Page:Journal of botany, British and foreign, Volume 34 (1896).djvu/334

 308 THE DATES OF REES'S CYCLOPEDIA. The Cyclopiedia was issued in parts, two of which formed a volume, at uncertain intervals ; and on the completion of the work a set of title-pages was issued, bearing the date of the last, namely, 1819 for thirty-nine volumes of letterpress, and 1820 for five volumes of plates. The botanical articles in Eees's Cyclopaedia were contributed by Sir James Edward Smith, sparingly at first, but entirely from the end of letter C to the completion of the work. The Rev. William Wood, of Leeds, who had undertaken that portion, died suddenly whilst engaged upon the article Cyperus, and thenceforward the botany and botanical biographies are wholly Smith's, with the exception of a few by the Rev. W. F. Drake. The more elaborate articles are signed " S.," whilst the unsigned ones are those written "without particular study, though as well (I trust) as a common compiler would do them" {Smith, in Ittt.). In all, 3045 articles were sent, including in that number fifty-seven biographies; of these a fuller account will be found in Lady Smith's Life and Correspondence of Sir J. E. Smith, i. 488-490. It is frequently of great importance to know accurately the date of publication of the systematic botany, where many new species are described, but there is no clue in the book itself. I first tried to get a sight of the parts in their original covers as issued, but in vain, for no answer came to my advertisement. I then tried to compile the dates from the foot of each plate, but was baffied from the fact that, each series of plates was not issued in conjunction with its letterpress, but in many cases the publication extended over the whole period. The catalogues issued by the booksellers only supplied me with the information as to the cost of the whole, but no hint as to intermediate date. Next I wrote to the publishers, Messrs. Longmans, but their reply was to the effect that their books for the period were no longer extant. I next searched the Gentleman's Magazine, but the information was so meagre as to be wholly insufficient. As a last resource I examined the Monthly Literary Advertiser, and here I was able to get some positive information. This serial was published on the 10th of each month, or the 9th if the former date fell on Sunday. I have quoted the date named in this periodical, so that in some cases I may have attributed the date a month later than the actual fact. In my article in the Journal of Botany I was able to assign dates to twenty-three parts, chiefly of the later ones. Three years later a few more items had come to light, which I incorporated in a tabular statement, printed and issued in 1880, but exhausted some years ago. As enquiries are still made of me regarding it, I now re-issue it, thoroughly revised, and in this form it represents all that I shall probably ever be able to ascertain regarding the work. About four or five years ago I was informed that a set of the Cyclopaedia was for sale in the original state, and I secured it for a very insignificant sum. Absorbed in other work, the volumes have lain till now unexplored, but I have within the last few days examined them, and the list which follows is the result.