( 219 ) 
not a hiftory of particular plants, but of 
plants in general. He mentions about 500, 
but defcribes fo few with accuracy, and the 
reft fo very imperfectly, that fucceeding bo- 
tanifts have been able to recognize but a 
fmall number of them. Probably Dr. Sib- 
thorp, who hqp lately explored the country 
where Theophraftus herborized, may have 
afcertained many of his plants, and I hope 
he will not long withhold his difcoveries 
from the public. Theophraftus was firft tranf- 
lated into Latin by Geza. 
The two later naturalifts worth notice, 
are Diofcorides and the elder Pliny; that 
unfortunate Pliny who perifhed in the fmoke 
of Vefuvius. They appear to have lived at 
the fame time, that is, about the middle of 
the firft century. Of the writings of Diof- 
corides only eight books have been preferv- 
ed. He mentions about 600 plants j of thefe 
he defcribes about 400: but few of his de- 
fcriptions anfwer to our plants. 
Pliny's work is entitled de Hiftorla Mundij 
of which only 37 books are preferved. It is 
an indifcriminate collection of all that he 
had read of Natural hiftory. The vegetable 
part is a mere tranfcript from Theophraftus, 
