V] 



Gcniiaii Fathers of Botany 



123 



art of [ilaiit description. Since the pencil of the draughts- 

 man couUl represent every subtlety in the characteristic 

 form ot a plant, the botanist might well be excused for 

 thinking that to take the trouble to set beside the. drawing 

 a precise, verbal description of the plant in question was 

 a work of supererogation. However, in anotluM- sense 



PlONfA 



Tc\t-tii;. 57. "rionia"=rcoiiy [.VviKildus de X'illa Nov.i, 

 Tractatus de vivtutibus horbaiuni, 14QO]. 



the draughtsman imlirectly helped the cause ot scientiiic 

 accuracyin what, for want o( a better expression, may be 

 called word-painting. There is no doubt that constant 

 critical examination oi the artist's work must have tended 

 to educate the eye of the botanist who supervised his 



