INTRODUCTION. 15 



of the learned, and to be pursued with a degree of 

 industry unknown before ; while the writings of 

 Dioscorides and Pliny, which with all their defects or 

 redundancies were still regarded as the grand standard 

 of botanical knowledge, began to be studied and 

 commented upon with the most indefatigable zeal. 



One of the first fruits of this revived passion for Introduc- 

 botanical inquiry was the introduction of the aid of fi g 



figures, with a view to elucidate verbal description 

 which had not yet attained the degree of accuracy cuts 

 that is necessary to determine the species. The 

 merit of this great and important improvement is 

 due to Brunfelsius, a native of Maynz in Germany, 

 and first German botanist. His work, entitled His- 

 toria Plantarum, was published about the beginning 

 of the sixteenth century, and the figures, though 

 only from wooden cuts, have been regarded by good 

 judges as exhibiting, in general, a tolerably good 

 representation of the intended plants. They served 

 at least to excite the emulation of other botanists, 

 and were accordingly soon after followed by those 

 of Bock, Cordus^Fuschius, Dodoriseus, and Clusius, 

 all natives of Germany; who each added some- 

 thing to the number or accuracy of the figures of 

 his predecessors in publication. 



But the flame that Was thus kindled up in Ger- 

 many soon began to extend itself to surrounding 

 nations, and to excite in the adjacent countries a si- 

 milar ardour for botanical inquiry. In Italy the 

 celebrated Mathiolus was the first to catch its inci- 



