52 PEOCEEDIKGS OT THE 



I profited nothing from him in the dissection of tbe plants ; 

 for all the plants in the ' Hortus ClifFortianus ' are my own under- 

 takins^, and nothing was done bv him in the way of placina: all 

 the parts before me as they are figured : for I had done all this, 

 as the noble Dr. Trew knew, many years before T had ever heard 

 of Mr. Linnaeus. [Dr. Trew confirms this, saying the paintiogs that 

 Ehret had sent him before this time were done in the same way.] 

 If he had been able to show them in this way, why have not 

 the characteristics of the remainder in the book been added which 

 were not drawn by me ? Nevertheless I received no special credit 

 for this, but was treated only as a common draughtsman. 



During the time I was with Mr. Cliftord I was treated cour- 

 teously. I did not then know that Linnseus intended to publish 

 a' Hortus ClifFortianus.' Linnaeus and I were the best of friends ; 

 he showed me his new method of examining the stamens, which 

 I easil}' understood, and privately resolved to bring out a Tabella 

 of it. As my work with Mr. Clifford was now coming to an end, 

 I returned to Ley den and edited the plates under the title 

 "Clariss. Linnsei, M.D. Methodus Plantarum Sexualis in Sys- 

 temate Naturge desciipta. Lugd.-Bat. : 1736. G. D. Ehret. 

 Palat.-Heidelb." 



[" This table or plate is printed on a half-sheet, and contains 

 24 figures of the different number and connection of the stamens 

 with the pistils."* It was first published in Linnaeus's ' Genera 

 Plantarum,' first edition, Leyden, 1737, and is entitled ' Caroli 

 Linnsei Classess (sic) Literae.' The letters of the alpliabet are 

 used in the original drawing; but in the engraAdng they are 

 replaced by figures. Etiret's name is omitted from the engraving. 

 " This very plate, very badly copied, ana, as is the custom with 

 engravers on copper, very carelessly reversed, and without 

 Herr Ehret's name, is also to be found in the edition of this 

 work, which was brought out at Leipzig in 1748 in S^'o, after the 

 Gth book-fair ; but in the copy of the same edition which I possess 

 the plate is omitted." The original drawing o£ the Linnean 

 classes is preserved in the Botanical Department of the British 

 Museum. It is signed " G. D. Ehret. Eecit et edidit. Lugd.- 

 Bat. 1736." This drawing came into the possession of the British 

 Museum with a collection of Ehret's sketches and drawings.] 



With this Tabella I once more earned some money ; for I sold 

 it at 2 Dutch gulden apiece ; and almost all the botanists ia 

 Holland bought it of me. 



I also took a journey to Amsterdam, to see everything ia 

 the Botanical Garden there. The Dutch gardens did not please 

 me 80 well as those in England, which are full of rare plants. 



I journeyed then again to England, and as the ' Musa fructii 

 cacumerico longior ' belonging to Baron Joseph Ayloffe was 

 blooming, in the year 1786 I drew it for him and engraved it ou 

 copper. ["It may be remarked that Herr Ehret now began to 

 engrave some of his own paintings on copper."] 

 * The quotations are from Dr. Trew's MS. life of Ehret in the British Museum. 



