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it is my desire to explain what I propose to call the dynamic system showing 

 the natural relations of plants. In so doing, I shall principally refer to the 

 Augiosparnis, although I am perfectly sure that the result would be the same 

 if I should refer to other classes of the vegetable kingdom. 



2. NATUKAL CLASSIFICATION. 



The first question which arises in the discussion of the present subject 

 is "What is the natural classification of plants ? " We answer that it is to 

 classify plants according to their natural relations. In doing this, we first 

 attempt to find whether the individuals which we are going to classify are 

 separable according to tin's view but are united according to that view, i.e. to 

 find the difference or resemblance between or among them. The second attempt 

 in the course of natural classification is to unite the individuals into a small 



or large group or groups according to their resemblance, into groups which 



should be subject to alteration as to their outlines as well as to their members, 

 according as we look at the matter from this or that point of view. These, 

 for the sake of simplicity, I propose to call dynamic groups. Then, in the 

 tliird place, we should try to arrange the dynamic groups thus obtained, such 

 as spades, genera families or series, according to their natural relations, - - to 

 arrange them not in fixed orders, such as are determined in the systems of the 

 present day, but to arrange them in orders that vary with different views, or 

 simply speaking, to arrange them after a dynamic manner. In other words, 

 to systematize plants according to their natural relations is to distinguish them 

 one from another, to unite them tlirough their resemblance, and finally to 

 construct a dynamic system (so as to denote their mutual relations) changeable 

 according to different views. In so doing, we shall try to understand the 

 relations of all the members of the vegetable kingdom, or simply to understand 

 the vegetable kingdom. This is, according to my idea, the principal object 



1) In the conrse of my study, I became more and more aware of the analogy between the 

 classification of words and that of plants. An artificial system of plants is comparable to the 

 ordinary dictionary in which words are arranged in alphabetical order. In constructing such a 

 word list, we merely consult o\ir own convenience ; while another kind of dictionary like EOGET'S 

 " Thesaurus " somewhat resembles my dynamic system, denoting real relations between plants 



