70 THE FLORA OF STAFFORDSHIRE. 



" in the mountainous parts of Staffordshire," and Emjyetrum nigrum 

 "in montibus udus Staffordientibus," and records Diplotaxis tenui- 

 folia from Lichfield Close, and Thlaspi arvense from " many places 

 at Stone." 



William Withering (1741-1799) was born at Wellington in 

 Shropshire, where his father practised as apothecary and surgeon. 

 He received his early education from the Rev. Henry Wood, of 

 Ercall ; afterwards he studied at Edinburgh, where he took his 

 degree of M.D. in 1766. He first practised as physician to the 

 infirmary at Stafford, and from the country around seems to have 

 obtained much of his botanical knowledge. In 1786 Dr. Withering 

 went to live at Edgbaston Hall, near Birmingham, and from the 

 grounds and the neighbouring woodlands obtained much interesting 

 matter for his Systematic Arraiu/emeiit of British Plants, a classical 

 work on the British Flora, and an advance on all works on 

 descriptive botany that had yet been published. That it was 

 appreciated is seen by the fact that three editions were published 

 within twenty years — the first in two volumes in 1776, the second 

 in three volumes in 1787, and the third in four volumes in 1796 ; 

 these were published during his lifetime. Withering died at The 

 Larches in 1799, and was buried in the old church at Edgbaston. 

 He records in his third edition thirty-two plants new to Stafford- 

 shire ; the more rare are — Lathyrus Nissolia, Pyrus torminalis, 

 Hip'puris/'^ Galium Withenngii, Schollera, Andromeda, Hypouitys, 

 Atropa, Scirpus maritimus, Agrostis nigra, OpJtioglossum, Osmmida, 

 Lycopodium Selago, L. inundatum. 



Jonathan Stokes (1755-1831) was born at Chesterfield, and 

 studied and took his degree as Doctor of Medicine at Edinburgh 

 University. Stokes appears to have been on terms of close friend- 

 ship with Withering, and it seems probable that he lived for a 

 time in Birmingham. It is evident that he had free access to 

 Withering's extensive botanical library for the purpose of obtaining 

 the new and valuable set of references mentioned in the preface to 

 the second edition of the Systematic Arrangement, which preface was 

 given in the subsequent editions. A schedule is still in existence 

 showing that Withering lent Stokes one hundred and forty-five 

 botanical works, ranging from the earliest botanical writers to 

 those of the then most recent times. These Stokes took with him 

 first to Shrewsbury, and afterwards to Kidderminster, and retained 

 them for more than three years. It seems to have been due to 

 Stokes's refusing to return them that he and Withering ceased to 

 be on friendly terms ; ultimately by resorting to lep-al aid Withering 

 regained his botanical library. In the third and following editions, 

 Stokes's name was omitted from the title-page, but his references 

 were retained. Stokes seems to have done little botanical work in 

 Staffordshire, nearly all his rarer records being from near Stafford 

 or near Birmingham ; some seem to have been found in company 

 with Withering, the abbreviated names of both — *' St.," " With." — 



* When only one species of a genus is known to be British, the generic 

 name only is given. 



