patron.—Afterwards ftyled botanist to King James. He died in 1616, aged 78.

Lobel published, jointly with Pena, Stirpium Adverfaria, Lond. 1570, Antw. 1576. Another edition of this was printed in 1605, at London, with the addition of a fecond part; his Animadverfiones in Rondeletium prefixed, &c. It was reprinted at Frankfort in 1651.

In the execution of this work, there is exhibited, I believe, the first sketch, rude as it is, of a natural method of arrangement; which, however, extends no farther than throwing the plants into large tribes, families or orders, according to the external appearance, or habit of the whole plant or flower; without establishing any definitions or characters. The whole forms 44 tribes.-On the whole they are much fuperior to Dodoens's divifions."

In 1576, Lobel publifhed Obfervationes, five Stirpium Hiftoria, with 1486 figures. In 1581 it was tranflated into Dutch, together with the Adverfaria, and the figures augmented to 2116. The fame year, the icons alone were cast off, in an oblong form, 2191 in number. Some of these were accompanied with the names in feven languages. Linnæus quotes this edition.

Lobel meditated a large work, under the title of Illuftrationes Plantarum. Some of his papers were incorporated by Parkinfon into his Theatrum. A fragment of it was published by Dr. How in 1655.

Thomas Newton published An Herbal to the Bible,' 1587, 8vo. It is only a tranflation from Levinus Lemnius.

Chap. 9. John Gerard born 1545-bred a furgeon. Superintended Lord Burleigh's garden 20 years; and had a garden of his own in Holborn. He printed a lift of the plants in it 1596 and 1599. In 1597 came out his Herbal, or General Hiftory of Plants; founded on the bafis of Dodoens's Herbal; but with large ad ditions from his own obfervations, the introduction of new plants from America by Raleigh and others, and Tabernæmon. tanus and other authors, published fince 1583, when Dodoens's work was printed. The figures are the fame as had been used for the Dutch Herbal of Tabernæmontanus in 1588.

Gerard died about the year 1607.

Chap. 10. Thomas Johnfon was an apothecary on Snow Hill, and had the degree of Doctor of Phyfic at Oxford, May 9, 1643. He died the year following of a wound, which he received in the king's caufe near Bafing, Sept. 14, 1644.

Johnfon was author of the firft English local catalogues of plants, under the titles of Iter in agrum Cantianum,' 1629.Ericetum Hamftedianum,' 1632.-AndMercurius Bota nicus, 1634. The laft is the refult of a journey through Oxford, to Bath and Eriftol, &c. and was followed by a fecond part, defcribing a journey into Wales, 1641.

But

But the greatest credit he acquired was by his new edition of Gerard's Herbal in 1633, and 1636.

An interval of 36 years, from the date of Gerard's work, had effected a great change in the state of botanical knowledge; many new plants had been introduced, and many valuable works publifhed on the continent. These circumstances were favourable to Johnson; and his acknowledged fuperiority to Gerard in the learned languages, might justly raife the expectation of the public. Nor was this expectation difappointed. These advantages enabled Johnson to amplify and improve his author to fuch a degree, that his book eminently deserves the encomium that Haller has bestowed upon it, when he calls it, dignum opus, et totius rei herbariæ eo evo notæ, compendium.'

In this improved edition there are more than 800 plants and 700 figures, not in Gerard's. The whole number of figures amounts to 2717.

Johnfon alfo tranflated the works of Ambrofe Parey, and published them at London in 1643.

Chap. 11. John Parkinson, born in 1567, Apothecary to K. James, and Botanicus Regius Primarius to K. Charles I.-His first publication was Paradifi in fole Paradifus Terreftris,' or a garden of all forts of pleasant flowers, &c. Lond. 1629. folio.' Nearly 1000 plants are described; and 780 are figured on 109 plates. It exhibits the most complete view of the extent of the English garden at the beginning of the last century.

In 1640, he published Theatrum Botanicum, or an Herbal of large extent, &c.' Lond. fol.--This was the labour of Parkinfon's life; it is a work of much more originality than that of Gerard, and contains abundantly more matter than even Johnfon's edition. He has defcribed near 3800 plants. His figures were cut anew, purpofely for his work, but they are inferior to the old plates, both in number and execution.

Chap. 12. The author gives a curious account of the origin and progrefs of wooden cuts of plants.

The first Herbal with wooden cuts, is faid to have been, Puch der Natur, the Book of Nature, printed at Augsburgh in 1478, if not three years earlier. These are thought to have paffed into the Herbarius of Mentz 1484, from which was compiled Ortus Sanitatis 1485, with improvements and better figures by Cuba. The figures in the Grete Herbal, 1516, were copied from these.

Egenolf gave an improved edition of Hortus Sanitatis, with a new fet of figures, under the care of Eucharius Rhodion or Roeflin, in 1533. These figures were employed in Dorftenii Botanicon, 1540: in Encyclopedia Medica, by J. Dryander, in 1542: in an edition of Diofcorides, by Herman Ryff, 1543: and by Adam Lonicer, in the first edition of his Herbal, 1546. Egenolf thus fecured to himself the monopoly of printing Herbals for a fucceffion of years.

But these were all fuperfeded by Brunfelfius's Herbal of 1532, the figures of which were drawn from nature, and appear to have been the Grit deferving of notice. These were, however, greatly excelled by Fuchfius, in 1542; his figures, although only out-lines, are uncom

C 4

monly

monly beautiful and juft. They are 500 in number; and were copied, in a smaller fcale, by many fucceeding authors.

The famous Plantin of Antwerp fucceeded Egenolf in the monopoly of wooden cuts; and hence became printer to feveral celebrated botanists of the 16th century. He acquired the figures, copied from Fuchfius, for Clufius's French tranflation of Dodoens; for Clufius's own works, and thofe of Lobel, Dodonæus had the ufe of these in the Pemptades, 1584, containing 1300 figures. Tabernaæmontanus alfo obtained the ufe of this collection; adding thofe of Matthiolus; infomuch that his Herbal, printed at Frankfort, in 1588, comprehends more than 20co figures. Dalechamp, in his General History of Plants, printed about the fame time, augmented them to near 2700.

Of the 1500 figures left by Gefner at his death, in 1565, a large fhare paffed into the Epitome Matthioli, 1586: in the fame year, as alfo into a fecond edition in 1590; they embellished an abridged tranflation of Matthiolus, printed under the name of the German Herbal. In 1609, the fame blocks were used by Uffenbach, for the Herbal of Caftor Durantes; and for Parnaffus Medicinalis Illuftratus of Becher, 1663. In 1678, they were taken into a German herbal, made up from Matthiolus, by Ber. Verzafcha : and the Theatrum Botanicum, or Krauterbuck of Zwinger, in 1696, with the addition of more than 100 new blocks, copied from C. Bauhin and Tabernæmontanus; and, finally, into a new edition of the fame work, fo late as the year 1744.

Parkinson's plates were probably cut in England. Thofe for the Theatrum feem to be copies from Gerard, though much inferior in execution. The laft of the kind used in England, were for Salmon's Herbal, in 1710; except for a Herbal in quarto, a very indifferent performance.

The earlieft copper-plates of plants on the continent, are faid to be thofe of Columna, in his Phytobafanos, 1592. In England, except fome fingle figures, and the few plates in the first edition of Plot's Oxfordshire, 1677, thofe of the Hiftoria Oxonienfis, are the first exhibition of any great work; and of thefe, the graffes are, to this time, perhaps unparalleled in the neatness and accuracy of the execution.'

Chap. 13 The first public encouragement of botany in England, is the foundation of a botanic garden at Oxford, by Henry E. of Danby, in 1632. Jacob Bobart, a German from Brunswick, the firit fupervifor, published a catalogue of the garden in 1648, containing 1600 plants, including varieties. A fecond catalogue was published ten years after, by Dr. Stephens, and Mr. W. Browne, with the affiftance of the two Bobarts. Mr. Browne had the chief hand in it.

Dr. How, author of the firft English Flora, in 1650, under the title of Phytologia Britannica. It contains 1220 plants.

Chap. 14. Account of the Tradefcants, father and fon. The first who formed a museum of natural hiftory in this country. It was called Tradefcant's ark, attracted the curiofity of the age, and was much frequented and enlarged by the great. A lift of it was published in 1656, 12mo. Prints of the father and fon are prefixed, engraved by Hollar; but most of the copies have been plundered of thefe by collectors of portraits.

The

The fon bequeathed the collection to Afhmole, and thus the name of the collectors has been funk. He died in 1662, and his widow erected a curious monument in memory of the Tradefcant family, in Lambeth Church-yard, of which Dr. Ducarrel has given an account. Philof. Tranf. vol. Ixiii.

The aftrological herbalifts, Robert Turner, Culpepper, and Lovel. Pechey's Herbal. Salmon's Herbal.

Chap. 15 to 20. The fingle article of Ray occupies fix chapters, and one fourth part of the fir&t volume. The account of this illuftrious perfon is taken from the Compleat History of Europe for 1705-the General Dictionary-Biographia Britannica-and his Life by Dr. Scott; from materials collected by Derham, and well abridged in the Biographical Dictionary. His firft work was the Catalogue of Plants growing about Cambridge, in 1660: to which he added an appendix, in 1663, and another in 1685. In 1666, he framed tables of plants for Wilkins's real character. In 1670, he published his first catalogue of English plants in alphabetical order; the whole number amounting to about 1050. Seven years after, he gave another edition, with new oblervations, and additions. A third edition being wanted, he meditated throwing it into the fyftematic form; and in the mean time put forth in 1688, Fafciculus Stirpium Britannicarum, in which many rare plants of Wales, &c. made their firft appearance. The third edition appeared two years after, under the title of Synopfis methodica Stirpium Britannicarum. From this time the Synopfis became the pocket companion of every English botanift. In 1696, was printed the fecond edition of the Synopfis, or the fourth of English Plants. In little more than 20 years he had seen the British Flora acquire an acceffion of more than 500 new fubjects: this edition containing full 1600 fpecies. The third edition of this work by Dillenius, and the converfion of it into the Linnean arrangement by Hudfon and others, are well known.

In 1672, for the ufe of the fons of his great friend, Mr. Willughby, he drew up his Nomenclator Clafficus, which has been ufed by fubfequent writers of dictionaries and lexicons, and has been reprinted feveral times.

The year following Mr. Ray gave the fruit of his foreign travels, under the title of Obfervations topographical, moral and phyfiological, made in a journey through part of the Low Countries, Germany, Italy, and France. He refided fix months at Geneva, and made confiderable additions to the Swifs Flora. At the end, is a lift of plants in foreign countries, found not at all, or fparingly, in England. Thefe travels, however, are by no means confined to botany or natural history.

In 1694 a fecond edition of the foreign plants obferved in his travels, was published, with large additions, under the title of Stirpium Europæarum extra Britannias nafcentium Sylloge. In the preface, Mr. Ray, for the first time, entered into contro

verfy, on account of Rivinus's method, which appeared in 1690.

Mr. Ray was alfo the editor of the travels of Rauwolf, in 1693, translated from the German of 1583, by Nich. Staphorst, corrected by our author, with a felection from Belon, Alpinus, Wheler, &c. Hence it goes by the name of Ray's Collection of Travels; and was reprinted, with his own obfervations, in 1738.

Mr. Ray having built himself a house at Black Notley in Effex, and being finally fettled there on June 24, 1679, attached himfelf to write a general hiftory of plants.

Preparatory to this great work, which he intended to arrange fyftematically, he put forth, in 1682, his Methodus Plantarum Nova, enlarged and improved, from the fynoptical tables, which were printed in Bishop Wilkins's Real Character, 1668. In 1698 he had finally purified and corrected his arrangement.

• So fmall, however, was the demand for books in this fcience, at the entrance of this century, that the London bookfellers were unwilling to rifk the printing of it: and it was finally printed at Amsterdam, under the title of Methodus Plantarum emendata & aucla, 8vo. 1703. It was reprinted there in 1710, and at Tubingen in 1733.'

However low, therefore, the fcience of botany might be in England, it is plain that there was a demand for this book on the continent, fince Dr.Hotton, the editor, had 1100 copies taken off in 1703, and yet another edition was wanted in seven years

after.

We are now come to that performance, which Linnæus and Haller fo juftly ftile Opus immenfi laboris. Mr. Ray informs 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. Morifon was employed on a fimilar defign, gave up his purpose. On the decease of Morifon in 1683, the greater part of his work being left unfinished, he refumed his defign. We cannot fufficiently admire the affiduity of this great man, which enabled him, in four years, to furnish two folio volumes, of near 1000 pages each; executed with a kill and judgment that gained him the applaufe of all fucceeding mafters in the fcience. The author intended to comprehend all the botany of the age. The introduction contains a comprehenfive account of the philofophy of vegetables; the differences of their parts, &c. It is, in fhort, a choice compendium of all that was then valuable in the science, nor has it been fince entirely fuperfeded.'

The first volume was published in 1686, under the title of Hißoria plantarum generalis: and the fecond volume followed in 1688. The defcriptions are chiefly from the two Bauhins, Gerard or Parkinfon, abridged and amended. The British plants are diftinguished; and he adds the places of growth, with the times of flowering; fubjoining felect obfervations relating to their qualities and ufes. The whole number of plants defcribed is about 6900. The fecond volume clofes with addenda, from Zanoni, Breynius, Banifter, Hernandez, &c, A third volume,

Lup