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An account is given of this major work on Cape heaths (Erica spp) produced during a period that such plants were fashionable. The first volume (1794–1802), originally published in parts, contained the author's explanation and a dissertation on the history and cultivation of these species. None of the plates in its four volumes was numbered so that subscribers could make their own arrangements, but both alphabetical and systematic lists were provided. The copyright acts of that period required the date of issue to be stated, and lists of these help to establish the dates of publication of the names of the new species described. Examination of the engraved dates and other evidence indicates that the following dates can be applied to Coloured engravings of heaths: original parts 1794–1802, volume I “1802”, volume II “1805x201D;, volume III “1809x201D; and volume IV 1810–1830, but these are subject to further work. These dates have also been used to infer the probable contents of the earlier parts which the discovery of a set of the original 23 numbers has since confirmed.

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Through his early interest in fossils, Mantell participated in the geological exploration of the Weald and the Chalk Downs around Lewes. The material he accumulated contributed to the descriptive phase of British palaeontology and formed his notable museums at Lewes and Brighton, before its eventual acquisition by the British Museum. The nature of his collections, their significance and use in the interpretation of both vertebrate and invertebrate fossils and our knowledge of Cretaceous faunas, are discussed.