INTRODUCTION 



last chapters. In the former Prof. Vines has linked together 

 Morison and Ray, the founders of Systematic Botany in this 

 country, whilst in the last Prof. Bayley Balfour has expanded 

 what was originally intended as a sketch of his father, the late 

 Prof. J. Hutton Balfour, into a very interesting account of his 

 precedessors in the Edinburgh chair from the year 1670 almost 

 down to the present time. 



The subjects treated, the authors and the order of arrange- 

 ment are as follows : 



* Was the subject of a lecture in the University Course. 



The first three chapters deal with the founders of British 

 Botany, MORISON and RAY in the systematic field, GREW, 

 the plant anatomist, and HALES the physiologist. These are 

 pioneers and the names of Ray, Grew, and Hales must always 

 remain illustrious in the annals of Botanical Science. 



JOHN HILL, with all his versatility, belongs to another plane, 

 but his inclusion here is justified on historical grounds, by the 

 prominent part he played in making known the method of the 

 great Swedish systematist Linnaeus, a method which took deep 

 root and gave an immense stimulus to systematic studies in this 

 country. 



