The Evolution of Botany. 181 



only the domestic but also foreign plants were cultivated 

 and their habits and characteristics studied. Theretofore 

 the study of foreign plants was limited to the favored few 

 who could go to the native habitation of the plant for that 

 purpose, but now the many scientists in the cities had equal 

 opportunities for investigation and study. The number of 

 men developing and advancing botany "became largely in- 

 creased by the introduction of botanical gardens, which were 

 thus directly advantageous to the growth of the science. It 

 is true that before this botanical-garden era under question 

 there had been a few incipient gardens. One at Salermo 

 was laid out by Matthew Sylvaticus in the fourteenth cent- 

 ury, which was followed by one at Venice for the cultivation 

 of medicinal plants. Both of these were very limited in 

 their number of plants and contained few that were not 

 medicinal. The real beginning of instituting botanical gar- 

 dens was coincident with the revival of the sciences. The 

 cities of Italy began to compete for excellence in planning 

 and laying out gardens and in the number and variety of 

 plants. Here, as everywhere, competition was a factor in 

 evolution. Spain and France soon followed the example of 

 Italy. In Ferrara, the Duke Alphonse Este was the first to 

 found a garden, at which he worked with commendable en- 

 ergy and ambition, so that it was in its time recognized as 

 the first one in Europe. The botanical garden at Paris was 

 instituted in the early part of the sixteenth century. Its 

 design and object were not, however, to advance botany, but 

 to cultivate flowers, from which the royal dressmakers might 

 take patterns wherewith to embroider the gowns of the 

 court ladies and to embellish the coats of the court gentle- 

 men. It was not until many years later that the garden was 

 made a botanical one in a scientific sense, and named " Jar- 

 din des Plants," a name which it still bears. In Holland a 

 garden was laid out as early as the fifteenth century, but 

 Germany was not represented other than by several private 

 ones. 



By far the greatest eagerness in establishing botanical 

 gardens was exhibited in the seventeenth century. An ex- 

 tensive garden was planned at Eome by Cardinal Farnese ; 

 the " Hortus Cattolicus " was founded by Prince della Cat- 

 tolica at Messina ; the Kew Gardens, by Queen Elizabeth ; 

 the Apothecaries' Garden at Chelsea, for the cultivation of 

 medicinal plants, by the apothecaries of London ; and the 

 botanical garden at Amsterdam, which latter is to-day yet 



