of Antoiite Laurent De Jussieu. 621 



history from the year 1789 to 1800: Antoine Laurent De 

 Jussieu devoted them to labouring in the cause of humanity 

 and science, in contributing to the amelioration of the hospi- 

 tals, and to the organisation of a museum of natural history. 



In fact, from 1790, he was nominated by his section 

 member of the municipality of Paris ; and was intrusted, 

 under this title, with the administration of the hospitals 

 and convents of that city. He fulfilled these functions until 

 1792. 



In 1793, the Jardin des Plantes, or Royal Garden, was 

 remodelled, under the name of the Museum of Natural History. 

 All the persons intrusted, under different titles, with the 

 direction or the preservation of collections, were elevated to 

 the rank of professors, and intrusted with a share in the 

 administration of this establishment. M. De Jussieu, who, 

 like Vaillant and Bernard De Jussieu, had till then only the 

 title of demonstrateur, was, under the name professor of 

 rural botany, appointed to teach botany in the country. He 

 thus shared the teaching in this science with his colleague 

 Desfontaines ; and his herborisations, followed by a crowd 

 of young students and of distinguished amateurs, contributed 

 to spread a taste for the study of botany, to diffuse the sound 

 principles which the the professor had introduced into the 

 science, and to render it beloved through the simplicity and 

 kind-heartedness of him who made it known. 



Chosen successively by his colleagues to fulfil the duties 

 of director and treasurer in the government of the museum, 

 he rendered great services to this establishment, especially M 

 the difficult period of its reorganisation, when, notwithstand- 

 ing the obstacles that political events often opposed to the 

 opening, and even the maintenance, of the museum, he found 

 means, by his zeal and activity, to render this establishment 

 many services which have contributed to its prosperity. 



He resumed the publication of his botanical researches at 

 the time the Annates du Museum were begun, in 1802. 



Independently of a succession of notices upon the history 

 of the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, we find in the first vo- 

 lumes of this collection, many papers upon new or ill-described 

 genera, or upon families which recent discoveries, or more 

 accurate observations, had enriched with new genera. Thus, 

 the Amaranthae, the Nyctagineae, and the Onagraceae were 

 successively submitted to a fresh examination. 



It may be seen that these labours had already for their ob- 

 ject the perfecting of the Genera Plantarum, and of the natural 

 method ; but this design becomes more evident in the fifth 

 volume of this collection, in ISO*; for Antoine Laurent De 



