HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
3 
NEW FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA. 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
A complete history and biography of our 
Botanists and botanical writers, would form a 
very interesting preamble to a general Flora, 
but might be misplaced in this mantissa, be- 
sides occupying too much space. The history 
of orders, Genera and Species, or the account 
of their names, forms, qualities, cultivation &c. 
might be a work of itself, but shall be partly 
attended to in the descriptive parts : the me- 
dical and economical uses of 600 medical gene- 
ra, have been already detailed in my medical 
Flora, to which I shall add at some future 
period a Supplement upon 200 additional me- 
dical Genera, since ascertained or elucidated. 
It was my intention to insert here an alpha- 
betical Catalogue of all our Botanists and 
their works or labors ; I had collected ample 
materials for this ; but as I hope to obtain 
additions thereto, I will delay it for another 
number of this work: meantime I shall be 
happy to receive any such information of all 
the Botanists who may yet be unknown to me. 
In the last Century our Botanists were few 
and mostly foreign travellers. From 1800 to 
1816 they had gradualy increased, but from 
1816 to 1836 for 20 years past, I have had the 
pleasure to see the lovely Science of Botany 
gradualy spreading, and the number of Bota- 
nists greatly increased, chiefly in the North ; . 
while now this Science begins to be taught in 
schools, and thus acquires many votaries. 
The Floras published last Century were 
chiefly Gronovius or Clayton’s Flora Virginica, 
and Walker’s Flora Caroliniana, both very 
