The books in our three great Free Libraries--the Chetham, the City, and the Peel Park--which deal with zoological subjects, and with palæontology, are easily discoverable, the number of important ones, especially such as have plates, being limited. The printed catalogues, and the courtesy of the respective librarians, give ready information as to these, and the titles of the various works generally indicate the contents with sufficient clearness. With works upon botanical matters it is different. The number of these is too vast for any librarian's easy reference, and to ascertain what ground they cover also very generally requires personal examination. In the aggregate, the three Free Libraries contain quite a thousand distinct and independent works of this latter class--books treating of floriculture as well as of botany--very many of them single volumes, but the average the same as that of the fashionable novel, the grand total being, in other words, over three thousand, a weight of literature pertaining to plants certainly without parallel in any other English city after London. Our remaining space we shall devote accordingly to a select list of the botanical works, old and new, enumerating them in chronological order. For in the eyes of the accomplished student fine old books always count with the great kings of history, The dead but sceptred sovereigns who still rule Our spirits from their urns. _Chet._ signifies the Chetham; _City_, the King-street; and _P. P._, the Peel Park or Salford Library.[32] A.D. 1532. Brunfels: Herbarum Vivæ eicones. Folio. 130 curious old woodcuts.--_Chet._ 1542. Fuchsius: De Historia Stirpium. About 450 full-page cuts, many of them admirable, others very droll.--_City, Chet._ 1576. Lobel: Stirpium Adversaria. Woodcuts.--_City, Chet._ 1611. Renealm: Specimen Historia Plantarum. Many curious drawings, including one of the sun-flower, then a novelty.--_City._ 1613. Besler: Hortus Eystettensis. Full of wonderful old plates.--_City, Chet._ 1635. Cornutus: Canadensium Plantarum. Curious and very interesting old plates.--_City._ 1678. Breynius: Exoticarum aliarumque minus, &c. 100 fine old and very curious copperplates.--_Chet._ 1680. Morison: Plantarum Historia. A massive folio, with innumerable exquisite drawings.--_City, Chet._ 1691-1705. Plukenet: Works. Innumerable figures.--_City, Chet._ 1693. Charles Plumier: Description des Plantes de l'Amerique. Full of very fine old plates.--_City, Chet._ 1728. John Martyn: Historia Plantarum Rariorum. 100 fine old coloured plates.--_City, Chet._ 1748. Weinmann: Duidelyke Vertoning. Four thick folios, containing 1,025 coloured plates, with innumerable figures, old-fashioned, but bold, characteristic, and very curious.--_P. P._ 1750. Rumphius: Herbarium Amboinense. Six vols., folio. Full of fine old plates.--_City, Chet._ 1755. C. Plumier: Plantarum Americanarum Fasciculus. Folio. Full of fine old copperplates.--_City._