14 JANE GOLDEN AND THE FLORA OF NEW YORK. 



" This MS., which has never been printed, contains a part of the New York 

 Flora, and has been composed by a lady, the daughter of Governor Cadwallader 

 Golden, well known for his botanical works, and also a physician. This lady 

 married a doctor of medicine, Farquer [Farquhar], a Scotchman by birth, and 

 she died soon afterwards. Some of the names are according to her father and 

 according to Gronovius, and some are according to the Brandenburg doctor 

 Schoepft', who has read this work. The trivial names are according to LinnsBus. 



" This work is a remarkable one because it is that of a lady who possessed 

 such a love for botany that she learned Latin, and judging by its nature is so 

 worthy and correct that it contains many even minute things. 

 " This is written by F. von Wangenheim, 



Captain in the Field-Jiiger Corps of the Landgrave of Hesse. 

 New York, May, 1782." 



It will be observed that this narrative contradicts Gray's state- 

 ment that Jane Golden died unmarried : Pritzel accepts Schrader's 

 account, but adds, " Moriens (1754) Floram manuscriptam Novi 

 Eboraci tabulis ornatam reliquit Wangenheimio." If the MS. was 

 bequeathed to Wangenheim, it is strange that he did not say so : 

 the date given for her death is certainly inaccurate. Wangeuheim's 

 statement that she "learned Latin" is contrary to her father's 

 account, but probably only means that she acquired the Latin 

 names of the plants she described ; the descriptions in the MS. (to 

 which ste gave no title) are all in English. 



The actual number of figures is 340 : the numbers of the de- 

 scriptions run to 341, but these are really less numerous, as a good 

 many pages are blank, save for the name of the plant at their head. 

 This suggests that the figures were made before the descriptions ; 

 they are very poor, and consist only of leaves.* The descriptions, 

 on the other hand, are excellent — full, careful, and evidently taken 

 from the living specimens. One of these has been published in full 

 (No. 153 of the MS.) in Essays and Observations, vol. ii. (Edinburgh, 

 1770). The plant (Hypencum viryinicum) to which it refers had 

 been sent her by Alexander Garden, who found it at New York in 

 1754 ; in return. Miss Golden sent him the description of the same 

 plant, which she had discovered during the previous summer, and, 

 "using the privilege of a first discoverer, she was pleased to call 

 this new plant Gardenia, in compliment to Dr. Garden." Another 

 of her descriptions, translated into Latin, was sent by Ellis to 

 Linnaeus in 1758, and is published in the Correspondence of Linnmis, 

 i. 94. The plant to which it referred was retained by Linnteus in 

 Hellebonis, but separated by Salisbury (who has been followed by 

 subsequent botanists) under the name of Coptis. Miss Golden 

 (No. 292) called it Fihraurea — a translation of the popular name 

 "Gold Thread." Ellis, forwarding the description, says: "This 

 young lady merits your esteem, and does honour to your System. 

 She has drawn and described 400 plants in your method only : she 

 uses English terms. Her father has a plant called after him 

 Coldenia, suppose you should call this Coldendla, or any other 



* The figures are merely ink outlines washed in with neutral tint, not the 

 "nature printed" ones mentioned in Colden's letter, of which, however, there 

 is one example at the end of the book. 



