A NEW BRITISH BOTANY. 



Now ready, in One Vol., 680 pages, price 12s. 



HANDBOOK OF THE BRITISH 



FLORA ; 



A Description of the Flowering^ Plants and Ferns Indigenous to, 

 or Naturalized in, the British Isles. 



FOR THE USE OF BEGINNERS AND AMATEURS. 



By GEORGE BENTIiAM, Esq., 



PBESIDENT OP THE LINlf^AM" SOCIETT. 



Fro)n the 'Athenaeum.' 

 ** The countrymen of John Kay and Robert 

 Brown can boast of hundreds who, if they have not 

 been creators of the science of Botany as those two 

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

 sent position. Amongst tliese Mr. George Bentham 

 holds no second place. He is also well known to 

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

 ■with pleasure that we receive from 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 ' EngHsh Flora' 

 of Smith and Sowerby, 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 descriptions 

 of all British plants, -with an easy method of finding 

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

 ceeded." 



Professor Asa Gray. 



"One of the best of systematic botanists — of 

 the soundest judgment and the largest experience, 

 both in European and exotic botany — hag 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 flowers and plants of his "native 

 land. The result is a genuine popular Flora, and 

 a clear pi-oof that the plants of a limited country 

 may be described, by one who understands thera 

 thoroughly, in comparatively simple language, 

 without any sacrifice of scientific accuracy or of 

 scientific interest. No 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 upon classification and the 

 examination and determination of plants, are full 

 of practical wisdom." 



PRESENTATION OF A ROYAL MEDAL TO MR. BENTHAM. 



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



of the Royal Society. 



"The remarkable accuracy which distinguishes all Mr. Bentham's scientific researches, the logical pre- 

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

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

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

 earliest works, ' Outlines of a New Sj'stem of Logic' His mind was further imbued in 3-outh with a love 

 of Natural Histoiy, 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 liis excellent powers of observation, close reason- 

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

 its naturalists one so pre-eminent for his valuable labours in systematic botany. Amongst ■Mr. 13entham'8 

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

 minosce, Lahiatai, and Scropliularuicece. 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 l)y Mr. Bentham, and 

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

 Vegetabilium ' of the De Candolles. On their first appearance these works secured for their author a Euro- 

 pean reputation, and wiU always rank high as models of skill and classification. It would occupy too much 

 time to specify the very numerous monogiaphs and papers which Mr. Bentham has communicated to 

 various scientific societies and penodicals in this country and on the Continent, and especially to the Liuncaa 

 Transactions and Journal. That * On the Principles of G eneric 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. Bodluim's mont recent work, that on Briti.^h Flcaits, is the Jii-.-'t on the 

 vidigenous Flora of our Isla?i(ls in which every xpecies has been carefaUy analyzed anil described from spe- 

 cimens procured from all parts of the globe ; it w distinguished for its scicnfifc accui-acy, advanced general 

 mews, and extreme simplicity — a combination of qualities tchich can result only from an extensive series of 

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

 as follows : — The early volumes of the 'Philosophical Transactions' contain numerous papers relating to 

 botany and the other sciences which are usually comj)rehended under the general designation of Natural 

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

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

 the privilege of promoting the cultivation of them, and of communicating to ttie tvorld from time to time 

 the progress which has been made in this department of knowledge ; anil such was the origin of the Linnean 

 Society in the year 1788. The Koyal Society, however, does not on that account feel the loss intorostod io 

 this class of scientific investigations. It is accordingly with great satisfaction that the Council have awariled 

 to you one of the l{o)'aliMoaals, and that in the name of the Society I now place it in your hands, in testi- 

 mony of their high appreciation of your researches, and of the respect which they have for you as a 

 fellow-labourer in the field of science." — Proceedings of the Itoyal Society. 



LOVELL UEEVE & CO., 5, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 



