Insects, hygiene and history

ERASMUS DARWIN, The botanic garden, Erasmus Darwin, 1791, London, Scolar Press, 1973, 4to, pp. viii, xii, 214, 128, v-vii, 184, illus., £10.00. Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), grandfather of Charles, was an outstanding Midlands physician, and, in addition, a prominent scientist, inventor, and founder of the Birmingham Lunar Society. However, he also enjoyed great fame as a poet and this book presents an excellent facsimile reproduction of his most important poem. The first part (1791) deals with all parts of science and technology and the second (1789) with the fertilization processes in plants. Darwin's appended notes cover a wide range of topics: meteors, comets, luminous insects, steam engines, electricity, geology, the Portland vase, winds, etc. When published it was very well received, and it is said that it influenced Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, and Shelley. Certainly Darwin was able to handle his rather dull material with poetical skill, humour, sensitivity, and ingenuity. The Scolar Press, which is achieving a reputation for high-quality reprints, has reproduced the work faithfully and elegantly; the price is a modest one, when the quality and the size of the volume are taken into account. There is a brief introduction by Desmond King-Hele, which includes an account of Darwin's life and achievements, with a detailed consideration of The botanic garden. This book, therefore, exhibits the qualities of the best kind of reprint: impeccable reproduction, scholarly introduction by a recognized authority, and a modest price.