378 HISTORY OF BOTANY. 



will, in order to avoid too great an interruption of chronological order, 

 record some of its circumstances in a separate section. 



Sect. 3. Stationary Interval. 



THE method of Csesalpinus was not, at first, generally adopted. It 

 had, indeed, some disadvantages. Employed in drawing the boundary- 

 lines of the larger divisions of the vegetable kingdom, he had omitted 

 those smaller groups, Genera, which were both most obvious to com- 

 mon botanists, and most convenient in the description and comparison 

 of plants. He had also neglected to give the Synonyms of other 

 authors for the plants spoken of by him ; an appendage to botanical 

 descriptions, which the increase of botanical information and botanical 

 books had now rendered indispensable. And thus it happened, that a 

 work, which must always be considered as forming a great epoch in 

 the science to which it refers, was probably little read, and in a short 

 time could be treated as if it were quite forgotten. 



In the mean time, the science was gradually improved in its details. 

 Clusius, or Charles de 1'Ecluse, first taught botanists to describe well. 

 "Before him," says Mirbel, 21 "the descriptions were diffuse, obscure, 

 indistinct; or else concise, incomplete, vague. Clusius introduced 

 exactitude, precision, neatness, elegance, method : he says nothing 

 superfluous ; he omits nothing necessary." He travelled over great 

 part of Europe, and published various works on the more rare of the 

 plants which he had seen. Among such plants, we may note now one 

 well known, the potato ; which he describes as being commonly used in 

 Italy in 1586 ; aa thus throwing doubt, at least, on the opinion which 

 ascribes the first introduction of it into Europe to Sir "Walter Raleigh, 

 on his return from Virginia, about the same period. As serving to 

 illustrate, both this point, and the descriptive style of Clusius, I quote, 

 in a note, his description of the flower of this plant. 33 



21 Physiol. Veg. p. 625. w Clusius. Exotic, iv. c. 52, p. Ixxix. 



23 p a p as Peruanorum. Arachidna, Tkeoph. forte. Flores elegantes, uncia- 

 Jis amplitudinis aut majores, angulosi, singulari folio constantes, sed ita 

 complicato ut quinque folia discreta videantur, coloris exterius ex purpura 

 candicantis, interius purpurascentis, radiis quinque lierbaeeis ex umbilico stellse 

 instar prodeuntibus, et totidem staminibus flavis in umbonem coeuntibus." 



He says that the Italians do not know whence they had the plant, and that 

 they call it Taratouffli. The name Potato was, in England, previously applied 

 to the Sweet Potato {Convolvulus batatas), which was the common Potato, in 



