Project Gutenberg's The Botanic Garden. Part II., by Erasmus Darwin

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Title: The Botanic Garden. Part II.
Containing The Loves of the Plants. A Poem.
With Philosophical Notes.

Author: Erasmus Darwin

Release Date: January 11, 2004 [EBook #10671]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration: FLORA at Play with CUPID.]

THE

BOTANIC GARDEN.

PART II.

CONTAINING

THE LOVES OF THE PLANTS.

A POEM.

WITH

PHILOSOPHICAL NOTES.

VOLUME THE SECOND.

VIVUNT IN VENEREM FRONDES; NEMUS OMNE PER ALTUM
FELIX ARBOR AMAT; NUTANT AD MUTUA PALMAE
FAEDERA, POPULEO SUSPIRAT POPULUS ICTU,
ET PLATANI PLATANIS, ALNOQUE ASSIBILAT ALNUS.

CLAUD. EPITH.

THE SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY J. NICHOLS,

FOR J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD. M, DCC, XC.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The general design of the following sheets is to inlist Imagination
under the banner of Science, and to lead her votaries from the looser
analogies, which dress out the imagery of poetry, to the stricter ones,
which form the ratiocination of philosophy. While their particular design
is to induce the ingenious to cultivate the knowledge of BOTANY; by
introducing them to the vestibule of that delightful science, and
recommending to their attention the immortal works of the Swedish
Naturalist LINNEUS.

In the first Poem, or Economy of Vegetation, the physiology of Plants
is delivered; and the operation of the Elements, as far as they may be
supposed to affect the growth of Vegetables. But the publication of this
part is deferred to another year, for the purpose of repeating some
experiments on vegetation, mentioned in the notes. In the second poem, or
LOVES OF THE PLANTS, which is here presented to the Reader, the Sexual
System of LINNEUS is explained, with the remarkable properties of many
particular plants.

The author has withheld this work, (excepting a few pages) many years
from th