A injiw xiiuxisii BOTANY. 



Now ready, in One Vol., 680 pages, prioo 12*. 



HANDBOOK OF THE BRITISH 



FLORA ; 



A Description of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Indigenous to, 

 or Naturalized in, the British Isles. 



FOR THE USE OP BEG-INNEES AND AMATEUES. 



By GEORGE BENTHAM, F.L.S. 



From the ' Athenaum.* 

 " The countrymen of John Ear and Eobert 

 Brown can boast of.liundreds wKo, if tliey have not 

 been creators of the science of Botany as those two 

 can claim to be, have largely contributed to its pre- 

 sent position. Amongst these Mr. G-eorge Bentnam 

 holds no second place. Ke is also vr&l known to 

 thinkers for his work on Lo^c. It ia, therefore, 

 with pleasure that we receive irom his hands a 

 book intended to assist in the work of teaching bo- 

 tany to the young, and those who have no teachers. 

 On the subject of the plants of Great Britain, we 

 have works from the magnificent ' English Flora' 

 of Smith and SowerW, down to the curt and ac- 

 curate ' Manual' of Babington. But for popular 

 use they may be all objected to, either on the 

 ground of their expense or their technical charac- 

 ter. Mr. Bentham's aim has been to produce a 

 cheap, untechnical volume, containing descr^jtions 

 of all British plants, with an easy method of finding 

 out their names. In this, we think, he has suc- 

 oeeded.'* 



Professor Asa Gray. 

 '"One of the best of systematic botanista^-of 

 the soundest judgment and the largest experience, 

 both in European and exotic botany — has deemed 

 it no unfit employment of a portion of his valuable 

 time to prepare a volume by which beginners, 

 having no previous acquaintance with the science, 

 may learn to know, most advantageously and 

 readily, the wild fiowera and plants of his native 

 land. The result is a genuine popular Flora, and 

 a clear proof that the plants of a limited country 

 may be described, by one who understands them 

 thoroughly, in comparatively simple -language, 

 without any sacrifice of scientifio accuracy or of 

 scientific interest. ISo really good work of this 

 kind was ever made by a compiler ; and no one 

 who has not essayed the task, can comprehend how 

 thoroughly faithful writing for beginners brings 

 one's knowledge to the proof. 



"The short sections u^ou classification and the 

 examination and determination of plants, are full 

 of practical wisdom." 



PRESENTATION OF A ROYAL MEDAL TO MR. BEUTHAM. 



The following is an Extract from the Address of the President at the last Anmversarif 



of the Mot/al Society. 



"The remarkable accuracy which, distinguishes all Mr. Benthanl's soienti&c researches, the logical pre- 

 cision that characterizes his writings, and the sound generalizations which his systematic works exhibit 

 may be in a great measure traced to the influence of hia uncle, the late celebrated legal theorist, Jeremy 

 Bentham, who directed much of hia early studies, and under whose auspices he published one of his 

 earliest works, • Outlines of a New System of Logic* His mind was farther imbued in youth with a love 

 of Natural History, and especially Botany, and this taste was cultivated and nourished by a study of the 

 works of the elder De Candolle. Fortunately for the cause of Botany in England, Mr. Bentham has de- 

 voted himself almost exclusively to that science ; and to his excellent powers of observation, close reason- 

 ing, concise writing, and indefatigable perseverance our country owes the distinction of ranking amongst 

 its naturahsts one so pre-eminent for his valuable labours in systematic botany. Amongst Mr. Bentham's 

 numerous writings, those hold the first rank which are devoted to the three great Natural Orders, Legu- 

 minos^f LabiateB, and Scrophulariacets. These Orders demanded a vast amount of analytic study, for they 

 are amongst the largest and most widely-distributed of the vegetable kingdom, and had been thrown into 

 great confusion by earlier writers. They have been the subject of many treatises by Mr. Bentham, and 

 especially of two extensive works, the contents of which have lately been embodied in the * Systema 

 Vegetabilium' of theDeCandolles. On their first appearancethese works seouredfor their author a Euro- 

 pean reputation, and will always rank high as models of skiU and claBsifieation. It would occupy too much 

 tome to specify the very numerous monogi'aphs and papers which Mr. Bentham has- communica,ted to 

 various scientific societies and periodicals in this country and on the Continent, and especially to the Linnean 

 Transactions and Journal. That * On the Principles of Generic Nomenclature ' may be noted as an example 

 of his power of treating an apparently simple, but really abstract and difficult subject in a manner at once 

 philosophical and practical. Mr, Benthatii'a most recent work, that on British Flcmta, w the fi^st o« the 

 tndiaenous Flora of our IsUmds m which every species has been earefkUy emalyzed and described Jrom spe- 

 cimens procured from all parts of the globe ; it is distinguished for its scienUfic accwacy^ advanced general 

 views and extreme simplicity— a combination of qualities which can result only from an extensive series qf 

 exact obaervationa, judiciously arranged and logically expressed. The President then addressed Mr. Bentham 

 as follows — The early volumes of the * Philosophical Transactions' contain numeroua papers relatmg to 

 botany and the other sciences which are usually comprehended under the general designation of Natural 

 History. As these sciences, but especially botany, became more and more extended, it was thought desi- 

 rable that another Institution should be called into existence, which might share with the Eoyal Society 

 the Brivileee of promoting the cultivation of them, and of commumcatmg to tue world from tune to time 

 the oroeress which has been made in this department of knowledge ; and suoh was the origin of the Linnean 

 Sop^tv in the year 1788. The Eoyal Society, however, does not on that account ieel the less interested in 

 fT^B pIms of scientificinveatieations. It ia accordingly with great satisfaction that the Council have awarded 



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fellow-labourer 



LOVEL] 



COVENT -GAEDEK. 



