Eye - 3 March 2023

The golden age

The golden age

As seasonal shoots start to stretch towards the sun, Eye finds a spring in our step.

An appreciation of nature has long been found among Friends. Eye recently took a dip into one fine example, in the pages of a book called The Golden Age of Quaker Botanists, by Ann Nichols (see image, right). Illustrated by Audrey Jennett and Anne Dent, this little gem sheds light on early Quaker plant hunters.

How could Eye resist finding some factoids for Friends to unearth in crossword form? You can find the answers on page 18.

Across

3. In 1796 Priscilla Bell Wakefield wrote a pioneering book with this title. It went into eleven editions over forty years (12, 2, 6).

4. Called ‘the greatest natural botanist in the world’ by Carl Linnaeus, John Bartram established the first botanical garden here in 1728 (7).

8. First appearing in 1787, The Botanical was launched by William Curtis. What kind of publication was it? (8).

9. During the golden age of botany, from the seventeenth to nineteenth century, a disproportionate number of Quakers were botanists, from illustrators to gardeners. One reason for this was that botany did not require study at this institution, from which Friends were excluded until 1871 (10).

10. James Backhouse is credited with publishing the first botanical dictionary of plants from which country? (10).

Down

1. The Backhouse family nursery was known as ‘The _______ ___ Gardens’ in the 1800s. (8, 3).

2. Called ‘the best natural history painter in England’ by Johann Fabricius, Ann Lee was an outstanding botanical artist. Sixteen of her paintings are located here (7, 6).

5. A cutting of black dessert grapes was gifted by Quaker John Warner to the botanical illustrator Charles Raymond in 1768. In turn, a cutting of this vine was given to Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, who planted it at Hampton Court. It is now known as ‘The _____ Vine’ (5).

6. In the 1740s, the nurseryman James Lee co-founded this Hammersmith nursery, where 135 plants are said to have been introduced to Britain (8).

7. Eye found one quote that particularly spoke to us. Can you complete it?
‘Thomas Lawson’s faith and beliefs were inseparable from his love of ______, for he saw God in all living things and delighted in their beauty, arrangement and complexities’ (6).

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