to Mr. Arthur Aikin. 361 



To those unacquainted with my work it may be necessary 

 to declare the whole truth. I open as follows : — My Title, 

 «' The Philosophy of Botany," is the finest penmanship of 

 Tomkins, engraved by Vincent. Her most gracious Majesty 

 having condescended to suffer me, with permission, to de- 

 dicate to her my work; facing the dedication is the por- 

 trait of her majesty, by Sir William Beechy, R. A., en- 

 graved, and surrounded by angels; the masterly execution of 

 Bartolozzi, R. A. Then follows the bust of Linnaeus, from 

 a painting in the possession of Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K.B. 

 honoured by ^Esculapius, Flora, and Ceres, with Cupid ; 

 by Opic, R. A. and Russsel, R. A., engraved by Ridley; 

 with a description of the emblematic design or this pic- 

 ture. Then follows a secondary kind of dedication to the 

 most eminent living botanists, or but lately deceased ; and 

 there now open on the " astonished view" the portraits of 

 the patrons of botany : the late Earl of Bute, first lord of the 

 treasury ; the right honourable Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K. B, 

 president of the Royal Society; next the president and iusli- 

 tutor of the Linnean Society, professor of the Royal Institution , 

 James Edward Smith, M. D. ; the vice-president of the Lin- 

 uean Society, Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq. ; professors 

 of botany and lecturers in the three principal BritishUn'wer- 

 sities, the Rev. Thomas Martyn, George Williams, M.D., 

 and Daniel Rutherford, M. D. president of the Royal 

 Edinburgh College of Physicians ; professors of botany and 

 Lecturers of the National Institute at Paris, Jean Baptiste 

 Lamarck, Antoine de Jussieu, and Des Fontaines ; amateur 

 and promoter of the science of botany, Jean Jacques Rous- 

 seau ; poetic writers on the subject of botany, Erasmus Dar- 

 win, M. D., George Shaw, M.D.; botanic physiologists. 

 Sir John Hill, M.D., Rev. Stephen Hales, Jean Ingen- 

 housz, Charles de Bonnet, Joseph Priestley, LL. D., Ro- 

 bert Hooper, M.D.; writer on medical Z>o to?/, William 

 Woodville, M.D.; historian, Richard Pulteney, M. D. ; 

 agriculturist, Arthur Young, Esq.; voyager , Rev. Joseph 

 Townsend*; with appropriate vignettes by the m'ost emi- 

 nent 



* Among these portraits might have been expected the head of Dr. 

 Aikin ; for throughout his excellent work, Evenings at Home, are 

 interspersed many very excellent lessons on botany. u To m ike a book 

 on the subject of natural history for young people," says the reviewer, 

 " an union of genius and science is required, which is rarely employed in 

 providing the first rudiments of knowledge for the young. VV f e know 

 of ONLY ONE living writer, who has all the qualifications neces- 

 sary for the task, and is at the same time accustomed to the consideration 

 of entering into the imperfect views, and supplying the wants of the un- 



B b 3 instructed 



