[ ll 1 



doubt of the fact, I took no precautions to have it 

 afcertained. But this I fhall endeavour to do on 

 fome future occafion. 



My difappointment in this inftance, however, 

 made me examine with a greater degree of atten- 

 tion than I had ever before done, the whole popular 

 doctrine of what is cdlted/eminal varieties among 

 plants ; when I found from other experiments I had 

 formerly made, and obfervations I could recollect, 

 that there is great reafon to fufpect that the received 

 doctrine on that head is only a popular error. The 

 following facts feem to confirm this opinion. 



The phr&k feminal variety has been adopted by 

 botanical gardeners, and philofophical botanifts, to 

 denote certain fmaller variations that are obfervable 

 among plants of the fame kind, than they have been 

 able to find marks for difcriminating. Plants by 

 them are arranged into claries, which are further 

 divided into genera, and thefe again into fjpecies. 

 Seminal varieties denote different kinds that are all 

 reducible to the fame fpecies, and they have ob- 

 tained their name becaufe it was fuppofed that they 

 differed from each other only in fome fmall pecu- 

 liarities that were accidentally obtained from feeds, 

 and that of courfe plants raifed from feeds were apt 

 perpetually to afford new accidental varieties of this 



fort. 



