John Ray is considered the outstanding British natural historian
of the 17th century. His first publication, "A catalogue of plants
growing around Cambridge "(1660) is famous as the first British
County Flora. It is a complex work, not only a botanical catalogue
but also has "for the benefit of beginners" indexes of English
names and of places (with lists of the rarer species of 12 areas in
the county) together with chapters on the meanings of plant names
and of botanical terms (hitherto untranslated). Ray's abilities as
an all-round naturalist are apparent from the numerous observations
and digressions in the text.
This book includes a complete translation from the Latin of the
work together with the rare appendices to the Catalogue, published
in 1663 and 1685, translated for the first time. The editorial
commentary on the text is included in nearly 2000 footnotes which
outline problems of translation, discuss the identity of some of
Ray's more problematic species, identify his cited and some of his
uncited sources and detail the treatment in his later works of some
of the plant variants (such as colour forms) that he regarded as
species in 1660. The translation is preceded by introductory
chapters which use unpublished manuscripts and recently published
studies to present a new account of Ray's time in the University of
Cambridge and the possible roles of his collaborators. The work's
structure and sources are analysed, biographical portraits of the
botanists cited by Ray provided together with a discussion of the
problems of equating his names to modern taxa. The book ends with a
vocabulary of the epithets in Ray's Latin plant names, a gazetteer
and a bibliography.
As Professor Oliver Rackham comments in his foreword, other
editions and commentaries on the 'Cambridge Catalogue' exist "but
none does justice to its complexity, its discursiveness, its
allusiveness, the circumstances of its writing, its vast
bibliography or Ray's other works associated with it as appendices
or supplements." Ewen and Lewis' 1975 translation was limited to
the text considered relevant to a 'modern reader' and excluded, for
example, the chapters on technical terms and on etymology
preventing a full assessment of Ray's work.
The authors both live in Cambridge and are Honorary Members of
the Botanical Society of the British Isles and graduates of the
University of Cambridge. Philip Oswald has a degree in Classics and
Theology and Chris Preston a doctorate in Botany, thus combining
John Ray's principal interests.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
