2 INTRODUCTION. 



the welfare of mankind, will claim from us the tribute 

 of a brief, yet respectful notice. 



Like other branches of natural history, this is com- 

 paratively of modern origin. Previous to the sixteenth 

 century, a few plants only were known, and these were 

 such as the credulity of former ages had endowed with 

 extraordinary virtues, and many of them were regarded 

 with a degree of veneration to which they were poorly 

 entitled. The wisdom of him, whose knowledge ex- 

 tended from the proud Cedar of Lebanon, to the hum- 

 ble moss which invested the walls of Judea, had not 

 been revealed to his successors, and it was long, long 

 before the mantle of Theophrastus, the father of the 

 science, rested on the shoulders of a worthy son. 



About the middle of the sixteenth century, several 

 works were published, in which were delineated ma- 

 ny of the European plants, and their authors are still 

 distinguished in the annals of botany. Among them we 

 recognize Fuschius of Germany, and Lobel of Eng- 

 land ; names associated in the mind of the florist, with 

 some of the most splendid of his treasures.* Among 

 them Clusius also ranks preeminent. He is said to 

 have been one of the greatest men of his age, who 

 prosecuted the study of botany with more zeal and 

 perseverance than any of his predecessors ; and with 

 a diligence which his followers have never surpassed. 

 He visited almost every section of Europe, encounter- 

 ed many hardships, suffered much from sickness, and 

 at last fell a victim to his bold and untimely exertions. 

 " His works shew us the great botanist, being enriched 



* The Cardinal flower Lobelia Cardinalis is universally ad- 

 mired for the rich hue of its blossoms ; and on account of the 

 beauty of the Fuschia, it has been introduced into the gardens 

 of Europe. They are both American plant?. 



