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The description of Medea, and of some of the labours of Hercules, etc., which he has introduced into his "Botanic Garden," show how admirably he would have succeeded had he pursued this plan; and I cannot help regretting that the suggestions of his friend could not prevail upon him to quit for nobler objects his vegetable loves.' Edgeworth's prediction has not yet come true, nor does it seem likely that it ever will, 'that in future times some critic will arise, who shall re-discover the "Botanic Garden,"' and build his fame upon this discovery.
Dr.Darwin did not follow his friend's advice, to choose a better subject for his next poem; nor did Edgeworth do what his friend wished, which was to publish a decade of inventions with neat maps.
In the education of his children, he had already learned the value of the observation of children's ways and mental states.

Having found that Rousseau's system was imperfect, he was groping after some better method.

His daughter writes: 'Long before he ever thought of writing or publishing, he had kept a register of observations and facts relative to his children.