32 HISTORY OF BOTANY. 



intention of this article as a popular sketch, having no pre- 

 tension to be exhaustive, but aiming at being suggestive 

 only. In Gray's ' Arrangement of British Plants' (1821), 

 there is a list of botanical publications from the first printed 

 edition of Pliny, UG8, to 1820, which, though by no means 

 complete, will sufficiently illustrate my meaning. In the 

 fifteenth century I find 8 botanical works ; in the sixteenth, 

 24 ; in the seventeenth, 08 ; in the eighteenth, 235 ; and in 

 the nineteenth, up to 1820, 92. 



We may conveniently commence the sixteenth century by 

 the notice of a curious, but not botanically important work, 

 called the ' Grete Herbal,' which appeared in England 1516. 

 It was very popular, and passed through several editions. 

 We know nothing about it beyond what we are told in the 

 book itself, viz., that it was translated from the French, and 

 printed in London by John Kynge. It is printed in black 

 letter, and the earlier editions are illustrated with rude 

 woodcuts, which are less numerous in later impressions; 

 man}^ of these pictures resemble nothing in Nature, and in 

 some instances the same is made to do service for different 

 plants. Though possessing so little merit as a botanical 

 work, the ' Grete Herbal ' is of interest, if only on account 

 of its being the first (excepting Macer's ' Herbal,' which is 

 worth no further notice than we have already taken of it), 

 and for half a century the only botanical work in the 

 English language. 



The chapters are arranged alphabetically, according 

 to the Latin names, and this is notified at the end of 

 each division thus :— " Thus endeth the chapiters of herbes 

 beginning with A. And here begynneth the chapitres 

 named with B." 



*' De Balsamo. Bawme tre." 



Following the heading of each chapter there is a para- 

 graph briefiy describing the plant, and telling us of its 



