BOTANY. 



History. 



Fuc!. 



Born i:oi, 

 Died UoU 



Tie Lohel. 

 Born 1533. 

 Died 1616. 



Clutius. 

 Born 1.526. 

 Died 1609. 



accurate, of so many unconnected species. But still 

 tin- number *f these had been very much augmented, 

 in con >t their diligence : for instead of the 



800 species, described by Tragus in 1532, \vc find, 

 in the Stir/iii/tn Hixtorin of Dodonxus, published a 

 short while before his death, an account of 1330; 

 and in the Hariontm Piaiitarum lli.iloria of Clnsius, 

 which appeared not long after, taken in connection 

 with the writings of De Lobel, we find descriptions 

 of nearly 800 more. 



The work by which Fuchsius, who appears to 

 have been a man of an acute mind, but not so conver- 

 sant with nature as Tragus, contributed most to ad- 

 vance the interests of botany, was his Historia Plan- 

 tiiritin, which appeared in 1512, accompanied with 

 512 large and very excellent outlines, or shaded 

 sketches of plants, taken chiefly from Brunfels. Mat- 

 thiolus, on the other hand, besides publishing in 1518 

 an elaborate edition of Dioscorides, with cuts, the 

 merit of which may be estimated from its having been 

 translated into different languages, and gone through 

 more than thirty editions, was the author of a work, 

 entitled, Compendium de Plantis, which is also cha- 

 racterised by learning and ability. De Lobel, who 

 was an industrious, but not a very discriminating, bo- 

 tanist, wrote first in conjunction with Pena, a physi- 

 cian in Provence, the Nova Stirpium Historia, con- 

 taining descriptions, though often crudely enough 

 expressed, of many new plants, discovered by them, 

 in the course of various journeys in France, Germany, 

 Switzerland, Italy, and Great Britain ; and afterwards 

 by himself, the Plantation sen Stirpium Hisloria, 

 which was published in 1576, and again republished, 

 in a less detailed form, but with many additional cuts, 

 borrowed chiefly from the works of his contempo- 

 raries, under the title of Planlarum Icones, in 1581. 

 Dodonseus, besides being the author of the Stirpium 

 Historia, above alluded ID, and of two or three other 

 tracts of less moment, which it would be needless to 

 specify, bad the merit of benefiting the science, by 

 introducing a peculiar style of neatness and accuracy 

 in his figures, as well as in his descriptions ; and so 

 far as the labours of Clusius are concerned, we may be 

 allowed to say, that while he evinced, in every thing, 

 the powers of a superior mind, he both wrote more, and 

 pushed his inquiries to a greater extent, and with much 

 greater risk to himself, than any botanist of the age 

 in which he lived. His various publications embra- 

 ced some account of almost all that was then known 

 of the vegetable kingdom. But without specifying 

 any of them, except the Rariorttm Plantarum IIi.\t,o- 

 ria, already mentioned, which appeared in 1601, and 

 the Plantce Exotica;, which followed soon after, we 

 shall content ourselves with rather quoting what is 

 briefly stated by Willdenow, the present able professor 

 at Berlin, partly in the words of Tournefort, by way 

 of giving some general idea of his toils and merit as 

 a botanist. Being early drawn aside from the study 

 of'the la\v, to which his parents had destined him, 

 by an unusual fondness for botanical pursuits, " he 

 undertook," says this gentleman, " the most tedious 

 and troublesome journies through Spain, Portugal, 

 France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, and 

 Hungary. In his 24th year he already became af- 



fected with dropsy, but was cured by the use of History. 

 cichurios, recommended to him by the famous physi- 

 cian Kondfletius. -In his 39th year, in Spain, he 

 broke his right arm close above the elbow, falling 

 with his horse ; and soon after he had the same ac- 

 cident with his right thigh. In his 55th year, in Vi- 

 enna, he sprained his left foot ; and eight years after- 

 wards dislocated his hip. This last dislocation was 

 overlooked by his physician, and he had the misfor- 

 tune to walk for the remainder of his life on crutches. 

 The great pain and difficulty he had thus to suffer 

 when walking, prevented him from taking the neces- 

 sary exercise, in consequence of which he was affect- 

 ed with a hernia, obstructions in his abdomen, and 

 calculous complaints. Thus miserable and unhealthy, 

 tired of the court of the emperor, where he had resi- 

 ded for fourteen years past, and finding, besides, the 

 superintendence over the gardens there too great a 

 burden, he accepted, in the year 1593, an invitation 

 as professor at Leyden, where he died soon after." 

 Having said thus much with respect to his history, 

 he adds, " Clusius was the greatest man of his age, 

 and prosecuted t)ie study of botany with an enthusi- 

 astic zeal, and a perseverance, which was not equal- 

 led by any preceding philosophers, nor by any of his 

 followers. His works shew us the great botanist, 

 and they will always remain valuable and indispensa- 

 bly necessary. The cuts annexed to them are neat, 

 the figures distinct, and his descriptions masterly. It 

 was a pity that a man of so great merit should have 

 suffered so much, and even become the first martyr 

 for botany." 



Another very eminent person of this period* whom Gesner. 

 it would be unjust in us not to take particular notice & rn 1516. 

 of, both on account of his vast acquaintance with Died 150;. 

 every branch of natural history, and especially for 

 the improvements which he had intended to intro- 

 duce into the science of botany, was Conrad Gesner. 

 He was born at Zurich in Switzerland, in the year 

 1516, and while he was yet hardly more than a boy, 

 discovered an insa'tiable desire for knowledge, and 

 the powers of an almost universal genius, accompa- 

 nied with an industry and perseverance which nothing 

 could appal. Having been early accustomed by an 

 uncle of the name of John Friccius, who had a similar 

 predilection, to wander over his native mountains, and 

 examine what struck him as new and unusual in the 

 vegetable kingdom, with the eye of a botanist, he 

 continued through life, amid innumerable other stu- 

 dies, to bestow a more than ordinary attention on this 

 favourite pursuit. Besides making himself familiarly 

 acquainted with the flora round Lausanne, Basle, and 

 Zurich, where he successively resided, he extended 

 his researches by degrees over the rest' of his native 

 country, and particularly over the Alps; being in 

 the habit, we are told, of making some botanical ex- 

 cursion through one part or another of it, almost 

 every year. He likewise visited France and Italy : 

 and wherever, in the course of his travels, he hap- 

 pened to find plants which he had not seen before, 

 he delineated them, or endeavoured to have them con- 

 veyed home and cultivated in his garden. Having 

 in this way, or by the good offices of many who had 

 heard of his singular merit, and admired him, pro. 



