^bibliographies of Botany. 



A contribution toward a bibliotheca bibliographica, 



compiled and annotated 



by 



J. Christian Bay. 



The present compilation is an outcome of more or less constant 

 occupation with botanical literature for many years. While it appears 

 here in an independent form its development has been in a way 

 incidental to that of a larger work — a bibliography of botany from 

 1870 to 1899. I choose to send it forth at the present time for the 

 reason that it is now ready and really covers quite a distinct field, 

 one of interest equally to bibliographers and to botanists. Biblio- 

 graphers will, I hope, find it of some value as a suggestion for the 

 treatment of its subject in that successor to Petzholdt's Biblio- 

 theca Bibliographica for which we all are yearning. Botanists, on 

 the other hand, may derive suggestions from the matter adduced, and 

 inspiration from that which is lacking because it does not exist. 



Both classes of interest will observe that the writer attempts 

 here to maintain an equilibrium between what is termed absolute 

 completeness, and usefulness for practical purposes. One way to 

 compile a work of this kind would be to survey the field of botanical 

 literature and select all titles of all real bibliographies and, additio- 

 nally, of books and papers provided with lists of references. By such 

 a method this bibliography would have numbered as many thousand 

 entries as it now includes hundreds. But it is easily recognized that 

 this kind of bibliographies must contain much futile matter hopelessly 

 overshadowing the portions having real and permanent value. It is 

 true nowadays we legitimately include with real bibliographies all 

 incidental collections of titles made for the sake of literary and 



