James Main (1775? -1846) was a Scottish botanist who began his working life as a gardener in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh.Linnean Society, (1846). Obituary, James Main. ''Proceedings of the Linnean Society''. No. XX1X, 24 May 1846, 303-304. Linnean Society, London.

Career

Main's botanical career began when he was employed by

George Hibbert George Hibbert (13 January 1757 – 8 October 1837) was an English merchant, politician, slave-owner, ship-owner, amateur botanist and book collector. With Robert Milligan, he was also one of the principals of the West India Dock Company which ...

, who despatched him to China to collect plants. Main also collected for Gilbert Slater of Essex, and is credited with the introduction of the

Chinese elm ''Ulmus parvifolia'', commonly known as the Chinese elm or lacebark elm, is a species native to eastern Asia, including China, India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002)Ulmaceae in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of ...

''Ulmus parvifolia'' in 1794. Some years later, Main turned to farming in Scotland, but was unsuccessful. A horticultural

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

, he made a living as a writer, submitting frequent papers on horticultural and agricultural practice to the principal periodicals of the day, progressing to books. He also edited, amongst others, new editions of Mawe's ''Every Man his own Gardener''. Main was elected an Associate of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

in 1829. He died at Chelsea, London, in 1846 'at an advanced age'

Publications

* ''The Villa and Cottage Florists' Directory.'' (1830 & 1835), London: Whittaker & Co. Republished 2008 by Forgotten Books, London. * ''Illustrations of Vegetable Physiology, practically applied.'' (1833). London: William Orr. * ''Popular Botany''. (1835). London: Orr and Smith. * ''The Young Farmer's Manual.'' (1839). London: Ridgway. Republished 2016 by Wentworth Press * ''The Forest Planter's and Pruner's Assistant''. (1839). London: Ridgway

References

External links

Scottish botanists {{Scotland-botanist-stub