48 Mr. W. S. Macleay on certain general Laws regulating 



least in my opinion, to merit the careful attention of zoologists 

 as well as botanists. It will readily be imagined that, in saying 

 this much, I do not, in the presence of so many more able judges, 

 presume to advance any positive opinion on his merits as an ob- 

 server. I confine myself entirely to that theory or reasoning 

 founded by M. Fries upon the general result of observations, 

 which it would be impossible to suppose altogether incorrect, 

 even if his reputation as a cryptogamist were less than it really 

 is. On this head, however, I have to remark that our au- 

 thor, although undoubtedly an original observer, is neither the 

 first who has advanced this theory, nor do Fungi compose the 

 only part of organized matter in which this sort of arrange- 

 ment has been conceived to exist. So that even with respect 

 to his theory I may be a partial judge, and may probably be 

 more inclined to admit the validity of his conclusions, than 

 will be deemed prudent by others who are altogether unpreju- 

 diced. 



M. Fries justly remarks, that the notion of the celebrated 

 Bonnet, as to the existence of a simple series or chain of natural 

 affinities, has been long exploded. The truth however is, that 

 the law of continuity has been quite misunderstood both by 

 Bonnet, and his opponents, so far as organized matter is con- 

 cerned : for Bonnet fancied that, if affinities were continuous, 

 the series must therefore be simple : and some modern natu- 

 ralists finding by experience the series not to be simple, there- 

 fore supposed that affinities could not be continuous, but that 

 nature presents to the view a mass of unconnected groups, in 

 which it would be a waste of time and a loss of labour to search 

 for any general plan. It does not however appear that either 

 of these inferences has been very philosophically drawn; for 

 there is a certain rule in natural history which originates solely 

 in observation, and which, if properly followed up, will infallibly 



induce 



