XIII 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF BOTANY SINCE 1818 

 By GEORGE Lu GOOD ALE 



"Our Botany, it is true, has been extensively and 

 successfully investigated, but this field is still rich, and 

 rewards every new research with some interesting dis- 

 covery." 



SUCH are the words with which the sagacious and 

 far-sighted founder of the American Journal of 

 Science and Arts, in his general introduction to the 

 first volume, alludes to the study of plants. It is plain 

 that the editor, embarking on this new enterprise, appre- 

 ciated the attractions of this inviting field and sympa- 

 thetically recognized the good work which was being done 

 in it. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that he wel- 

 comed to the pages of his initial number contributions to 

 botany. 



Early Botanical Works. The collections of dried and 

 living North American plants, which had been carried 

 from time to time to botanists in Europe, had been 

 eagerly studied, and the results had been published in 

 accessible treatises. Besides these general treatises, 

 there had been issued certain works, wholly devoted to 

 the American Flora. Among these latter may be men- 

 tioned Pursh's "Flora" (1814) and Nuttall's "Genera" 

 (1818). There were also a few works which were rather 

 popular in their character, such as Amos Eaton's "Man- 

 ual of Botany for North America" (1817), and Bigelow's 

 "Collection of the Plants of Boston and environs" 

 (1814). These handbooks were convenient, and pos- 

 sessed the charm of not being exhaustive ; consequently 

 a botanist, whether professional or amateur, was stimu- 

 lated to feel that he had a good chance of enriching the 

 list of species and adding to the next edition. 



