The Muirhead Herbarium

Recently I was contacted by Plymouth University about the work I did on their Muirhead Herbarium back in 2007. Seemed a little odd at the time as I had just nipped into London from Spain and so my mind was not only having trouble in time travelling backwards to a previous life I had in London, but it then had the further onslaught of going back even further to another time in Devon, which was actually when I first started writing this blog. 

As I sat in Tate Modern talking on the phone to this lovely lady about where particular specimens were and which parts of the herbarium need to be imaged and which not (if one had to give priority), I realised that it would be a jolly good thing to publish some of the material I wrote and found at the time online, so it is available to all who need it as a resource. So here goes:

The Muirhead Memorial Herbarium* is located in 220A on the second floor of the Davy building located in the main Plymouth University Campus.  It is in a very small room which is situated to the side of the main lecture theatre which hmens access is limited to when the lecture theatre is not being used, so no one really ever goes in there. When I first went inside it felt like I was digging up a time capsule. The room was littered with old cigarette butts and packets, old newspapers and chocolate bar wrappers with redundant price tags on. It was like being in Gene Hunt's office in 'Life on Mars'.

The University of Plymouth originally had assorted collections of biological specimens to assist with teaching, but the herbarium was augmented in 1984, when Miss Clara Muirhead bequeathed her herbarium to the University (Fothergill and Hallett, 2000). Later, the specimens from the 1987 Habitat Project were amalgamated in to the Muirhead collection and the herbarium grew further in size.

The Muirhead Memorial Herbarium houses collections of vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi, algae and spirit stored specimens. The geographical range is mainly limited to parts of Scotland, Ireland, Cumberland and Devon and specimens date from the 1940’s to the present, although there are a few older, tropical specimens. Most of these specimens are new donations and have not yet been properly mounted or taxonomically sorted, where others are attached to the Muirhead collection. A recent donation from Seale Hayne has also provided the herbarium with a new agricultural collection of mainly old wheat (Triticum) varieties.  These specimens are also not suitably mounted or taxonomically arranged and are in a very poor state. 

The current standard of care for all of these specimens has been inadequate in recent years due to a lack of funding. The use of non-archival materials and the use of specimens in teaching are continuing to endanger the longevity of the collection and associated data (Fothergill and Hallett, 2000). Further to this, the size of the room is not sufficient for the volume of material present. Many of the un-mounted specimens are not catalogued and are not being stored correctly. With a lack of cupboards, specimens are being stored in boxes where access to them is extremely limited. With there being no dedicated budget for the herbarium, the room has become dated. It is recommended that in the future the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium is housed in a larger, more modern and accessible room. 

At this point it is important to note that digitising and creating a database is only a small facet of a working herbarium. Databases with digital images are used to reduce the handling of fragile specimens, and also to make the herbarium more accessible to outside institutions.  Alone, databases are not sufficient to ensure the prolonged existence of a herbarium.  Herbaria need to be cared for by trained personnel.  The Muirhead Memorial Herbarium, for example, is in desperate need of physical attention.  Many specimens need to be mounted and catalogued, the room needs to be made airtight and the specimens need to be frozen regularly in order to reduce the chances of insect attack. On inspection some of the specimens in the room have already been damaged by insects.  Further to this a digital image, although useful for teaching, is inadequate for the taxonomist.  For scientific study the mounted specimen, along with its collection data is needed.  Therefore it is important to note that although the rest of this report will be exploring the methods used for digitising and databasing herbaria, that this alone is a fragment of a larger project.  It is also important to note that full digitisation of the entire herbarium cannot go ahead until the rest of the specimens have been mounted.  Mounting needs to be done by trained staff using archival material. 

Noteworthy collections present in the herbarium:

Miss Clara Winsome Muirhead (1915-1985) Collection

Figure 1: Miss Clara Winsome Muirhead

Miss Clara Winsome Muirhead (CWM) was a notable botanist of the time (figure 1).  She worked at both Carlisle Museum and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.  She joined the BSBI in 1952 and became active on the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) committee for the study of Scottish flora.  Her interests within botany were wide but her main curiosities included mosses, succulents and cacti – notably Sempervivum, roses and Cassiope. This is clearly evident in the Memorial Herbarium, with their being noteworthy collections of these particular groups of plants. In fact, her enthusiasm for Sempervivum also resulted in an increase in the living collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh and Win revised this genus for the Flora of Turkey.  Amongst her other works she also wrote a monograph on Cassiope lycopodioides. To mark her liking for Cassiope, the well known plantsman R. B. Cooke (who wrote to Win frequently) named his cultivar C. ‘Muirhead’ (C. wardii x lycopodioides) after her.

Frank Kingdon-Ward (1885-1958)

Figure 2: Frank Kingdon-Ward

Frank Kingdon-Ward (figure 2) was born on 6^th November 1885 at Withington, Lancashire.  Inspired by his father, a botanist, Frank acquired a love for nature and this; with his dreams of travel lead him to become a plant hunter.  Frank travelled to Burma, Tibet and Assam in order to find new plants and is one of the last of the famous plant hunters (Musgrave, Gardner and Musgrave, 2000).  Most of the Kingdon-Ward collection is held in the Royal Botanic Garden Kew, although some specimens are in other large institutions such as Edinburgh.  It is common knowledge that there are a few missing specimens from his entire collection (missing collection numbers), and much has been done to track them down.  It was therefore a delight when a few specimens that were collected by Frank Kingdon-Ward (FKW) were found within the Muirhead collection (cabernet four). 

The specimens were Cassiope species and they have been mounted and labelled by Clara Muirhead in her own hand.  Each specimen has its own FKW collection number.  These specimens are extremely valuable historically and should not be housed in cabernet four with the un-mounted and unsorted specimens, which is where they currently lay.  It is recommended that these specimens are moved to a more organised cabernet. One other aspect which is also of importance is the possibility of tracking down the letters that were sent between FKW and CWM as these are part of the FKW collection.  The letters have been seen by various members of staff in the past, but during this study it was not possible to locate them. If the letters have gone astray, this further reinforces the need for more stringent rules for access into the herbarium.

George Forrest (1873-1932)

Figure 3: George Forrest

George Forrest (figure 3) was born on 13^th March 1873 in Falkirk, and after his education at the Kilmarnock Academy he was employed by a pharmaceutical chemist.  It was there where he learnt about the medicinal properties of many plants and how to dry, label and mount herbarium specimens (Musgrave, Gardner and Musgrave, 2000).  After some time, Forrest then started to work for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as an assistant in their herbarium.  In 1904 he got the opportunity to travel to China to collect new plants suited to British gardens.  From then on he became a plant hunter, bringing back more than 30,000 plants, many of which ended up being cultivated in British gardens (Musgrave, Gardner and Musgrave, 2000).  Most of his collection books and specimens are now housed at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.  However, cabinet four in the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium appears to also house several Cassiope specimens that had been collected by George Forrest.  Again all the specimens have been mounted and labelled by Clara Muirhead in her own hand and all of them have Forrest’s individual collection numbers.  This tiny collection of specimens is also very unique for a small herbarium and historically important.

Habitat 1987 Collection

In 1987, forty unemployed people joined a project to survey the Plymouth Flora.  Four of the team were involved in remounting the Muirhead herbarium. Nick Bragg was involved in mounting the material collected from this survey and Dr. Andy Stevens (figure 1.4) and Monica Rowland sorted these mounted specimens, along with the rest of the herbarium, amalgamating the new specimens with the Muirhead collection. The Habitat 1987 collection is extremely important, and the only record of the flora in Plymouth at that particular time.

James Burkill Collection

Figure 4: James Burkhill Collection which is in desperate need of cataloguing and filing

A recent donation to Plymouth University has allowed the institution to obtain several books, papers and herbarium specimens that belonged to Mr. James Burkill, a botanist who worked for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Currently, there is very little information on the internet about this botanist, but from his specimen collection it is clear that he was particularly interested in seaweeds and tropical flora. There are several specimens that had been collected from south eastern Asia and Africa, all of which have written labels on the newspaper files which they lay between. A collection of his note books and published material was also donated, and this half of the collection is kept in room B406 in the Portland Square Building. The Burkhill collection is unmounted and unsorted and is currently being stored in cardboards boxes (figure 1.5). This type of storage is unsuitable and the specimens are in urgent need of mounting, especially as newspaper is known to degrade very quickly, and this could lead to the loss of this valuable collection.

Seale Hayne Collection

Figure 5

Figure 6

The Seale Hayne Collection (figures 5 and 6) is the latest addition to the Muirhead. The specimens were brought over from the Seale Hayne campus during this project and are currently being housed in room 201 in the Davy Building. Some of the loose specimens have been placed on the work bench in the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium for safe-keeping until further cataloguing can be done.  The specimens that were added to the herbarium have been wrapped in polythene bags to prevent insect attack.

Please note that the collections mentioned in this report are not the only collections in the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium, and have only been reviewed here because they were either a new addition to the herbarium, or they were considered important. Please refer to Fothergill and Hallett (2001) for the full inventory of the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium. 

Chapter 5: The Future of the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium

           

The Muirhead Memorial Herbarium, as it is to date, is not dynamic.  It is not being used for research, teaching or promotion and therefore it is a dead-space.  It would therefore be beneficial to the University of Plymouth to amend how the herbarium is used and how it functions in order to maximise the use of space on the campus.  Such changes do not have to involve the purchasing of expensive pieces of equipment, but does require the construction of an online catalogue/database for the specimens, and a short term contract so that someone can complete the mounting of the specimens in the boxes and in cabinets one - four.  Below are listed some of the ways in which the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium could be used by the University in the future and the benefits associated with databasing the specimens.

Future Collecting and teaching

With a small amendment on the teaching syllabus for some courses, the Muirhead Herbarium could become a useful tool for teaching and future research.  Plant collecting and pressing could be incorporated as a feature of field courses, along with data entry.  Biology students could be assessed on their ability to collect, press, label and enter data onto the database like the students are in RBGE.  Such activities would be advantageous to the University, as it could generate voluntary students who may be willing to help with the upkeep of the Muirhead Herbarium in the future.

Collecting plants abroad could also strengthen the links that the University has with institutions over seas.  This could place Plymouth University on the map as a centre for biodiversity research and conservation, which links into sustainability. The University could not only practice conservation on its campus, but also abroad.  Many current projects that are currently run through IUCN now involve the use of herbaria.  Red lists are often generated by measuring collection rates of plants species in herbaria.  Similar assignments could generate interesting research projects for students, which could increase student interest and promote the reputation of the University.

Promoting use within the University and locality

The Habitat 1987 collection mainly focuses on the flora of Plymouth and the surrounding areas.  Therefore, it is of importance to local wildlife organisations and university staff and students as an environmental and botanical reference.  By generating a digital database, access to information about this collection would be improved and this could potentially increase the interest in the herbarium, further adding to the value to the space and improving the reputation of the University.  Improving and strengthening the ties between the City Museum and the University of Plymouth would further add value to the herbarium, especially if it was used for events such as Science Week or on open days, such as those held in Edinburgh. RBGE frequently invites the general public into their herbarium for talks and tours.

Promoting use to outside bodies

As the older collection is primarily made up of material from Cumberland and Scotland it would be appropriate to promote the use of the collection by other interested bodies.  Many institutions such as universities, museums and botanical gardens in these areas maybe interested in referring to the Muirhead collection. If images were taken of the specimens and placed on a database, institutions in these areas could refer to the collections with ease.  This would also reduce the need to loan out specimens as well, helping to reduce complications in the running of the herbarium.  It is also suggested that if a digitisation project goes ahead, then it should be advertised, not only in University magazines, but in more public magazines such as ‘The Garden’ (RHS).

Conclusion

As mentioned by Fothergill and Hallett (2001), the general condition of the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium is satisfactory, but some work does need to be done, the most crucial of which is the development of a database to reduce handling and to ensure that all the specimens are catalogued.  Maintenance and updating the windows in room 220A is also very important, as further deterioration of the seals could pose a threat to the collections in the future.  If the University of Plymouth cannot refurbish, conserve and utilize the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium then it is strongly suggested that the herbarium is moved to in an institution that can.  During the writing of their report, Fothergill and Hallett (2001) found that Carlisle Museum and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) were interested in having the collections made by Clara Winsome Muirhead back, especially if they were in danger of being lost.  During construction of this report, the current curator of RBGE was made aware of the agreement made by the previous curator, and he now recognises that the Muirhead Memorial Herbarium is an important collection which is historically attached to the herbarium at RBGE.  Further to this, Helen Fothergill at the Plymouth City Museum has shown interest in housing the Habitat 1987 collection with their local herbarium if the Muirhead was ever at risk.

*A herbarium is a collection of preserved plants stored, catalogued and arranged systematically for study by botanists, ecologists, historians, geographers and even artists. The specimens that that are stored in a herbarium are a working reference collection used in the identification of plants, the writing of Floras, monographs and red lists, the study of plant evolutionary relationships and other DNA research. A herbarium is like a library or vast catalogue and each plant specimen has its own unique information – where it was found, when it flowers and what it looks like.

Appendix

Frank Kingdon Ward Collection Numbers

3311 – Cassiope sp.                                        8285 – C. wardii

5663a – C. fastigiata                                       6942 – C. pectinata

5663b - C. fastigiata                                        5663c - C. fastigiata

George Forrest Collection Numbers

19068 – C. macrantha                                    19069 – Cassiope sp.

30874 – C. macrantha                                    23560 – Cassiope. sp.

10443 – C. macrantha                                    19495 – C. macrantha

30874 – C. macrantha                                    28746 – C. pectinata

489 – C. pectinata                                           1675 – C. pectinata

30488 – C. pectinata

Nepal Natural History Drawings

This is a unique opportunity to see a display of some of the first scientific natural history drawings from Nepal in London at Embassy of Nepal, 12A Kensington Palace Gardens. 

Daphne papyrifera

 Admission is free, and the show will be open to the public 7-24 January, 

Monday-Friday, 10am-1pm and 2-4pm

This collection of drawings from Nepal was made by Dr Francis Buchanan (later known as Buchanan-Hamilton) between 1802-03, when he was practicing as a surgeon-naturalist on the British Mission led by Captain Knox. During his year in the Kathmandu Valley, he documented more than a thousand plant species, many of which are now rarely seen. This Scottish 'father of Nepalese botany' laid the foundation of botanical knowledge for this Himalayan country, and over 500 new species have been described using his collections.

Woodcut of George Buchanan

Buchanan-Hamilton took with him to Nepal a Bengali artist from Calcutta who prepared exquisite coloured watercolour drawings of over a hundred species – 27 of which have been selected for this exhibition. On his return to England in 1806, Buchanan-Hamilton gave these drawings, and his other scientific records, to his friend James Edward Smith, and they have lain virtually unknown in the archives of the Linnean Society of London ever since. This exhibition is the first public viewing outside Nepal of the Buchanan-Hamilton’s drawings, made by a talented but sadly un-named Indian artist.

Current research is still uncovering the scientific and cultural value of these early collections. Buchanan-Hamilton placed great importance on the local names that the people were using for plants and instructed his Indian pandit, Babu Ramajai Bhattacharji, to record these spoken names and translate them into English. Buchanan-Hamilton frequently used these common names for the new scientific names that he coined and subsequently wrote on the drawings.

Buchanan-Hamilton is now recognised as the pioneer of biodiversity research in Nepal, but he could not have done this by himself and he needed to collaborate with Nepalese and Indian people. As he was one of the first foreigners to spend any length of time in Nepal, he had an unsurpassed understanding of the people, their cultures and traditions, which later helped underpin the developing relationship between Britain and Nepal. Two centuries on, botanical research continues with British and Nepalese scientists working together on the Flora of Nepal.

This facsimile exhibition has been produced by the Linnean Society of London and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, with the support of the Embassy of Nepal and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

It has been sponsored by Nature & Herbs UK Ltd.

Balfour - The People's Professor

An Illustration to have been commissioned
by Balfour as a teaching aid, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Last month a PhD was advertised on the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh website. On the surface, it could have been a PhD in Plant Science, but it evidently was not. The Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh had joined up with the University of Edinburgh in applying for funds to enable them to offer a three year collaborative PhD to look into their John Hutton Balfour (1808-1884) archives and to carry out essential work in understanding the life of this mysterious Regius Keeper, his role in the botanical arena and how he conducted his lessons and facilitated research. Passionate about all historical research, I thought, what a wonderful project!

John Hutton Balfour in his earlier years, 

National Portrait Gallery

After seeing the beautiful illustrations that Balfour had commissioned to help him in his teaching (I had forgotten that I had featured them before in this blog) I decided to carry out a bit of research myself. Though oddly, there isn't much information about this chap out there. This is surprising considering he was pretty much on a level-pegging with the likes of Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911). In fact, Balfour and Hooker were good friends when they were young, both studying at the same University under William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865) and Robert Graham (1786–1845). The sad thing is, they fell out rather drastically after applying for the same lecturing post at Edinburgh University in 1845 (Bellon, 2004). The two men applying for the same post caused quite a stir at the time, and from what is sounds like, it became a ruthless competition between the two men and their supporters.

John Hutton Balfour commissioned illustrations, Kate Davies Designs

Hooker never got the post despite having hundreds of references, a faultless academic track record and having already been working under the previous keeper, Robert Graham. It seems that the whole petition was more about which candidate knew what to do with their merits rather than having the merit alone. Balfour was less qualified, but obviously had something the community wanted. I think there is something we can all learn from in that story. 

Probably feeling really quite heartbroken about that episode in his life, Hooker turned his attentions elsewhere and later on became a huge supporter and friend of Charles Darwin (1809-1882)  Balfour, however, did not really take to Darwin's theories, and this probably ever increased the gap between Balfour and Hooker. Maybe this is one of the reasons why we know so little about Balfour. Maybe his name got blackened with the politics in England alongside his dislike of Darwin's work? Maybe this PhD will reveal all...

 

John Hutton Balfour in his later years - check out the transformation, University of Edinburgh

I do find it interesting that Balfour chose not to embrace the theories discussed in The Origin of Species. Looking at his background we might be able to see where this comes from, although my feeling is that it isn't as straight forward as a simple Religion v Science war. Balfour started his education in Theology at St. Andrew's after being somewhat forced to enter this subject for study by his family. His father was a Reverend and his mother seemed hooked on getting him to follow in the steps of him and her own father. Balfour completed his studies, but became more and more interested in Botany and attended some lectures by the Robert Graham at the University of Edinburgh towards the end of his degree. Not wanting to give up on his botanical studies Balfour and his theology tutor Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) managed to persuade his parents to allow him to study Medicine in the end, which in those days was as close as you were going to get to Botany. 

Botany wasn't really seen as a true academic subject fit for study and was always combined with the Medical Sciences. This is something that Joseph Hooker personally detested and something which I believe he continually worked hard all his life to rectify. Hooker did eventually change how people saw Botanical Science. It did become less amateurish and got a name for itself. He did this by cleverly changing the way he published books and papers, adopting new designs and layouts and a new language, and, of course, through all his work in enlarging Kew. This though can form another blog post! But I will say here that I feel that in the end, the two men actually needed each other in the promotion of Botanical Science. They both filled their own niches. One came up with the theories and employed new minds in the Jodrell laboratory, the other taught those new minds and passed on the theories. (Check out my blog post on Hooker's reluctance to let visitors into Kew).

A John Hutton Balfour's commissioned illustration, Helle Jorgensen

So Balfour had a background in Theology, and this could explain his reluctance to accept or adopt Darwin's theories in the Origin of Species. I guess one can only speculate, but my own feelings towards Balfour is that this isn't the reason. He appears to have been quite an open minded chap and very inclusive in his approach to teaching and talking with people. He, in my mind, was the people's professor and probably did as much as Hooker when it came to promoting Botany as a science in it's own right, although he did it a different way. When it comes to Darwin, I think that Balfour was actually just deeply concerned about the possible civic outcomes that could result from such a publication. The ever encroaching possibility that people could start to feel detached from the world. The mechanical nature of science ever undermining the enchantment that is life. I think Balfour worried that the book heralded the end of an era. The magic of not knowing where we came from was lost.

John Hutton Balfour exhibition, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

On the surface of things it seems Balfour was a genius in dealing with the human condition. It is with no doubt that his childhood and adolescence in Theology taught him a lot about people and I think Balfour cleverly merged his disciplines into one conduit. He fulfilled his love of botany by working with other people and passing on that love - he was a man of service. Through the use of props and paintings, Balfour could transform boring lecture rooms into colourful vibrant places for study. Large illustrations were often produced by Victorian lecturers as teaching aids, but Balfours' were just so large and so colourful that they somehow still ignite a reaction. I am not sure if you agree, but looking at that picture at he start of this post I start to feel really excited and curious. The piece is tantalising and I immediately want to know more. 

Religion in all it's forms has, of course, always been deeply spatial (Warf & Arias). Religious spaces operate an interface of two worlds - the material and the theological. Such places are polylocative, ever fluctuating between the real and imaged, the past and the future (Corrigan). They offer an area where people can reflect; coming to terms with oneself and one's place. They are often highly decorated and the architecture can be dramatic. Incense burns, stained glass shimmers and instruments sing. It is these qualities of religion which makes me feel that Balfour used his background to his advantage. I don't think he was dogmatic and preaching, he just knew what worked and with that in mind set out to make botanical science a religion on it's own. 

Another example of a commissioned illustration, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
From what we know so far, the illustrations were
either produced by Robert Kaye Greville (1794-1866)
or John Sadler (1837-1882)

Balfour transformed the lecture room he inherited from Robert Graham, hanging pictures all around. Isaac, his son, described his father's lecture table as forming the synopsis of the lecture. It would be filled with specimens (living, pressed, carpological) and other artifacts such as books and drawings (Noltie). Balfour always proudly stated the number of illustrations on the title pages of his books - he knew the power of the picture. As part of his application as Regius Keeper in Edinburgh, Balfour stated that he had nearly 1000 drawings on a large scale for illustrating the structure of plants (Noltie). Natural History has never been a purely intellectual pursuit. It has always had a considerable aesthetic component to it as well. Many people are attracted to study nature purely for visual reasons. Even in it's most primitive manifestation - in the form of collecting - there is delight to be had looking at the different shapes, colours and patterns of specimens (Allen). Balfour knew this.

John Hutton Balfour, National Galleries of Scotland

So after thinking about John Balfour for a while, I am left wanting to know more. I wonder if Balfour approached his lectures like a sermon? It is after all evident that he became quite a figurehead in the local community. A luminary of civic morality - the ear, the voice - a man of service. And yet there is a another layer, the Romantic layer. Balfour seems to be a bit of a romanticist looking at accounts of his work in the field. Walking in the mists of Scotland for hours on end, he eventually got the nickname 'Woody Fibre'. 

Woody Fibre, the showman and the magician (check out the portraits). There is always something appealing about these types of people. Audiences always have to play catch up and their curiosity grows. Learning becomes contagious and this sparks the debate and the quest for knowledge. With this in mind we can see how Balfour played a key role in maintaining scientific knowledge. He left the formation of new concepts to others. Sadly though, it is the intellects like Darwin that we all remember, but thing is you need both types of people for cultures to grow. Like an idea that comes too early, an idea that has no way of being passed onto other people cannot grow and is at risk of being forgotten. There is nothing as powerless as an idea whose time has not yet come, but this is equally so for an idea that can't be communicated. 

So, how marvelous for Edinburgh to be instigating this PhD. I myself am going to be watching the space for news. I am personally fascinated by Balfour's use of public space both indoors and outside. I think there could be lot of information in the archives that could be of use to contemporary curators, communicators and educators. The archives have the potential to show a yet unseen way of how 19th century Botany was spread as a popular science, and, as a consequence, the ways in which botany can be communicated today. 

John Hutton Balfour, University of Glasgow

I feel that knowledge has now sadly become a commodity and this is serious. It affects the image of science. As James Secord wrote: 'Consumers expect finished products backed by something akin to a guarantee. When knowledge becomes a commodity and then fails to deliver on its promises, by proving to be provisional, uncertain and open to conservatory, the public all to early become disillusioned. This is especially acute in dealing with complex interactions of the environment' where we are only just beginning to fully understand how nature works.  Take all those climate change models for example - none us have a clue what's really going on. 

There is so much put in front of us now that we just don't know what to do with ourselves. Take a David Attenborough program for example. You sit there, learn that the world is in danger and yet are given no real tangible route of action. We sit there in a panic, or in an emotional void not knowing what to do, and then the adverts come in, offering us a way out of the void through consumption - the last thing that the natural world needs on a mass scale. I think Balfour would have agreed that the study of Science needs to continue in a more harmonious way, where humans are nature and not something that is separate from it. In the words of Balfour:

'Science in itself cannot give peace'

or on a more personal level:

'Mathematics never healed a broken heart'

Biblography:
 

Warf, B. and Arias, S., (2008), The Spatial Turn

Allen, D. E., (2001), Naturalists and Society, The Culture of Natural History in Britain 1700- 1900

Bellon, R., (2004), A Question of Merit, Studies in History and Philosophy of Biology and Biomedical Science

Noltie, H.,(2008), Nature study: Louise Bourgeois and John Hutton Balfour Exhibition Catalogue

Livingstone, D. N., and Withers, C. W. J., (2011), Geographies of 19th Century Scince

Secord, A., (2002), PhD Thesis: Artisan Naturalists

Golinski, J., (1998), Making Natural Knowledge

Secord, A., (1994), Corresponding Interests, The British Journal History f Science, pp. 383-408

Secord, A., (1996), Artisan Botany, Cultures of Natural History, CUP

Outram, D., (1996),New Species on Natural History, Cultures of Natural History, CUP

D. Allen., (1996),Tastes and Crazes, Cultures of Natural History, CUP, pp. 394

Drouin, J-M., and Bensaude-Vincent, B., (1996), Nature of the people, Cultures of Natural History, CUP, pp. 408

Books by Balfour:

Plants of the Bible (1885)
Botany and Religion (1882)
Biographical Sketch of Dr. Golding Bird (1855) 
Biography of J. Coldstream Lond. (1865) 
Sketch of D.T.K. Drummond prefixed to 'Last Scenes in the Life of Our Lord' (1878) 
Manual (1848)
Class Book' (1852) 
Outlines (1854) 
Elements (1869) 
Botanist's Companion (1860) 
Botanist's Vade Mecum 
Guide to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh (1873) 
Obituary Notice of Charles Robert Darwin, published in Transactions & Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh