374 HISTORY OF BOTANY. 



the growing treasures of the botanical world ; he adds," " In thii 

 immense multitude of plants, I see that want which is most felt in any 

 other unordered crowd : if such an assemblage be not arranged into 

 brigades like an army, all must be tumult and fluctuation. And this 

 accordingly happens in the treatment of plants : for the mind is over- 

 whelmed by the confused accumulation of things, and thus arise endless 

 mistake and angry altercation." He then states his general view, 

 which, as we shall see, was adopted by his successors. " Since all 

 science consists in the collection of similar, and the distinction of dissi- 

 milar things, and since the consequence of this is a distribution into 

 genera and species, which are to be natural classes governed by real 

 differences, I have attempted to execute this task in the whole range 

 of plants ; ut si quid pro ingenii niei tenuitate in hujusmodi studio 

 profecerim, ad communem utilitatem proferam." We see here how 

 clearly he claims for himself the credit of being the first to execute this 

 task of arrangement. 



After certain preparatory speculations, he says, 9 " Let us now 

 endeavor to mark the kinds of plants by essential circumstances in 

 the fructification." He then observes, " In the constitution of organs 

 three things are mainly important the number, the position, the 

 figure." And he then proceeds to exemplify this : "Some have under 

 one flower, ONE seed, as Amygdala, or ONE seed-receptacle, as Rosa ; 

 or TWO seeds, as Ferularia, or TWO seed-receptacles, as Nasturtium ; 

 or three, as the Tithymalum kind have THREE seeds, the Bulbacece 

 THREE receptacles ; or four, as Marrubium, FOUR seeds, Siler TOUR 

 receptacles ; or more, as Cicoracece, and Acanacece have MORE seeds, 

 Pinus, MORE receptacles" 



It will be observed that we have here ten classes made out by means 

 of number alone, added to the consideration of whether the seed is 

 alone in its covering, as in a cherry, or contained in a receptacle with 

 several others, as in a berry, pod, or capsule. Several of these divisions 

 are, however, further subdivided according to other circumstances, and 

 especially according as the vital part of the seed, which he called the 

 heart (cor 10 ), is situated in the upper or lower part of the seed. As 

 our object here is only to indicate the principle of the method of 

 Caesalpinus, I need not further dwell on the details, and still less on the 

 defects by which it is disfigured, as, for instar.ce, the retention of the 

 old distinction of Trees, Shrubs, and Herbs. 



Dedicatio, a 2. 9 Lib. i. c. 13, 14. 10 Corculurn of Linnteua 



