A HE¥/ BRITISH BOTANY. 



Now ready, in One Vol., 680 pages, price 12*. 



HANDBOOK OF THE BRITISH 



FLORA ; 



A Description of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Indigenous to, 

 or Naturalized in, the British Isles. 



FOR THE USE OF BEGINNERS AND A^IATEURS. 



By GEORGE BENTHAM, F.L.S. 



From the ' Athenmmi: \ Professor Asa Grai/. 



" The countrymen of John Ray and Eobert j " One of the best of systematic botanists— oJ 

 Brown can boast of hundreds who, if they have not | the soundest judgment and the largest experience 



been creators of the science of Botany as' those two 

 can claim to be, have largely contributed to its pre- 

 sent position. Amongst the'so Mr. George Bentham 

 holds uo second place. He is also weU known to 

 thinkers for his work on Logic. It is, therefore, 

 Mith pleasure that we receive from his hands a 

 book intended to assist in the work of teaching bo- 

 tanj' to the young, and those who have no teachers. 

 On the subject of the plants of Great Britain, we 

 have works from the magnificent ' English Flora' 

 of Smith and Sowerby, down to the curt and ac- 

 curate ' Manual' of Babington. But for popular 

 use they may be all objected to, either on the 

 ground of their expense or their technical charac- 

 ter. Mr. Bentham's aim has been to produce a 

 cheap, untechnical volume, containing descriptions 

 of all British plants, with an easy method of finding 

 out their names. In this, we think, he has suc- 

 ceeded." 



both in European and exotic botany — has deemed 

 it no unfit employment of a portion of bis valuable 

 time to prepare a volume by which beginners, 

 having no previous acquaintance with the science, 

 may learn to know, most advantageously and 

 readily, the wild flowers and plants of his native 

 land. The result is a genuine popular Flora, and 

 a clear proof that the plants of a limited couutrv 

 may be described, by one who understands tlieiii 

 thoroughly, in comparatively simple language, 

 without any sacrifice of scientific accuracy or of 

 scientific interest. No really good work of this 

 kind was ever made by a compiler; and no one 

 who has not essayed the task, can comprehend bow 

 thorougldy faithful writing for beginners brings 

 one's knowledge to the proof. 



" The short sections upon classification and the 

 examination and determination of plants, are full 

 of practical wisdom," 



PEESENTATIOIT OF A SOYAI MEDAL TO MR. BElfTHAM. 



The following is an Extract from the Address of the President at the last Annlversan^ 



of the Royal Society. 



"The remarkable accuracy which distinguishes all Mr. Bentham's scientific researches, the logical pre- 

 cision that characterizes his wi-itings, and the sound generalizations which his systematic works exhibit 

 may be in a great measure traced to the influence of his uncle, the late celebrated legal theorist, Jeremy 

 Bentham, who directed much of his early studies, and under whose auspices he pubhshed one of his 

 earbest works, * Outlines of a Kew System of Logic' His mind was furtlier imbued in youth with a love 

 of Natural History, and especially Botany, and this taste was cultivated and nourished by a study of the 

 works of the elder De Candolle. Fortunately for the cause of Botany in England, Mr. Bentham has de- 

 voted liimself abnost exclusively to that science; and to his excellent powers of observation, close reason- 

 ing, concise writing, and indefatigable perseverance our country owes the distinction of ranking amongst 

 its naturalists one so pre-eminent for his valuable labours in systematic botany. Amongst Mr. Bentham's 

 numerous writings, those hold the first rank which are devoted to the three great Natural Orders, Legu- 

 minosce, Lahiatce, and ScrophidarlucecB. These Orders demanded a vast amount of analytic study, for they 

 are amongst the largest and most widely-distributed of the vegetable kingdom, and had been thrown into 

 great confusion by earlier writers. They have been the subject of many treatises by Mr. Bentham, and 

 especiaUy of two extensive works, the contents of which have lately been embodied in the ' Systenm 

 Vegetabilium ' of the De Candolles. On their first appearance these works secured for their author a Euro- 

 pean reputation, and will always rank high as models of skfll and classification. It would occupy too much 

 time to specify the very uumeroiis monographs and papers which Mr. Bentham has connnunieated to 

 various scientific societies and periodicals in this country and on the Continent, and especially to the Linuean 

 Transactions and Journal. That ' On the Principles of Generic Nomenclature' may be noted as an example 

 of his power of treating an apparently simple, but reaUy abstract and diflicult su(>ject in a manner at once 

 philosophical and practical. Mr. Bentham's most recent ivork, that on British Plants, is the first on the 

 indigenous Flora of our Islands in which every species has heen curefuUy analyzed and described from spe- 

 cimens procured from all parts of the globe ; it is distinguished for its scientific accuracy, advanced general 

 views, and extreme simplicity — a combination of qualities which can result only from an ej-tensire senes of 

 exact observations, judiciously arranged and logically expressed. The President tlien addressed Mr. Bentham 

 as follows : — The early vohunes of the 'Philosophical Transactions' contain numerous papers relating to 

 botany and the other sciences which are usually comprehended under the general designation of Natural 

 Histoiy. As these sciences, but especially botany, became more and more extended, it was thought desi- 

 rable that another Institution should be called into existence, which might share with the Royal Society 

 the privilege of promoting the cultivation of them, and of communicating to ttie tvorld from time to time 

 the progress which has been made in this department of knowledge ; and such was the origin of the Linnean 

 Society in the year 1788. The Royal Society, however, does not on tiiat account leel the less interested in 

 this class of scientific investigations. It is accordingly with great satisfaction that the Council have awarded 

 to you one of the Royal Medals, and that in the name of the Society I now place it in your hands, in testi- 

 mony of their high appreciation of your researches, and of the respect which they have for you as a 

 fellow-labourer in the field of science."— Proceedings of the Royal Society. 



LOVELL REEVE, 5, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN". 



