Johann Beckmann - A History of Inventions, Discoveries, and Origins, Volume I (of 2)

Lib. xxxiii. cap. 6.

Vit. lib. vii. c. 8.

In Origin. lib. xvi. c. 18.

De Aurilegio, præcipue in Rheno. Argent. 1776.

Historia naturale e morale delle Indie. Venetia, 1596.

The same account as that given by Acosta may be seen in Garcilasso de la Vega, Commentarios reales; Lisboa 1609, p. 225; in Rycaut’s English translation, London 1688, fol. i. p. 347; and in De Laet, Novus Orbis, Lugd. Bat. 1633, fol. p. 447.

Vol. i. p. 414.

Hakluyt’s Collection of Voyages. London, 1600, fol. vol. iii. p. 466.

See La France littéraire. Paris, 1769, 2 vols. 8vo, vol. ii. p. 410.

One may see in Homer’s Odyssey, book iii. v. 432, the process employed for gilding in this manner, the horns of the cow brought by Nestor as an offering to Minerva.

Epist. 115.

La Sicilia inventrice. Palermo, 1704, 4to.

“As we passed, we saw everywhere abundance of flowers, such as the narcissus, hyacinth, and those called by the Turks tulipan, not without great astonishment, on account of the time of the year, as it was then the middle of winter, a season unfriendly to flowers. Greece abounds with narcissuses and hyacinths, which have a remarkably fragrant smell: it is, indeed, so strong as to hurt those who are not accustomed to it. The tulipan, however, have little or no smell, but are admired for their beauty and variety of their colour. The Turks pay great attention to the cultivation of flowers; nor do they hesitate, though by no means extravagant, to expend several aspers for one that is beautiful. I received several presents of these flowers, which cost me not a little.” — Busbequii Ep. , Basiliæ, 1740, 8vo, p. 36.

See some account of them in Memoriæ populorum ad Danubium by Stritter.

The Tulipa sylvestris , Linn. grows wild in the southern parts of France. Dodonæus says, in his Florum coronariarum herbarum historia, Antverpiæ 1569, 8vo, p. 204, “In Thracia et Cappadocia tulipa exit; Italiæ et Belgio peregrinus est flos. Minores alicubi in Gallia Narbonensi nasci feruntur.” Linnæus reckons it among the Swedish plants, and Haller names it among those of Switzerland, but says, afterwards, I do not believe it to be indigenous, though it is found here and there in the meads. — Hist. Stirp. ii. p. 115. It appears that this species is earlier than the common Tulipa Gesneriana , though propagated from it. The useless roots thrown perhaps from Gesner’s garden have grown up in a wild state, and become naturalized, as the European cattle have in America. See Miller’s Gardener’s Dictionary, iv. p. 518.

See Martini Lexicon Philologicum, and Megiseri Diction. Turcico-Lat., where the word tulbent , a turban, is derived from the Chaldaic.

Balbini Miscellanea Bohemiæ, p. 100.

Gesneri Epistolæ Medicinales. Tiguri, 1577, 8vo, p. 79 and 80.

Vita Peirescii, auctore Gassendo. 1655, 4to, p. 80.

Hakluyt says, “And now within these four years there have been brought into England from Vienna in Austria, divers kind of flowers called tulipas, and those and others procured thither a little before, from Constantinople, by an excellent man, Carolus Clusius.” See Biographia Britannica, ii. p. 164. [Gerarde in his Herbal, 1597, speaks of the Tulip in the following manner: – “My loving friend Mr. James Garret, a curious searcher of simples, and learned apothecary in London, hath undertaken to find out, if it were possible, the infinite sorts by diligent sowing of their seeds, and by planting those of his own propagation, and by others received from his friends beyond the seas for the space of twenty years, not being yet able to attain to the end of his travail, for that each new year bringeth forth new plants of sundry colours not before seen; all of which, to describe particularly, were to roll Sisyphus’ stone, or number the sands.”]

This word was coined by Menage.

The principal works in which an account of this Tulipomania is to be found are, – Eerste Tzamenspraak tuschen Waermondt en Gaargoed nopens deopkomst en ondergang van Flora. Amsterdam, 1643, 12mo. – Meterani Novi, or New History of the Netherlands, part fourth. Amsterdam, 1640, folio, p. 518, from which Marquard, De Jure Mercatorum, p. 181, has taken his information. – Naauwkeurige beschryving der Aardgewassen, door Abraham Munting. Leyden en Utrecht, 1696, folio, p. 907. – De Koophandel van Amsterdam, door Le Long, ii. p. 307. – Le Negoce d’Amsterdam, par J. P. Ricard. A Rouen, 1723, 4to, p. 11. – Breslauer Samlung von Natur- und Kunst-Geschichten, 1721, May, p. 521. – Francisci Schaubühne, vol. ii. p. 639. – Tenzel, Monatliche Unterredungen, 1690, November, p. 1039. – Année Littéraire, 1773, xv. p. 16. – Martini Zeiler Miscellanea, p. 29. – Christ. Funcii Orbis Politicus, p. 879.

A perit is a small weight less than a grain. – Trans.

[How well the author’s remarks apply to the recent mania in railway scrip!]

In the year 1769, the dearest kinds in England were Don Quevedo and Valentinier ; the former cost 2 l. 2 s. and the latter 2 l. 12 s. 6 d. See Weston’s Botanicus Universalis, part 2. In the German catalogues none of the prices are so high. The name Semper Augustus is not once to be found in new catalogues. [They still remain flowers of considerable value among florists; for, according to Mr. Hogg, a moderate collection of choice bulbs cannot now be purchased for a sum much less than 1000 l. , at the usual prices. – See Chambers’ Journal, March 15, 1845.]

Blainville’s Travels.

Introd. in Hist. Lit. iii. 3, p. 92.

That he might relax and refresh his mind, worn out by study, he amused himself with the cultivation of his garden and of flowers, and particularly of tulips, the roots of which he was at great pains to procure from all parts of the world, by means of Dodonæus, Clusius, and Boisotus, men singularly well-skilled in horticulture, and by others of his friends. Here, at a distance from civil tumult, with a cheerful countenance and placid eye, he sauntered through his plants and flowers, contemplating sometimes one declining, sometimes another springing up, and forgetting all his cares amidst the pleasure which these objects afforded him. See the Life of Lipsius, prefixed to the edition of his works printed at Antwerp in 1637. This is confirmed by what Lipsius says himself in his book De Constantia, ii. 2, 3, in praise of gardening.

He rented a house near to the Vatican, with a garden, in which he had planted the choicest flowers, and those chiefly which are not propagated from seeds or roots, but from bulbs. These flowers were not known about thirty years before, nor had they been ever seen at Rome, but lay neglected in the Alps. – Of these flowers, which have no smell, but are esteemed only on account of their colours, Barclay was remarkably fond, and purchased their bulbs at a great price. Erythræi Pinacotheca. Lips. 1712, 8vo, iii. 17, p. 623. See also Freheri Theatrum, p. 1515.