Common everywhere in marshy grounds, and known to most people by the peculiar cry represented in the name. The young ones are particularly fond of being in the bottom of deep ditches and drains, squatting down close to the ground.
The King–fisher(Alcedo ispida), i., 46.
Cheadle, Urmston, Flixton, and elsewhere in those directions, by all the tributaries of the Mersey. A beautiful but very timid bird, darting with great speed, its glossy green back glancing quick as thought.—(See, in reference to the Lancashire localities, theManchester Guardianof Feb. 4th, 1882.)
The Moor–hen, or Water–hen(Gallinula chloropus), v., 247.
Common by old pits. Many breed on the ponds in Dunham Park, where we cannot go in the summerwithout seeing them in companies of four or five, their little white tails cocked up, and looking as if they were swimming on their necks.
The Great Crested Grebe(Colymbus cristatus), v., 294.
On all the Cheshire meres, Tatton, Tabley, Rostherne, &c.
The Little Grebe, or Dab–chick(Colymbus Hebridicus), v., 298.
Common on the Cheshire meres.
The Nuthatch(Sitta Europæa), i., 60.
Dunham Park, but only a few.
The Ringdove, Cushat, or Wood–pigeon(Columba palumbus), iii., 164.
Breeds in the woods in Trafford Park and about Chat Moss; plentiful about Urmston, though rather rare in the district generally.
The Stockdove(Columba ænas), iii., 165.
Very scarce. Marple Wood.—(On the Lancashire localities, seeManchester Guardian, Jan. 21, 1882.)
The Red Grouse(Lagopus Scoticus), iii., 172.
On the moors.
The Common Partridge(Perdrix cinerea), iii., 174.
Upon farm–land, common.
The Wild Duck(Anas Boschas), v., 270.
This bird breeds on Carrington Moss, Chat Moss, and in many other places.
The Common Heron(Ardea cinerea), iv., 197.
In theManchester Guardianof December 28, 1881, it is stated that there is a heronry “within about fourteen miles of the Exchange,” and that within forty miles of Manchester there are a dozen other stations for this beautiful and celebrated bird. The former is probably that one which it is further stated has existed since 1871 in Tabley Park, though the older stations, Dunham Park, Oulton Park, and the trees near the water at Arley Hall, have long since been deserted.—(Videalso theGuardianof March 18th, 1882.)
The Wheat–ear(Sylvia Œnanthe), iii., 142.
The earliest of our summer visitants, coming by the end of March, but staying in the fields not longer than two or three weeks, when it moves off to the mountainous districts to breed. Very fond of placing its nest in deserted rabbit–holes, and in cavities in old stone walls.
The Grasshopper Warbler(Sylvia locustella), iii., 143.
No one who has heard this bird can ever forget it, the note resembling the voice of the grasshopper, but prolonged into a whirr, like the noise of a spinning–wheel. Towards midnight, when all other birds are still, if approached, it will begin. Found hauntingthickets and hedge–bottoms, but rather uncommon, and rarely seen, though often heard, on account of its habit of running among the low brushwood.
The Sedge Warbler(Sylvia salicaria), iii., 145.
Common by the sides of pitsteads. This is the bird so often mistaken in our neighbourhood for the nightingale. No bird takes more care to let us know of its presence; the moment it is disturbed, it begins to sing.
The Black–cap Warbler(Sylvia atricapilla), iii., 150.
A most beautiful song–bird, and common in woods. When it arrives, it is fond of mounting high into the trees; the males, like most of the warblers, coming a week or two before the females, and selecting a station, where they sing until their mates arrive.
The Garden Warbler(Sylvia hortensis), iii., 152.
Unlike the preceding, this bird never gets up high into the trees to sing, nor does it care to warble until the female arrives, when its lovely trill is heard plentifully in the low bushes. It will build in gardens among peas. Common in Hough–end Clough and about Urmston.
The Common Whitethroat(Sylvia cinerea), iii., 153.
Common everywhere, and apt to warble when on the wing, springing up out of the hedge, with its jar–jar–jar, jee–jee–jee, and in a minute or two diving down into it again.
The Less Whitethroat(Sylvia sylvicella), iii., 154.
Rare about Manchester, building in hedges a large and clumsy nest, similar to that of a greenfinch. The song is given only from the very heart of thick–foliaged trees.
The Wood Warbler, or Wood Wren(Sylvia sylvicola), iii., 155.
A very lovely little bird; its song, or trill, a repetition of two notes, and its nest very hard to find. While singing, it sits on the bough and seems to tremble, the wings being quivered elegantly.
The Whinchat(Sylvia rubetra), iii., 141.
A common little bird, breeding everywhere, usually selecting uncultivated lands, and sometimes hay–fields, but always having its nest upon the ground. About Urmston it is known as the “utic,” from its peculiar cry, “tic, tic, utic.” In habits sprightly and cheerful, popping about for ever from one spray to another.
The Willow Warbler, or Willow Wren(Sylvia Trochilus), iii., 156.
This little fellow is common in most places,—woods, gardens, hedgerows,—choosing the top of the trees to sing in. It ceases to sing after pairing, devoting itself to the construction of its large nest, which is usually protected with a lid, and built of grass, moss, and feathers. In the summer of 1858, Edward Jacques found a nest in Hough–end Clough, with adead blackbird alongside, from which the feathers had all been plucked, and used in the construction. Nowhere is it more numerous or happy than about Urmston, arriving clean as a daisy, after its journey of a thousand miles or more.
The Chiff–chaff(Sylvia rufa), iii., 158.
This little creature, which is one of the smallest of the warblers, arrives a trifle later, or about the middle of March, when it at once begins its cry in the very highest branches it can find of the tallest poplars and fir–trees, perching itself on the topmost pinnacle. Not common about Manchester generally, though plentiful in Marple Wood. First it cries “chiff,” then “chaff,” then “chaff” and “chiff” alternately.
The White Wag–tail(Motacilla alba), ii., 81.
Arrives at the end of March or the beginning of April, but does not appear to breed in our neighbourhood.
The Yellow Wag–tail(Motacilla flava), ii., 84.
Common in open fields, building its nest among young corn, and in hay–grass. Like all the other wag–tails, a bird of very poor song, but singularly gentle and affectionate. It arrives the last week in March, apparently all the better for its journey, the plumage being often more clean and beautiful the day of arrival than at any later period.
The Redstart(Sylvia phœnicurus), iii., 138.
Formerly very common in Hulme, Chorlton, and Withington, but now become scarce, being shy intemperament, and retiring before the advance of population. Plentiful in the rural parts of Cheshire. To get a full view of a redstart is also very difficult, as it is for ever dodging behind a branch, and, as the name implies, is never still.
The Tree Pipit(Anthus arboreus), ii., 88.
A lively bird, arriving at the beginning of April, and commencing to sing immediately. Common, building its nest on the ground, and laying the most variously coloured eggs, some being blood–red and others deep black.
The Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus), ii., 71.
Arrives abundantly about the 27th of April, remaining until about August, though young birds of the year have been found in October. However disregardful of its young, the cuckoo makes ample amends in its conjugal fidelity, for when one of either sex is seen, you may be quite sure that its mate is not far off.
The Wryneck, or Cuckoo’s Mate(Yunx Torquilla), ii., 61.
Rare, coming mostly with the cuckoo, which it somewhat resembles.
The Swallow(Hirundo rustica), ii., 76.
Common and familiar everywhere. Social, harmless, and useful, and perhaps as much beloved as the robin itself, if only because of its fondness for human habitations.
The House Martin(Hirundo riparia), ii., 79.
Common and familiar, and, like the swallow, always welcome. This odd bird often takes for the foundation of its nest one constructed the previous year by the swallow. The swallow’s nest is open at the top. The house–martin likes to have a roof or lid, so goes on with the one it adopts till finished to its own fancy, keeping only an aperture for ingress.
The Sand Martin(Hirundo urbica), ii., 78.
Comes in spring from North Africa and Malta, then common everywhere in sand–banks, in which it excavates horizontal galleries. It never alights on the ground, but gathers the blades of green grass used for the nest while on the wing, and in the same way collects the feathers for lining it.
The Dotterel(Charadrius morinellus), iv., 187.
This bird visits us in the beginning of May, arriving in large flocks. It is very tame, silly, and easily approached. If a fowler once gets among them, he may shoot the whole before they take alarm. It remains only for three or four days or a week, and then moves on to its breeding stations among the mountains in the north.—(On the Lancashire localities, seeManchester Guardian, Feb. 25, 1882.)
The Spotted Fly–catcher(Muscicapa grisola), i., 44.
Common, making its appearance in the middle of May, building in gardens and woods, and generally choosing very odd situations for the nest. Remarkablefor the constancy of its return to the same old dead tree or rail, or old and ivied wall. After its long aërial sail it seems well content also to stop there till the time for departure in autumn. “From morn till dewy eve” it keeps in its chosen place, though incessantly darting out to secure a fly.
The Pied Fly–catcher(Muscicapa luctuosa), i., 43.
This bird has been seen frequently between Middleton and Oldham, where also it builds its nest, choosing old trees.
The Common Sand–piper(Tringa hypoleucos), iv., 217.
Tolerably common on the banks of the Mersey at Northen, and thence down the river.
The Land–rail, or Corn–crake(Crex pratensis), v., 242.
Common everywhere in hay and corn–fields. The voice of the corn–crake has in it something so nearly akin to ventriloquism that the birds themselves are rarely where we seem to hear them, furnishing in summer much pleasant amusement.
The Spotted Crake, or Gallinew(Crex porzana), v., 243.
These birds haunt the pit–bottoms, and cannot be got without a good dog; hence they appear to be less common than they really are.
The Common Quail(Perdrix coturnix), iii., 178.
Occasionally met with, and no doubt breeds, like the partridge, which it resembles, in open fields. Itmay be known by its peculiar cry in summer evenings,But–me–but! But–me–but!
The Common Dipper(Cinclus aquaticus), iii., 123.
The only place in the neighbourhood known to be visited by this curious bird is Stalybridge Brushes, from which nests and eggs have several times been brought. At home only in and about brooks and streams in mountainous districts, it generally builds its nests under the ledge of a cascade on rocks perfectly wet, having to go through the curtain of water to reach it. When wishing to feed, it goes to the bottom of the water, there walking about like a diver.—(On the Lancashire localities, see theManchester Guardian, Feb. 4, 1882.)
The Ring Ouzel(Turdus torquatus), iii., 132.
Builds every summer in Stalybridge Brushes; occasionally about Withington. Remarkable for its loud and beautiful song.
The Field–fare(Turdus pilaris), iii., 125.
A common winter visitor, breeding in Norway and Sweden, and one of the eminently social birds, always travelling in large companies. Comes about the end of October, and leaves again not later than the beginning of April.
The Redwing(Turdus iliacus), iii., 126.
The habits of this bird are the same as those of the field–fare, with which it comes and goes.
The Siskin(Carduelis spinus), ii., 109.
The siskin visits us in November and December, but sometimes not for seven or eight years together, though coming plentifully when it chooses to make its appearance.
The Mealy Red–pole(Linaria canescens), ii., 112.
Comes and goes in flocks with the siskins, and at equally long and uncertain intervals.
The Common Snipe(Scolopax Gallinago), iv., 227.
Abundant, haunting old brick–pits and unfrozen brooks; plentiful about Gorton, Belle Vue, and Cheetham Hill.
The Jack Snipe(Scolopax Gallinula), iv., 228.
A smaller bird than the common snipe; not so plentiful, but often seen in company with it.
The Woodcock(Scolopax rusticola), iv., 225.
Formerly very plentiful about Hough–end, but now rare, owing to the filling up of the pits and the clearing away of the brushwood.
Several of the birds named below are permanent residents in the British Islands, and others are regular visitors to this country. They are put in the present place because seen near Manchester only at uncertain intervals, or as casuals, the only one that can be looked for with any degree of probability, being the sea–gull.The visits, as will be seen from the dates, have in some cases occurred at periods so far back, that except for completeness’ sake, they would scarcely be worth mention. I quote them from standard works upon ornithology, and from the late Mr. John Blackwall’s paper upon the migrations of Manchester birds in the “Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society for 1822,” the observations having been made during the eight years 1814–1821.
The Little Crake(Crex pusilla), v., 244.
One at Ardwick in 1807.
The Golden Oriole(Oriolus galbula), iii., 133.
One near Manchester in 1811.
The Ortolan(Emberiza hortulana), ii., 101.
One near Manchester in 1827.
The Crossbill(Loxia curvirostra), ii., 116.
About the year 1840, in the month of August, a large flock of these birds, old and young in company, visited Hough–end Clough for a few hours. Mr. Blackwall gives as its Manchester period, August 5th to November 19th.
The Chatterer(Ampelis garrulus), i., 59.
In Mr. Blackwall’s list.
The Hoopoe(Upupa epops), i., 49.
In Mr. Blackwall’s list.
The Red–backed Shrike(Lanius collurio), i., 34.
Sometimes seen in the summer.
The Great Shrike(Lanius excubitor), i., 33.
In Mr. Blackwall’s list, and was seen at Cheadle about 1850. (On the Lancashire localities of the three species of Lanius, see theManchester Guardianfor March 11th, 1882.)
The Merlin(Falco æsalon), i., 16.
In Mr. Blackwall’s list. (On the Lancashire localities, seeManchester Guardian, January 14th, 1882.)
The Dusky Grebe(Colymbus obscurus), v., 296.
Once near Manchester.
Bewick’s Swan(Cygnus Bewickii), v., 262.
A flock of twenty–nine at Crumpsall on December 10th, 1829, and another of seventy–three at the same place, February 28th, 1830.
The Little Bittern(Ardea minuta), iv., 205.
A very shy and sulky little bird, sitting all of a heap, and looking like a bit of brown stump.
The Common Bittern(Botaurus stellaris), iv., 204.
The Great or Solitary Snipe(Scolopax major), iv., 226.
Has been seen at Urmston.
The Nightingale(Sylvia Luscinia), iii., 147.
The visit of the nightingales to our neighbourhood will long be remembered by those who heard their song.It took place in 1863. The first came to Wilmslow early in May, establishing itself in the little grove near the end of Bollin Hall Park, on the Manchester side of the railway viaduct. For several weeks it sang nightly, and the crowds of people who were attracted by the fame of the bird from distances of many miles, at last became quite a trouble to that usually quiet neighbourhood. The second took up its lodging in a grove close to the Strines Printworks, where, says Mr. Joel Wainwright,[31]no greater sensation was ever caused by a little thing. It began at ten every night, and continued almost uninterruptedly until three a.m. A third is said to have visited a plantation adjacent to the railway station at Sale, but over this one there may possibly have been an error.
The Snow Bunting(Emberiza nivalis), ii., 95.
Occasionally visits us in severe winters, breeding in Norway and Sweden.
The Mountain Finch, or Brambling(Fringilla montifringilla), ii., 103.
Visits us from the north in winter time, but rarely.
The Pectoral Sand–piper(Tringa pectoralis), iv., 239.
Once by a pit near the White House, Stretford Road.
The Common Wild Goose(Anser palustris), v., 251.
A flock of these birds was once seen feeding in a field at Withington.
The Wild Swan(Cygnus ferus), v., 261.
One preserved in the Peel Park Museum was shot near Bolton. Occasionally seen at Lymm.
The Sclavonian Grebe(Podiceps cornutus), v., 296.
One shot near Oldham many years ago is now in the Peel Park Museum.
The Common Tern(Sterna Hirundo), vi., 316.
Occasionally seen upon the Mersey and the lower Irwell.
The Black Tern(Sterna nigra), vi., 323.
The Black–headed Gull(Larus ridibundus), vi., 331.
The Common Gull(Larus canus), vi., 334.
The Kittiwake(Larus tridactylus), vi., 340.
Gulls are frequently seen in the winter on the mosses and in ploughed fields, feeding, but whether they are the kittiwake or common gull cannot always be ascertained with certainty, as they are very shy birds, and fly away before they can be approached.
The Water Rail(Rallus aquaticus), v., 246.
The Curlew(Numenius arquata), iv., 211.
Occasionally breeds on Chat Moss.
The Teal(Anas crecca), v., 272.
Occasionally seen by pit–sides.
The Black–start(Sylvia Tithys), iii., 139.
Two were seen at Didsbury about 1855.
The Golden Plover(Charadrius pluvialis), iv., 186.
Occasionally seen in large flocks upon the flat fields near Stretford and thereabouts.—(On the Lancashire localities, seeManchester Guardian, January 28th, 1882.)
The Ringed Plover(Charadrius hiaticula), iv., 188.
Single birds are seen occasionally, both in summer and winter.
The Storm Petrel(Procellaria pelagica), vi., 353.
One was picked up alive near Stockport in the winter of 1856, and another, dead, at Pendleton, shortly before. A third had fallen at Withington, these birds being blown inland by tempestuous weather, and dropping when exhausted.
The Hobby(Falco subbuteo), i., 14.
Once near Brooks’ Bar, as a summer visitant. The hobby is the only British bird of prey that is migratory.
The Dunlin(Tringa variabilis), iv., 240.
This bird has been known to breed on Chat Moss, but very rarely.
The Common Swift(Hirundo apus), ii., 73.
Occasionally.
The Night–jar(Caprimulgus Europæus), ii., 72.
Chat Moss, and other out of the way moors.
The Common Pheasant(Phasianus colchicus), iii., 169.
In “Preserves.”
As he who southward sails, beholds each night,New constellations rise, all clear and fair;So, o’er the waters of the world, as weReach the mid zone of life, or go beyond,Beauty and bounty still beset our course;New beauties wait upon us everywhere,New lights enlighten, and new worlds attract.
As he who southward sails, beholds each night,New constellations rise, all clear and fair;So, o’er the waters of the world, as weReach the mid zone of life, or go beyond,Beauty and bounty still beset our course;New beauties wait upon us everywhere,New lights enlighten, and new worlds attract.
J. P. BAILEY.
THE immense value of the Manchester libraries to the student of Natural History has already been mentioned. Treasure–houses at all times, it is impossible to over–estimate the privileges they confer on rainy days. “Some days,” says the poet, must needs be “dark and dreary.” We have all, at some time or other, had our plans and projects baffled by the wet, and very disappointing it certainly is, when a nice party has been made up for an afternoon’s pleasure in the country, to see the sky grow black and the drops begin to fall, with not a chance of its clearing up until too late to go. Butthe streets lead the way to as much pleasure, after another manner, as the field–paths. It is nothing but a thoughtless mistake which lauds the country at the expense of the town, crying out that God made the one, but that the other is the work of man. Each is complementary to the other; each, as with the sexes, affords pleasures which itself only can give; each is best in turn, and full of compensation, and whatever may be thought of the adjacent country, no town is more enjoyable to the intelligent, by virtue simply and sufficiently of its Free Libraries, than Manchester. With these inexpressibly precious stores at perfect command, the private property, virtually, of every man who takes interest in their contents, let none, then, ever deplore rain, or piercing winds, mud, snow, sleet, or any species of atmospheric hindrance to rural pleasure. More lies within the walls of our three great Free Libraries than a life–time is sufficient to consume. To the student of wild nature they are peculiarly valuable, since they supply interpretation of everything that can possibly come before him in the fields.
The books in our three great Free Libraries—the Chetham, the City, and the Peel Park—which deal with zoological subjects, and with palæontology, are easily discoverable, the number of important ones, especially such as have plates, being limited. The printed catalogues, and the courtesy of the respective librarians, give ready information as to these, and the titles of the various works generally indicate the contents with sufficientclearness. With works upon botanical matters it is different. The number of these is too vast for any librarian’s easy reference, and to ascertain what ground they cover also very generally requires personal examination. In the aggregate, the three Free Libraries contain quite a thousand distinct and independent works of this latter class—books treating of floriculture as well as of botany—very many of them single volumes, but the average the same as that of the fashionable novel, the grand total being, in other words, over three thousand, a weight of literature pertaining to plants certainly without parallel in any other English city after London. Our remaining space we shall devote accordingly to a select list of the botanical works, old and new, enumerating them in chronological order. For in the eyes of the accomplished student fine old books always count with the great kings of history,
The dead but sceptred sovereigns who still ruleOur spirits from their urns.
The dead but sceptred sovereigns who still ruleOur spirits from their urns.
Chet.signifies the Chetham;City, the King–street; andP. P., the Peel Park or Salford Library.[32]
A.D.
1532. Brunfels: Herbarum Vivæ eicones. Folio. 130 curious old woodcuts.—Chet.
1542. Fuchsius: De Historia Stirpium. About 450 full–page cuts, many of them admirable, others very droll.—City, Chet.
1576. Lobel: Stirpium Adversaria. Woodcuts.—City, Chet.
1611. Renealm: Specimen Historia Plantarum. Many curious drawings, including one of the sun–flower, then a novelty.—City.
1613. Besler: Hortus Eystettensis. Full of wonderful old plates.—City, Chet.
1635. Cornutus: Canadensium Plantarum. Curious and very interesting old plates.—City.
1678. Breynius: Exoticarum aliarumque minus, &c. 100 fine old and very curious copperplates.—Chet.
1680. Morison: Plantarum Historia. A massive folio, with innumerable exquisite drawings.—City, Chet.
1691–1705. Plukenet: Works. Innumerable figures.—City, Chet.
1693. Charles Plumier: Description des Plantes de l’Amerique. Full of very fine old plates.—City, Chet.
1728. John Martyn: Historia Plantarum Rariorum. 100 fine old coloured plates.—City, Chet.
1748. Weinmann: Duidelyke Vertoning. Four thick folios, containing 1,025 coloured plates, with innumerable figures, old–fashioned, but bold, characteristic, and very curious.—P. P.
1750. Rumphius: Herbarium Amboinense. Six vols., folio. Full of fine old plates.—City, Chet.
1755. C. Plumier: Plantarum Americanarum Fasciculus. Folio. Full of fine old copperplates.—City.
1757–1773. Elizabeth Blackwell: Herbarium. Six vols., folio. Containing 601 coloured plates of economic plants, every one of them drawn and engraved by herself, in order to raise money to liberate her husband from a debtor’s prison.—Chet.
1759–1775. Sir John Hill: The Vegetable System. Twenty–six folio volumes. With 1,600 copperplates, containing 6,560 figures.—City, P. P.(The latter bound in ten vols.)
1760. Philip Miller: Figures of Plants. Two vols., folio., and new edit., in four vols., 1807.—Chet.(An admirable work, with 300 plates.)
1766–1797. G. C. Œder: Flora Danica. Eleven vols., folio, with 1,200 plates.—City.
1770. John Edwards: Herbal. A thin folio of 100 beautiful coloured plates.—Chet., P. P.
1772. N. J. Jacquin: Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis. Two vols., folio. Full of the most beautiful coloured plates.—Chet.
1773. N. J. Jacquin: Flora Austriaca. Five vols., folio. Full of splendid coloured plates.—City.
1775. Aublet: Histoire des Plantes de la Guiane Française. Four vols., 4to. Two of them made up of very beautiful and interesting plates.—City, Chet.
1777. John Miller: The Sexual System of Linnæus. A massive elephant folio, with 103 magnificent coloured plates.—Chet., City.
1777. Curtis: Flora Londinensis. Folio. Several vols. The finest coloured plates of British wild–flowers ever given to the world.—Chet., City.(See 1828 for continuation.)
1781–1786. N. J. Jacquin: Icones Plantarum Rariorum. Contains 200 splendid coloured plates. Three vols.—Chet.; vol. i.,City.
1784. Pallas: Flora Rossica. Folio. Full of beautiful coloured plates.—City.
1784. L’Heritier: Stirpes Novæ, &c. Folio. Full of fine plates.—City.
1787. Curtis: The renowned “Botanical Magazine” was commenced this year. No Manchester library contains the whole. The following are the localities of all the town possesses, including a portion in the “Royal Exchange”:—1787–1842, vols. 1 to 68,City; 1843–1859, vols. 69 to 85,Royal Exchange; 1860–1869, vols. 86 to 95, nowhere; 1870–1882, vols. 96 onwards to present time,City.
1790–1814. Smith and Sowerby’s “English Botany.” Thirty–six vols., 8vo. 2,592 coloured plates.—City, P. P.
1800. Desfontaines. Flora Atlantica. Four vols., 4to. Contains 261 fine old plates.—City.
1816. W. J. Hooker: The British Jungermannias. 4to. Full of exquisite coloured plates.—City.
1818–1833. Loddiges: The Botanical Cabinet. Contains 2,000 coloured plates.—P. P.
1823. Alex. Humboldt: Melastomaceæ. 64 very fine coloured plates.—P. P.
1823–1827. W. J. Hooker: Exotic Flora. Three vols., 8vo. 232 beautiful coloured plates.—City.
1827. W. J. Hooker and T. Taylor: Muscologia Britannica. Exquisitely illustrated.—City.
1828. Curtis’s Flora Londinensis. Continued by W. J. Hooker. Two vols., folio. Most beautiful plates.—City.
1828. Wm. Roscoe: Monandrian Plants. Atlas folio. Contains 112 splendid coloured plates.—Chet.
1829. W. J. Hooker and Greville: Icones Filicum. Two vols., folio. Full of splendid plates.—City.
1830–1832. N. Wallich: Plantæ Asiaticæ Rariores. Three vols., huge folio, containing 295 superb coloured plates.—City, Chet.
1834–1843.—Baxter: British Flowering–plants. Six vols., 8vo. Full of beautiful coloured plates.—City.
1837. Jas. Bateman: The Orchidaceæ of Mexico and Guatemala. Folio. 40 superb coloured plates.—Chet.
1838. Endlicher: Nova Genera (of South American plants). Folio. Full of fine plates.—City.
1838. J. C. Loudon: Arboretum Britannicum. Eight vols. Over 400 plates and 2,500 woodcuts.—P. P.
1838. John Lindley: Sertum Orchidaceum. A wreath of the most beautiful orchidaceous flowers. Splendid coloured plates.—Chet.
1839. J. F. Royle: Illustrations of the Botany of the Himalayan Mountains and of the Flora of Cashmere. Two vols., folio. 90 beautiful coloured plates.—City.
1840–1853. R. Wight: Icones Plantarum Indiæ Orientalis. Six vols., 4to.—City.
1843. John Torrey: The Flora of the State of New York. Two vols., 4to. Beautiful coloured plates.—City, P. P.
1846–1851. W. H. Harvey: Phycologia Britannica. (Sea–weeds.) Four vols., 8vo. 360 beautiful coloured plates.—City.
1847. Mrs. Hussey: Illustrations of British Mycology. (Fungi.) 4to.—City.
1847. J. D. Hooker: Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of the Erebus and Terror. Two vols., 4to. 198 fine coloured plates.—City.
1847. C. D. Badham: The Esculent Funguses of England. 8vo. 20 coloured plates.—P. P.
1852–1857. B. Seeman: Botany of the Voyage of H.M.S. Herald.—City.
1854. Sir W. J. Hooker: Century of Ferns. 4to. 100 plates.—P. P.
1855. Wm. Wilson: Bryologia Britannica. 8vo.—City.
1857. Mudd: Photographs of trees destroyed by fumes from chemical works. Folio.—P. P.
1857. Henry Smith: Indian Flowering–plants and Ferns. A large folio of about 100 beautiful nature–prints.—P. P.
1858. E. J. Lowe: Natural History of British Grasses. 74 coloured plates.—City.
1859–1860. Johnstone and Croall: Nature–printed British Sea–weeds.—City,P. P.
1859. Thos. Moore: Nature–printed Ferns. Two vols., 8vo.—City,P. P.
1860. M. J. Berkeley: Outlines of British Fungology. 8vo. 24 coloured plates, with innumerable figures.—City,P. P.
1861. E. J. Lowe: Beautiful–leaved Plants. 60 coloured plates.—P. P.
1861. E. J. Lowe: Ferns, British and Exotic. Eight vols., 8vo. 479 coloured plates.—City,P. P.
1862. E. J. Lowe: New and Rare Ferns. 8vo. 72 coloured plates.—City,P. P.
1863. C. P. Johnson: Useful Plants of Great Britain. 8vo. 25 plates, containing figures of 300 species.—P. P.
1863–1872. English Botany. Edited by J. T. Boswell Syme. Eleven vols., large 8vo. Over 2,000 coloured plates.—City.
1864. Blume: Remarkable Orchids of India and Japan. Folio. Fine coloured plates.—City.
1865. R. Warner and B. S. Williams: Select Orchidaceous Plants. Folio. Fine plates.—City.
1865. E. J. Lowe: Our Native Ferns. Two vols., 8vo. 79 coloured plates and 909 woodcuts.—City.
1868. L. E. Tripp: British Mosses. Two vols., 4to. Coloured figures of every known species.—City,P. P.
1872. Horatio C. Wood: North American Fresh–water Algæ. 4to. 21 plates filled with exquisite coloured figures.—P. P.
1872. Flore Forestiére, &c. Folio. 18 splendid coloured plates, representing about 120 of the most interesting trees and shrubs of central Europe.—P. P.
1872–1874. D. Wooster: Alpine Plants. Two vols., 8vo. 108 coloured plates.—City.
1873. Le Maout and Decaisne: General System of Botany. Translated by Mrs. Hooker. 5,500 woodcuts.—City.
1875. Sachs: Text–book of Botany. A massive 8vo., with innumerable woodcuts.—City.
1877. F. G. Heath: The Fern World. 12 coloured plates.—City.
1878. F. G. Heath: Our Woodland Trees. Contains excellent coloured drawings of their leaves.—City.
In addition to the thousand botanical works contained in the three great Free Libraries, there are many of considerable value, which they do not possess, in the Portico, the Athenæum, the “Royal Exchange,” the Owens College, and other collections not open to the general public. The following are the most important of the illustrated volumes. The aggregate of all kinds in the subscription libraries is about four hundred volumes.
A.D.
1834. Stephenson and Churchill: Medical Botany. Three vols., 8vo.—Owens.
1834–1849. Paxton’s Magazine of Botany and Gardening. Sixteen vols. Nearly 600 fine coloured plates.—Royal Exchange.
1838–1847. John Lindley: Botanical Register. New series. Ten vols., 8vo. 688 fine coloured plates.—Portico.
1841. Mrs. Loudon: Ornamental Bulbous Plants. 4to.—Royal Exchange.
1843–1844. Mrs. Loudon: Ornamental Perennials. Two vols., 4to.—Royal Exchange.
1845. A. H. Hassall: British Fresh–water Algæ. Two vols., 8vo. 100 plates.—Owens.
1848. John Ralfs: The British Desmidiaceæ. 8vo.—Owens.
1850. Wm. Griffiths: Palms of British East India. Large folio. 133 plates.—Owens.
1851–1853. Lindley and Paxton: The Flower Garden. Three vols., 4to. 108 admirable plates and 314 woodcuts.—Royal Exchange.