Ladies' Botany - Volume 1

The horticulturalist John Lindley (17991865) 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.