1797-1804. 'Plantarum Eariorum Horti Caesarei
Schoenbrunnensis.' These four superb folios, containing
five hundred spotless plates by Jacquin, represent some
of his very finest work. The plates are all coloured, in a
much stronger and more finished way than in his other
books. Some of the plates are folded and larger than the
book, and others extend across the whole width of the
book. As an example of the richness of the plates I
will describe one taken at random, which he calls Vitis
vulpina. The shoot of the vine starts from a short piece
of stronger branch at the very top of the page, and curves
to the bottom, turning up at the end with young leaves
and tendrils. This young shoot has two bunches of the
flower as it appears in spring. Quite at the top, on the
right, is a detached autumn leaf turning red, and drawn
from the back with every vein showing. Half-way down,
on the left, is a bunch of ripe purple grapes ; with one pip,
drawn life-size, at the side. Below this is a single flower,
highly magnified, with a drawing apart showing pistil and
stamen. There are ten life-sized leaves on the branch,
and the whole is contained on an unfolded plate. A short
botanical description of each plant is added in Latin.
The hand-made paper on which these plates are printed
puts to shame all that we now produce. Many of the
plants are named differently from what they are now.
To those who have never seen Jacquin's works these
MARCH 67
volumes are an absolute revelation. At the same time
his genius will always appeal more to the artistic than to
the scientific mind, although in the biographical notices
of him that I have seen he is only mentioned as a doctor
and a botanist. At the Natural History Museum is a
large and much-valued collection of his letters and original
drawings.
1794. ' Thirty-eight Plates with explanations, intended
to illustrate Linnaeus' system of vegetables, and par-
ticularly adapted to the letters on the elements of Botany.
By Thomas Martin, Kegius Professor of Botany in the
University of Cambridge.' These plates are beautifully
drawn, and exemplify very well the careful draughtsman-
ship of a botanist of the day. They are most faithfully
hand coloured, and are only inferior to the best from a
little want of gradation.
1794. I have the ' Life of Sir Charles Linnaeus, by
D. H. Stoever, translated from the original German by
Joseph Trapp.' It is, I believe, the only biography of him
ever written. To this is added a copious list of his works
and a biographical sketch of his son, whose life is an in-
teresting example of talents shared by a father and son.
The son, who died unmarried at the early age of forty-one,
seems to have been a brilliant and much-loved individual.
Trapp dedicates his translation to the Linnaean Society
of London. It contains a portrait of the elder Linnaeus,
a cheerful, bright, up-looking profile, with the curly wig
of the day, and a large branch stuck in his buttonhole, as
was not uncommon in the portraits of botanists. He was
born in 1707, was the son of a Swedish minister, and the
grandson of a peasant. His industry and energy must
have been exceptional, and he chose truth as his guide.
His first book was the ' Flora of Lapland,' which was
perhaps the reason why that little Northern flower, Linnea
borealis, is the plant that has received his great name.
F 2
68 POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN
Page 40
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
A modernized reading is not available for this page yet. You are seeing the original text.
1797-1804. 'Plantarum Eariorum Horti Caesarei
Schoenbrunnensis.' These four superb folios, containing
five hundred spotless plates by Jacquin, represent some
of his very finest work. The plates are all coloured, in a
much stronger and more finished way than in his other
books. Some of the plates are folded and larger than the
book, and others extend across the whole width of the
book. As an example of the richness of the plates I
will describe one taken at random, which he calls Vitis
vulpina. The shoot of the vine starts from a short piece
of stronger branch at the very top of the page, and curves
to the bottom, turning up at the end with young leaves
and tendrils. This young shoot has two bunches of the
flower as it appears in spring. Quite at the top, on the
right, is a detached autumn leaf turning red, and drawn
from the back with every vein showing. Half-way down,
on the left, is a bunch of ripe purple grapes ; with one pip,
drawn life-size, at the side. Below this is a single flower,
highly magnified, with a drawing apart showing pistil and
stamen. There are ten life-sized leaves on the branch,
and the whole is contained on an unfolded plate. A short
botanical description of each plant is added in Latin.
The hand-made paper on which these plates are printed
puts to shame all that we now produce. Many of the
plants are named differently from what they are now.
To those who have never seen Jacquin's works these
MARCH 67
volumes are an absolute revelation. At the same time
his genius will always appeal more to the artistic than to
the scientific mind, although in the biographical notices
of him that I have seen he is only mentioned as a doctor
and a botanist. At the Natural History Museum is a
large and much-valued collection of his letters and original
drawings.
1794. ' Thirty-eight Plates with explanations, intended
to illustrate Linnaeus' system of vegetables, and par-
ticularly adapted to the letters on the elements of Botany.
By Thomas Martin, Kegius Professor of Botany in the
University of Cambridge.' These plates are beautifully
drawn, and exemplify very well the careful draughtsman-
ship of a botanist of the day. They are most faithfully
hand coloured, and are only inferior to the best from a
little want of gradation.
1794. I have the ' Life of Sir Charles Linnaeus, by
D. H. Stoever, translated from the original German by
Joseph Trapp.' It is, I believe, the only biography of him
ever written. To this is added a copious list of his works
and a biographical sketch of his son, whose life is an in-
teresting example of talents shared by a father and son.
The son, who died unmarried at the early age of forty-one,
seems to have been a brilliant and much-loved individual.
Trapp dedicates his translation to the Linnaean Society
of London. It contains a portrait of the elder Linnaeus,
a cheerful, bright, up-looking profile, with the curly wig
of the day, and a large branch stuck in his buttonhole, as
was not uncommon in the portraits of botanists. He was
born in 1707, was the son of a Swedish minister, and the
grandson of a peasant. His industry and energy must
have been exceptional, and he chose truth as his guide.
His first book was the ' Flora of Lapland,' which was
perhaps the reason why that little Northern flower, Linnea
borealis, is the plant that has received his great name.
F 2
68 POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN