XIV P R E F A C E. 



an apothecary in Panton-street, Haymarket, pub- 

 lished in 1762, marks the establishment of Linneean 

 principles of Botany in England, and their applica- 

 tion to practical use. With this book in his hand, 

 any one conversant with the Latin language, and 

 with the first rudiments of systematic knowledge, 

 might reduce a wild plant to its class, order, genus 

 and species. By turning to the books indicated un- 

 der each species, he would become acquainted with 

 every thing relating to its characters, history, or 

 properties, and might confirm his own determination 

 of the plants, by the figures and descriptions of for- 

 mer writers. This is the use of a systematic arrange- 

 ment, and therefore the more clear and easy it is the 

 better. Hudson's work became extremely popular, 

 and rose in process of time to near twenty times its 

 original price. A second edition appeared in 1778, 

 in two volumes, with many additions, and various al- 

 terations, especially among the Grasses, Mr. Hudson 

 having pursued a train of experiments upon the dif- 

 ferent species or varieties of this family by cultiva- 

 tion. But his alterations are certainly not all for the 

 better. His synonyms are often faulty, particularly 

 those of foreign authors, from a practice, not thought 

 reprehensible in his time, of transcribing them from 

 other books, without examination. This is proved 

 by various errors in the names or pages cited ; and 

 Linnaeus, in whom Hudson and others have chiefly 

 confided, is more faulty in such matters than most 

 writers ; for he often left the transcription of his 

 synonyms to his pupils, after having written his own 

 names in the margins of the books to be quoted. 

 The Rev. Mr. Lightfoot's Flora Scot/ca, in two 



