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Until the nineteenth century, the investigation of natural phenomena, plants and animals was considered either the preserve of elite scholars or a pastime for the leisured upper classes. As increasing academic rigour and systematisation was brought to the study of 'natural history', its subdisciplines were adopted into university curricula, and learned societies (such as the Royal Horticultural Society, founded in 1804) were established to support research in these areas. A related development was strong enthusiasm for exotic garden plants, which resulted in plant collecting expeditions to every corner of the globe, sometimes with tragic consequences. This series includes accounts of some of those expeditions, detailed reference works on the flora of different regions, and practical advice for amateur and professional gardeners.

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222 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Botany and Horticulture

Page 1 of 12

My Garden in the Wilderness
  • Kathleen L. Murray
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    19 February 2016
    First published in:
    1915
  • This story of an Indian garden was published in 1915. Its author, Kathleen L. Murray, was living in the remote north-eastern region of Bihar in the home of her brother, an indigo producer, and some of her musings on life and gardening in India had already been published in the periodical The Statesman. She viewed this work not as a guide, but 'merely a rambling record of some years in a garden' which combined European plants such as roses and sweet peas with natives such as cannas and beaumontias. Along with her gardening successes and failures over three years, the book provides insights into the life of the European woman in India - with no employment, and required to be both idle and aloof from the lives of the wider population. Murray's descriptive powers and enthusiasm for her garden make this book both enjoyable and evocative of imperial India.

Experiments and Observations Concerning Agriculture and the Weather
  • William Marshall
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    19 February 2016
    First published in:
    1779
  • William Marshall (1745–1818), from farming stock, became a farmer and then estate manager and land agent after several years conducting business in the West Indies. This 1779 book (one of his earliest) describes his observations and experiments on his farm in Surrey (which he later had to give up because of his partner's bankruptcy). A description of the size, soil type and aspect of his various fields is followed by a summary of the experiments he carried out - mostly simple ones, such as comparing results if seeded fields were rolled or not. Diary records over two years for each crop are given, with areas sown, soil conditions and weather data. A chapter is devoted to weather prognostications, and another to day-to-day farm management and accounts. Marshall hoped that the systematic reporting of his findings would be of use to others, and the work provides interesting insights into the beginnings of scientifically based agriculture.

An Account of the Foxglove, and Some of its Medical Uses
  • With Practical Remarks on Dropsy and Other Diseases
  • William Withering
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    25 September 2014
    First published in:
    1785
  • In 1775, the physician and botanist William Withering (1741–99) was informed of a folk cure for dropsy that had as its active ingredient the plant foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). Ten years later, after thorough trials on more than 150 patients, Withering published this monograph on the medicinal applications of the plant, not least to keep less experienced doctors from administering it to patients without the proper caution, given the plant's toxicity. Withering was the first doctor to employ foxglove as a remedy for congestive heart failure, which is now the primary disease treated by foxglove-derived pharmaceuticals, and the results from his trials broadly reflect those produced by modern physicians. Withering's first major publication, A Botanical Arrangement of All the Vegetables Naturally Growing in Great Britain (1776), which includes observations on the medicinal applications of British plants, is also reissued in this series.

Journal of a Tour in Marocco and the Great Atlas
  • With an Appendix Including a Sketch of the Geology of Marocco
  • Joseph Dalton Hooker, John Ball
  • Assisted by George Maw
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    18 September 2015
    First published in:
    1878
  • This 1878 account of a scientific tour of Morocco and the Atlas mountains in 1871 was compiled from the journals of Sir Joseph Hooker (1817–1911) and his travelling companion, the geologist John Ball (1818–89). Their plan had been for Hooker to publish their findings soon after the journey, but his work as Director of Kew Gardens and President of the Royal Society, and Ball's frequent absences abroad, as well as his own writing commitments, caused delays. However, they argue that their information is unlikely to be out of date when, from a comparison with earlier accounts, 'no notable change is apparent during the last two centuries'. The botanical and geological interests of both men take centre stage in an engaging narrative which provides interesting details about the government, customs and daily life in an area which even in the late nineteenth century was little visited by Europeans.

The American Gardener
  • A Treatise on the Laying-Out of Gardens, on the Making and Managing of Hot-Beds and Green-Houses, and on the Propagation and Cultivation of the Several Sorts of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Flowers
  • William Cobbett
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    18 September 2015
    First published in:
    1821
  • The political writer William Cobbett (1763–1835) was also a farmer 'bred at the plough's tail', who took a keen and observant interest in agriculture and gardening throughout his life. (His Cottage Economy and Rural Rides, among other works, are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.) In 1792 he left England, where his views made him very unpopular, for France and then America, where he lived until 1800; in 1817 he fled to America again, leasing a farm on Long Island for two years. This 1821 book is written in Cobbett's characteristically robust style: his purpose is 'to cause the art of gardening to be better understood and practised than it now is in America'. Cobbett starts by explaining how to establish a garden, discusses soil improvement and the building of hot-beds and greenhouses, and gives instruction on the propagation and cultivation of vegetables, fruit trees, and ornamental plants.

Selected Papers, 1821–38
  • John Stevens Henslow
  • Introduction by J. S. Parker
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1821
  • Professor of botany from 1825 until his death, John Stevens Henslow (1796–1861) revived and greatly advanced the study of plants at Cambridge. His influence helped to make the University Botanic Garden an important centre for teaching and research. Originally published over a period of seventeen years, and now reissued here together, these thirteen papers reveal the impressive breadth of Henslow's scientific knowledge. The first two items, from 1821, address the geology of the Isle of Man and Anglesey respectively, preceding his five-year tenure as chair of mineralogy at Cambridge from 1822. The rest of the papers, dating from 1829 to 1838, address botanical topics. Professor John Parker, Director of Cambridge University Botanic Garden, has provided a new introduction that traces Henslow's developing interests and contextualises the items in this collection. Several of Henslow's other publications, including his Catalogue of British Plants (1829), are reissued separately in this series.

The Miscellaneous Botanical Works of Robert Brown
  • Volume 2
  • Robert Brown
  • Edited by John Joseph Bennett
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1867
  • The botanist Robert Brown (1773–1858) is regarded as one of the most significant figures in the advancement of plant science in the nineteenth century. After studying at Aberdeen and Edinburgh, he made the acquaintance of Sir Joseph Banks via William Withering, and in 1801 was appointed as naturalist on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia. Brown made extensive collections of animals and minerals, but his 3,400 plant specimens from Australia, Tasmania and Timor were the foundation of his work for the rest of his life, as an active member of the Linnean Society, as Banks's librarian, and as an under-librarian in the British Museum. This two-volume collection of his 'miscellaneous botanical works', edited by John J. Bennett, Brown's assistant at the British Museum, was published in 1866–7. It has not been possible to reissue the accompanying quarto volume of plates. Volume 2 contains 'Systematic Memoirs' and 'Contributions to Systematic Works'.

The Vegetable Kingdom
  • Or, the Structure, Classification, and Uses of Plants Illustrated upon the Natural System
  • John Lindley
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1847
  • Employed early in his career by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist John Lindley (1799–1865) is best known for his recommendation that Kew Gardens should become a national botanical institution, and for saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. As an author, he is best remembered for his various works on taxonomy and classification. This work, one of his most famous, was first published in 1846; reissued here is the revised third edition of 1847. Lindley describes his motive as being 'to make his countrymen acquainted with the progress of Systematic Botany abroad' given that the 'superficial and useless system of Linnaeus' was now consigned to history. The work, nonetheless an important milestone in the development of plant taxonomy, gives an overview of the various classification systems used since that of John Ray, and goes on to define the vegetable kingdom in terms of classes and 'alliances' of plants.

Planting and Rural Ornament
  • Being a Second Edition, with Large Additions, of Planting and Ornamental Gardening: A Practical Treatise
  • Volume 2
  • William Marshall
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    26 March 2015
    First published in:
    1796
  • William Marshall (1745–1818), an experienced farmer and land agent, published this work in 1795, and early in 1796 produced a second edition (reissued here), 'with large additions'. The two-volume work was intended as a practical guide for the owners or managers of large estates on how to establish and maintain timber plantations, both for their financial value and also as important decorative elements in the landscaping of the surroundings of the owner's house. The work covers the practical issues of planting, propagating and transplanting, and discusses the choice of trees for different commercial purposes, and the planning and maintenance of hedgerows, as well as ornamental buildings. Volume 2 begins with an account of the Linnaean system of plant classification and its sexual basis, and supplies both an alphabetical list of trees and shrubs in their Latin Linnaean classes, and an index of plants under their English names.

The Annals of My Village
  • Being a Calendar of Nature, for Every Month in the Year
  • Mary Roberts
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    26 March 2015
    First published in:
    1831
  • The writer Mary Roberts (1788–1864) developed an interest in natural history while growing up in the Gloucestershire countryside. This work of observations on wildlife, plants and the weather, though written while she was living in the village of Sheepscombe, near Painswick, was not published until 1831, some time after she had moved to London with her widowed mother and was a published author. Each chapter is devoted to a month of the year, and Roberts' acute observation of nature is enhanced by her considerable knowledge: she cites Withering and Cuvier (both also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection) as her reference sources for plants and animals respectively. Her motive is 'a sincere desire to interest the dwellers among rural scenes in the … natural objects that surround them', and there is plenty to interest the modern reader in this charming account of the ecology of a remote rural hamlet.

The Miscellaneous Botanical Works of Robert Brown
  • Volume 1
  • Robert Brown
  • Edited by John Joseph Bennett
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1866
  • The botanist Robert Brown (1773–1858) is regarded as one of the most significant figures in the advancement of plant science in the nineteenth century. After studying at Aberdeen and Edinburgh, he made the acquaintance of Sir Joseph Banks via William Withering, and in 1801 was appointed as naturalist on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia. Brown made extensive collections of animals and minerals, but his 3,400 plant specimens from Australia, Tasmania and Timor were the foundation of his work for the rest of his life, as an active member of the Linnean Society, as Banks's librarian, and as an under-librarian in the British Museum. This two-volume collection of his 'miscellaneous botanical works', edited by John J. Bennett, Brown's assistant at the British Museum, was published in 1866–7. It has not been possible to reissue the accompanying quarto volume of plates. Volume 1 contains 'Geographico-Botanical Memoirs' and 'Structural and Physiological Memoirs'.

Ladies' Botany
  • Or, a Familiar Introduction to the Study of the Natural System of Botany
  • Volume 1
  • John Lindley
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1834
  • The horticulturalist John Lindley (1799–1865) worked for Sir Joseph Banks, and was later instrumental in saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. He was a prolific author of works for gardening practitioners but also for a non-specialist readership, and many of his books have been reissued in this series. The first volume of this two-volume work was published in 1834, and the second in 1837. At a time when botany was regarded as the only science suitable for study by women and girls, Lindley felt that there was a lack of books for 'those who would become acquainted with Botany as an amusement and a relaxation', and attempted to meet this need. The first volume, in the form of engaging letters to a lady, was originally intended to stand alone. Illustrated with detailed botanical drawings, it schools the student in botanical form and taxonomy as well as nomenclature.

An Introduction to the Natural System of Botany
  • Or, a Systematic View of the Organisation, Natural Affinities, and Geographical Distribution, of the Whole Vegetable Kingdom
  • John Lindley
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1830
  • Employed early in his career by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist John Lindley (1799–1865) is best known for his recommendation that Kew Gardens should become a national botanical institution, and for saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. As an author, he is best remembered for his works on taxonomy and classification. A partisan of the 'natural' system of Jussieu rather than the Linnaean, Lindley writes, in his preface to this 1830 work, that it was originally created for his own use, to avoid having recourse to 'rare, costly and expensive publications' available only in the libraries of the wealthy. His intention is to give a 'systematic view of the organisation, natural affinities, and geographical distribution of the whole vegetable kingdom', as well as of the uses of plants 'in medicine, the arts, and rural or domestic economy'. The work is important in the history of taxonomy.

Memoirs and Memories
  • Maria Theresa Villiers Earle
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    12 March 2015
    First published in:
    1911
  • Mrs C. W. Earle (1836–1925) was born into the minor aristocracy as Maria Theresa Villiers. After training as an artist, she married Captain C. W. Earle, who inherited family wealth which enabled a comfortable lifestyle with a town house in London and a small property with a large garden in Surrey. Earle's designs for her garden were much admired by her circle, and she was encouraged to write down her gardening advice. She published three volumes of Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden (also reissued in this series) between 1897 and 1903, but these works were not restricted to gardening, and contained thoughts on travel and art, and also on the importance of diet to health. Published in 1911, these reminiscences are dedicated to her grandchildren, and contain her parents' history as well as her own memories of a privileged upbringing among the literary and artistic giants of mid-Victorian England.

The Parks, Promenades and Gardens of Paris
  • Described and Considered in Relation to the Wants of our Own Cities
  • William Robinson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    13 November 2014
    First published in:
    1869
  • The innovative gardener and writer William Robinson (1838–1935), many of whose other works are reissued in this series, was sent by The Times as its horticultural correspondent to the Paris International Exposition of 1867. As a result of his visit, he produced two books, one on gardening trends in France, and this work of 1869 on the parks and gardens of Paris and its environs (including Versailles), and on the fruit and vegetable farming which fed the famous Parisian food markets such as Les Halles. Robinson admired especially the small planted open spaces, squares and courtyards in Paris, which had no equivalent in London, and which he claimed were 'saving [its inhabitants] from pestilential overcrowding, and making their city something besides a place for all to live out of who can afford it'. This highly illustrated work will interest not only historians of horticulture but also lovers of Paris.

A Botanical Arrangement of All the Vegetables Naturally Growing in Great Britain
  • With Descriptions of the Genera and Species, According to the System of the Celebrated Linnaeus
  • Volume 2
  • William Withering
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1776
  • This two-volume milestone work, published in 1776, was the first major publication of William Withering (1741–99), a physician who had also trained as an apothecary (his Account of the Foxglove, and Some of its Medical Uses is also reissued in this series). The first systematic botanical guide to British native plants, the present work uses and extends the Linnaean system of classification, but renders the genera and species 'familiar to those who are unacquainted with the Learned Languages'. Withering offers 'an easy introduction to the study of botany', explaining the markers by which the plants are classified in a particular genus, and giving advice on preserving specimens, but the bulk of the work consists of botanical descriptions (in English) of the appearance, qualities, varieties, common English names, and uses of hundreds of plants. The book continued to be revised and reissued for almost a century after Withering's death.

Cocoa
  • All about It
  • Richard Cadbury
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    13 November 2014
    First published in:
    1892
  • In Britain, the name of Cadbury has been synonymous with chocolate ever since John Cadbury opened his factory in 1831. This book, written by Richard Cadbury (1835–99) under the pen name 'Historicus', was published in 1892. It describes the natural history of the tropical American cocoa plant, its spread in cultivation across the world, and the history of its use. He also deals with the manufacturing process, as exemplified by the Cadbury factory at Bournville, surrounded by the model housing and leisure facilities which the family built for its workers. The processing of cocoa beans into solid and drinking chocolate is described in detail, with emphasis on the developments in machinery which simplified production. A chapter deals with the importance of the vanilla plant for flavouring, and an appendix gives guidance on the cultivation of cocoa trees. This remains a fascinating account of one of the world's most popular indulgences.

Elements of Botany
  • Structural, Physiological, Systematical, and Medical
  • John Lindley
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1841
  • Employed early in his career by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist John Lindley (1799–1865) is best known for his recommendation that Kew Gardens should become a national botanical institution, and for saving the Royal Horticultural Society from financial disaster. As an author, he is best remembered for his works on taxonomy and classification. A partisan of the 'natural' system rather than the Linnaean, Lindley published this 1841 work, the fourth edition of his Outline of the First Principles of Botany, under a new title to emphasise not only that it was 'much extended, and, it is hoped, improved', but also that it was a textbook for students of 'structural, physiological, systematical, and medical' botany. He defines the different elements of a plant, and provides a checklist for identification of plant families, before discussing the various 'natural' systems of classification, including his own, and the different practical uses of plants.

A Botanical Arrangement of All the Vegetables Naturally Growing in Great Britain
  • With Descriptions of the Genera and Species, According to the System of the Celebrated Linnaeus
  • Volume 1
  • William Withering
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1776
  • This two-volume milestone work, published in 1776, was the first major publication of William Withering (1741–99), a physician who had also trained as an apothecary (his Account of the Foxglove, and Some of its Medical Uses is also reissued in this series). The first systematic botanical guide to British native plants, the present work uses and extends the Linnaean system of classification, but renders the genera and species 'familiar to those who are unacquainted with the Learned Languages'. Withering offers 'an easy introduction to the study of botany', explaining the markers by which the plants are classified in a particular genus, and giving advice on preserving specimens, but the bulk of the work consists of botanical descriptions (in English) of the appearance, qualities, varieties, common English names, and uses of hundreds of plants. The book continued to be revised and reissued for almost a century after Withering's death.

More Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden
  • Maria Theresa Villiers Earle
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    29 January 2015
    First published in:
    1899
  • Mrs C. W. Earle (1836–1925) was born into the minor aristocracy as Maria Theresa Villiers. After training as an artist, she married Captain C. W. Earle, who inherited family property which enabled a comfortable lifestyle with a town house in London and a small property with a large garden in Surrey. Earle's designs for her garden were much admired by her artistic and literary circle, and she was encouraged to write down her gardening advice. This work, published in 1899, followed on from the success of her Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden (1897). It contains a similar collection of writings on gardening, cookery, travel and art, in chapters which follow the horticultural year from September to August. An introductory section describes with verve and good humour the critical reception of Earle's earlier book, and her reasons for writing another.

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