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Until the nineteenth century, the investigation of natural phenomena, plants and animals was considered either the preserve of elite scholars or a pastime for the leisured upper classes. As increasing academic rigour and systematisation was brought to the study of 'natural history', its subdisciplines were adopted into university curricula, and learned societies (such as the Royal Horticultural Society, founded in 1804) were established to support research in these areas. A related development was strong enthusiasm for exotic garden plants, which resulted in plant collecting expeditions to every corner of the globe, sometimes with tragic consequences. This series includes accounts of some of those expeditions, detailed reference works on the flora of different regions, and practical advice for amateur and professional gardeners.

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222 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Botany and Horticulture

Page 4 of 12

A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India
  • Volume 5, Linum to Oyster
  • George Watt
  • Published online:
    05 December 2014
    Print publication:
    23 January 2014
  • A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 5 (1891) contains entries from Linum (the flax genus) to oyster (the subcontinent's best oyster beds were to be found 'on the coast near Karachi, Bombay and Madras').

The Forest Trees of Britain
  • Volume 2
  • Charles Alexander Johns
  • Published online:
    05 December 2014
    Print publication:
    20 February 2014
  • A keen collector and sketcher of plant specimens from an early age, the author, educator and clergyman Charles Alexander Johns (1811–74) gained recognition for his popular books on British plants, trees, birds and countryside walks. Flowers of the Field (1851), one of several works originally published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, is also reissued in this series. First published by the Society between 1847 and 1849, this two-volume botanical guide for amateur enthusiasts focuses on the trees found in British woodland. Johns describes each species, noting also pests and diseases, uses for the wood, and associated myths and legends. The work is noteworthy for its meticulous engravings of leaves, seeds and blossom, and of the trees in natural settings. Volume 2 (1849) covers such species as chestnut, birch, elm, willow, ivy, yew and cedar. An index to the whole work is also provided.

The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
  • Volume 3
  • Henry John Elwes, Augustine Henry
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    23 January 2014
  • Although without formal scientific training, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922) devoted his life to natural history. He had studied birds, butterflies and moths, but later turned his attention to collecting and growing plants. Embarking on his most ambitious project in 1903, he recruited the Irish dendrologist Augustine Henry (1857–1930) to collaborate with him on this well-illustrated work. Privately printed in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913, it covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles. The strictly botanical parts were written by Henry, while Elwes drew on his extensive knowledge of native and non-native species to give details of where remarkable examples could be found. Each volume contains photographic plates as well as drawings of leaves and buds to aid identification. The species covered in Volume 3 (1908) include cedar, hornbeam, southern beech, hickory, maple and redwood.

Catalogus bibliothecæ historico-naturalis Josephi Banks
  • Volume 4, Mineralogi
  • Jonas Dryander
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    27 March 2014
  • Following his stint as the naturalist aboard the Endeavour on James Cook's pioneering voyage, Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820) became a pre-eminent member of the scientific community in London. President of the Royal Society from 1778, and a friend and adviser to George III, Banks significantly strengthened the bonds between the practitioners and patrons of science. Between 1796 and 1800, the Swedish botanist and librarian Jonas Dryander (1748–1810) published this five-volume work recording the contents of Banks' extensive library. The catalogue was praised by many, including the distinguished botanist Sir James Edward Smith, who wrote that 'a work so ingenious in design and so perfect in execution can scarcely be produced in any science'. Volume 4 (1799) lists books pertaining to geology and mineralogy, including works on the medical and economic applications of minerals and metals.

Wood
  • A Manual of the Natural History and Industrial Applications of the Timbers of Commerce
  • George Simonds Boulger
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    20 March 2014
  • An eminent botanist and natural historian, George Simonds Boulger (1853–1922) wrote a number of books on plant life in the British Isles. First published in 1902, this manual explores the characteristics and uses of one of the most abundant and versatile natural materials. In the first part, Boulger outlines the general biological function and uses of wood. He also describes the classification of wood, and the durability of different timbers. The second part catalogues the types of wood that are used commercially. Boulger explains the distinguishing characteristics and uses of hundreds of different kinds of timber, which are listed alphabetically. Featuring 82 illustrations, the book also includes appendices explaining some of the terminology and science of wood, and a select bibliography. Boulger's work on economic botany, The Uses of Plants (1889), is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

A Treatise upon Planting, Gardening, and the Management of the Hot-House
  • John Kennedy
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1776
  • This practical guide was first published in 1776: in this reissue of the two-volume 1777 second edition, the two volumes have been bound in one book. John Kennedy (d.1790) was the gardener to Sir Thomas Gascoigne, the owner of Parlington Hall in Yorkshire, and his book is addressed to landowners and their head gardeners. His concern is with 'the planting of poor wastes, moorlands, and apparent mountains', as well as with hothouse plants such as pineapples and vines, and delicacies including asparagus and cultivated mushrooms. At the other end of the scale, he also provides sections on field-cabbages, carrots and turnips as feed for cattle. In each of these areas, he gives detailed descriptions of the preparation of the ground, the tools needed, propagation techniques, and the subsequent management of pests and diseases. This is a fascinating treatise on the gardening skills needed on a grand eighteenth-century agricultural estate.

A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India
  • Volume 1, Abaca to Buxus
  • George Watt
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    23 January 2014
  • A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 1 (1889) opens with the prefatory matter, along with lists of works consulted, contributors and abbreviations. It contains entries from Abaca (a name in the Philippines for Manila hemp) to Buxus (a genus of evergreen shrubs).

Beeton's Gardening Book
  • Containing Such Full and Practical Information as Will Enable the Amateur to Manage his Own Garden
  • Samuel Orchart Beeton
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
  • Samuel Orchart Beeton (1831–77), the publishing entrepreneur who made his wife's Book of Household Management one of the bestselling titles of the century, gave his name to many other books of domestic, medical and general information for the middle classes. (The 1871 Book of Garden Management, published and probably compiled by him, is also reissued in this series.) This work was published in 1874 by Ward Lock, to whom Beeton was forced to sell his own business after a financial collapse in 1866. The book contains 'such full and practical information as will enable the amateur to manage his own garden'. It covers flower, fruit and vegetable gardening, with a section on garden pests and a monthly calendar of tasks. It also contains advertisements for gardening and medicinal products, as well as for other books from the publishers, offering a fascinating insight into social as well as garden history.

Catalogus bibliothecæ historico-naturalis Josephi Banks
  • Volume 1, Scriptores generales
  • Jonas Dryander
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    27 March 2014
  • Following his stint as the naturalist aboard the Endeavour on James Cook's pioneering voyage, Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820) became a pre-eminent member of the scientific community in London. President of the Royal Society from 1778, and a friend and adviser to George III, Banks significantly strengthened the bonds between the practitioners and patrons of science. Between 1796 and 1800, the Swedish botanist and librarian Jonas Dryander (1748–1810) published this five-volume work recording the contents of Banks' extensive library. The catalogue was praised by many, including the distinguished botanist Sir James Edward Smith, who wrote that 'a work so ingenious in design and so perfect in execution can scarcely be produced in any science'. Volume 1 (1798) lists books pertaining to various branches of science, including accounts in a multitude of languages from scientific institutions all over the world.

Catalogus bibliothecæ historico-naturalis Josephi Banks
  • Volume 3, Botanici
  • Jonas Dryander
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    27 March 2014
  • Following his stint as the naturalist aboard the Endeavour on James Cook's pioneering voyage, Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820) became a pre-eminent member of the scientific community in London. President of the Royal Society from 1778, and a friend and adviser to George III, Banks significantly strengthened the bonds between the practitioners and patrons of science. Between 1796 and 1800, the Swedish botanist and librarian Jonas Dryander (1748–1810) published this five-volume work recording the contents of Banks' extensive library. The catalogue was praised by many, including the distinguished botanist Sir James Edward Smith, who wrote that 'a work so ingenious in design and so perfect in execution can scarcely be produced in any science'. Volume 3 (1797) lists Banks' collection of books on botanical subjects, including works on the medical and economic applications of various plants.

Pharmacographia
  • A History of the Principal Drugs of Vegetable Origin, Met with in Great Britain and British India
  • Friedrich August Flückiger, Daniel Hanbury
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    20 March 2014
  • First published in 1874 and reissued here in its second edition of 1879, this substantial work provides information on the vegetable material medica used by Victorian pharmacists, principally in Britain but also in India. Arranging the entries according to the type of plant from which each drug is derived, Daniel Hanbury (1825–75) and Friedrich August Flückiger (1828–94) give a description of each drug as well as covering its botanical origin and history, including its first medicinal application. They also discuss chemical composition, referring to the investigations of other scientists as well as their own, and comment on microscopic structure. Intending to create a broad reference work rather than an encyclopaedia, the authors chose not to focus on the therapeutic applications of the drugs. In many instances, however, they give some information on how the plant products are used. The appendix provides short biographical and bibliographical notes.

A Manual of Materia Medica and Therapeutics
  • Including the Preparations of the Pharmacopoieas of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, with Many New Medicines
  • John Forbes Royle
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    13 February 2014
  • Having served as a military surgeon in India, where he also pursued botanical research and investigated the efficacy of Hindu medicines, John Forbes Royle (1798–1858) went on to become a professor of materia medica at King's College, London. Acknowledging the need for a thorough yet manageable textbook on the subject, he published in 1847 this manual containing entries on the medicinal substances derived from minerals, plants and animals that were used in Britain at that time. The terminology, operations and aims of pharmaceutical practice are also addressed, and the differing preparations of the London, Edinburgh and Dublin pharmacopoeias are taken into account for the benefit of students. Furthermore, the work provides information on recently discovered medicines, 'as may be seen among the Preparations of Iron and of Gold, as well as in Matico, Indian Hemp, Bebeerine &c'.

The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
  • Volume 5
  • Henry John Elwes, Augustine Henry
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    23 January 2014
  • Although without formal scientific training, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922) devoted his life to natural history. He had studied birds, butterflies and moths, but later turned his attention to collecting and growing plants. Embarking on his most ambitious project in 1903, he recruited the Irish dendrologist Augustine Henry (1857–1930) to collaborate with him on this well-illustrated work. Privately printed in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913, it covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles. The strictly botanical parts were written by Henry, while Elwes drew on his extensive knowledge of native and non-native species to give details of where remarkable examples could be found. Each volume contains photographic plates as well as drawings of leaves and buds to aid identification. The species covered in Volume 5 (1910) include pine, cypress and oak.

A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India
  • Volume 3, Dacrydium to Gordonia
  • George Watt
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    23 January 2014
  • A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 3 (1890) contains entries from Dacrydium (a genus of coniferous trees) to Gordonia obtusa (a species of evergreen tree).

Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and Andes
  • Being Records of Travel on the Amazon and its Tributaries, the Trombetas, Rio Negro, Uaupés, Casiquiari, Pacimoni, Huallaga and Pastasa
  • Volume 2
  • Richard Spruce
  • Edited by Alfred Russel Wallace
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    20 February 2014
  • Having previously embarked on a collecting expedition to the Pyrenees, backed by Sir William Hooker and George Bentham, the botanist Richard Spruce (1817–93) travelled in 1849 to South America, where he carried out unprecedented exploration among the diverse flora across the northern part of the continent. After his death, Spruce's writings on fifteen fruitful years of discovery were edited as a labour of love by fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), whom Spruce had met in Santarém. This two-volume work, first published in 1908, includes many of the author's exquisite illustrations. Showing the determination to reach plants in almost inaccessible areas, Spruce collected hundreds of species, many with medicinal properties, notably the quinine-yielding cinchona tree, as well as the datura and coca plants. Featuring four maps, Volume 2 includes discussion of the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Andes and the cinchona forests of western Chimborazo.

The Green-House Companion
  • Comprising a General Course of Green-House and Conservatory Practice Throughout the Year
  • John Claudius Loudon
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1824
  • The Scottish landscape gardener and prolific horticultural writer John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843) published this manual on the practice of greenhouse or conservatory gardening in 1824. In his preface he remarks on the rise of greenhouses, which have 'now become an appendage to every villa, and to many town residences'. The work is directed at professional gardeners (and their employers) who may not have the requisite knowledge and skills to make the best use of this exciting new space. The first part of the work describes the practicalities of siting and constructing the greenhouse, how it should be heated, with what plants it should be stocked and how these should be cultivated. The second part consists of a catalogue of 'all the green-house and frame plants hitherto in cultivation'. Still valuable, this substantial guide offers modern readers a record of the plants that were then available to the enthusiast.

Rough Notes of a Journey through the Wilderness, from Trinidad to Pará, Brazil
  • By Way of the Great Cataracts of the Orinoco, Atabapo, and Rio Negro
  • Henry Alexander Wickham
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    13 February 2014
  • Sir Henry Alexander Wickham (1846–1928) is remembered for his role in bringing the seeds of the rubber tree in 1876 from Brazil to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, where seedlings were successfully cultivated and then sent to Asia for the establishment of commercial plantations. Wickham later styled his actions in collecting some 70,000 seeds as a tale of botanical smuggling, though at the time such action was not illegal. Skilled as a self-publicist, he enjoyed the great acclaim of the rubber industry as it burgeoned in British colonies abroad. This account, first published in 1872, is of Wickham's earlier travels in South America. The first part of the work traces his journey by river into the continent, recording his observations on rubber cultivation in Brazil. The second part describes his time among the indigenous peoples who lived on the Caribbean coast of Central America.

Catalogus bibliothecæ historico-naturalis Josephi Banks
  • Volume 2, Zoologi
  • Jonas Dryander
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    27 March 2014
  • Following his stint as the naturalist aboard the Endeavour on James Cook's pioneering voyage, Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820) became a pre-eminent member of the scientific community in London. President of the Royal Society from 1778, and a friend and adviser to George III, Banks significantly strengthened the bonds between the practitioners and patrons of science. Between 1796 and 1800, the Swedish botanist and librarian Jonas Dryander (1748–1810) published this five-volume work recording the contents of Banks' extensive library. The catalogue was praised by many, including the distinguished botanist Sir James Edward Smith, who wrote that 'a work so ingenious in design and so perfect in execution can scarcely be produced in any science'. Volume 2 (1796) focuses on books relating to animals, including humans, particularly their physiology, maladies and economic functions.

Flowers of the Field
  • Volume 2
  • Charles Alexander Johns
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    23 January 2014
  • A keen collector and sketcher of plant specimens from an early age, the author, educator and clergyman Charles Alexander Johns (1811–74) gained recognition for his popular books on British plants, trees, birds and countryside walks. The Forest Trees of Britain (1847–9), one of several works originally published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, is also reissued in this series. First published by the Society in 1851, Johns' best-known work is this two-volume botanical guide to common British flowering plants. Following the Linnaean system of classification, Johns describes the various plant families, providing the common and Latin names for each species. The work is especially noteworthy for its delicate and meticulous line drawings, based on watercolours by the botanical artist Emily Stackhouse and the author's sisters Julia and Emily. Volume 2 completes the botanical descriptions and includes indexes of English and Latin plant names.

The Uses of Plants
  • A Manual of Economic Botany with Special Reference to Vegetable Products Introduced during the Last Fifty Years
  • George Simonds Boulger
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
  • An eminent botanist and natural historian, George Simonds Boulger (1853–1922) wrote a number of books on plant life in the British Isles. He published this concise work in 1889. It opens with a brief survey of the progress made in economic botany over the years, particularly in the period 1837–87. Boulger then notes the commercial application of plants across many fields, notably food production, medicine, and the building trade. Common and botanical names are given, followed by succinct descriptions of each plant. Including both a general and synoptical index, this accessible resource can be read with profit alongside John Jackson's Commercial Botany of the Nineteenth Century (1890) and Boulger's Wood: A Manual of the Natural History and Industrial Applications of the Timbers of Commerce (1902), both of which are reissued in this series.

Page 4 of 12