Baxter's 'beitish phaexogamous botany' 61 



dated, and the quality of the work is much improved ; by 1835 the 

 process had reached its full possibilities, and the same high standard 

 was maintained to the end. A plate-size of about 7^ in. by 4^ 

 was emplo^^ed; the text included localities, times of flowering, floristic 

 notes, economic and other uses, as also any medical particulars : 

 when botanical information failed to lit the closely-printed two 

 pages, some verses tilled the gap without adding much to the literary 

 effect. 



The second series of 80 plates, completed in Nov. 1835, Avas then 

 issued as Vol. II. with a dedication to l)aubenv (dated Oct. 17, 1835). 

 Vol. 111. 80 plates (161-240) completed 'by March 1837, was 

 dedicated to the Rev. J. S. Henslow, Professor of Botany at Cam- 

 bridge (dated June 12, 1837). Vol. IV. 80 plates (241-320) ran to 

 the end of 1838, and was dedicated to Dawson Turner (dated Feb. 18, 

 1839). Vol. V. 80 plates (321-400) spread over 1839, to March 

 1840, was dedicated to William Borrer (Oct. 24, 1840). Vol. VI. 

 continued to finish the work, which ran on to 509 plates, ended in 

 March 1843. The last volume of 109 plates (401-509) was dedicated 

 to Charles Empson of Bath (May 15, 1843) ; very complete lists, 

 indices, and appendices, of Ivii pages were added, including an index 

 to a hundred gems of verse rescued from various sources. 



The work being thus brought to a satisfactory conclusion accounts 

 were settled up ; it is interesting to find that after an outlay of about 

 £300 a year in current expenses, the sale of copies had more than 

 balanced the expenditure, and Baxter received a substantial sum as 

 his half-share of the profit (1845). The full and continuous run of 

 the paper-backed pai-ts, thus serially issued, was regarded as the first 

 edition ; completed sets of volumes are inscribed second edition on 

 the title-page of the first volume only. A few special ' presentation- 

 ct)pies' of this second edition contain as Frontispiece a portrait of 

 Baxter by Burt, engraved by Whessell. Baxter sold out his remaining 

 interest in the work to Parker in 1849 ; a reprint of the whole in 

 1856 was issued by the latter; but this was in no sense a third 

 edition, although it is so entered by Pritzel, with the dates 1834- 

 1843, \vho is followed by Jackson in his Guide (1880). Baxter 

 retired from the Gardens in 1851, on a small pension (he was not a 

 member of the University), and lived respected by a large circle of 

 friends, dying at the age of 84 in 1871. The copper-plates remaining 

 in the hands of Parker were in existence until the early part of 1918, 

 when they were sold for munitions for their value as metal. 



On analysing the factors that led to the production of these 

 volumes, it may be said that, in spite of the poetical interpolations, 

 the almost unavoidable adoption of the make-up of ' plate and text ' 

 popular at the time, and the enormous amount of unnecessary 

 references which indicate a reverence for authorities, the work 

 represents a definite advance in the teaching of the science, with 

 simplified descriptions and fioristic and biological notes. The 

 utilization of cdl genera of British fiow^ers — or even the 160 of 

 the first two volumes — may be a mistake from this standpoint ; but 

 Baxter wished to cover the whole range of the British Flora. The 

 idea that in the w'hole province of floral botany, the British Flora was 



