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nuons advocates of Landscape Gardening, as is manifested in his 

 only literary production that we shall mention, being an Essay 

 *' On Modern Gardening," written in 1770, forming the con- 

 cluding Chapter of his "Anecdotes of Painting in England" 

 which though printed in 1771, did not appear to the public 

 until 1780. 



In this Essay, being determined to demonstrate that rural 

 Gardening was the true and new taste, to establish the opinion, 

 Historians both sacred and profane which appeared to militate 

 against his doctrines, are passed over with indifference and 

 contempt. To his sketch of the improvements introduced by 

 Bridgemanand Kent, and thoseGarden Artists their immediate 

 successors, we may afford the best praise, he appears to be a 

 faithful, and is an eloquent annalist. 



ERASMUS DARWIN, was born at Elston, near Newark in 

 Nottinghamshire, on the 12th of December, 1731. He was 

 educated at Chesterfield Grammar School, and St. John's 

 College, Cambridge- Ho proceeded Bachelor of Medicine at 

 the latter place, and then proceeded to Edinburgh, which he 

 left as soon as he had acquired the degree of M. D. He com- 

 menced practicing at Nottingham, but removed soon after, in 

 1756, to Litchfield. In the following year he married, but he 

 lost his wife in 1770. In 1781 he married a second wife, and 

 by her persuasion removed to Derby- In 1781 appeared the 

 first part of his" Botanic Garden or Loves of the Plants" ; the 

 second part appeared in 1789. In 1703 he published Zoono- 

 mia, and demonstrated himself in this instance to be either a fool 

 or a hypocrite, openly avowing himself an Atheist. He died 

 very suddenly, April 18th 1802, previous to which had appeared 

 the only other of his works which it is necessary for me to mention . 



Phytologia, or the Philosophy of Agriculture andGard. ning 

 with the Theory of Draining Morasses, and with an improved 

 construction of the Drill Plough. London. 1800. 4to. 



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