T H E 
PREFACE 
OR,-- 
i 
INTRODUCTION. 
, - • 
CHAP. I. Of the W 0 R K it felf. 
T -w- -"wr -y* E Pretend not here to an 
■* * /• / . univerfal Hiftory of Plants, 
^ ^ / but chiefly to fucb as are 
mV %/ moji Known , Virtuous , 
^ ^ Experimented , 
Ufeftd in Phyfick. *T/t a fyg/j/y of \Jfe for 
Phyficians, Chyrurgians, W Apothecaries, tf/zi 
jfrr their Sakes , and the Pub lick Good it was prin- 
0 ci pally Deflgned and Intended. 
II. As to the Authors made ufe of in this Under- 
taking^ we fhall not be Jo vain as to enumerate them 
all , 't would be to no Purpofe •, and yet it will be 
Necejfary for the Credit of the Book , to give you 
an Account of the Chief of thofe , in Treating of 
each Plant , a thofe Leaves we were obliged continu- 
ally to turn over. 
III. The Authors we made mod ufe of in Com- 
poflng this Herbal, were thefe following , viz. 
Bauhinus, Brunfelfius, CaTaipinus, Camerarius, 
Clufius, Diofcorides, Dodonsus, Durantes, Fuch- 
fius, Johnfon on Gerard, Lobel and Pena, Loni- 
cerus, Lugdunenfis, Matthiolus, Parkinfon, Ruel- 
lius, Schroder, Tabernaimont3nus, ‘Theophraftus, 
and Tragus. Thefe, I fay , were thofe which were 
chiefly confulted , and without whom. \ we paffed not 
off from the Difcourfe of any Plant : But we cannot 
fay thefe were all , for octafionally as it fell in our 
way , and where fome particular Occurrences requi- 
red it, we had recourfe to many others, more than 
twice that number befldes, without the Help of 
which we could not have fo Qompleatly performed 
what we here Are font you withall. 
IV. As to the Hiflorical Part , we could not much 
deviate, but were obliged to follow the mo ft cele- 
brated Authors of this Subjell , viz. in their Karnes, 
Kinds , Defcriptions, Places of Growth ,' and Times 
of P lowering and Seeding. In their Names, we 
have given you the moft ufual, and thofe chiefly by 
which the Plant ( in all Ages ) has been moft known 
and called , whether Arabick, Greek, Latine, or 
Englifll •, in doing of zvhich , we hope we have in 
feme meafure rettified * the Latine Nomenclature, 
which, even in all our Dictionaries, has hitherto 
been very Faulty and ImpeYfcZL 
V. As to the Kinds of any Plant, we own we 
have not given you all that you will flnd in Parkin- 
fon, and many other Authors , becaufe thofe which 
we have Omitted, an Englifll Reader , may not pof- 
flbly come to the Knowledge or Sight of in many 
Ages , they growing in Foreign and Far-diflant 
Countries, as Turkey, Perfia, Eaft India, the Mo- 
luccas, China, Lfc. Befldes, having no known Vir- 
tues or Ufes afligned to them , but only their Names 
and Defcriptions , we thought they would only take 
up room, and rather encumber the Book, than add 
any real Excellency or Advantage fo it -, ccnfidering 
it was chiefly deflgned for the Benefit and Ufe of the 
Pr attic al Phyfician. 
VI. As to the Defcriptions , zee fay they are the 
fame as in other Authors, little or nothing differ- 
ing from thofe in Bauhin, Clufius, Dodona:us, 
Fuchfius, Gerard, Johnfon, Lugdunenfis, Matthi- 
olus, Parkinfon, Taberna’tnontanus, and Tragus : 
But we have almofl every where revers'd the Or- 
der of Defcribing -, for whereas they many times be- 
gin at the top or upper parts of a Plant, and fo go 
downwards to the Root, zee on the contrary, gene- 
rally begin at the Root, firfl Defcribing it, and fo 
afeend upwards to its Stalks, Leaves, Branches , 
Flowers and Seed, or Fruit, which we take to be 
the mofl natural Order or Method. 
VII. As to tlye Places of the Growth of Plants , 
they may be very uncertain, becaufe, zvbere they 
have been found to Grow in great plenty, in former 
Ages or Times, the footfteps of the fame Plant is 
not to be found now. In fome places zvbere I have 
found fever al Plants to Grow as Natives of the 
fame, when l was a Louth, now in my prefent de- 
clining Tears, there are no remainders of them to 
be found. The iEgyptian Arum, or Pfeudocolo- 
cafia, which zoe now call the Carolina F.ddo, (be- 
caufe there every where planted) did formerly Grow 
plentifully in .Egypt, which l fuppofe was its Na- 
tive place of Growth, and was there planted for 
their ufe in Me at s, and for Food : Nozv our late 
Travellers fay, it has not for fome Ages been known 
to Grow there at all. But ’ its pojfible. that it has 
been negletted and difufed : Let 1 am of Opinion , 
that if it were diligently fought after, fome remains 
of it might be found again. It grows in vaft plenty 
a in 
