HISTORY OF EoSEX BOTANY. 23 1 



Turner apparently records only five plants from Essex, 

 viz. : — 



Eyyngiiim maritimnm L. 

 Althcea officinalis L. 

 Liniim cathavticum L. 

 Crocus sativHs L. 

 Cochlearia anglica L. 



His account of the saffron (p. 284) is worth quoting : — 



" It is plentifully manured in Fields in Essex and Cambridgeshiye : Saffron 

 Walden takes her name from its growing there ; it begins to flower in Scptembey, 

 and presently after the leaves shoot forth and abide green all the Winter, 

 dying again in April, when it puts forth another Crop of Flowers, which must 

 be gathered as soon as it is blown, or else it is lost ; so that Jack Presbyter for 

 covetousness of the profit can reach his Sabbatarian conscience to gather it on 

 Sunday ; and so he can to do any thing else that redounds to his profit, though 

 it destroy his Brother." 



A second edition of the Botanologia appeared in 1687, when, 

 however, it had been superseded by a work of a far higher order. ^' 



Two years after the first edition, appeared the Piiiax vcviim 

 naturalium Britannicavum of Dr. Christopher Merrett. Pulteney 

 devotes a chapter-*^ to Merrett, or Merret as he spells it, and 

 there was not much for the present writer to add when preparing 

 the notice for the iJictionayy of National Biography.-*'^ Merrett, 

 whose father and son bore names identical with his own, was 

 born at Winchcoinbe, Gloucestershire, February 16, 1614. In 

 1 63 1 he entered Gloucester Hall (now Worcester College), 

 Oxford, two years later migrated to Oriel, graduated B.A. in 

 1635, M.B. in 1636, and M.D. in 1643. He then came to 

 practice in London, becoming F.R.C.P. in 1651, and Gulstonian 

 lecturer in 1654. In the same year he was appointed, on the 

 nomination of his friend William Harvey, the discoverer of the 

 circulation of the blood, as " Musei Harviani custos," a post he 

 retained until 1666, and took a lease of the house belonging to 

 the Royal College of Physicians at Amen Corner for twenty 

 pounds. His rent was remitted in " recompence lor his pains for 

 looking after the new library," and Harvey in his deed of gift in 

 1656 assigned ;^20 per annum for the librarian. In 1657, and in 

 seven years subsequently to that date, Merrett acted as Censor 

 to the College, and he was one of the first fellows of the Royal 



43 For all that is known of Robert Turner see Did. Nat. Biog., vol. Ivii., p. 354. 



44 Op. cit., vol. i., chap. 22, pp. 230-7. 



45 Vol. 37, pp.. 288-9. 



