Non Fiction Authors From England

"As an important member of the flora of Northern Europe, ' is commonly associated with s of a definite type, especially when it occurs as the dominant or sub-dominant species of moorland associations. As such, it is especially characterists of dry heath soils, deficient in and often ."

"and others give us such attractive accounts of the charms of , the quantity of nourishment contained in them, and the desirability of out better appreciation of their excellencies, that we set about making ourselves acquainted with them with hearty good will."

"It is not only that the bias of elementary es tends to give the whole subject an aloofness which helps to perpetuate the common attitude that Science is something essentially different and apart from the facts of every day life, it is that it makes it difficult for any but a most experienced and able lecturer to introduce the student to the study of plants in the light of the more recent as well as the older phases of botanical knowledge."

", in his work on the "Channel Islands," gives a most interesting picture of the harvest in . On the 10th of March and on the 20th of July, all the inhabitants repair to the shore, with such vehicles as they can press into their service, and they gather the weed in great quantities. Some they dry and use for fuel, and the remainder is laid upon the land as manure. It suits potatoe land remarkably well, and on this account is eagerly seized upon in Ireland, where it is carried at least fifteen miles inland."

"Mr. W. F. French, of , prepares very pretty fern-glasses, arranging within them Lilliputian rocks and ruins. They are to be had at the s in ; and, though they do not look by any means beautiful when unfurnished, they have an excellent effect with the full complement of mosses, s, and ferns. The best place for such cases is in a window to the north, and twice a week in the summer the glass should be removed and wiped dry, a little rain-water being administered occasionally to keep up the moisture. These fern-cases make very elegant drawing-room ornaments. All the small hardy and half-hardy ferns are well adapted for the s, as are also many of the 's and all the mosses."

"The pretty white , so called because of its flowering at that season, is also a , and its is a brilliant white. Its beauty and purity, as well as the season when it blooms, insure it being a favourite in every garden."

"We repaired to the . The powdery appearance was caused by glands scattered all over the ; this, and its general aspect, showed it to be the . No locality could be more favourable to its growth than these woods, where the immense boulders of greeting us at every step left no room to doubt the nature of the rock."

"An article in ' in June 1959 described Sir Edward James Salisbury as a “prophet and propagandist of botany”. Inspired by the plants that grew wild in his native , he became a pioneering ecologist, lecturer, author – The Living Garden (1935) was a bestseller – and, from 1943-56, director of the . He was also a keen photographer and a large collection of his glass plate negatives – natural landscapes and individual plant studies – was recently discovered in the archives."

"During his long period on the academic staff of Salisbury’s scientific reputation rose steadily with the publication of a succession of research papers in botanical and other journals and of several important books, including The reproductive capacity of plants (1942), and also through his frequent and much acclaimed lectures to a wide range of botanical and horticultural audiences. He was President of the in 1928, Vice-President of the in 1928-9, and in 1933 he was elected a . In 1937 he became President of Section K of the and in 1939 was made Then in 1943 he was appointed to the Directorship of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, made vacant by the death of ."

"It was not till the middle of the nineteenth century that the rich harvest of American s really began to be garnered, though the had already introduced from there in 1663."

",who was in the in 1573, was the first European author who made any mention of coffee."

"It is tempting to assume that the process of natural selection has brought about a nicety of adjustment between the seed output and mortality, and this presumption is implicit in most of the writings on this topic. If true, it involves as a necessary corollary that the potential of a species is a measure of its susceptibility to natural mortality."

"Theophrastus, who wrote about 300 years before Christ, mentions the as the only tree in Greece that produced the blossoms before the leaves. ... The almond-tree was not cultivated in Italy in the time of Cato, who calls the fruit, nucces græcæ, or greek nuts."

"All the British s produce viable fruits without the necessity for fertilization () so that, although they have all the advantages of dispersal associated with normal seed production (in this instance of the parachute-bearing fruits), yet their reproduction is equivalent to vegetative propagation."

"... the is extremely tolerant of . It can grow quite well with as much as 1.5% of salt in the sand and will tolerate up to 6%. Moreover, it will endure quite prolonged inundation by a high tide."

"The Chinese hold some particular kinds of flowers in great veneration, especially the , which they call Too Chong Fa: its flowers are deemed grateful to the gods; and, accordingly. at the commencement of the ,when the plant is generally in blossom, large branches with flowers are placed in all the temples as an acceptable new year's offering."

"The ancient and silent language of flowers lends its aid to gratitude, friendship, filial love, and maternal fondness. Even affliction may be soothed by the emblematical communication of sentiment. , when imprisoned by the tyrants of the , amused himself by the study of floral language, his daughter being allowed to send him flowers to the prison. Thence a few days before he met his fate on the scaffold, he sent back to this favorite child, two dried , to express both the purity of his heart, and the fate which awaited him."

"Potatoe is the English name of the tuberose-rooted esculent Lycopersicon, or , of botanical writers. It was evidently so called on account of its similarity to the batata, the name of the , which was known in Europe at least thirty-three years before this country was blessed with the potatoe, which now forms alike the rich man's luxury and the poor man's bread!"

"In 's for 1758, p. 116, mention is made of an in , near , the property of the , supposed to be of near one thousand years growth. It was six feet two inches in diameter, contained about ten tons of timber, and was sold for forty pounds."

"From the woods of north-west America came that familiar evergreen shrub ', which in some gardens to-day is almost a weed; yet such was the enthusiasm with which it was first received that roots commanded a price of ten s each."

"Our old-established {[w|Botanical garden|Botanical Gardens}} have long carefully collected those species that have been used in medicine. The , founded by the in 1632, was the first. In 1690 the were placed by under the charge of the botanist (1642-1706), who sent collectors abroad; and about the same date presents the , afterwards rendered famous by the encyclopedic works of (1691-1771), to the . In 1760 the was established by the , under the advice of (1713-1792). who was an enthusiastic botanist ..."

"Wood does not occur in any plants of a lower grade than ferns; and in the higher plants in which it does occur it is chiefly, but not exclusively, in the stem. The main physiological function of wood is the as it grows erect and branches. Submerged s, buoyed up, as they are, by the water, do not form wood in their stems, nor, as a rule, do s, nor, at first, the succulent, flexible shoots of longer-lived plants. In , and in allied plants, the wood, though dense, consists largely of scattered longitudinal strands and often of cells of no great vertical length. Though there are also generally woody layers just below the surface of the stem, giving it considerable strength as a whole, the structure renders s useless as . For all practical purposes, therefore, wood is produced only by the highest sub-kingdom of the plant world, the seed-bearing or flowering plants, the or Phanerogámia of botanists."

"Ferns may be successfully cultivated either in a , a , or the open air. To accomplish this, and even to bring something of the verdure of a country lane into the close atmosphere of the city, by means of a closed or Wardian case, in which not only ferns but also some other plants will live and thrive, is perfectly easy. , the ingenious inventor, succeeded in cultivating many flowers—such as fairy roses, and even the most luxuriant tropical plants, in them. But it must be remembered that the chief object in these closed cases is to secure a moist atmosphere, and freedom from the all-pervading dirt and dust of cities. To many plants the moisture thus secured is injurious, but to nearly all ferns it is peculiarly grateful, and to them, therefore, especially, this mode of culture is chiefly applicable. In Mr. Ward's own book on the subject, he speaks of what may be done to imitate nature in the growth of ferns; how bits of natural scenery may be artificially built up, with water trickling down from elevated portions of rock, and flowing out of the fern-house in one continuous stream."

"There is, in fact, thirteen times more land north of the than there is to the south of it. This alone must obviously have a profound influence on —the vast ocean area being almost exclusively represented so far as plant life is concerned, by and ; so far few s, such as the Grass-wracks (), inhabiting salt water."

"During the last few weeks , , and myself have been exploring an ossiferous at Shandon, near , under a grant from the . Bones of , , bear, wolf, horse, and hare, were found in the débris of a here in 1859, and are now in the . We have worked through a considerable quantity of and , in which and in a thin underlying deposit of cave-earth we have found numerous bones of the above-mentioned animals, indicating at least two individuals of mammoth, eighteen of reindeer, and five of horse, for which latter this is as yet the sole recorded locality in Ireland. The bones of bear show extreme age and signs of disease, and we have found the cast antler of a reindeer. Some of the bones have been gnawed, probably by wolves, and many have been broken by the falling-in of the roof of the cave. Though we have broken into a large chamber, we are as yet unable to form a clear conception of the original form of the cavern. A full account of the cave previous to the present exploration was given by in the ' for June, 1870."

"Alan Mitchell (1922-1995) became famous in the world of , especially in his native England, as the preeminent tree measurer. He wrote some 9 or 10 tree books, covering identification, history in cultivation, utility to people, and growth. His last, posthumous title cites the abundance, performance, strengths and weaknesses of 163 kinds of trees cultivated in Britain."

"WHITE WILLOW ' L. Native all over Britain except in N. W. Scotland, Europe, N. Africa to C. Asia. Common along lowland riversides and valleys; usually less numerous than ."

"SHINGLE OAK ' South-eastern USA 1786. Infrequent; a few large gardens and collections in all parts."

"In 1994 The Sacred Yew by Anand Chetan and Diana Brueton ... revealed that Alan Mitchell (1992 - 1995 and founder of the of Britain and Ireland), after becoming increasingly interested in potential antiquity himself, (via corresponding with Allen Meredith in the late 1980’s), considered it entirely possible that wild, stunted yew on the storm swept and barren (the westernmost point of the ) could be truly ancient. This was despite their size; with relatively small girths of around 12ft (3.5 m approx.). By 1994 Alan Mitchell had concluded that “There is no theoretical end to this tree, no need for it to die” ..."

"Yorkshire-based Sally has put together a compendium of s, including the new, the old and the forgotten. The book is a thing of beauty itself and includes illustrations by printmaker Louise Lockart. It’s also a fascinating read and serves as inspiration for those who love making things. Sally covers everything from why craft matters and endangered crafts to maker spaces and how to make a living from your hobby. Alongside this, she delves into the details of over 70 crafts, from trug making to globe making and crochetdermy, and hopes this will encourage readers to try something new."

"Nature never ceases to amaze me. I often describe my writing as the intersection between nature, people and history — I'm fascinated by the relationship between us, our , and how that has changed over the centuries. In many ways, that relationship is more sophisticated than it has ever been — we now know so many things about how the natural world works. And yet, something has also been lost. Unlike our ancestors, few of us could, with any confidence, recognize the plants in a typical or name more than a handful of birds that visit our gardens. Key moments that once defined the year, such as s, solstices or natural signs of seasonal change, have also lost their meaning."

"Recent of ancient human remains revealed that, across Europe at least, farming was spread by the physical movement of people, not the dissemination of ideas. Scientists can trace the DNA of , over multiple generations, as they slowly made their way around the coast and into mainland Europe, mixing with local groups as they went. And, by around 4000 BCE Neolithic farmers had finally reached Britain."

"In the book Biophilia, designer and best-selling author, Sally Coulthard, demonstrates how to transform your living and working spaces into places that put you in touch with nature. The illustrated guide covers key elements for the ‘biophilic home’, including sounds, s, views, colour and natural light. Each section explores the links between home, health and happiness, drawing on environmental research and while making practical suggestions for bringing the natural world into your home."

"… British s have been the pioneers or among the most active workers in every area of the world important for species. In the second half of the seventeenth century at was inspiring collection in eastern North America by and receiving plants from . From 1827 was sending back the first conifers from western North America, and his collecting was greatly augmented by the Veitchian collectors and those from the Oregon Society from 1853 to 1856. and were sending plants from Japan in 1860 and 1861, Fortune having already sent some from southern China in 1843. and had followed ’s pioneer introduction {') from South America by many more species in 1847 and 1854. From 1899, and were sending a multitude of species from China and later, Formosa. In India, amateur collectors acquired Himalayan species from 1818 onwards."

"For us, as kids, snow was synonymous with fun. Snow meant speed, exhilaration, and toppling laughter. Snow gave us the freedom to fight, slide, crash, and make a mess, without the fear of a scolding. Snow put a wrench in the works, stopped the numbing timetable of school lessons and stealing an extra day of free time."

"In Europe, nearly one in ten species of wild s faces extinction, and in the US about a quarter of all wild bees have disappeared in the past ten years alone. s of all kinds — bees, butterflies, moths and other bugs — are showing declines worldwide and although not all species are threatened (some are even improving their numbers), the overall picture is alarming."

"was a doctor, a self-sacrificing man who lived and practised in not far from the . In spite of the grimy surroundings of his home, he was an ardent naturalist."

"... in 1722 was made head gardener at , the director at the time was a certain —a learned but hot-tempered and difficult man, whose reputation was soon quite eclipsed by the fame of his gardener, for in 1724 was issued the first volume of Philip Miller's ."

"... when the was formed, and at times seemed inclined to devote a preponderance of its activities towards the study of vegetables and fruit, was there to urge the merits of botany and s. For a time, too, he acted as its honorary secretary ..."

"Of all the deep burrowers, the best known is the Common earthworm ('). This is the 's friend — also known as the lob worm, the night crawler, the granddaddy worm and the dew worm — and is the largest naturally occurring earthworm across most of Europe (around 9–30 centimetres). The body of the Common earthworm can be as thick as a pencil and its tail can be flattened into a paddle shape, to help the earthworm grip the sides of its burrow."

"... until his tragic end on 13th July 1834 when, in Hawaii, he fell into a trap and was crushed to death by the wild bull that it had ensnared, devoted his life to exploration. To described the adventures and extreme hardships of this adventurous young botanist, ornithologist, and, in his later trips, surveyor, is beyond our scope. He was temperamental and, though lionized on his visits to London, was inclined to be quarrelsome when the urgency of travel and exploration did not keep him occupied."

"We have sheep to thank for the invention of . Very early sheep farmers tried many different methods for removing wool, some more painful for the sheep than others. Plucking (also called rooing), tearing and combing out would are mentioned in n texts from the late third millennium ... ( is still harvested by combing in China), while modern comparison from traditional shepherding communities suggest that some farmers may have cut the wool off using knives — shepherds in Nepal still use a curved, sickle-like knife ..."

"The , though they continued the building of immense s, concentrated attention on the s or halls, marvellousily developing the carving of their many rows of monolithic pillars, as may be well seen in and ."

"As the value of the in checking the depredations of s (whiteants) does not seem to be generally known, I should like to call your readers’ attention to it through your columns. My first knowledge of it came from. sleeping on the ground when camping in a compound which proved to be riddled with termite runs. Several of us used water-proof ground-sheets that we had prepared from unbleached by sprinkling grated paraffin wax over it and then running this into the fibre by passing a very hot iron very slowly over it. In the morning the undersides of these ground-sheets were found to be covered wih termite mud, but to be unharmed and to have served as a complete protection to everything upon them, whereas all campers without them had had their blankets and some even their pyjamas badly eaten, some of the blankets having been reduced to rags. At that time termites were a constant menace to the books in the , where almost all the shelves were built into the walls. In view of the above experience, therefore, I tried coating the insides of all the book-cases with paraffin wax. A great improvement resulted immediately, though termites quickly found their way through any small gaps that had inadvertently been left. This incidentally made these easy to locate and to fill in, since when all trouble from termites has ceased, the danger having been completely and apparently finally averted, for it is now a number of years since the treatment was effected. And the same method has subsequently been used with equal success in s and boxes elsewhere."

"The only representative of found by the was Temnocephala semperi . This species was first found by on s in and , from the plains up to an altitude of 5000 (1872, p. 307). It has since proved to have a wide distribution in the Oriental Region ... The creatures are extremely contractile and their great activity is most striking—indeed it is apt to be startling the first time living specimens are seen. They live, often in large numbers, on the lower surface of the body and among the basal joints of the legs of their host, which is apparently always a crab of the genus ' ... When separated from its host, T. semperi stands and waves its tentacles around, as though trying to perceive a new one, or crawls rapidly about. Occasionally, when it is greatly irritated, the tentacles are doubled back and tucked away beneath the concave ventral surface of the body."

"If I have any Virtues in me, or if there be such a distinguishing Characteristick in Man, they are chiefly a universal Love of my Fellow-creatures, placed here in concert with me to compleat the Harmony of the Universe."

": ' A family of shrubs and trees, chiefly tropical and subtropical. Many have bitter bark; that of ' Linnaeus, a South American species, provides the quassia chips of commerce. ... of about 28 genera only Ailanthus is likely to be seen in Britain … Two or three species are now cultivated in Britain, but all except the following are exceedingly uncommon. Ailanthus is a latinized form for ailanto, the native name of ; it means 'a tree tall enough to reach the skies.'"

"YELLOW WATER-LILY. . This beautiful water plant is familiar to all who have ever enjoyed a season of river life, or even to those who make occasional boating excursions on our rivers. It belongs to the same natural order as its more modestly attired sister the , though of a different genus. "In golden armour glorious to behold," it forms a glorious object on the surface or lake or river, and is seen more frequently seen than the White Water-Lily. The golden blossom of this species has a more powerful and not very refined smell resembling ardent spirits, hence it has the common name of Brandy-Bottle. The Greeks prepare a from the flowers."

"A Flie, a Mite, or other Insect, are in the same great Chain of Beings; and I but help to fill up the Rank of the Divin Works, I am no more than they. Look upon the Mechanism of a Spider with a Microscopic Eye, upon the Architecture of the Bee, &c. let Man consider the Fineness of their Texture and Composure, and with what Exactness they are form'd, and he will find in himself nothing to be vain of. If I boast of any thing, it is only of being join'd with you in this great Concatenation of Things, and moving with you in one of its Revolutions—My Friend, when we are worn out, and drop insensibly into the Grave, we only leave the Space to be filled up in the next successive Moment, perhaps by some other Race of Creatures, who compleat the Harmony of Wonders in this Structure of the Universe."

"At one time trees were , principally to provide fuel. Such are the famous , ... pollarded from about 1500 to 1820, when the use of became general; such, too are the numerous pollards in ."