ABSTRACT
When Hewett Cottrell Watson wrote his prize essay on plant geography at Edinburgh in 1831, the scope had encompassed much of the Old World, but when he began publishing on botany he limited himself to Britain. Although plant geography and species variability were uppermost in Watson's mind, he followed Humboldt's tradition of describing the geography of domestic as well as wild species. Watson also anticipated in Remarks some modern ideas on the statistics of species-area relationships. Watson's publications established him as the leading British student of plant geography. Watson's account of his trip shows that he could write narration and description that bears comparison with Humboldt's and Darwin's travel books. A great challenge for Watson was observing the influence of elevation on the composition of vegetation. Watson estimated that Calluna and Thymus grew at 7000 feet, Erica reached 6000 feet, and the upper zone of other evergreen shrubs reached 5000-5500 feet.
