I04 The Botanical Renaissance [ch. 



Turner had a fine scorn for any superstitious notions 

 he detected in the writings of his contemporaries, and 

 seems to have been particularly pleased if he could show 

 that in any disputed matter they were wrong, while the 

 ancients, for whom he had a great reverence, were right. 

 For instance he has a great deal to say about a theory, held 

 by Mattioli, in opposition to the opinions of Theophrastus 

 and Dioscorides, that the Broomrape [Orobanche) could 

 kill other plants merely by its baneful presence, without 

 any physical contact. He declares that this view is against 

 reason, authority and experience, and points out that the 

 figure which Mattioli gives is faulty, in omitting to show 

 the roots, which are the real instruments of destruction. 

 He triumphantly concludes, "And as touchy nge experience, 

 I know that the freshe and yong Orobanche hath commyng 

 out of the great roote, many lytle strynges... wherewith it 

 taketh holde of the rootes of the herbes that grow next 

 unto it. Wherefore Matthiolus ought not so lyghtly to 

 have defaced the autorite of Theophrast so ancient and 

 substantial! autor." Turner's work is largely occupied with 

 the opinions of early writers, especially Dioscorides, and his 

 respect for their authority is a somewhat curious trait in a 

 character which seems, in other directions, to have been so 

 unorthodox. He did not however treat their books as the 

 last word on the subject, and the third part of his herbal is 

 occupied with plants "whereof is no mention made nether 

 of y' old Grecianes nor Latines." 



Turner's herbal is arranged alphabetically, and does 

 not show evidence of any interest in the relationships of 

 the plants. It is as individuals, and essentially as "simples," 

 that he regarded them. His descriptions of them were 

 often vividly expressed, though not markedly original. 

 It must be remembered that botany was not the only 

 science which he studied. He wrote about birds, and also 

 contributed information about English fishes to Gesner's 

 ' Historia Animalium.' 



Before discussing the next herbal which appeared in 

 this country, we may refer in passing to a botanical book 

 which hardly comes under this heading, but which is of 

 interest in relation to the history of the time. Nicolas 

 Monardes, a Spanish physician, had published, in 1569 



