12 INTRODUCTORY. 



had undoubtedly a practical acquaintance with the flora, and 

 add a number of species not determined as East Riding plants 

 by Teesdale. Amongst these may be mentioned Colonel 

 Machell, Mr. Knowlton, Mrs. Wharton, Mr. P. W. Watson, 

 F.L.S., Mr. Archibald Pierson, all of whom, in some small 

 degree, augment the number of items of the Botanical Guide. 

 Our information concerning any of these is only meagre, but 

 foremost amongst them, as a botanist to whom we are able 

 to give fuller notice, was P. W. Watson, a gentleman 

 whose work brings us several steps forward in our botanical 

 history. 



Peter William Watson, F.L.S., was a native of Hull 

 (baptized at Holy Trinity Church, 26th August, 1761), and 

 resident for some years at Cottingham, an honorary member 

 of the Hull Literary and Philosophical Society, and a 

 founder of the first Hull Botanic Garden, 181 2. In the 

 introduction to his " Dendrologia Britannica " (pub. 1825), 

 a beautifully illustrated book in two vols., dealing with 

 exotic shrubs and trees growing in English parks and woods, 

 he shows that he was also well acquainted with our native 

 plants. Speaking of the flourishing Botanic Garden just 

 mentioned, Watson writes: — "I hope I shall not be con- 

 sidered vain in adding my own endeavours to furnish the 

 institution with many indigenous plants which I collected at 

 considerable expense and labour by traversing the whole of 

 the East Riding of Yorkshire in my gig, with proper 

 apparatus for cutting up roots, collecting seeds, &c., of the 

 rarer sorts, whose habitats had been rendered familar to me 

 from numerous previous herborisations." We know of 

 nothing that remains of P. W. Watson's collections or 

 observations except the records in the Old Botanists' Guide 

 already referred to ; but for these few records we are grateful, 

 and trust they will to some extent avert from the devoted 

 head of this pioneer exterminator the anathemas of sub- 

 sequent lovers of our native plants. Watson seems also to 

 have included in his "herborisations" the careful measure- 

 ments of the trunks of old trees, and has left the dimensions 

 in his day of trees at Bishop Burton and other places in East 

 Yorkshire. 



"Camden's Britannia" (ed. 1806) has a good list of the 

 rarer plants found in Yorkshire, but only seven or eight of 

 them are localised for the East Riding species. They are 

 the following: — Ranunculus Lingua, Carum Carvi, Coty- 

 ledon lutea "in the east part of Yorkshire," Lysimachia 

 thyrsiflora, Ophrys apifera, Stratiotes Aloides and Triticum 



