172 
A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF 
[DONOVAN 
Don (George), 1764-1814 
George Don, father of the botanists, George and David 
Don, was a nurseryman of Doo Hillock, Forfar, and at one 
time Superintendent of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. 
He was born in Kincardineshire in 1764, and died at Forfar 
on January 14, 1814. His Account of Forfar plants and 
animals is generally misquoted. Yarrell (ed. 1) states in error 
that it was appended to Lightfoot’s Flora Scotica. 
1813. Account of the Native Plants in the County of Forfar, and the 
Animals to be found there. [Appendix B, pp. 11-59, in Rev. 
Jas. Headrick’s General View of the Agriculture of the County 
of Angus , or Forfarshire.] Edinburgh : 1813. 
1 vol. 8vo. Birds at pp. 39-44 of the Appendix. 
Donovan (Edward), 1768-1837 
In early life Donovan seems to have been possessed of 
means, and to have been a collector, many of Drury’s insects 
having passed into his hands. At the sale of the Leverian 
Museum in 1806, by Mr. Parkinson, Donovan was the principal 
buyer, some 500 lots passing into his possession. In the 
following year he opened his Museum to the public. This 
he styled “ The London Museum and Institute of Natural 
History,” and also, though incorrectly, the “ Leverian 
Museum.” It was situate in Catherine Street, Strand, 
and the collection was finally dispersed under the hammer 
in 1818. He was a voluminous writer of natural history 
works, and his books had at one time a considerable popu- 
larity, though, as we shall see later, this does not appear to 
have brought any pecuniary advantage to their author. 
Swainson’s estimate of this author is worth quoting : 
“ A laborious writer on natural history. Great labour has 
been bestowed upon the colouring of the plates he published, 
which renders his works expensive. The figures, for the 
most part, are destitute of grace or correctness, excepting, 
indeed, such as relate to entomology, most of which are 
faithful. The text is verbose and not above mediocrity.” 
It must be said against this, however, that Donovan’s 
