HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE HERBARIUM. 
49 
The distinguished career of Captain Dalton and his son James 
afford a striking contrast, and may be regarded as typical of the 
age in which they lived. 
The British forces abroad were actively occupied in a series of 
engagements on land and sea, for the existence or supremacy of 
the English nation, while the population at home toiled under 
taxation to provide the sinews of war, and the bare necessaries 
of life. 
It was in such times as these that James Dalton was born, and 
his early years, 1765-85, must have been influenced by the remark¬ 
able social and political revolutions that characterized the latter 
part of the 18th century. 
In order to appreciate the botanical work of the Rev. James 
Dalton and his contemporaries, it is imperative that we should 
bear in mind the wonderful inventions about this period (1765-85), 
and note their effect on the surface of the country. 
In so doing, we shall observe that changes have taken place in 
the flora of certain districts. 
The year 1763 witnessed the establishment of the famous 
potteries of Wedgwood which provided employment for thousands 
of workers. The invention of the Spinning jenny (1764) by Har¬ 
greaves, the Mule (1766) by Crompton, and the Spinning machine 
(1768) by Arkwright, revolutionized the manufacture of cotton 
goods ; whilst the discoveries of Watts (1765) in connection with 
the steam engine, marked an important epoch in the history of the 
British empire. 
The distribution of the products of these various industries 
could not be carried on under the old pack-horse system of 
conveyance and, in order to provide sufficient means for the transit 
of goods, old roads were improved, new ones made, and a vast 
system of canals came into existence which supplied the means of 
intercommunication with inland towns and the coast, or with 
centres of industry. 
The opening of these canals and the operation of the Agriculture 
and Enclosure Acts required the draining of carrs and commons, 
and these important agents affected the flora of the count) 7 . 
Hence we find in the herbarium many specimens marked “ from 
or near to the Ripon canal, or Leeds and Liverpool canal, &c., 
1790-1830.” 
There is also evidence of the wealth of the native plants in such 
Yorkshire carrs as Staveley and Terrington during the year 1790. 
D 
