HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



NEW FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



A complete history and biography of our 

 Botanists and botanical writers, would form a 

 very interesting preamble to a general Flora, 

 but might be misplaced in this mantissa, he- 

 aides occupying too much space. The history 

 of orders, Genera and Species, or the account 

 of their names, forms, qualities, cultivation &c. 

 might be a work of itself, but shall be partly 

 attended to in the descriptive parts : the me- 

 dical and economical uses of 600 medical gene- 

 ra, have been already detailed in my medical 

 Flora, to which I shall add at some future 

 period a Supplement upon 200 additional me- 

 dical Genera, since ascertained or elucidated. 

 It was my intention to insert here an alpha- 

 betical Catalogue of all our Botanists and 

 their works or labors ; I had collected ample 

 materials for this; but as I hope to obtain 

 additions thereto, I will delay it for another 

 number of this work: meantime I shall be 

 happy to receive any such information of all 

 the Botanists who may yet be unknown to me. 

 In the last Century our Botanists were few 

 and mostly foreign travellers. From 1800 to 

 1816 they had gradualy increased, but from 

 1816 to 1836 for 20 years past, I have had the 

 pleasure to see the lovely Science of Botany 

 gradualy spreading, and the number of Bota- 

 nists greatly increased, chiefly in the North ; 

 while now this Science begins to be taught in 

 schools, and thus acquires many votaries. 



The Floras published last Century were 

 chiefly Gronovius or Clayton's Flora Virginica, 

 and Walker's Flora Caroliniana, both very 



