CAROLUS LINNsEUS 169 



called on him every day for a week, but was not ad- 

 mitted. It was said that Boerhaave had made even 

 Peter the Great of Russia wait two hours in an ante- 

 room before seeing him. There seemed no chance for 

 the young botanist, but it occurred to him to send in a 

 little book he had published. This pleased Boerhaave, 

 who at last granted him an interview, and took him into 

 the garden to see a tree which was supposed to be unde- 

 scribed. Linnaeus at once recognized it, and told his 

 learned host where he would find a description ; when 

 they returned to the house the book was found, and 

 Boerhaave had to admit that he was right. In such 

 ways Linnaeus gained the friendship and respect of men 

 in the countries he visited, and came away with the 

 beginning of an international reputation. 



7. After practicing medicine in Stockholm with Professor 

 great success, Linnaeus at length became Professor of 

 Botany at Upsala. This enabled him to devote himself 



to biological science, and to the encouragement of those 

 who were interested in natural history. His influence 

 was profound, both through his published works and his 

 personal relationships with students all over the world. 

 In North and South America, in China and Africa, 

 wherever explorers could penetrate, Linnaeus had his 

 friends and disciples, collecting plants and animals for 

 their beloved master. Some of these helpers are still 

 remembered in the names of familiar plants ; thus 

 Peter Kalm sent from North America the beautiful 

 genus Kalmia, the so-called laurel of our Eastern states. 



8. The work of Linnaeus was extensive and varied, The 

 but we are now concerned only with its principal as- Ji^sifiJati 

 pects. In the field of botany he devised a system of of P lants 

 classification which was based primarily on the number 



and character of pistils and stamens. Those who had 



