learned ‘fohn Ray.” 8°. pp. 336. 
To thefe are annexed three of the [timera- 
ries, Which conftitute the greater part of 
the book. They are evidently fhort notes 
only, never intended for the public eye. 
Some of Mr. Ray’s devotional pieces ac-' 
company this collection; and three letters 
to Dr. DERHAM; with a Latin letter of 
advice and inftructions to his pupils, the 
Mr. WILLUGHBYS. 

There is faid to be ftill extant a manu- 
fcript of Mr. Ray’s, under the. title of 
‘© Catalogus Plantarum domeflicarum que 
aluntur Catabrigie in hortis acadenucorum et 
oppidanorum.” In this, he chiefly makes 
ufe of the /yxonyma of the two BAvuINEs, 
and of GERARD and PARKINSON. 

ie _ had the fingular happinefs of 

devoting 


Ray. 277 
devoting fifty years of his life to the culti- 
vation of the {ciences he loved. Incited by 
the moft ardent genius, which overcame in- 
numerable difficulties and difcouragements, 
his labours were, in the end, crowned with 
a fuccefs, before almoft unequalled. He 
totally reformed the ftudies of botany and 
zoology ; he raifed them to the dignity of 
a {cience, and placed them in an advan- 
tageous point of view ; and, by his own 
inveftigations, added more real improve- 
ment to them in England, than any of his 
predeceffors, 

He invented and defined many terms, ex-= 
preflive of ideas before unknown to the na- 
turalifts of England; and introduced many 
others, from writers of the beft note. As he 
wrote Latin in great purity, and with great 
facility, he gave his fubjects all the embellith- 
ments that learning could beftow ; and his 
extenfive erudition, and Knowledge of phi- 
lofophy at large, enabled him to add many 
collateral ornaments, and ufeful obferva- 
tions, with an aptitude and judgment pa 
has been much applauded. ; 

The extent of his improvements in {ci- 
ence procured him the admiration of his 

ar 3 contem- 


278 CHAPTER 20, 


contemporaries, and have juftly tran{mitted 
his name to pofterity, among thofe who 
have done honour to their age and country. 
Even learned foreigners have been eloquent 
in his praife. French writers have ftiled 
him the “ Exgh/h TouRNEFORT ;” an 
eulogy that fufficiently evinced the high 
opinion they had of his merit. And the 
late eminent HALLER not only attributes 
to Ray the merit of improving and eleva~ 
ting botanical knowledge, but from his life 
dates a new era in the records of the {ci- 
ence. : 
But Mr. Ray’s enquiries were not limit- 
ed to natural knowledge. His Foreign Tra- 
_wvels and his Itineraries prove, that antiqui- 
ties, polity, government, and legiflation, at- 
tracted a fhare of his regard; as his philo- 
logical books are evidences of his attention 
to language, and of his defire to improve 
and illuftrate his native tongue. : 

To all thefe.endowments. he joined an 
unremitting induftry and perfeverance in the 
profecution of his ftudies ; and, what marks 
a fortitude of mind as uncommon as it is 
enviable, his affiduity feemed to ftrengthen 

with 


Ray. 279 
with his age, and to bid a defiance to the 
encroachments of infirmity, and the prof- 
pect of diffolution. I call to witnefs the 
_ magnitude of the attempt, and fuccefsful 
iffue of his exertions, in writing the fupple- 
mental volume to his ‘* Hiftory of Plants,” 
and in beginning the ‘* Hifforia Infectorum”’ 
at fo late a period of his life. 

His fingular modetty, affability, and coms 
municative difpofition, fecured to him the 
efteem of all who knew him ; and his emi- 
nent talents as a naturalift and a philofo- 
pher procured him many patrons and friends, 
and preferved him from that obfcurity, 
which would otherwife probably have been 
his lot: for, notwithftanding his learning 
and probity, as his principles did not accord 
with thofe of the times, they were adverfe 
to his fortune, and he gained no emoluments 
in the church. He had relinquithed his 
fellow{hip at the commencement of the Bar- 
tholomew act, not, as fome imagined, from 
his having taken the Solemn League and Co- 
venant (for that he never did, and often de- 
clared, that he ever thought it an unlawful 
oath), but becaufe he could not declare, 

T4 agreeably 


280 CHAPTER 20. 


agreeably to the terms of the act, that the 
oath was not binding on thofe who had 
taken it. Hence too, his conftant refufal of 
preferment afterwards, occafioned him to be 
ranked, by many, among the nonconfor- 
mitts, although he lived and died in the 
communion of the church of Ezgland. He 
had feen, with deep ‘regret, the diforders of 
the commonwealth and the ufurpation, and 
afterwards, not lefs, the threatening afpe& 
of the reign of ‘fames II. 

His ftrong attachment to the principles 
of civil and religious liberty, is manifefted 
by his animated ftile, in the preface to his 
§* Synopfis ;” where he exprefies, in glowing 
terms, his joy and gratitude, for having 
lived to fee thofe bleffings eftablifhed by the 
Revolution. | 

The character of Mr. Ray cannot be 
contemplated by thofe who have a true re- 
lith for the ftudies of nature, without a 
high fentiment of refpect and gratitude ; 
nor by thofe who confider the exemplari- 
nefs of his life as a man, and his qualifica- 
tions as a divine, without veneration. 

There are two engraved portraits of Mr. 

Ray 


Ray. 281 


Ray prefixed to his works, both from a 
painting by Faithorne; one by W. Elder, 
before his ‘‘ SyLtLoGE,” in 1693, which 
feems to have been copied for the ‘“* Me- 
THODUS EMENDATA, in 17033 and the 
other by Vertue, in 1713, prefixed to the 
‘¢ Phyfico-theological Difcourfes.’”" In both 
thefe, he is reprefented, as Mr. Ames de- 
{cribes it, in “‘ an oval frame, with hair, 
‘¢ whifkers, band, and canonical habit.” 
‘Thefe engravings reprefent Mr. Ray in 
the latter ftage of his life*. 


* In dedicating plants to the worthies of botanical fci- 
ence, the name of Ray challenged a dignified place; 
and the liberal-minded foreigner, whofe name has before 
occurred on thefe occafions, forgot not fo juft a tribute. 
PLuMIER Called a new plant of the dioecious clafs, which 
bears the habit of brysny, and is nearly allied to the yams, 
which he firft difcovered in the ifle of Domingo, by the 
name of JAN-RaAJA, in honour of our illuftrious country- 
man. LinN vs, who had comparatively few opportuni-+ 
ties of correcting Piumier, eftablifhed the genus, but 
more aptly changed it to RAJANIA, and enumerates three 
fpecies. He. could not adopt the ftill more analogous 
term of Rata, fince it had long been preoccupied in the 
animal kingdom ; and it had been juftly conftituted an 
axiom, by the Fundamenta Botanica, N° 230, not to form, 
in the vegetable kingdom, any generical terms, fynonymous 
to fuch as were employed in zoology or mineralogy. 


CH A’P. 


( 284 ) 


ORE: I MN SiR nag 2 


Poetical botanifis—Cowley—Account of bis poems 
on plants—Not deeply verfed in the botany of 
his time—AIntimate knowledge of natural biftory 
neceffary to accomplifo “ the poet of nature.” 


COW LE Ys 


N al! times, from Vireit and Aemr- 
tius Macer of the Auguftan age, 
from the fpurious Macer, and Strasvus 
the monk of S¢. Ga//, in the twelfth cen- 
tury, to modern times, the beauties of 
flowers, and the virtues of plants, have been 
celebrated in verfe. Marcus Na&vianus, 
firft a phyfician, and then a prieft, of F/an- 
ders, fang the qualities of plants in his 
** Poemation” of 1563; and Tuuanus, the 
great hiftorian, amufed himfelf with praifing 
the violet and the //y in metre. In our own | 
country, in 1723, George KNOWLES de- 
fcribed 400 plants of the Materia Medica, 
in Latin verie, and didactically applied them 
to their ufes in medicine. . 
But to proceed: That England and France, 
in 


Co wiley. 28 3 


in the fame age, might not want their bo- 
tanical laureats, CowLey .in the one, and 
Rapin in the other, arofe to celebrate this 
theme. 

Cow Ley, after eae found reafons for 

ftudying phyfic, “‘ confidering botany,” 
we are told by his late eminent i 
‘* as neceflary to a phyfician, retired into 
‘¢ Kent, to gather plants.’’ 
_ Here, he wrote, before the Reftoration, 
his ‘* Two firft Books on Plants ;” although 
they were not publithed till the year 1662. 
The remaining four were added in the edi- 
tion of 1668; and the whole were repub- 
lifhed, with other poems, in 1678, 8°. 
PP- 343+ 

In the fr/? book, he celebrates the powers 
of various medicinal herbs, more eft pecially 
of thofe which gave ampler {cope to his 
mufe, from antient renown of their virtue, 
and were yet in frequent ufe, and high 
efteem. Such were betony, wormwood, wa~ 
ter lily, miffeltoe, and various others. 

In the /econd, he invokes the goddefles 
Luna, Lucma, Jana, and Mena ; and fings 
the praifes of fimples Sa! to the 

2 : | difeafes 


284 CH A‘RPMe’e jar, 


difeafes of the fex: in which, both antient 
fuperftition, and modern belief, {upplied 
his mufe with exuberant fources of grati- 
fication. | 

In the third, Flora calls forth all his 
powers, in the narciffus, the anemone, the 
violet, and the tulip, with a variety of other 
ornaments of the parterre, from the coro- 
nary tribe. : 

In the fourth, a more numerous fet of 
the {ubordinate embellifhments of the gar- 
den are recorded, in various meafure; among 
which, the attributes of the moly, the lily, 
poppy, funflower, faffron, and amaranth, 
attract his mufe with more than ordinary 
attention.’ 4)” | 

In the f/t4, he celebrates, in heroic mea- 
fure, the gifts of Pomona, from the native 
produats of England, to the date of the 
eaft, and the ¢una of the weft; terminating 
his poem with near two hundred lines on 
Columbus, on the Spaniards, on the new 
continent, and in expreffing his hopes that, 
to the devaftations of conqueft, will foon 
fucceed peace, religion, arts, and {cience. 

In the /z/, he difplays the fylvan fcenes 

from 


Cowley. 285 
from the oak of Bo/code/, to the lowly juni- 
per; and, having conftituted his druidical 
monarch the fovereign of the foreft, he 
- makes him the oracle for a train of reflec- 
tions, on the ufurpation; the exile of Charles 
the Second, his reftoration; and the Dutch 
war. | | 

His poems are accompanied by notes, 
illuftrating the etymology, the names, fyno-: 
nyms,. defcriptions, faculties, and ufes of 
the plants, confirmed by authorities drawn 
from claffical, botanical, and medical wri- 
ters. Of thefe, he profefies in his preface, 
that PLiny among the antients, and Frr- 
NELIUs among the moderns, have been his 
chief refources. Of botanical authors, Gr- 
RARD and PARKINSON are {paringly men- 
tioned, and they are the principal of that 
clafs. 

Great eminence in fcience is feldom at- 
tainable, unlefs its foundation be laid in a 
devotednefs of mind to its object, in the 
early {cene of life. Cowxey did not enter 
on the ftudy of phyfic, till the middle age 
of man; and then, as is probable, not with 
interefted views towards practice. Hence 

it 


286 CHAPTER 21, 


it may fairly be prefumed, that’ he fatisfied 
himfelf with moderate acquifition.’ What 
was true of the whole, may by fair analogy 
be applicable to a particular branch of it. 
He had doubtlefs that portion of knowledge 
in the materia medica of plants, which may 
be confidered as adequate to the ufual de- 
mand. 

But, that CowLey, in his retirement, 
fhould obtain an extenfive and critical know- 
ledge of botany, as it ftood as a {fcience, 
even im his day, could not be expected. His 
fervid genius could fcarcely ftoop to that 
patient inveftigation of nature, by which 
alone it could be acquired. Neither do the 
text, nor the notes, manifeft fufficient proof 
of his intimate acquaintance with thofe-au- 
thors of true fame, among the moderns, 
through whofe affiftance the want of that 
information might, in fome meafure, have 
been fupplied. 

Neverthelefs, as, in the language of Dr. 
Jounson, ‘* Botany, in the mind of Cow- 
“© LEY, turned into poetry,” to thofe who 
are alike enamoured with the charms: of 


cli the poems of CowLey mutt yield 
delight ; 


Cowkey. asz 


delight ; fince his fertile imagination has. 
adorned his fubject. with all the beautiful. 
allufions that antient poets and mythologifts 
could fupply; and even the fancies of the 
modern Szgvafores, of BarpTisTa PorRTA, 
Croxtius, and their difciples, who faw 
the virtues of plants in the phyfiognomy, 
or agreement in colour or external forms, 
with the parts of the human body, affifted 
to embellith his verfe. Nor did he fail, by 
thefe elegant productions, to honour. his: 
fubject, his name, and his country. 

I clofe thefe obfervations by remarking, 
that poetry, as it ever hath, fo it ever mutt 
derive from. nature fome of its mot pleafing 
{cenes of entertainment. In the. vegetable. 
world, the moft expanded: imagination. of 
poetic genius will, even without the aid of 
hdtion, fo. emphatically ftiled the foul of 
poetry, find a field fufficiently ample for the 
difplay of the brighteft talents. THom- 
SON witnefics. this truth, while in. him we 
lament the want cf that botanical know- 
ledge, without which, the poet. muft ever 
be deprived: of numberlefs fources: of the 

moft 


288 CH, A Pi@eR oer. 


moft beautiful imagery, and fuch as would 
add peculiar grace, and the moft inftrudtive 
power to his mufe. 3 

And, although the talent of the poet 
hath not often been united to that of the 
really fcientific botanift, there are not want- 
ing inftances of this union. I might men- 
tion, fince the difcovery of the fexes of 
plants, the ode, dedicated to CaMERARIUS, 
and printed in his ‘* Epzfola de Sexu Plan- 
tarum ;” of which, a tranflation by Dr. 
MARTYN, when a young man, may be feen 
in Bratr’s “ Botanick Effays.” Profeffor 
Van Royven, in 1732, publifhed an elegant 
poem “ De Plantarum Amoribus, et Connu- 
bis.’ And Cuno, an ingenious merchant. 
of Amfterdam, in a volume of 2 56 pages, 
defcribed, in 1750, the plants of his own 
garden in verfe; for which he received the 
laurel from Linn aus, by a new genus in- 
{cribed to his name. 

Whilft I am now writing, I have the 
pleafure of congratulating all thofe, whofe 
love of poetry is aided by a tafte for botani- 
cal fcience, on a moft elegant production in 

: our 


Cowley, 289 


our own country. The beautiful difplay 
of the principles of the Lzznzan fyftem in 
the “ Botanic Garden,” under the delicate 
analogy of the “ Loves of the Plants,” in 
which the didactic defign of the author, is 
fo happily embellithed by Ousdzan imagery, 
as to have given that energy and ornament 
to the fubject, which has been hitherto 
wanting to all fimilar productions in the 
Engh/h language. 


Vote l. U a ee Aes 


(290 ) 


CoM A Re wiees 


Merret, brief anecdotes of—His Pinax Rerum 


n 


¢ 


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“A 


4 


x 


€¢ 


6¢ 


6 


A“ 


Gé 


66 


ێ 


é¢ 


6¢ 


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nw 


6¢é 


C 


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a 


Naturalium, intended to fupply the deficiencies 
of How’s Phytologia— Afifted by Willifel : 
Goodyer’s manufcripts—Merret’s other wri- 
tings—LHis papers in the Philofophical Trant- 
actions. 


iM ER RV Eo? 


HRISTOPHER, the fon of Chri- 
topher MERRET, was born at 
Winchcombe, 11 Gloucefterfhire, Feb. 16, 
1614. He became a ftudent in Glou- 
cefter Hall, in the beginning of the year 
1631; two years after which time, he 
tranflated himfelf to Orze/ College, and — 
took the degree of B. A. in 1634. Af- 
terwards, retiring again to Gloucefter 
Hall, he applied to the ftudy of phyfic, 
and was created doctor in that faculty in 
1642. About this time he fettled in 
London, and came into confiderable prac- 
tice, was a fellow of the College of 
Phyficians, and of the Royal Society. 
“* He 


Merret. 291 


«* He died at his houfe, near the chapel in 
*¢ Hatton Garden, in Holborne, near London, 
“© Aug. 19, 1695; and was buried twelve 
‘* feet deep in the church of St. Andrew’s, 
°* Holborne.’ Thus far Mr. Wood. 

The publication which entitles Dr. Mer- 
ret to.a place in thefe anecdotes, is, his 
cP INAx Rerum NATURALIUM Bri- 
TANNICARUM, continens VEGETABILIA, 
Animaha, et Foffilia, in bac Infula reperta,” 
Ss HOO". pp. 22>. 

This is not noticed in the title as a fe- 
cond edition, although there is one recorded 
by authors, with the date of 1665. How- 
ever,, | fuipect 1f,to be a2.muftake, as no 
fuch edition is quoted by Ray. He dates 
his book from the College of Phyficians, 
and is mentioned by Morison under the 
title of <* Mufez Herbiani Cuftos.” 

Dr. MERRET informs us, that he under- 
took this work at the requeft of a book- 
feller, to fupply the deficiencies of How’s 
“¢ Phytologia,” after that work was out of 
print; and that it was intended to have 
been done jointly with Dr. Date, whofe 

death, foon after the defign was formed, 
‘ aah U2 threw 


292 CHAP TERY ge. 


threw the whole into his own hands. He 
' fays, he had purchafed 800 figures, which 
Jounson had caufed to-be engraved, with 
which the work was to have been embel- 
_ lifhed. Why they did not appear, no caufe 
is afligned; nor do I find any further no- 
tices of them. Dr. MERRET, though un- 
queftionably a man of learning, tafte, and 
_ confiderable information in natural hiftory, 
feems to have engaged in it too late in life, 
to admit of his making that proficiency, 
which the defign required. Add to this, 
that being fixed in London, and clofely en- 
gaged in the practice of his profeffion, he 
was rendered incapable of inveftigating 
plants, in the diftant parts of the kingdom. 
‘He however engaged Thomas W1LLISEL to 
travel for him; and-he tells us, that WiL- 
LISEL was employed by him for five fuc- 
ceflive fummers. His fon, Chriflopher MER- 
~ RET, alfo made excurfions for the fame 
purpofe; and Mr. Yauldon Goopyer fur- 
nifhed him with the manufcripts of his 
grandfather. By thefe affiftances Dr. Mer- 
RET procured a large number of Enghj/b 

plants, anda knowledge of the Loci Natales. 
; Never-~ 


Merret. — 293 


Neverthelefs, he was not poffefled of that 
critical and intimate acquaintance with the 
fubjec&t, which might have enabled him to 
diftinguifh, with fufficient accuracy, the 
{pecies from varieties. He ranges the plants 
alphabetically, according to the Latin names, 
and has given few fynonyms, except thofe 
of GERARD and ParKINSON; to which, 
after the example fe the writers of the 
«© Hortus Oxonienfis,’ he has very commen- 
dably annexed the page. He gives the ge- 
neral places of growth, and fpecifies the 
particular {pots, where the rare plants are | 
found. 

At the end of the Catalogue, is fabjoined, 
a rude difpofition of vegetables into clafies, 
fomewhat like that of ‘fohn BAUHINE. 
This he hoped to have improved, againft 
the time of a fecond edition, which, pro- 
bably, Mr. Ray’s publications fuperfeded, 
Then follows a brief Synopfs Etymologica, 
and a ufeful lift of the plants as they flower 
in each month, pointing out the duration of 
the time. Dr. MerRerT has, in this P/- 
nax, introduced many plants as new, which, 
on fubfequent examination, proved to be 


U3 only 


294 CHAPTER (22, 


only varieties ; a number of exotics, evidently | 
the accidental offspring of gardens, and 
many that could never be met with by. 
‘fucceeding botanifts, in the places {pecified 
by him. He enumerates upwards of 1400 
fpecies of Exgij/b plants ; whilft the accu- 
rate Mr. Ray, only three years afterwards, 
confines the number to 1050. Neverthe- 
lefs, feveral Brztz/h plants make their firft 
appearance in this Pax; and Dr. Mer- 
RET would probably have fecured his title 
to fome others, if he had not totally omitted ~ 
to give defcriptions of thofe which he in- 
troduces as new. 

The zoclogical part of this Pax is ex- 
extremely fuperficial ; confifting merely of 
the Lat and Engh/h name, with a refer- 
ence to ALDROVANDUS, GESNER, JOHN- 
ston, and Mourrett. The mineralogy 
is not lefs brief, and imperfect. 

Before the publication of this work, Dr. 
MERRET had printed ‘* A Colleétion of 
«¢ Acts of Parliament, Charters, Trials at 
‘* Law, and Judges Opinions, concerning — 
_* thofe Grants to the College of Phyfi- 
‘*¢ cians.” 4°. 1660. This became the ba- 

fis, 


Merret. . 295 


_ fis, as Mr. Wood fays, of Dr. Goopatt’s 
book, printed in 1684. 

In 1669, he wrote “A thort View of 
the Frauds and Abufes committed by 
«* Apothecaries, in relation to Patients, and 
‘* Phyficians... 4°.:.. This: treatafe engaged. ; 
him in a controverfy with the famous 
Henry Stusse. It may be prefumed, that 
all difcuffions of this kind, howfoever well 
meant, can have but little effect in reform- 
ing the abufes hinted at, while the cufto- 
mary and legal conftitution, and polity of 
phyfic, remain in the prefent ftate in Great 
Britain. 

In 1662, he tranflated into Exgijh, ** The 
*«< Art of Glafs; how to colour Glafs, Ena- 
** mels, Lakes, &c.” 8°. written by 4vt. NE- 
RI,accompanied with an account of the Glafs- 
Drofs. And, in 1686, the fame work was 
publifhed in Latm, with Dr. Merrev’s 
‘¢ Obfervations and Notes,”’ equal in extent 
to the work itfelf. m/f. 12°, 

Mr. Wood informs us, that he alfo print- 
ed, in one fheet, 4°.: “* The Character of a 
*¢ compleat Phyfician or Naturalift.” 

Dr. MERRET was among the earlieft 

Us members 


296 CH A FP PWE wwe, 


members of the Royal Society, after its in- 
corporation; and contributed feveral papers, 
which were Pua in the ‘ Philofophical 
“<< Tran factions.” 

He made experiments on vegetation, in 
the year 1664; by which he found, that 
{quare fections of the bark, from afh, and 
maple, whether feparated on three fides 
only, or wholly, would firmly unite, if 

tightly fecured by plaifter and packthread. 
Experiments on the lofs of weight, 
which a plant of the 4he Americana, with 
eleven leaves, fuffered by hanging up in -- 
the kitchen for five years. In the firft” 
year it loft near two ounces and an half; 
the fecond upwards of three ounces; de- 
creafing afterwards nearly in the fame pro- 
portion. It loft two of the larger leaves 
every year, and put forth two new ones 
every {pring; from which circumftance, the 
Doéor inferred a circulation of the juice. 

Experiments on cherry-trees, that, hav- 
ing withered fruit, occafioned by the fun 
being admitted too fuddenly upon them in 
March, recovered, by daily Ce the 
roots. 

| Obfervations 


Merret. 297 


Obfervations on the London granaries. 
-Thefe four papers were all printed in N° 25, 
in the fecond volume of the “* Yran/- 
actions.” : 

In N° 138, .an-account of the:tin-mines 
in Cornwall; mundic, {par, and Cornz/h cry{- 
tals. : 

In N° 142, an account of ‘the ‘art of re- 
fining, in the feveral methods, by parting, 
by the teft, the almond furnace, and by 
mercury. | 

In N° 22.9, fome curious obfervations. on 
the fens of Lincolufbire; on the animal and 
vegetable produce: a defcription of Boffon 
church, the incroachments of the fea, and 
other particulars, which mutt have rendered 
this paper a very interefting morfel of natu- 
ral hiftory. He gives a lift of feveral of 
the more rare plants growing in the fens. 

In N° 224, a table of the wathes called 
Fofdyke and Cro/skeys, in Lincolnfbire, {peci- 
fying the times of high water, and fafe paf- 
faze over the fands. | 


CHAR, 


x { 298.) ) 


CG el ie ee 


Morifon—Account of his life—His Hortus Ble- 
fenfis ; in which are contained the rudiments of 
his fyftem, and the animadverfions on the Bau- 
hines—Publifbes Boccone’s Plante Sicula— 
His Dittributio Plantarum Umbelliferarum 
—fis great work, the Wiftoria Plantarum 
Oxonienfis— Outlines of his method. | 

Jacob Bobart, the continuator of Morifon’s Hif- 
tory—Brief anecdotes of. 


MORISON. 


OBERT Morison was born at Ader-~ 
deen, in 1620; was educated in the 
fame univerfity; and, in 1638, took the de- 
gree of doétor in philofophy, equivalent to 
that of M. A. He firft applied to mathe- 
matics, and was defigned by his parents for 
the theological line; but his tafte for bo- 
tany and phyfic fuperfeded their intentions. 
His attachment to the royal caufe, led him 
into the army ; and he received a dangerous 
wound in the head, in the battle at Brigg, 
near 


Morijon. 299 


near Aberdeen. Upon his recovery, he went 


to Paris, the afylum of his countrymen. 


Here he was firft employed as a tutor to 
the fon of a counfellor, Bzzet; and, in the 
mean time, affiduoufly applied to the ftudy 
of anatomy, botany, and zoology. In 1648, 
he took the dodtor’s degree in phyfic at 
Angers. He became fo much diftinguifhed 


_ by his {kill in botany, that at the recom- 


mendation of M. Rogins, the king’s bota- — 
nift, he was taken into the patronage of the 
Duke of Or/eans, uncle to Lewis XIV. and - 
appointed intendant of his fine garden at. 
Bhis, with a handfome falary. This eftab- 
lifhment took place in 1650, and he held 
it until the death of the Duke, in 1660. 
Here, we are told, Morison laid open to 


‘the Duke his method of botany; and was 


liberally encouraged by him to profecute it. 
The Duke alfo fent him into various pro- 
vinces of France, to fearch for new plants. 
He travelled into Burgundy, the Lyonnozs,and 
Languedoc ; and into Britanny, the coalts 
and ifles of which he carefully inveftigated ; 
and, by thefe journies, enriched the garden 
with many rare, and fome new plants. 

it 


300 CH AP Tames 22. 


It was in this fituation that he became 3 
known to Charles Il. who, in 1660, on the 
death of his uncle the Duke, invited Mo-. 
RISON into England ; and, although folicited 
by the treafurer Fouguet, on the moft ho- 
nourable and ample conditions, to remain 
in France, the love of his country overcame 
all temptations, and he returned to Eng- 
Jand. Charles U1. gave him the title of 
king’s phyfician, and royal profeflor of bo- 
tany, with an appointment of 2001. a year, 
and a houfe, as fuperintendant of the royal 
gardens. He was. elected fellow of the 
Royal College of Phyficians, and acquired 
much fame for his knowledge of botany. 
In this fituation he remained till the year 
1669, when, having made an acquaintance 
with Mr. Obadiah Waker, of Univerfity 
College, with the Dean of Chrift Church, 
and, other leading men of the univerfity, 
he was, by their intereft, elected botanic 
profeffor at Oxford, Dec. 16, 1669, and 
incorporated doctor of phyfic the day fol- 
lowing. He read his firit lecture in the 
phyfie fchool in September 1670, and then 
removed to the phyfic garden, where he 

lectured 


Morifon. 308 
- Je€tured three times a week, to a confider- 
able audience. In this occupation, and in 
conducting his great work, the “ Hi/foria 
Plantarum Oxonienfis,” he laboured to the 
time of his death, which was thought to 
have been occafioned by a bruife, received 
by the pole of a coach, in crofting the ftreet, 
Nov. 9, 1683. He died at his houfe in 
Green-fireet, Leicefter Fields, the next day, 
and was buried in the church of St. Mar- 
tin’s in the Fields, Weftminfter. 

-SeGuieR feems to have placed impro- 
perly among Mortison’s works the firft 
edition of the “* Hortus Blefenfis,” which he 
gives as publifhed in the year 1635, when 
Morison muft have been only fifteen years 
of age. This may have been a typographi- 
‘cal error; but the book, in faé, was the 
work of 4ée/ BRuyner, phyfician to the 
~ Duke of Orleans, and was ‘not publithed till 
1653. Mortison’s firft publication was a 
~ fecond edition of this catalogue, under the 
following title: “‘ Hortus Recius Bie- 
SENSIS auctus: acceffit Index Plantarum 
1% Horta contentarum nemini Scriptarum et 
Obferva- 
4. 


302 C H'AS RP RE & a3: 


Obfervationes generaliores, feu Preludirum 
pars prior.’ Lond. 1669. 12°. 

The “ Hortus Bresensis”’ raifed the 
author’s charaGer, and contributed, as the 
writer of his life obferves, to recommend 
him to the ftation he afterwards held at 
Oxford. It contains the rudiments of his 
“method of claflification. He profeffes to 
give a lift of 260 new plants; but many of 


them proved to be only varieties, and others, | 


fuch as were well known before. There 


were, neverthelefs, {ome new and rare plants, 


of exotic, as well as indigenous origin ; the 
latter, fuch as he had himfelf firft difco- 
vered in France. 

In this work is alfo given his “ Hartu- 
CINATIONES 72 CASPARI BAuHINI Pina- 


cem, tam in digerendis quam denominandis 


Plantis; et his Animadverfones, in tres To- 
mos, Hiftorxe Plantarum JOHANNIs Bau- 
HINI; a work which Haller calls “* Invi- 
diofum Opus ;’ and which, while it proves 
both the accuracy and diligence of the au- 
thor, muft be confeffed to be unbecomingly 
fevere on thefe two illuftrious writers ; who, 

as 


Morifon. 303 


as they did not profefs to write a fyftem, 
are here too rigidly tried by rules, not in- 
vented when they wrote, and of confe- 
quence the validity of which they could not 
have acknowledged. : 

Ina aes at the end of the ‘* Hortus 
Blefenfis,’ Morison teaches, that the ge- 
nera of plants fhould be eftablifhed on cha.. 
racters drawn from the fruit, and not on 
any fenfible qualities, or fuppofed medicinal 
virtue. He alfo learnedly defends the doc- 
trine, that all vegetables arife from feed; 
2 propofition not univerfally allowed; the 
doctrine of equivocal, or {pontaneous gene- 
ration, having, at that time, many advo- 
cates among the learned. 

Dr. Morison, during his refidence in 
France, in his occafional journies to Paris, 
about the year 1658, became familiar in the 
family of Lord Hatton, then refident at 
St. Germains, and whofe fecond fon Charles 
was much attached to natural hiftory, and 
' became a voluntary and zealous difciple of 
our author. Sixteen years afterwards, Mr. 
Charles HATTON fent over, at the author’s 
requett, a treatife, with the plates already en- 

graved, 


304, C HN ANE Eye RO ee. 


eraved, written by Paul Bocconz,on plants, ° 
difcovered by him in the fouthern parts of 
Europe, principally in Szez/y, of which fome 
were rare, and fome new. Boccone was Ori- 
ginally of Savona, in the Genoofe diltrict ; and 
was born in 1633. He became a Ciftertian 
monk of Palermo, and was a man of fingu- 
lar and various erudition in natural hiftory. 
He vifited Cor/ica and Malta ; travelled into 
_ England, Holland, and. Germany; and was 
for fome time botanift to the Duke of Tuj~ 
cany. We was the author of feveral very 
curious works; and died in 1704. He 
wrote on foffils ; but his botanical writings 
have greater originality, and were of high 
value. Morison, after having caufed the 
feven laft plates to be re-engraved, pub- 
lithed the work alluded to.above, under the 
following title: 

« Iconzs ef DESCRIPTIONES RARIO- 
RuM PLANTARUM Melita, Gatlhe, et Ita- 
hie. Auctore Paulo Boccone, panormutano 
 ficulo, ferenifimi magn Etruria Ducis olim 
Botanico.” Oxon. 1674. 4°. pp. 96. t. 52. 
fig. 119. 

Morison: prefixed to this work a dedi- 

cation 


Morifon. 305 


cation to Mr. Hatton, in which he de~ 
fends, not only the do¢trine in general, that 
all plants {pring from feed, but particularly, 
againft DioscoriDEs, and fome of the re 
ftorers of {cience, ameng whom were Cz- 
SALPINUS, that all the ferns are furnifhed 
with flowers and feed. | 
The plants defcribed and figured in this 
book, are, moft of them, fuch as had not 
been noticed by foregoing authors. A few 
of thefe are common to Britain. ‘The 
figures are fmall, and neither well deline- 
ated, nor well engraven: but the work had 
its ufe, as containing fome plants of Sou- 
thern Europe, not to be met with in any 
other author; and on this account derives 
fome value, to thofe who are curious in 
purfuing the hiftory of plants in the fexual 
fyftem, as being quoted by Linnaus. 
As a f{pecimen of his great work, medi- 
tated under the name of “* Hi/foria Planta- 
vum Universalis Oxonienfis,” Morison next 
publifhed, “ PLanraruM UMBELLIFE- 
RARUM*DISTRIBUTIO NOVA, per tabulas 
cognationis et afinitatis, ex libro Nature 
obfervata et detetta.” Oxon. 1672. fol. 
Vor. I. xX pp: om. 


306 CHAP aE R 22. 


pp. gt. t.12. The umbelliferous tribe is 
here divided into nine orders, the genera of 
which are diftinguifhed by the figure of the 
feed, affifted, in fome of the fubdivifions, 
by the form of the leaf. They are illuftra- 
ted by figures of 150 different feeds. 
The author has fubjoined what he names 
“* Umbelliferous Plants, improperly {fo cal- 
«© led.” Such’ are Valeriana, Thaliétrum, 
Fiipendula, Valertana greca, Pimpinella Sans 
gu oe ; all which are very different, both 
in character and habit, except the Valerian, 
from the natural clafs of which he treats. 
This fpecimen excited the attention of 
the learned, augmented Morison’s patro- 
nage, both abroad and at home; and en- 
couraged him to profecute with vigour his 
great work, of which the firft volume came 
out under the following title: “‘ PLANTaA- 
RuM HistTori@ UniversaALis Oxoni- 
ENSIS, Pars fecunda; feu Herbarum Difiri- 
butio nova, per tabulas cognationts et affinita- 
tis, ex libra Nature obfervata et deteéta.” 
Fol. 1680. pp. 617. ‘The firft part of the 
Hiftory, on Trees and Shrubs, was never 
printed. Some have doubted, whether it 
was 


Mori, ONs 307 


was ever written; butScHELHAMMER* tells 
us, that he faw the whole work perfect in 
the hands of the author. Morison him- 
felf afligns, as a reafon for publifhing the 
Herbaceous Divifion firft, the greater mag- 
nitude of the undertaking, arifing from the 
vaft number, and cconfequent difficulty of 
finding proper diftinCtions and characters; 
and becaufe he was unwilling to leave the 
moft difficult and abftrufe part of his work 
behind him unfinifhed, as happened to Dr+ 
LECHAMP, and ‘fohn BAUHINE. Unhap-~ 
pily, however, Morison’s untimely death 
fubjected his work to the fame lot, and did 
not allow him to finith more than nine, out 
of the fifteen clafles of his own fyftem. 

He divides all herbaceous plants into fif- 
teen claffes, under the following titles : 


1. Scandentes. 7. Pappofe Lacefcena 
2. Leguminofe. tess 

3. Siliquofe. is 8. Culmifere. 

4, Tricapfulares Hexa- 9. Umbellifere. 
“‘Wopetdle.: > 10. Iricocce Purgatri- 
&. Tricapfulares, alia. ces. 


6. Corymbifera. 
* Tn additamentis ad ConRINGIUM. 
x2 11. Galeate, 


308 , CHA P:TsE R 22. 


41. Galeaie, et Verti- 13. Baccifere. 


cillate. | 14. Capillares.- 
12. Multifilique, et 15. Anomale. 
Multicapfulares. 


From an infpection of this table, it ap- 
pears, that his method is not uniformly 
founded on the fruit ; in faGt, much lefs fo 
than that of CasaLpinus; but on the 
fruit and the habit conjointly ; fince the 
Corymbifera, Umbellifera, and Galeate, with 
the Veriiciate, arife from the difpofition 
of the flower; the Scandentes, Culmifere, 
and Capillares, from the habit: the feventh 
clafs from the qualities partly, and partly 
from the feed. Hence we fee, that only 
half the claffes are founded on the fruit ; 
the fifteenth being truly an heteroclite 
aflemblage. — His method would have a D~ 
proached much nearer to perfection, on his 
own principles, had he enlarged the num- 
ber of his claffes ; fince, in feveral inftances, 
they embrace natural orders, much too dif- 
tinct to be ranged together. The orders, 
or fubdivifions of the claffes, are, in fome 
inftances, grounded on differences in the 


feed- 


Morzjor. . 309 


feed-veffel ; in others, on the root, habit, 
and frequently on lefs {cientific difcrimina- 
tions. In the conduct of the work itfelf, 
Morison makes a feparate chapter for 
each genus. He begins by referring to the 
antients under each plant; frequently fub- 
joining the etymology. The generical cha- 
racters, if indeed they can be fo called, are 
very vague; and though taken from the 
parts of fructification, are, too often, aflifted 
by diftinctions from the root, leaves, and 
mode of growth. After the generical note, 
follows a fynoptical table of the fpecies, re- 
ferring to the plates. The defcriptions are 
fometimes borrowed from Yobn BAUHINE 
and others. To moft of the plants, he af- 
fixes new fpecific characters, and fubjoins 
the /ynonyma of feveral authors. He intro- 
duces, at the end of the chapters, the ani- 
madverfions on the BAUHINEs, and an ac- 

count of the virtues and ufes of the plants. 
The five firft claffes only, were publifhed 
by the author, who left the four fucceeding 
ones finifhed. Thefe, with the remaining 
clafles, were finifhed and publifhed, after 
an interval of nineteen years, by ‘facob Bo- 
#3 BART. 


310 CH APES 2 ea 


BART. Morison had the advantage of 
powerful patronage. He was liberally en- 
couraged by the univerfity, and enabled to 
embellith his work with a numerous fet 
of tables, on. which are ‘eneraven about 
3384 plants. The figures are chiefly co- 
pied from other authors, The new fgures 
eccur principally in the latter part of this 
work, and are therefore to be attributed to 
the care of BopartT, “The fix tables’ of 
Mojfes, Fuci, Corallines, and Corals, at the 
end, are, except the few wooden cuts of Ger- 
RARD, the firft of the kind graved in Eng- 
land, and have great merit as the produc- 
tions of that time. All thofe of CoLtumna 
and CoRNuTUs are copied in this work, 
Thofe engraved by Burgéers excel the reft ; 
and the figures of the grafies and moffes are 
incomparably beyond any other that are to 
be met with, on the fame fcale; the habit 
being admirably well exprefied. ‘The re- 
publication of thefe tables, with references 
to LINN#&US’s writings, would, even at 
this period, be a benefit to the fcience, 
,. The third part, or, more properly, the 
fecond volume of the ‘* Oxford Hiftory of 
« Plants,” 


Morifon. | Sh7 


-« Plants,” was publithed by Facob Bo- 
BART, in fol. 1699. pp. 655.) A: life. of 
“Morison is prefixed to this volume, and 
an engraving of him done by Wézte, with 
Dr. PITCAIRN’s Tetraftic underneath. 
In the preface, which is figned ‘facob Bo- 
BART, the reader is prefented with a gene- 
ral view of the writers on botany, from 
THEOPHRASTUS, to the time of Mori- 
SON; enumerating throughout the feveral 
nations of Europe, in a chronological order, 
the moft learned authors on the fubject. The 
writer then informs us of the patronage and 
encouragement which Morison received 
from the univerfity, to undertake this work; 
and, after lamenting the untimely death of 
the author, and expreffing his grateful fenfe 
of the honour he received in being ap- 
pointed to continue the undertaking, he lays 
before the reader the affiftances he received 
in the profecution of it, An interval of 
near twenty years had given BoparT an 
opportunity of inferting a great number of 
plants unknown to Morison, from the 
works of Ray, HERMAN, PLUKENET, the 
_$ Hortus Malabaricus,’ and other works, 


84 - With 


312 CH A.PPER £3, 


With refpect to Exgli/h botany, great com- 
munications had been made by SLoane, 
PETIVER, Doopy, SHERARD, and others. 
By thefe means, this volume contains near- 
ly double the number of the former ; but 
the latter part of it proves, too evidently, 
that it did not receive the finifhing hand of 
the original author; fince it appears in a 
very abridged form, compared with what 
Morison * himfelf had done. 


BO en AR Wt. 


*Facob BoBART, the continuator of Mo. 
Rison’s Hiftory, was the fon of Facob, the 
firft fuperintendant of the Garden, upon its 
foundation in 1632. Both the father and 
fon filled their ftation with great credit to 
themfelves, and no lefs emolument to the 
Garden. The elder is faid to have been the 

author of the firft edition of the ‘* Hortus | 
Oxontenfis,’ 1648 ; and his name is joined 
in the fecond edition, 1658, as an affociate 
in the work, with Dr. STEPHENS and Mr. 

* ‘The name of Morison is perpetuated by PLUMIER, 
in the application of it toa Weft Indian tree of the mona 
delphous ciafs, hitherto defcribed only by himfelf and Jac- 


QUIN, 
2 BROWNE, 


Bobart. 913 


Browne. Mr.GranGe_r relates a humo-- 
“ous circumftance in his manners; that ** on 
** rejoycing days, he ufed to have his beard 
 * tagged with filver.” He died in 1679, 
at the age of eighty-one; and left, befides 
“facob,, another fon, named. Ti/emant, who 
was alfo employed in the Phyfic Garden. 

I cannot afcertain the time of Bo- 
BART’s death; but from the {tory related 
of him by Dr. Grey, in his edition of 


© Hudibras *,” he muft have been living. 


in 1704. He had transformed a dead rat 
into the feigned figure of a dragon, which 
impofed upon the learned fo far, that <* fe- 
‘* veral fine copies of verfes were wrote on 
“© fo rare a fubject.” BoBarr afterwards 
owned the cheat ; but it was preferved for 
{ome years, as a mafter-piece of art. There 
is a print of the elder Bopart, with a 
diftich, dated 1675, by Burghers; which 
confirms his German origin ; but it is very 
{earce 7. 

* Part I. Canto ii. 1. 314. | 

“¢ The name of Bopartia was given by Linn aus 


to a plant of the graminaceous tribe, which he firft difca- 
vered in HERMAN’s collection of the plants of Zeylon, 


CUA P. 


i 


(.¢gtge. ) 


CO VARY 2% 
a fhort biftory of the rife and progrefs of fyftem, 
~ method, or claffification of plants ; from its ori- 
gin to its revival in England—General ftate of 
arrangements before GEsSNER ai CASALPINE 
_=—Ray and Morison both laboured in the re- 
vival of method at the fame time— Advantages 
of fyftem— Various methods of claffification 
enumerated, 


MET HOD, 


GREEABLY to my purpofe, | 
now proceed to give a concife ac- 
count of the rife and progrefs of what is 
underftood by method, fyftem, or claffijication 
of plants, arifing from agreement in the 
parts of fructification, independent of any 
affociation from the facies externa, or habit 
of the plant. To this, I fhall add as brief 
an hiftory of another important difcovery, 
that of the /exes of plants; in confequence 
of which, fyftem itfelf has been carried to 
a much higher degree of perfection. 
There are no traces of what the moderns 
call 


= 
a Sewn ete tl) LE! - 


Method. : gs 


call fyfem, in the writings of the antients ; 
by whom are pre-eminently fignified, THEo- 
PHRASTUS, DioscoripDEs, and Puiny. 
Their knowledge of vegetables was con- 
fined to a few that were ufed in medicine, | 
and in the arts and conveniences of life; and 
in treating on them, their fubjeéts are placed 
in great and inordinate divifions, without 
the fmalleft approach to what is now meant 
by clafification. 

THEOPHRASTUS treats his fubject, in 
general, philofophically. In his book ** De 
Caufis Plantarum,” he confiders the propa- 
gation, culture, qualities, and ufes of Plants 
in general ; but defcribes very few... In his 
‘© Hiftoria Plantarum,” in which are de- 
{cribed, or enumerated, about 500 {pecies, © 
he begins with the organization, the gene- 
ration, and propagation of Vegetables. He 
then treats largely, in his t4zrd and fourth 
books, on Trees. In the 4/24, on Timber, 
and ‘the choice ‘of the (bef, In the fixtd, 
on Shrubs, thorny Plants, Rofes, and other 
ornaments of gardens. In the /eventh, on 
oleraceous Plants, and wild Plants. In the 
eighth, copioufly on Grain of all kinds, 


And 
4 


a16 CHAPTER 24, 


And in the laff, on Gums, Exudations, and 
the methods of obtaining them. 

The obje& of DioscoripEs being folely 
the Materia Medica, he difcuffes each fub- 
je {pecifically, and in a feparate chapter, 
dividing the whole into five books ; in which, 
as far as any order takes place, they arrange 
into aromatic, alimentary, and medicinal 
plants. His defcriptions are taken chiefly 
from colour, fize, mode of growing, com- 
parifon of the leaves and roots, with other 
plants well known, and therefore left unde- 
icribed. In general they are fhort, and fre- 
quently infufficient to determine the fpecies. 
Hence arofe the endlefs, and irreconcileable 
contentions, among the commentators. In 
this manner he has defcribed near 700 
plants; to which he fubjoins the virtues 
and ufes. ‘To Dioscoripzs all pofterity 
have appealed as decifive on the fubject. 

Priiny, who treats of plants from the 
twelfth to the twenty-feventh book, inclu- 
five, of his <* Hiftory,” has. drawn his re- 
fources principally from Grecian authors, 
He is the hiftorian of antient botany, and 
recites the names of feyeral hundreds, not 

mentioned 


Method. 217 


mentioned by foregoing writers ; but many 
of thefe are unknown. There is no fcien- 
tific order in the difpofition of his fub- 
je; and the great value of PLIny’s work 
confifts in having preferved to us the re- 
mains of antient knowledge on the fubject; 
and in particular, the application of it to 
the arts of life, in thofe remote times. 
After the revival of learning in the fif- 
teenth century, the firft cultivators of bo- 
tany ftudied plants more in the writings of 
thefe fathers, than in the book of nature; 
and were folely anxious about extricating 
the plants of the Materta Medica; {carcely 
adverting to thofe ftriking difcriminations 
in the general port, mein, or habit, the 
mode of growing, and other obvious rela- 
tions, which mark the great natural fami- 
lies in the vegetable kingdom: but were con- 
tent to arrange them, fome, according to the 
alphabetical nomenclature, others, from the 
ftructure of the root, the time of flowering, 
the places of growth, the fuppofed qualities, 
and ufes in medicine; or from other as un- 
ftable diftin@tions. With them, as with 
the antients, there were nearly as many ge- 


al : aera 


318 CHAPTER 24, 


nera as fpecies; and if they gave the fame 
common.appellation to two, or more plants, 
they were led to it by fome rude, external 
refemblance; fuch as, fize, form of the root, 
agreement in the colour of the flower; and, 
in the. defcription of the fpecies, were fre- 
quently fatished with comparing it to an- 
other plant well known to themfelves, and 
therefore left undefcribed in their writings. 

This mode of arrangement, though in a 
fomewhat improved ftate, is exemplified 
above, in the order obferved by Dopon aus; 
and is feen in our old Enghjb herbalitts, 
GERARD and PARKINSON. 

Loset, in his Adverfaria, 1570, feems to 
have been the firft, who attempted to dif- 
tribute plants into large families, or claffes, 
from the general confent of habit, or exter- 
nal form, and mode of growing. This he 
has done in an imperfect fynoptical way; 
and feveral of his families contain natural 


arders, or claffes, nearly entire; but fre- 


quently interrupted by great anomalies. His 


arrangement was not fufficiently attended 


to at the time: it was then excellent, and 
was gradually improved, until we fee it in 


Its. 


Method. | 319 


its laft, and beft form, as scchibilea by 
Ca/par BAUHINE, in his Pimax, 1623; and 
efpecially by ‘Fobu BAvHINE, in his Hiffe- 
vita Plantarum Univerfalis, 1650. 

As natural characters arofe from fimila- 
rity in the general port, or habit of the 
plant, and from an obvious agreement in 
the difpofition of the ftalk, leaves, ftems, 
and from that of the flower, fruit, and feed; 
fo, they at length forced themfelves to ob- 
fervation. Thus, the general habit of all 
grafes; the plants with a paprkonaceous 
flower, fuch as peafe and vetches ; the /77- 
guofe plants, fuch.as muftard, crefles, tur- 
neps, &c.; the vertici/lated, as mint, baum, 
hyflop, germander, &c. ; the wmbe/lated tribe, 
parfley, carrots, hemlock, angelica; the 
cone-bearing trees; and feveral other tribes, 
were too ftriking, not to be feen even by a 
fuperficial obferver. But, as thefe conftitute 
only a part of the whole, fo no characters 
were formed for thofe plants, which the eye } 
could not immediately refer to fome of 
thefe claffes. Still lefs had any generical 
agreement, arifing from uniformity in the 
fructification, been detected. Had all the 
fpecies of plants arene themfelves under 

natural 


320 CH A,POD aR 24. 


natural claffes, a natural method would 
eafily have followed; but the intermediate 
links, notwithftanding the efforts of the 
moft {kilful, are yet unknown. Hence arofe 
the necefiity of artificial fyftems, which are 
now become but-too numerous. Some have 
imagined, that the more pure any artificial 
fyftem preferves the natural claffes, the 
greater is its excellence; but experience 
does not confirm this idea. Thofe arrange- 
ments are found to lead more immediately 
to the plant fought for, the claffes and 
fubdivifions of which are fimple, and drawn 
each uniformly from the fame parts of the 
fruCtufication. : 

Conrad GEsweER, the Linnzus of the 
age in which he lived, is univerfally agreed 
to have been the firft who fuggefted this 
true principle of claffical diftin@ion, and 


generical character, as is manifeft from va~ 


rious paflages in the Epzfiles of that great 
man*. He inftances the agreement of the 
Staphifagria, with the Confotda ; the Scor- 
zonera, with the Tragopogou ; the Molucca, 
with the Lamium; the Dulcamera, with 


* Epift. Medicinal. a olphio ed. p. 113, et paffim. 
the 


Method. 321 
the Solanum ; the Calceolus, with the Orchi- 
des: and he exprefsly fays, that the charac- 
ter fhould be formed from the flower, and 
the feed, rather than from the leaves. This 
was inthe year 1565. Other pafiages occur, 
by which it appears, he had the fame ideas — 
fo early as 1559. But, perhaps, there is 
no proof of the importance he gave to thefe 
parts, more indubitable, than his having 
been ‘the firft who delineated them fepa- 
rately, with the figures of his plants; of 
which numerous inftances may be feen in 
the tables publifhed by ScHMIEDEL. 

But Gesner did not live to improve the 
hints he thus drew from nature; and, what 
is wonderful, they were neglected by thofe 
great luminaries of the {cience, CLustus, 
and the Baunines. It was referved for 
C ASALPINUS, 2 man in whom was united 
an exquifite knowledge of plants, with a 
truly philofophical genius. He had been 
the difciple of Guinus, and was afterwards 
phyfician to Pope Clement VIII. He de- 
fcribed, with exquifite fkill, the plants of 
his own country, and left an Aerdarium of 

simon onan : Y 768 


ane, CHAP. R 24. 


768 {pecies. He extended Grsner’s idea, 
and commenced the period of fyftematic 
arrangement. In his ** Libri xuz de Plan- 
tis,” publifhed 1583, he has arranged up-= 
wards of 800 plants into c/affes, founded, 
after the general divifion of the trees from 
herbs, on chara¢ters drawn from the fruit 
particularly, from the number of the cap- 
fules and cells ; the number, fhape, and dif- 
pofition of the feeds; and from the fituation 
of the corculum, radicle, or eye of the feed, 
which he raifed to great eftimation. The 
orders, or fubdivifions, are formed on {till 
more various relations. 
_ Fabius CoLumMNa improved this doctrine 
of clafification, in 1616, by extending it to 
the formation of genera, which C@sALPI- 
nus had not effected ; all his {pecies being 
- feparately defcribed. CoLumna, indeed, 
did not exhibit a fyftem; but he fhewed the 
way to complete it, by the union of f{pecies 
under one common name, from fimuilarity 
in the flower, and fruit; and he invented 
feveral of the terms, now in ufe, to deno- 
minate thofe parts. This noble invention, 
| nevertheleis, 


Method. ) $37 


neverthelefs, lay dormant for near a cen- 
tury; and the glory of reviving, and im- 
proving it, was referved for Britain. 

Ray, and Morison, both laboured in it 
at the fame time; and with them muft 
commence the era of fyftematic botany in 
England. It was an obje& thought worth 
contending for, and each of thefe writers 
had their partizans, who refpectively be- 
ftowea the laurel, as they were led by their 
various motives, or attachments. [I thall 
not enter into the merits of their claims, 
further than to obferve, that both feem to 
have turned their attention to the fubject, 
nearly about the fame time, and that Mr. 
Ray had certainly priority in point of 
publication, if it may be allowed, that the 
tables which he drew up for Bifhop Wi1- 
KINS’s “ Real or Univerfal Character,” 
which was publifhed in 1668, contain the 
outlines of a fyftem. And, certainly, thefe 
rudiments, though haftily done, asMr.Ray 
confefles, fufficiently prove that he had be- 
ftowed no {mall attention on the fubject. 
That foreign writers have more commonly 
attributed to Morison the revival of mew. 


Yig thed, > 


324 CHAPTER 24. 


thod, may have arifen from their being lefs 
acquainted with Bifhop W1LxK1Ns’s work, 
which was extant only in the Exg//b tongue. 
Mr. Ray informs us, in the fecond edition 
of his Catalogus Plantarum Anglia, that 
Dr. WiLKINs meditated a tranflation of 
his ** Univerfal Character” into Lat, with 
figures, for the ufe of foreigners ; and Mr. 
Ray himfelf performed it: but the death 
of this good prelate, in 1672, prevented the 
completion of the defign. Headds, that his 
Method, in a more elaborate ftate, had been 
delivered into the Bifhop’s hands, for the 
above-mentioned work. 
- Dr. Morison exhibited the outlines of 
his fcheme in the ‘* Hortus Blefenjis,” the 
year after the publication of the Bifhop’s 
book, and exemplified it in his “ Hiftory of 
‘* Plants,” in-1680. Mr. Ray did not de- 
tail his till the year 1682, in the “ Metho- 
dus,” in which he freely acknowledges the 
afiftance he received from C#sSALPINUS, 
CoLuMNA, JUNGIUs, and even from Mo- 
RIson’s work. On the contrary, Dr. 
Morison affumes to himfelf the merit of 
having drawn all his refources, in the fa- 
brication 


» Method. 325 


brication of his fyftem, wholly from na- 
ture, and his own obfervations ; preferving 
every where the utmoft filence, refpecting 
any afliftance derived from former writers. 
Affumptions, which could with difficulty 
be acceded to, and which drew upon him 
the cenfures of TouRNEFORT, and other 
matters of the fcience; who were well ac- 
quainted with the fountains of knowledge 
that were then open to him, and the affift- 
ances he muft have drawn from GEsNER, 
Casaupinus, and others. 

At this diftance of time, and under the 
prefent enlightened {tate of {cience, the fyf- 
tems of Rav, and of Morison, muft not 
be {crupuloufly examined. CasaLPINus 
laid a foundation-ftone, on which, if our 
Britijh architects raifed a Gothic ftructure, 
their fucceffors have improved it to a ftyle 
of greater fymmetry, and elegance. 

The introduction of fyfem was fortunate 
for {cience, as it brought with it, by de- 
grees, the eftablifhment of generical cha- 
racters, on a like affemblage of effential 
parts in feveral f{pecies. As new plants 
| 2 were 


326 oO HA PRR 24. 


were daily difcovered in the old continent, 

and were pouring in from the new, the 
nomenclature of botany was in danger of 
being again overwhelmed, with that chaos 

in which Ca/par BauuINeE found it, when 

he reduced it into fome order, by his la- 

borious and incomparable Pinax. 

Syfem enabled botanifts to refer new {pe- 
cies to genera already formed, and reftrained 
that licence before taken, of giving a new 
generical appellation to each new plant: 
for, although in the multitude of methods 
which followed this difcovery, plants of the 
fame genus, in one fy{tem, were frequently 
teferable to a different genus in another; 
yet, with this inconvenience annexed, they 
were more readily inveftigated, than under 
the vague diftinctions of the older writers. 

The reftoration of fy/fem, was, in the 
words of Linnmus, the beginning of the 
golden age of botany; and the revival of it | 
having taken place in Exgland, prefently 
raifed up feveral learned men among us, who 
gave new life and vigour to the whole {ci- 


ence. The names of SLoaNne,; Petes 
NET, 


Method, $27 


NET, SHERARD, and PeTiver, will ever 
remain iluftrious in the annals of botanic 
knowledge. 

It alfo turned the attention of the learned 
_on the continent to the fubje@. Rival fy 
tems were foon conftructed ; fome on the 
jruit, as the bafis of the claffes, in confor- 
mity to the fyftems of CasaLpinus, Ray, 
and Morison ; and others, on the fower. 
Thus, Cérifiopher KNAuT, in 1687, and 
HERMAN, in 1690, fixed on the fruit ; 
whofe fyftems were improved by BorR- 
HAAVE, In 1710. 

Rivinus, in 1690, chofe the flower 
alone; confidering the number and regula- 
rity of the petals, as the bafe of his claffical 
characters ; and was followed by Ruppius 
in 1718,and Lupwic in 1737. ‘TOURNE- 
FroRT, who elaborated his method beyond 
his predeceffors, in 1694, chofe the figure 
of the corolla, as the principle of clafifica- 
tion; and MAGNOL, in 1720, took the ca- 
/yx alone. 

If it fhould be enquired on this occafion, 
in what the methods of CHsALPINUS, 
Ray, and Morison, differ from the ar- 

ea rangements 


t 
328 CHAP.T.E.R 24, 


rangements ufed before their time, by Do- 
pon#us, Loge1, and ohn BAuuHINe, 
fince thofe alfo are eftablifhed on the habit, 
and in which many of the natural claffes 
are tolerably well preferved ; it may be an- 
fwered in a fummary way, that habit, even 
in Bauuine’s order, the moft perfect of 
them, is the prevailing principle, without 
regard to agreement in the parts of fructifi- 
cation, except in thofe claffes, where na- 


ture has joined both together: this is a 


difference much more effential than may at 
firft be apprehended: and, what is ftill lefs 
accurate than a regard to habit alone, fome 
of their clafies (if they are worthy of that 
appellation, no definitions of them being 
prefixed,) take their name merely from the 
mode of growing, as, Scandentes ; from the 
ftruGure of the leaf, Nervifolhe ; Rotundi- 
jolie; Crafifohe ;.place of growth, Agqua- 
tice; and what is fill lefs eligible, the 
afpect, and fuppofed agreement in the qua- 


lities, fuch are, Maligne; Mollientes; Pas 


pavera ; under all of which, are promifcu- 
ouily collected, plants as diffimilar as pof- 
fible, in the ftructure of the flower and fruit. 

CHAP, 


CaS 


CH Pa a Oe. 


Eiftory of the difcovery of the {exes of planis—The 
dottrine of the antients on this bead—Their 
knowledge very limited —The univerfality of this 
proce/s—The difcovery of Millington and Grew 
—Subfequent writers, who have confirmed or op- 
pofed the doftrine—Prefent tdea of it exhibited, 


Sex Ol Pb oa NYT Ss 


(O the revival and eftablifhment of 
method, facceeded a difcovery of the 


higheft importance to botanical {cience; 
I mean, what is, with great Juftice, called 
analogically, The doctrine of the /exes of 
plants; or, the knowledge that, throughout 
the vegetable kingdom, the influence of the 
dut of the anthere, upon the /ligma, was 
neceflary in order to produce fertile feed. 
By the eftablifhment of this fa, not only 
the -phyfiology of vegetables was greatly 
advanced, but, in the end, praCtical botany 
equally improved; fince, on this foundation 
has been built that fyftem of the great 

Swede, 


330 CH ATR BOR ee. 


Swede, which is now fo univerfally followed. 
Of the rife and progrefs of this inveftigation, 
I proceed to give a concife account, before 
I purfue the fketch of Briti/b authors. 

A vague and indecifive opinion concern- 
ing the /exes of plants, prevailed among the 
antient philofophers of Greece. We are in- 
formed by ARISTOTLE, that Emprpo- 
CLES particularly taught, ‘‘ that the fexes 
** were united in plants.” This opinion 
was a natural confequence of the doctrine 
which this philofopher, in common with 
ANAXAGORAS, DemocriTus, and Pra- 
To taught, “ that plants were fentient and 
‘* animated beings.” ‘This idea has met 
with. ingenious advocates among the mo- 
derns, who have been induced to favour it, 
not only from the general analogy exifting 
between animals and vegetables, and the - 
difficulty of fixing the limits between them, 
but from the more {triking inftances of ap- 
parent irritability, and obedience to the 
action of certain /famuli: fach are, the gene- 
ral affection plants have for light; the rota~ 
_ tory motion of many towards the fun; the 
faculty of others in clofing the leaves 

at 


 Sexof Plants, « 33% 


at night, called, not unaptly, the fleep of 
plants; and the opening and fhutting of 
many #lowers, at {tated times, with equal 
propriety denominated wegile forum; the 
rifing of the flower of aquatic plants out 
of the water, every morning during the ftate 
of florefcence, as inftanced in the Nym- 
phea, and ftill more fignally in the Valh/~ 
neria. "To thefe may be added the more 
remarkable examples in the Mimofa, and 
xalis fenfitiva, in the Dionea mufcipula, 
the Drofera and the Hedyfarum gyrans, and 
finally, in the exquifite irritability of the 
ftamina, and anthere, in various {pecies. 
Empepoc ies, nevertherlefs, though he 
maintained the doctrine of the /exes, does 
not attempt to confirm it by any facts, or 
reafonings deduced from the knowledge of 
the ufes of the feparate parts in flowers, but 
from analogical deduGtion, founded merely 

on his general doctrine. Oat 
ARISTOTLE, or rather the author of the 
Books on Plants, which bear his name, com- 
bats the opinions of EmpEpDocLEs, and his 
followers, refpecting the fentient and ani-— 
mated principle in vegetables ; yet it is evi- 
dent 


332 CHAPTER 25.) 
dent he had himfelf no decifive ideas, or 
fpecific knowledge, drawn from nature, re- 
dating to the /ex of plants. He placed it, _ 
in fome inftances, in the different habit 
alone, or in other difcriminations foreign 
to the confideration of the flower; and, 
though he fhews an inaccurate knowledge 
of the particular circumftances of the palm, 
and the fig-tree, yet he denies, in another 
place, that either of them produce flowers. 
This imperfect idea of the /ex of flowers, 
in the Date, and even in the Fug-tree, is of 
high antiquity ; being recorded by HERo- 
poTus, THEOPHRASTUS, and Priny. 
The neceflity which the antient cultiva- 
tors of the Date-tree were under, of pro- 
moting the action of the male-flowers on the 
female, which operation held alfo in fome 
meafure in the Fzg-rree, the Piffachia, and the 
Majfiic, would almoft neceffarily fuggeft the 
application of this analogy with the animal 
kingdom. Neverthelefs, although the fact 
was thus obtruded on their fenfes, inatten- 
tive to the ftructure of flowers, and igno- 
rant of the offices of the feveral parts, they 
remained ugacquainted with the true ope- 
rations 


Sex of Plants. 333 


rations of nature in this phenomenon, 
though daily prefent to their obfervation. 

The antient fathers of botany, and par- 
ticularly DroscoRIDEs, it is true, applied 
the diftinction of male and female to many 
other plants; but it was entirely without 
regard to true analogy, or difcrimination of 
funGtions in the flower. It was frequently 
applied to fuch as carry all the parts of the 
flower within the fame ca/yx, or on the fame 
ftalk ; on account of ftature; greater de- 
gree of fertility; or other marks uncon- 
nected with the fructification. In the de- 
cious, or fuch as have the famina, and p:/~ 
tils, on feparate plants of the fame {pecies, 
the real male plant was, in fome cafes, de- 
nominated the female; of which the Mer« 
curialis may be mentioned as one inftance, 
among feveral others. 

Exclufive of a numerous fet of plants, 
in which the /famina and pifitls are fepa- 
rately placed, either on different parts of 
the fame individual, or on different plants 
of the fame f{pecies, conftituting the Mone- 
cious and Diecious claffes of Linn wus, the 


followin g 


334 CHS Por wget ee. 


following genera, from other tribes, as reci- 
ted below *, contain {pecies to which Dios- 
CORIDEs has applied the diftin¢ction of male 
and female, from circumftances having no 
analogy with thofe of the Date-iree. 

This doctrine of the fexual analogy be- 
tween plants and animals, made but little 
progrefs with the /erati in botany, upon 
the revival of fcience; fince the firft of 
thofe who mention it, is Ca@&saLpiInus. 
This critical and learned author notices 
male and female plants in the Oxycedrus, 


® Arundo Mandragora 
Anagallis Pzeonia 
Ariftolochia Polygonum 
Ciftus Tithymalus 
Filix ~ Verbafcum, &c. 8c. 


To which have been added, by others, 


Abrotanum Nicotiana 
Abies Orchis 
Amaranthus Pulegium 
Balfamina Quercus 
Caltha : Symphytum 
Cornus | ‘Tilia 

Crifta Galli Veronica, 
Ferula é&c. &c. 


Taxus, 


N 


had 


Sex of Plants. 226 


Taxus, Mercurials, Urtica, and Cannabis ; 
of which he fays, the barren plants are 
males, and the fertile females ; adding, that 
the latter, as is obferved in the Date-iree, 
becomes more fruitful by being planted 
near the males’; from thence receiving a 
genial effuvium, which excites a {tronger 
fertility. From this obfervation, it may 
almoft be inferred, that he had inftituted 
experiments on fome of thefe kinds; but 
we do not find that he carried the idea be» 
yond the above-mentioned fpecies, to vege~ 
tables in general. 

Adam ZALUZIANSKY, a Polfh writer in 
1592, is faid, by fome, to have diftin- 
guifhed the /exes of plants. I have not feen 
his book ; but, from what is found relating 
to his opinion in other writers, I conjecture 
that his obfervations, if not wholly taken 
from Ca@sALPinus, do not exhibit any 
original matter on this fubjedt. In fa@, 
no further progrefs was made for near an 
hundred years after this time ; and the ho- 
nour of the difcovery, ‘‘ that this fexual pro- 
‘* cefs was univerfal in the vegetable king- 
‘* dom, and that the duft of the anthere 

‘was 


336 CHAP TE She. 


‘‘ was endowed with an impregnating 
"i power. is due to England. — 

Whether the true idea of ‘this procefs 
originated with Sir Tomas MILLINGTON, 
to whom it has been afcribed, may juftly 
admit of a doubt; fince Sir Tomas has left 
no written teftimony on the fubject; and 
Dr. Grew’s mention of him does not im- 
ply that he actually received the idea from 
him. Add to this, that Mr. Ray, in the 
fummary view, of all Grew’s difcoveries, 
_ which he has prefixed to his «* Hiftory of 
«¢ Plants,’ does not once mention Sir Tho- 
mas MiLLINGTON’s name. Interefted as 
we muit fuppofe Mr. Ray to have been, 
in every difcovery relating to vegetables, 
and candid as he was in his general con- 
duc to the learned, it is not likely that he 
fhould have failed, in this inflance, to ren- 
der praife where it was fo juftly due. When 
we further recollet, that Dr. Grew had 
been fome years engaged in thofe micro-- 
{copical experiments, on the anatomy of. 
plants, which have rendered his name efti- 
mable with all pofterity, that whilft he was 
thus employed in ftudying fo intimately 

: the 


Sere of Plants. eiceg 


thé organization of vegetables, and had ob- 
ferved; that in whatfoever parts the flower 
might be deficient, the attire, (or /famina, 
and apices) is ever prefent, it is not {trange 
that the true idea of its ufe fhould have 
been fuggefted to him. 


Dr. Grew laid his opinion before the 


Royal Society, in a lecture on the anatomy 
of flowers, read Nov. 6, 1676; in which 
he maintained, ‘‘ That the. primary and 


ce 
3 
ce 
ce 
6 
6 
6 
73 
ce 
ce 
6 
¢ 


€¢ 


«&é. 


s¢ 


chief ufe (of the duft of the apices) is 
fuch as has refpect to the plant itfelf, 
and fo appears to be very great and ne- 
ceflary: becaufe even thofe plants which 
have no flower, or foliature, are yet fome 
way or other attired, fo that it feems to 
perform its fervice to the feed as the fo~ 
liature to the fruit. In difcourfe hereof 
with our learned Savilian profeflor, Sir 
Thomas MitLtineTon, he told me, that 
he conceived that the aftire doth ferve 
as the male for the generation of the 
feed. J immediately replied, that I was 
of the fame opinion, gave him fome rea- 
fons for it, and anfwered fome objections 
that might oppofe them.” He then ex- 
VoL. I. Z plains 


338 CHAPTER ae 


plains himfelf farther, and advances, that 
this foecundating power was not effe@ted by 
the actual admiflion of the farina into the 
feed-veflel, but by means ‘* of fubtle and 
*« vivific effluvia.” 

Mr. Ray admitted the opinion ef Dr, 
Grew, but, at firft, with all that caution 
which becomes a philofopher ; as appears in 
his ‘* Hiftoria Plantarum,” vol.i. p. 18. Nos 
ut verifimilem tantum admittimus. He affents 
to it with lefs referve in his ‘* Syxopfs Stir- 
pium Britannicarum,” edit. 1. 1690, p. 28 ; 
and in the preface to his ‘* Sy//oge Szirpium 
Europearum,” publithed in 1694, we find 
him producing his reafons for the truth of it, 
and yielding his full approbation to it. 

In 1695, Rudolph ‘facoh CAMERARIUS, 
profefior of botany and phyfic at Ludingen, 
in his ‘* Epiftola de Sexu Plantarum,” ap- 
pears among the early advocates for this 
analogy; and, being convinced by the argu- 
ments of Grew and Ray, feems to have 
been the firft who gave ftability to the. 
whole by experiments. Thefe he: made 
on Maize, the Mulberry, the Ricinus, and 
the Mercuriahs; the three firft of which~he 

deprived 


Sex of Plants. | 339 


deprived of the ftaminiferous flowers, and 
the laft he feparated far from the female, 
and found, in all, that the fruit did not ri- 
pen. CaMERARIvs, however, very fairly 
produces alfo, fome objections again{t the 
doctrine, founded on experiments, which at 
this day have little weight, fince they were 
made on plants of the Cryptogamous, or Dz- 
cecious Clafles ; in the laft of which, it is 
now known, that fometimes a flower or two 
of a different fex, may be found intermixed 
with others, i : 

In 1703, Mr. Samuel Mortanp, de-« 
firous, as it fhould feem, of extending the 
Lewenboekian fyftem of generation into the 
vegetable kingdom, produced a paper before 
the Royal Society, in which he advances— 
that the farina is a congeries of feminal 
plants, one of which muft be conveyed 
through the ftyle into every ovum, or feed, 
before it can become prolific. Mr. Mor- 
‘LAND’s hypothefis tended to confirm the 
. general doctrine by exciting curiofity on 
the fubject, at a time when Lewenhoek’s 
theory was popular; but was not admiilible 
in itfelf, fince few {tyles are hollow, or, if 

a2 percepubly 


340 C EAR PAE Ros. 


perceptibly tubular, not pervious enough to 
admit particles of the ufual magnitude of 
the farina. 

After this time, feveral of the learned on 
the continent entered into refearches on this 
fubject. MM. GEorFRoy, in 1711, in a 
paper read before the Royal Academy of Sci= 
ences, after having formed a theory by con- 
ciliating GrRew’s and Morianp’s into 
one, concludes by aflerting—that the germ 
is never to be feen in the feed, till the fa- 
vina is fhed; and that if the plant is de- 
prived of the ffamina, before this duft is 
fallen, the feed will either not ripen, or will 
not prove fertile. 

It is matter of furprize, that the ee 
trious Tournerort fhould wholly reject 
the doétrine of the /exes of plants. So far 
even from acknowledging this function of 
the faria, that he held it to be excremen- 
titious. See I/agoge in Rem Herbariam, p.70. 

Fulius PonTEDERA, a ftrenuous fol- 
lower of TouRNEFORT, a noble Jtahan of 
Pifa, iluftrious for his knowledge of the an- 
tient languages, and antiquities of I¢a/y, and, 
not lefs celebrated for botanical knowledge 

x om and 


Sex of Plants. 341 


and literature, combats alfo the notion of 
this analogy, and ufes of the famzna, through 

the whole fecond book of his ‘*4uthologia.” 

In the end he rejects the fexual analogy, and. 
confiders it as entirely chimerical. But 

finding all flowers furnifhed with a ftyle, 

or tube, he advances, that it ferves to con- 

vey the air to the fruit, by which, an intef- 

tine and fertilizing motion is excited in the 

feed, or ovary. | Me 

In 1718, Monf. VaiLtLanT publifhed 

«© Sermo de Structura Florum, horum Diffe- 

rentia, ufugue Partium ;” which had been 

read the year before, at the opening of the 

Royal Garden. In this difcourfe, he de- 

{cribes the burfting of the anzthere, ina ftyle 

too florid for philofophical narration. He 

relates feveral of his own difcoveries on the 

nature of the farina, and the exploding 

power of the anthere, and concludes with 
affenting entirely to Dr. GREw’s fentiment, 

(though without naming him), that im- 

pregnation is performed by means of a fubtle 
aura, and not by the tran{fmiffion of the duft 

through the ftyle, alledging againft it thofe 

Le 4 reafon3 


342 CH Avr ire 25. 


reafons I have mentioned, in {peaking of 
MoRLAND’s opinion. 

In England, about the fame time, Dr. 
Patrick BL atr, by his ** Botanick Effays,” 
contributed greatly to extend the know- 
ledge, and confirm the truth of this fubje@, 
BrapLey, Faircuitp, MILter, and 
others, affifted in the fame defign; and, 
fince that period, I believe it has met with 
few oppofers, One of the moft formidable 
was the late learned Dr. A//ion, profeffor of 
botany at Edinburgh, from whofe laboured 
difquifition, the adverfaries to this opinion 
of the /ex of flowers, may furnifh them- 
felves with the moft cogent arguments, that 
an intimate knowledge of the fubje&t hath 
enabled a very diligent and learned writer 
to produce. : 

The more recent experiments made by 
the Abbe SPALANZANI, with a direct view 
to impugn this doctrine, do not appear to 
have been conducted with that degree of 
fkill, and accuracy, which is fufficient to 
- outweigh the numerous train that may 
be thrown into the oppofite {cale. Even 

Z fome 


Sex of Plants. 343 


fome of the Abbe’s own experiments feem 
rather to ftrengthen the opinion he means 
~ to overthrow. 

Having traced the hiftory of this impor- 
tant procefs in the economy of vegetables, 
to the time of L1innus, I judge it will 
be unneceffary, to accompany the reader 
through a particular detail of authors below 
this period. In 1732, Linn#@us founded 
his fyftem on this doétrine; and the addi- 
tional arguments, and experiments, produced 
by himfelf, his pupils, and followers, have 
eftablifhed the truth of it, to the compleat 
fatisfaCtion of impartial enquirers. Thofe, 
however, who with to perufe the moft per- 
fect fummary of all the arguments, and ex- 
periments, in favour of this analogy, are 
referred to the ‘* Sponfalia Plantarum,” writ- 
ten in the year 1746, and printed in the - 
firft volume of the ‘“* Amenitates Academi- 
c@,’ and to the “* Differtation on the Sexes 
‘“* of Plants,” written by LINN#&UvUs in 
1760, which obtained the premium of the 
Academy of Peterfburgh, and has lately 
been tranflated into Exgiij/h by the ingenious 
and learned poffeffor of the Linnean collec- 

ZL 4. tion, 


344 CH APT E\R® 20, 


tion. ‘To which may be added, the wri- 
tings of KozrLRuTER, in the fucceeding 
year, which have not a little tended to 
confirm the fubject in queftion. 

It would be unjuft to the memory of Dr. 
GREw, to conclude this hiftory, without 
remarking, that the refult of the lateft, and 
beft experiments, have confirmed his idea, | 
“« that the farza itfelf is not carried to the 
<* rudiment of the feed,” but, that foecun- 
dation is effected by the effluvia, This 
will appear, by citing the fummary view 
of the doctrine, as exhibited by Linn aus 
himfelf, in the Differtation above -men- 
tioned, 

«« While plants are in flower, the pollen 

‘* falls from the anthere, and is difperfed 
«* abroad. At the fame time that the pollen 
‘** is f{cattered, the /f7gma is then in its 
higheft vigour, and for a portion of the 
day at leait is moiftened with a fine dew. 
“ The pollen eafily finds accefs to the fg- 
‘* ma, where it not only adheres by means 
«© of the dew of the part, but the moifture 
“ occafions its burfting, by which means 
«* its contents are difcharged. What ifiued 
‘* from 


c¢ 


66 


Sex of Piha” 345 


*© from it being mixed with the fluid of 
f* the fzgma, is conveyed to the rudiments . 
of the </eed.” 

I remark before I conclude, that, how 
jaft foever it may have been in a philofo- 
phical view, to confider the flamina aad 
piftils, as anfwering to the refpective fine?’ 
tions of /ex in the animal kingdom, it 
fhould not have been forgotten, that in ani- 
mals, this procefs is voluntary ; but that 
in vegetables, notwithftanding all that the 
ingenuity of the antients and moderns have 
urged in defence of the fentient principle, 
we are not yet juftified in referring this pro- 
cefs to any other than what we are accuf- 
tomed to call a mechanical caufe. | 

The principle of this it will not be ex- 
pected that I fhould explain. It may be 
conjectured, that after a perfect elaboration 
of the juices in the anrhere and fligmata, 
fome fpecies of attraction takes place be- 
tween them, perhaps of the electrical kind, 
fomewhat like this having been manifefted 
in the flafhings obfervable in fome flowers 
“in the evenings. The reader will eafily 
psrecive, that J refer to the appearance firft 
ere feen 


346 CH SPE ewer. 


feen in the Indian Creffes, (Tropaoluin ma= 
jus) by Elizabeth Chriflina, the daughter of 
Linnaus, as related in the Swedi/h Aéts 
in 1762 : and fince confirmed in the Garden 
Marigold (Calendela officinalis), the Orange, 
or bulbiferous Lily (Lilium bulbiferum), and 
the African Marigold (Tagetes patula et 
erecta), by the obfervations of M. Hac- 
GREN, And, as in the univerfe at large, 
the phenomena of electricity are fenfibly 
manifefted to us by particular modifications 
of the principle occafionally excited, al- 
though unqueftionably ever active, fo, pof- 
fibly, the fame principle may prevail 
through the whole vegetable creation in 
the procefs above mentioned, though un- 
obferved hitherto, except in thefe inftances. 
Be this as it may, that general decorum, 
which is due to philofophical fubjects, 
ought to have reftrained that reprehenfible 
language ufed by Va/lant, and fome other 
writers on this fubje@, and even by Lin- 
wzus himfelf, which has juftly difgufted 
many readers, and prejudiced the inftruction 
they meant to convey. 


CHAP. 


( 347 :) 


€ HA P. 26. 


Willifel—Colleds plants for Merret, Morifon, 
Ray, ond Sherard—His Notices on the Mif- 
feltoe. 

Plott— Anecdotes of —His Natural biftory of Ox- 
fordfhire avd Staffordhhire. 

Natural biftory of counties—Plott the firft writer 
—Leigh’s Lancafhire—Robinfon’s Weftmor- 
jand — Moreton’s Northamptonfhire — Bor- 
lace’s Cornwall—Wallis’s Northumberland. 

Wheler —Anecdotes of —‘fourney into Greece 
Introduced fome new plants into England. 


WILLISEL. 


T is not to the fons of erudition alone, 
that botany is indebted for all its difco- 
veries, and improvements. The love of 
plants has, not unfrequently, feized, with 
uncommon ardour, the minds of many, on 
whom the light of learning had not fhed 
its influence ; and fpurred them on, in the 
purfuit of this knowledge, to attainments 
that have been highly beneficial to the {ci- 
ence. 


348 cH APE Ry 26, 


ence. From fuch, Iet not the pride of 
learning withhold that praife which is fo 
juftly due. One of the moft remarkable 
inftances of this kind, is well known to 
thofe who are converfant with the writings 
of MERRET, Ray, and Morison; and I 
feel regret at not being able to. commemo- 
rate the name of Thomas WILLISEL, with 
fome of the circumftances of his life; fince 
I am uninformed of the time, and place, 
both of his birth, and of his death. This 
induftrious man feems to have devoted 
much of his life to the inveftigation of Eng- 
iifb plants; and, as he lived at a time when 
Britifh botany was yet imperfect, he added 
largely to the ftock of new difcoveries. He 
was employed by Dr. Morison, foon after 
his eftablifhment at Oxford, to collect rare 
Enghfb plants; and Dr. Merrev’ informs 
us, as hath been noticed, that he travelled 
five fummers at his expence, into the dif. 
ferent parts of Eugland, to make callections 
for his ‘* Pzmax ;’’ which appears to have 
been greatly enriched with many of the moft 
sare {pecies, by the labours of WILLISEE, — 
I believe 


Willifel. . 349 
I believe he was once fent into Ireland by 
Dr. SHERARD. Mr. Ray was benefited 
by his refearches ; and, if I do not miftake, 
he accompanied that celebrated naturalift 
in one of his tours. The emolument arifing 
from thefe employments was probably a- 
mong the principal means of his fubfift- 
ences: : | 

His knowledge was not confined to the 
vegetable kingdom; fince Mr. Ray in- 
forms us, that ‘‘-he was employed by the 
“¢ Royal Society in the fearch of natural ra= 
‘* rities, both animals, plants, and mine- 
“‘ rals ; for which purpofes he was the fit- 
“© teft man in England, both for his fkill 
‘(Jang induftry.” 

In the letters of Mr. Rav, there occurs 
an obfervation made by WILLISEL, of the 
various trees on which he had found the 
Mifeltoe growing, I enumerate them be- 
low *, 3 


* Oak. . Purging Thorn: 


Ath. Quicken Tree. 
Lime. Apple Tree. 
Hafel. - Crab Tree. 
Willow. White Thorn. 


White Beam. 
PLO Ff ¥: 


350 CHAPTER 26. 


PL Oris 


Dr. Robert Prort, eminent for being 
the firftt who fketched out a plan for a na- 
tural hiftory of England, by exemplifying 
it in that of Oxford/bire and Staffordjhire, 
although not profeffedly a writer in the 
botanic line, cannot be omitted in a work 
of this kind. 

He was born at Borden, near Sitting- 
borne, in Kent, and educated at Wye, in the 
fame county ; entered a ftudent in Magda- 
len Hall, in 1657; and, in 1671, took the 
degree of doctor of laws. He became fel- 
low of the Royal Society, and was madeé one 
of the fecretaries in 1682. In the fame year 
he was conftituted the firft keeper of the 
Afhmolean Mufeum, and profeflor of chymif- 
try: all which places he kept till 1690; 
having alfo, in 1687, been appointed Mow- 
bray herald extraordinary, and regifter to 
the earl marfhal, or court of honour, then 
newly sevived, after having lain dormant 
from the year 1641. He died April 30, 
1696. There is a whole length portrait of 

him, 


Plott. net 


shim, the laft of the right hand group, in 
the Oxford Almanack for the year 1749. 

Dr. PioTT was a man of various erudi- 
tion, but is at this time beft known for his 
natural hiftories of Oxfordfaire, and of Staf~ 
fordfbire. "The firlt of thefe was publithed 
in 1677, in folio; and again in 1705, with 
the author’s corrections and additions, by 
his fon-in-law, Mr. Burman, vicar of New~ 
ington, in Kent. The natural hiftory of 
Stafford/hire, in 1679, in folio, and re~ 
printed in 1686. In each of thefe volumes, 
he records the rare plants of the county, 
defcribes the dubious ones, and fuch as he 
took for nondefcripts, and figures feveral of 
them. To thefe works the Enghjb botanitt 
owes the firft knowledge of fome Exzghib 
_ plants; and this circumftance juftly entitles 
him to a place in this work *. He con- 
ducted the publication of the Philofophical 
Tranfactions during part of his fecretary- 
fhip to the Society, and wrote the follow- 
ing papers ; 

* It is amufing to remark the price of literature a 
century ago. The fubfcription for Prort’s Stoffordy 
faire was, a penny a thet, a penny a plate, and fix pence 
the map. 


A Paper 


acs CHAPTER 026; 


_& Paper on the Formation of Salt and 
Sand from Brine of the Pits in Stafford s 
forre. -Printed in N° 145. 

On Perpetual Lamps, in imitation of the 
fepulchral lamps of the antients, N° 166. 

On the Incombuttible Cloth made. of 
the Afbeftos. Ib. 

A Hiftory and Regifter of the Weather | 
at Oxford during the year 1684. N° 169. 

On the Black Lead of Cumberland, 
N® 240. 

On the beft Time for felling Timber, 
which, with the antients, he advifes to be 
performed in the Autumn. 

On an Jri/b Giant, nineteen years of age, 
and meafuring feven feet fix inches in 
height. N° 240. 

A Catalogue of Electrical Bodies. N° 
ZAR. 


NATURAL HISTORY OF COUNTIES: 


I have before obferved, that Dr. PLorr 
was the firft author of a feparate volume on 
Provincial Natural Hiftory; in which, it is 
but juftice to add, that, with due allowance 
for the time when he wrote, he has not 

. been 


Natural Hiftory of Counties. 353 


' been excelled by any fubfequent writer. It 
were to be wifhed, that more examples of 
the like kind might be adduced ; but there 
are few exactly of the fame {cope. After 
Bifhop Grgson, in his edition of CamM= © 
DEN, printed in 1695, had inferted the 
provincial lifts of plants drawn up by Mr. 
Ray, feveral writers of county hiftories 
have, either from their own knowledge of 
the fubject, or by the aid of friends, inferted 
catalogues of the more rare plants in their 
refpective works. As thefe form, in an 
efpecial manner, a part of Engi/h botany, 
it is incumbent upon me to enumerate 
them. 

The firft after CampeEn, is “The Na~ 
“tural Hiftory of Lancafhire, Chefhire, and 
“the Peak in Derby/hire.” Oxford, 1700. 
fol.. By Charles Lzercu,M.D. Theau- 
thor takes into his catalogue the maritime 
plants, with the others, and briefly recites 
the virtues, and the medicinal claffes, to 
which the fubjects belong. He fubjoins 
his conjectures: on the food of vegetables, 
and contefts the opinion .of Dr. Woop- 

Vor. I. A ater WARD, 


354 CHAPTER 26. 


WARD, that plants are nourifhed by the ~ 
earthy principle alone. 

“‘ An Effay towards a Natural Hiftory 
© of Wefmorland and Cumberland, wherein 
‘an account is given of their feveral mi- 
‘* neral and furface productions.” By Tho- 
mas ROBINSON, rector of Ou/by, in Cum- 
berland. 1709. 8°. The fcope of this vo- | 
iume principally takes in the foffils of thefe 
northern counties. ‘The author has been 
mentioned before, as a correfpondent of 
Mr. Ray. He here enumerates profef- 
-fediy the plants not mentioned in the Sy- 
nopfis of that author, amounting to about 
twenty; of which, however, fome were 
only varieties. 

“© The Natural Hiftory of Northampton- 
‘+ (hire, with fome account of the Antiqui- 
‘* ties.” By fobn Moreton, A.M. F.R.S. 
rector of Oxendon, in the fame county. 
Lond. 1712. fol. This is a work of me- 
rit. In the lift of plants, feveral occur ad- 
ditional to thofe noticed by Ray ; even 
fome of the moffes are not forgotten. The 
author treats eed on figured foffils, of 

which 


Natural Hiftory of Counties. 355 


which his book contains many elegant 
plates. ; 

Of * the Natural Hiftory and Antiqui- — 
«© ties of Surrey, begun in the year 167 % 
‘* by fohn AuBReY, Efq. F.R.S.; pub- 
‘¢ lithed by Dr. RAWLINSON, in 5 vol. 8°, 
Sid onde dR 1LOg .i Lucan only recite the | 
title. 

In the ‘* Natural Hiftory of Cornwall,” 
by Wiliam Boruace, A.M. F.R.S. Ox- 
ford, 1758, we meet with a very brief lift, 
containing about thirty-eight land plants, 
and twenty _fuci, with fome {cattered remarks 
on the qualities and ufes. Among the rare 
plants are the Verticillate Knotgrafs, the 
Roman Nettle, the Gunhilly Heath, and the 
Cornifh Pennywort; of which laft there is 
a very indifferent figure in tab. 29. f. 6. 
Under the article Sun-dew, ( Drofera) there 
is a curious and interefting obfervation made 
by Dr. BoRLACE, in which he afferts, that 
the well-known pernicious quality of that 
vegetable, in producing the rot among theep, 
where it abounds, does not arife from any 
cauftic power in the vegetable, but from an 
anfect, which lays its eggs, and feeds on the 

Bee a plant. 


356 CHAPTER 26. 


plant. From his account, this infeét ap- 
pears to be the Dropfy Worm of Dr. Ty- 
son, or the Hydra gia of Lin- 
N AUS. 

‘The Natural Hiftory and Antiquities 
*€ of Northumberland, and of the North Bi- 
_ * fhopric of Durham, lying between the 
“* Tyne and Tweed.” By ‘fohn Watts, 
MiAn-2 wobec?! s>Honds a769ic +Fhe 
eighth chapter of the firft volume treats 
on the vegetable productions of this tra@, 
with the various medicinal and ceconomi- 
cal aufes. 
Inthe “ Hiftory and Antiquities of the 

“Counties of Wefimorland and Cumber- 
“© land,” by Fofeph Nicuotson, Efq. and 
Richard Burn, LL.D. 2 vol. 4°. EoT7; 
the reader will meet with fome obfervations 
on the natural hiftory interfperfed ; but 
the botanift will find but little interefting 
in his way. : 

From Campen, from thefe hiftories, 
and other refources, Profeflor MARTYN 
has compiled an abridged hit of- all the rare 
plants, digefted . in the order of the coun- 
ties, which is intended for the ufe of the 
: travelling 


Wheler. 3 57 


travelling botanift See the ** Plante Can- 

tabrigienfes.” Lond. 1763; from p. 44— 

144. , sil 
WHELER. 


As I do not ftri@ly confine myfelf to 
_ fuch writers, as have diftinguifhed them~- 
felves by their difcoveries in the indigenous 
botany of Britam, alone, | cannot therefore 
omit to mention fo eminent a man as Sir 
George Wuever.. He was the fon. of 
Col. WHELER3..0f Charmg, in Kent; and 
was born in 1650, at Breda, his parents 
being there in exile with the royal family. 
At the age of feventeen, he became a com- 
moner of Lincoln College, Oxford; and, be- 
fore he took any degree, went on his tra- 
vels. .He {pent near two years in France 
and Italy; and, in 1675, travelled into 
Greece and dfa Minor ; from whence he 
returned in November 1676. He was 
knighted before he took his matter of arts 
degree, which was conferred upon him in 
1683, in confideration of his learning, and 
in return for a prefent of antiquities col- 
lected in his travels. He afterwards took 

fome 


a8 (i CH A RITE 26. 


fome valuable preferments in-the church ; 
was created doctor of divinity in 1702; and 
died Feb. 18, 1724. 

In 1682, was publifhed, ‘* A Journey 
** into Greece, by George WHELER, Efq. in 
*.company of Dr. Spon, of Lyous; in fix 
«© books ; with four tables of coins, and 
** many other {culptures.” Fol. pp. 483. 

Thefe gentlemen travelled with Pausa- 
NFAS in their hands, by whofe means they 
corrected, and explained, feveral of the an- 
tiquities and traditions of Greece. The pri- 
mary objects of thefe learned travellers were, 
to copy the infcriptions, and defcribe the 
antiquities and coins of Greece and Aja Mi- 
nor, and particularly of Athens, where they 
fojourned a month, Thefe travels are highly 
valued for their authenticity, and are replere 
with found and inftrutive erudition to the 
medallift and antiquary. 

Mr. WHELER appears, on all tshdlecdehs 
to have been attentive to the natural hiftory 
of Greece, and particularly to the plants, of 
which he enumerates feveral. hundreds in 
this volume, and gives the engravings of 
fome. Thefe catalogues tutticiently evince 


his 


ee ee 


Whelers 359 


his knowledge of the botany of his time. | 
He brought from the Eaft feveral which 
had not been cultivated in Britain before. 
Among thefe, the Hypericum olympicum (St. 
John’s Wort of Olympus) is a well-known 
plant, introduced by this learned traveller. 
Ray, Mortson, and PLUKENET, all ac- 
knowledge their obligations for curious 
plants received from him. 

After Sir George WHELER entered into 
the church, he publithed <* An Account of 
“the Churches and Places of Affembly 
‘Sof the Primitive Chriftians; from the 
«* Churches of Tyre, Serufalem, and Con- 
“* fiantinople, defcribed by Eufebius, and 
“ocular Obfervations of feveral very an- 
tient Edifices yet extant in thofe Parts: 
** with a feafonable Application.” Lond. 
1689. 

The Rev. Granville WHELER, of Ofter- 
den Place, Kent, and re&tor of Leak, in Not- 
tinghamfbire, who died in 1770, was the 
third fon of Sir George WuELER, and be-. 
came his heir. He diftinguifhed himfelf as 
a gentleman of {cience, and a polite {cholar. 
He was the friend and patron of Mr. Stephen 

a GRAY; 


te a 


360 CHAPTER. 26. 


Gray; who, jointly with him, contributed 
to revive the ftudy of electricity in England. 
Let me be allowed to add, that I with to 
mention the name of this gentleman with 
gratitude, from the recollection of that en- 
couragement which I perfonally received 
from him in my purfuits of natural hiftory, 
at a very early period of life; and which 
was of fuch a nature, as feldom fails to ani- 
mate the minds of the young, to exertion 
and improvement. 


END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 


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