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vegetable species the generic appellation of Borbonia, in honour to Gaston of Bourbon, the son of Henry the Great, and uncle of Louis the Great, a munificent patron of botanical science. He named another family, Guidonia, in compliment to the physician of the reigning monarch, eminent for his poetical, medical, and botanical attainments. His Pittonia was done from the grandfather of the famous Tournefort. Brossæa, from Guy de Brosses author of a valuable French publication on the natures, virtues, and uses of plants. Ximenea, from the Spanish priest of that name, who wrote four books in the Mexican tongue, on the vegetables and animals of New Spain, in 1615, and not noticed before in this discourse. Hernandia, from the distinguished person, before mentioned, who, by order of king Philip II. explored New Spain for the purpose of becoming better acquainted with its productions. Pisonia, from the Brazilian botanist. Marcgravia, from his fellow labourer in exploring for plants the Portuguese provinces. Coa, from the island that gave birth to Hippocrates. Eresia, from the native place of Theophrastus. Dioscorea, Plinia, Ruellia, Brunfelsia, Fuchsia, Rondeletia, Turnera, Matthiola, Lonicera, Maranta, Dalechampia, Tabernæmontana, Cameraria, Dodonæa, Clusia, Lobelia, Bauhinia, Gerardia, Morisonia, Magnolia, Bromelia, and a number more, were called, by Plumier, from the names of men whom he wished to distinguish and honour.

To his new genera, is added a catalogue of such American plants as he had described, although they were already registered in the Institutes of Tournefort. The figures which illustrate his genera, are minute, numerous and distinct. He may justly be considered as a genius of the first order, a rich contributor to botany, and a great im

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prover of the science, especially in its relation to America. His first edition has been said by some to have appeared as early as 1693.

1705. Maria Sybilla Merian, a Dutch lady, skilled in painting, went to Surinam. Her leading object appears to have been the enlargement of her knowledge of insects. These she delineated with uncommon elegance and fidelity; and as the individuals of the insect species usually frequent some particular plant for food, she has delineated the vegetable infested by the respective animals in equal correctness and beauty. Her work thus became a valuable body of botany. The pine-apple, the manioc, cotton, guava, plantain, vanilla, cacao, potatoe, and many more are delineated in superb style. The work is a folio of unusually large size, and the edition which I examined is in Low Dutch.

1709. A quarto volume, by J. Lawson, is noted in the catalogues of this year. It is entitled, A New Voyage to Carolina, containing the Natural History of the Country. It is reported to abound with useful information respecting plants, and has been often respectfully quoted.

1710. Dierville's relation of a Voyage to Port Royal in Acadia, was printed first at Rouen, and afterward at Amsterdam, in 12mo, but the botanist can gather but little from it.

1712. Edward Cooke's voyage to the South Sea, and round the World, London, 1712, 8vo. contains some good facts on the useful plants of America, and elsewhere, made during his expedition.

1715. Olaus Borrichius, in his Academical Dissertations, published at Copenhagen, mentions a curious fact: a parcel of American earth, brought from Brazil by Prince Maurice of Nassau, produced spontaneously innumerable Brazilian plants ;

and afterward became a soil productive only of the vegetables of Holland.

1716. M. Fresier offered to the public at Paris, his relation of a Voyage to the South Sea, to the coast of Chili, Peru, and Brazil, made during 1712, 1713, and 1714, in 4to. It underwent the usual translations of works in demand, by being turned into English, German, and Dutch. He describes the strawberry of Chili that bears the grand fruit. He observes that the Peruvians called the excellent solanum, not potatoe, as we do, but papas. He was an acute and observing man, acquainted somewhat with mathematics, metallurgy, and other branches of natural knowledge; and he is uniformly careful to describe and delineate some of the more conspicuous and distinguished plants.

1717. In the January number of the Journal de Trevoux, for this year, is contained the memoir of the Jesuit Missionary, Joseph Francis Lafitau, on the ginseng of Canada. It appeared in a separate form at Paris, in 1718. In this traveller's book, entitled Mœurs des Sauvages, compares aux Maurs des Premiers Tems, Paris, 1724, 2 vols. 4to, he makes many remarks on the food of the American indigenes; and as he discusses the articles of maize, manioc, and some other productions at full length, the part of the second volume, which treats of them, may be consulted by the economical and botanical reader.

1719. M. De Quelus, now published at Paris his History of cacao and sugar, derived from a fifteen years' residence in the West Indies. He describes the flower and fruit of the cacao better than Tournefort. He writes like a man of discernment; and adds observations on copaiba, banana, manioc, and other plants.

1720. M. Bachelier, a French surgeon, published, at Paris, in 12mo. a Voyage from Marseilles to

Lima. It is mentioned as a performance remarkable for its botanical errors.

1720. George Crump, an American, published at Leyden, a dissertation de Arundine Americana, ejusque usu. It is a tract on the preparation of sugar.

In the London Philos. Trans. No. 364, there is a Treatise, by Paul Dudley, on the manufacture of maple sugar. In No. 367, an Essay on the poison tree of Carolina, injuring both by contact and odour. And in No. 385, is contained Henry Cane's Tract on the summer fruits of New England.

1721. The Dominican Friar, John Baptist Labat, came out with his voyage to the Antilles, in six French volumes, at Paris; and afterward in eight volumes. He was a busy member of his order, both in Europe and America. A wary and active man; not much acquainted with natural history, but industrious enough to transcribe. Amidst a crowd of other things, more immediately connected with his mission and function, some botanical information occurs: he copies from Du Tertre; yet gives an account of the sugar cane, and of the principal trees that are of importance in diet, medicine, and trade, as observed by himself. As he had visited almost all the Caribbee islands, it may be fairly supposed that his description of annatto, coffee, ginger, and some other vegetable productions, are worthy of credit.

1728. Appeared at Paris, M. Laval's Journal of a Voyage to Louisiana, in 4to. It contains a few botanical notices, as of the efficacy of an extract of simarouba against hemorrhage, and of the copal-balsam distilling from a tree growing on Dauphin Island, in the Mississippi, with some other matters indistinctly told.

1730. This year that worthy and intelligent Englishman, John Cowel, in his curious and practical

Gardener, printed at London, in 8vo, gave considerable information on the culture of plants from America. He appears to have been materially aided by the collection of beautiful plants brought by John . Clarke, from Madeira and Virginia. These, with their histories, Clarke seems to have given to Cowell, and to have published nothing himself.

1730. Sebastian de Rocha Pitta, published at Lisbon a history of Portuguese America, in folio. It contains some notices of manioc, tobacco, rice, the sensitive plant, vanilla, ginger, cacao, and some others.

1730. A physician of Quebec, Michael Sarrazin, published in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences, for this year, his essay on procuring sugar from the maple. He observes, that the best time for collecting the juice is, when the roots are so covered with snow as to freeze during the night, and to thaw during the day; an observation which modern experience confirms. The meadow cup, or side-saddle flower, seems to have been named Sarracenia, in honour of him.

1730. In the Journal de Trevoux, for this year, are contained several pieces of intelligence concerning American botany. Criticisms on the vegetables described by Labat, and on analagous subjects may be seen in the numbers for February, March, and June. It is stated that coffee was first cultivated in Saint Domingo, by Mr. De Pomesnil in 1715.

1731. Mark Catesby's splendid work, the Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, now made its appearance, at London, in superb folio. The first volume came out this year; but the second was not published until 1743. It is composed both in French and English. It contains two hundred figures, highly useful to the lovers of Botany. The representations of the vegetable species are charmingly introduced, and

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