Cambridge Library Collection - Botany and

These 1801 and 1802 catalogues form the earliest evidence of the considerable holdings of plants at the Glasnevin Botanic Gardens.

This 1823 book on container gardening combines practical advice with quotations on gardening and flowers from ancient and modern authors.

Reissued in its 1779 third edition, this work provides the educated traveller with advice on collecting and preserving scientific specimens.

This 1928 highly illustrated two-volume work on garden design is regarded as among the most important surveys of its kind.

This textbook, by the distinguished botanist Sir Joseph Hooker (1817-1911), is here reissued in the third edition of 1884.

A detailed 1838 guide to suburban living, with instructions for acquiring or building a 'villa', and laying out its grounds.

Samuel Beeton (1831-77) published this comprehensive guide to flower, vegetable and fruit gardening in 1874.

Published 1796-1800, this five-volume work records the contents of the extensive library belonging to the naturalist Sir Joseph Banks.

The 1771 sixth edition of the abridged version of an influential horticultural text, ranging widely from agriculture to winemaking.

The 1908 two-volume narrative of unprecedented botanical exploration in South America, the fruits of which are still significant.

An 1872 account of travels in South and Central America, including observations on the cultivation of the rubber tree.

This 1774 tract by a botanist and London agent for Dominica considers the characteristics, cultivation and uses of coffee.

An account published in 1789 of the voyage of the First Fleet to Australia by a sailor on the expedition.

The 1800 second edition of a Latin botanical catalogue of North Africa, reissued with two illustrated volumes combined into one.

The 1800 second edition of a Latin botanical catalogue of North Africa, reissued with two illustrated volumes combined into one.

The 1800 second edition of a Latin botanical catalogue of North Africa, reissued with two illustrated volumes combined into one.

A single-volume reissue of two 1858 guides to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, by their first full-time director.

First published in 1885, this investigation of the ice ages questions well-established contemporary theories in botany, geology and physics.

The author of pioneering works on the plant families Euphorbiaceae and Malpighiaceae, French botanist Adrien de Jussieu (1797–1853), from a famous family of scientists, became professor of botany at the Paris Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in 1826. The author of several specialised monographs, he is best known for his Botanique: Cours élémentaire d'histoire naturelle (1842), an exhaustive introduction to botany originally intended for use in French schools. This much acclaimed book went through twelve editions between 1842 and 1884, and was translated into many languages. This English translation, completed while he was still an Oxford student by the young British botanist James Hewetson Wilson (1826–50), was first published in 1849. It contains additional descriptions of the different systems and structures that clarify de Jussieu's terminology, as well as an appendix on geology.

Richard Pulteney (1730–1801) was a Leicestershire physician whose medical career suffered both from a lack of aristocratic patronage and from his dissenting religious background. However, his lifelong interest in botany and natural history, and particularly his work on the new Linnaean system of botanical classification, led to publications in the Gentleman's Magazine and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1762. His book on Linnaeus (also reissued in this series), first published in 1782, was later considered to be of great significance for the acceptance in England of the Linnaean system, and this two-volume work, published in 1790, is still relevant to the study of the history of botany. Volume 1 begins in 'primaeval' and 'druidical' times and continues to the seventeenth century, including the first printed herbals and the work of the great botanist John Ray.

Richard Pulteney (1730–1801) was a Leicestershire physician whose medical career suffered both from a lack of aristocratic patronage and from his dissenting religious background. However, his lifelong interest in botany and natural history, and particularly his work on the new Linnaean system of botanical classification, led to publications in the Gentleman's Magazine and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1762. His book on Linnaeus (also reissued in this series), first published in 1782, was later considered to be of great significance for the acceptance in England of the Linnaean system, and this two-volume work, published in 1790, is still relevant to the study of the history of botany. Volume 2 includes the development of botanical gardens, famous figures such as Dillenius and Sherard, and the study of botany in Scotland and Ireland.

Richard Pulteney (1730–1801) was a botanist and physician, influential in promoting the Linnaean system of classification in England. This 1790 two-volume examination of the development of botanical s

John Stevens Henslow (1796–1861), professor of botany at Cambridge University and Anglican clergyman, is best remembered for his role as a mentor to Charles Darwin. First published in 1862, this biography by Henslow's colleague and brother-in-law, Leonard Jenyns, pays tribute to a man he describes as one of the most remarkable of his time. Through vivid accounts of times spent with Henslow both in the university and on travels around Britain, he paints a portrait of a modest and conscientious man, whose pursuits were intended solely for the benefit of others. Recounting Henslow's scientific work and religious endeavours, Jenyns also explores his pioneering contribution to botany and geology, his assistance to the farmers and the poor of his parish, and the role of his faith in his work. Compiled with help from Darwin and other colleagues, Jenyns' memoir provides a unique insight into an important figure in scientific history.

For those engaged in research on Darwin or his circle, the Darwin Library is an invaluable resource. Originally donated by Darwin's son Francis to the library of the Botany School and now deposited in Cambridge University Library, it contains handwritten scribbles on book pages, note-filled scraps of paper pinned to back covers and personal inscriptions from mentors such as J. S. Henslow. First published in 1908, this catalogue to the Darwin Library collection, with an introduction by Francis Darwin, provides a gateway into Darwin's thought, research and intellectual context via his personal books and pamphlets. The book lists works in English and other languages, and contains bibliographic information, including the original publisher and date of publication, together with details of translations.

When she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1946, Agnes Arber (1879–1960) was one of only three women to have been admitted into the institution. Arber conducted research that focused mainly on the morphology of flowering plants, but her work is characterised by its explorations of historical botany and evolution. First published in 1950, this book widens the scope of morphology into a study of all aspects of form across the whole chronology of botany. Arber begins with Aristotle and investigates the work of early modern botanists like Bacon and Goethe, before examining the effects of this wider approach on subjects like evolution and taxonomy. Arguing that post-Darwinian doctrine often causes botanists to twist their observations to suit a hypothetical history of phylogenesis, rather than changing the hypothesis to suit observational facts, this bold and fascinating text will interest students of biology and philosophy alike.

When botanist Leonard Cockayne (1855–1934) first received an invitation from the German publisher Engelmann to write an account of the botany of New Zealand, much of it was still unknown. He spent the period from 1904 to 1913 immersed in fieldwork, and his first edition was not published until 1921. In this 1928 second edition Cockayne extensively updates the text, adding the results of further research from the intervening years. This work gives detailed descriptions of New Zealand's plant life, but Cockayne also considers the history of botanical study of the islands, from Captain Cook's voyages in the eighteenth century onwards, and includes the arrival of colonial plant collectors and an overview of important publications by New Zealand botanists. The descriptions of vegetation cover the sea coast, the lowlands, mountains, and outlying islands, and there are extensive photographs, offering a comprehensive guide to New Zealand's botany.