Volume 1

A botanical description of British plants, in the Midland counties, particularly of those in the neighbourhood of Alcester ... to which is prefixed a short introduction to the study of botany / [Thomas Purton].

  • Purton, Thomas, 1768-1833.
Date:
1817
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A botanical description of British plants, in the Midland counties, particularly of those in the neighbourhood of Alcester ... to which is prefixed a short introduction to the study of botany / [Thomas Purton]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    guide, a traveller in the most unknown wilderness, might eat in safety, and thus the natural tree of knowledge leads to life,’’ 44 Facts of this kind, render Botany, not only a respectable, but a most interesting science,” 44 When applied to medicine, the same law holds good; as it is found by experi¬ ence, that plants which are distinguished by the same characters in the flower and fruit, have the same qualities, though not always in an equal de¬ gree as to strength or weakness; so that upon inspection of the flower and fruit, a Botanist can form his opinion with some confidence a priori, on the effects that will result when taken into the stomach. In order therefore to determine the me¬ dical virtues of all the plants belonging to a natural class, the physician has nothing to do but to ascer¬ tain by a set of clear and unquestionable experi¬ ments, the virtues of any one of them. This greatly shortens the labour of investigation, supposing the number of known species to amount to upwards of 20,000; by ascertaining the virtues of one genus, at a medium, may be determined the virtues of twelve species: but by ascertaining the virtues of one genus belonging to a natural order, the vir¬ tues of perhaps three or four hundred species are ascertained.” DBS. As a further proof of the great use of Bo¬ tany, it is now made essentially necessary by