CXXXU FLORA OF BERKSHIRE 



preparation of the third edition of Ray's Synopsis. In this publication 

 Dillenius has distinguished his own additions from the original text 

 by the use of a different type ; and while it cannot be denied that 

 a few species were introduced on insufficient grounds, and the 

 synonymy left something to be desired, yet the addition of so many 

 new species of Cryptogams, and the correction of some of Ray's 

 errors, render the work a very commendable production, especially 

 when the editor's short residence in England is taken into account. 

 The book was published anonymously in 1724, Sherard, Edward 

 Lhwyd, Keeper of the Ashmolean, Manningham, and others giving 

 their assistance. About 40 Fungi, 40 Algae, more than 150 Musci, 

 and about 200 Phanerogams and Ferns w^ere added, the whole number 

 of described species amounting to 2,000, which, however, judged 

 by the Linnaean standard, woTild not exceed 1,800. The new refer- 

 ences to the flora of Berkshire are few, and Dillenius was himself 

 probably at that time unacquainted with it. The following species 

 appear to have been published for the first time ; — Lycopodium inun- 

 daturn, L., communicated by Mr, Stonestreet ; Polypodium vulgare by the 

 Rev. Mr. Manningham ; Linaria repens, found by Mr. Dandridge and 

 James Sherard near Henley, in a spot which was possibly on the 

 Buckinghamshire side of the river, for the plant occurs near Henley 

 in both counties ; Carex vesicaria, ' circa Oxoniam ' from J, Bobart, is 

 probably only from Oxfordshire localities. 



In 1726 Dillenius, accompanied by Littleton Brown and Wm. Brewer, 

 spent two months in making a tour through Wales, visiting also the 

 Severn district, the Mendips, and Cheddar. They gathered many 

 interesting plants, which are still to be seen at the Botanic Garden in 

 Oxford, and a letter giving a detailed account of the journey, the 

 original of which is also preserved at Oxford, will be found on p. 252 

 of the Richardson Correspondence and in my Flora of Oxfordshire. On 

 August 13, 1728, Dillenius wrote to Richardson : 'When the Consul 

 [Sherard] lay at Eltham I was obliged to be often there, and since he 

 came to town I stayed with him and attended him continually to the 

 last moment ; he died last Saturday between one and two in the 

 morning of a marasmus. . , , He hath been so kind as to nominate 

 me his first Professor for life-time, and to enjoy the yearly revenue 

 from now in order to take care of the Collection and to carry on and 

 finish his Pinax.' These occupations were interrupted by James 

 Sherard, who induced Dillenius to write a book giving descriptions 

 of the plants cultivated in the garden at Eltham. The work appeared 

 in 1732 in two volumes folio, entitled Hortus Elthamensis, and accom- 

 panied with 324 plates drawn and engraved by Dillenius' own hand. 

 In these plates 417 species are delineated with great fidelity, among 

 them a very large portion of the then known species of Mesembry- 



