JONATHAN STOKES AND HIS COMMENTARIES 301 



branch of Science, so that you have a sort of right to that which 

 had probably never existed but for your previous labours. 

 I remain, Sir, with the greatest respect, 



Your very obedient servS 



W. WiTHEEING." 



In the list of those who had assisted in the second edition 

 (p. xii.) Stokes appears as " Dr. Stokes, Member of the Eoyal 

 Medical Society of Edinburgh, corresponding Member of the 

 Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Physician at Shrewsbury"; 

 but his own "Advertisement by the Author of the Eeferences to 

 Figures " is dated, on p. xxxviii. of the same volume, " Kidder- 

 minster, 10th August, 1787 " ; and on the title-page he is 

 described as " Late President of the Eoyal Medical Society " 

 and as "Physician at Kidderminster." 



Withering in his Preface pleads " the multiplicity of his own 

 professional engagements " as his reason for asking the assistance 

 of others, and shows a full appreciation of the value of Stokes's 

 work, though, both here and elsewhere, he evinces but little sense 

 of the importance of synonymy as such. 



" The Latin Synonyms of Bauhine, Gerard, Parkinson and 

 Eay, which occupied so much space in the first edition, are," he 

 writes,-'' " now omitted ; partly because they could be of little use 

 to those who do not understand the Latin language, for they who 

 do, may get the references from Hudson's Flora Anglica ; and 

 partly to make room for a new set of references to figures, which 

 my friend Dr. Stokes undertook to furnish. These references 

 make one of the most valuable parts of the present Edition. 

 Nothing short of his extensive knowledge of the subject, joined to 

 an indefatigable industry, could have effected the reformation 

 required ; but the full force of his exertions will only be understood 

 by such as have laboured at the subject themselves, and experienced 

 the difficulty of marshalling error crowded upon error, into regular 

 and beautiful order." An indication of the thoroughness of 

 Stokes's work is the statement which he makes t that he had 

 inserted no figures which he had " not examined and compared, 

 unless the contrary is expressly noticed " : a further indication of 

 this will be found in the " Catalogue of Botanical Works " which 

 follows the " Advertisement." 



It would seem that Stokes's assistance did not extend to the 

 whole work. This may be alluded to in the phrase " undertook 

 to furnish" in the passage above quoted; whilst in his Preface to 

 the third edition (1796) Withering writes \ : — " The references to 

 figures so ably executed by Dr. Stokes for a great part of the 

 second edition are mostly preserved in this, though not without 

 some changes in the order of excellence, the erasure of a few 

 which were found to be erroneous, and of others which were 

 thought too bad to be quoted. The historical facts relative to the 



* Botanical Arrangement, ed. ii. vol. i. p. v. 



t "Advertisement," Botanical Arrangement, ed. ii. p. xxx. 



J Page vi. 



