113 



adaptation or mutation, or similarly to produce many others by crossing, but 

 also are formed from witliin or without by other means which are as yet 

 unknown to man, - - such minds can neither recognize the existence of the 

 phylogeuetic tree, nor believe in the possibility of phylogeuetic classification. 

 Moreover, for those who understand the real state of the natural relations 

 of families as illustrated by the examples which we have just given 

 above, it is impossible to believe the existence of any determined static 

 natural system such as modern systeniatizers are unanimously struggling to 

 make. 



There have liitherto been several systems 15 which have been called natural. 

 But, all of them are static. The two most used by students at the present 

 time are the systems of BENTHAM-HOOKEE and of ENGLEB. In both of these, 

 speaking generally (certainly there are exceptions), one first group (say a family) 

 is connected with a second by a relation established according to a certain 

 view, while the latter is connected with a third by a relation established 

 according to another view. The members of tin's part of the system are, 

 therefore, considered from one point of view ; but those of that part of the 

 same system are arranged according to another point of view. For example, 

 the members of the Mouoctyledoues are arranged regardless of whether they 

 are gainopetalous or polypetalous ; while those of the Dicotyledones are arranged 

 on the basis of the said characters- 5 . Another example is found in the classi- 

 fication of the Tubi florae. Some families of the latter series are on the one 

 hand classified on the basis of whether they have or have not eremus ; while 

 others of the same series are, on the other hand, arranged on the basis of 

 whether their flowers are zygomorphous or actinomorphous 3 '. Accordingly, 

 the present systems certainly cannot be taken as denoting natural relations 

 of the members in every respect ; nor are they systems that denote relations 



1) Among the systems which have been established by great authors, I may mention the 

 following, namely : The system of LINNAEUS (1735) ; that of A. L. DE JTJSSIETJ (1789) ; that of 

 AUG. PYB. DK CANDOLLE (1819); that of ST. ENDLICHEB (1836-1840); that of A. BBONGNIABT 

 (1843) ; that of BENTHAM and HOOKEB (1862-1883) ; that of ALEX. BBAUNS (1864) ; that of AD. 

 EICHLEB (1883). That of VAN TIEGHEM (1898) ; that of ADOLF ENGLEB (1912). 



2) ENGLEB, A. Erlauterungen zu der Ubersicht iiber die Embryophyta siphonogama, in 

 Nat. Pfl.-fam. Nacht. L p. 371. 



3) ENGLEB, A 1. c. p. 370. 



