Böcker av William Aiton

A valuable resource for botanists and gardeners alike, listing and describing over 5,000 plant species and cultivars grown in the renowned Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

A classic botanical reference work, this book is an essential resource for anyone interested in the plants cultivated in the historic Royal Botanic Garden at Kew. Featuring detailed descriptions and beautiful illustrations, this book offers a comprehensive look at the diversity and beauty of the plant kingdom.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

When this book was first published in 1832, England was caught in a cholera pandemic that had already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across Europe. It was commonly held that 'bad air' spread the disease, but theories and remedies varied: one doctor advised the Nottinghamshire public to carry silk cushions filled with myrrh and camphor to strengthen resistance to contagion, while in New York officials suspected that raw vegetables and cold water were the root of the problem. In this fiercely logical treatise, ship's doctor William Aiton cuts through even the most prevalent myths to investigate the pandemic's real causes. Throwing out the theory of bad air, he observes that cholera spreads most quickly in cities with a stagnant water supply and overseas trade. Also addressing the spread of other infectious diseases, his work provides an invaluable insight into the conflicting information available to the general public during pandemics.

The horticulturist William Aiton (1731-93) became Joseph Banks's superintendent at Kew in 1783, consolidating the status of the gardens. In compiling this three-volume botanical catalogue, published in 1789, Aiton was assisted with the identification and scientific description of some 5,600 species by the botanists Daniel Solander and Jonas Dryander.