Goodale — Development of Botany Since 1818. 399 



Art. XII. — The Development of Botany as slioivn in this 

 Journal; by George L. Goodale. 



"Our Botany, it is true, has teen extensively and 

 successfully investigated, out this field is still rich, and 

 rewards every new research with some interesting dis- 

 covery." 



Such are the words with which the sagacious and far- 

 sighted founder of the American Journal of Science and 

 Arts, in his general introduction to the first volume, 

 alludes to the study of plants. It is plain that the editor, 

 embarking on' this new enterprise, appreciated the attrac- 

 tions of this inviting field and sympathetically recognized 

 the good work which was being done in it. It is not sur- 

 prising, therefore, to find that he welcomed to the pages 

 of his initial number contributions to botany. 



Early Botanical Works. — The collections of dried and 

 living North American plants, which had been carried 

 from time to time to botanists in Europe, had been 

 eagerly studied, and the results had been published in 

 accessible treatises. Besides these general treatises, 

 there had been issued certain works, wholly devoted to 

 the American Flora. Among these latter may be men- 

 tioned Pursh's Flora (1814) and Nuttall's Genera (1818). 

 There were also a few works which were rather popular 

 in their character, such as Amos Eaton's Manual of Bot- 

 any for North America (1817), and Bigelow's Collection 

 of the Plants of Boston and environs (1814). These 

 handbooks were convenient, and possessed the charm of 

 not being exhaustive ; consequently a botanist, whether 

 professional or amateur, was stimulated to feel that he 

 had a good chance of enriching the list of species and 

 adding to the next edition. 



The Early Years of Botany in the Journal. 

 At that time, the botanists had no journal in this 

 country devoted to their science. Here and there they 

 found opportunity for publishing their discoveries in 

 some medical periodical or in a local newspaper. Hence 

 American botanists availed themselves of the welcome 

 extended by Silliman to botanical contributors to place 

 their results on record in a magazine devoted to science 

 in its wide sense. Specialization and subdivision of 



