34 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



surrounded the parsonages with gardens in which he grew many rare and 

 interesting plants. In the midst of these, Carl Linnaeus, the famous botanist, 

 was born and reared. Later, while a student at the university, he spent a 

 summer vacation at home in 1732, and made a list of the plants in his 

 father's garden. This list is still to be seen in the Academy of Science at 

 Stockholm. Although defective, the first four classes being unrepresented, 

 it enumerates 224 species. Of these, many were at that time very rare in 

 cultivation. Professor Theodore Fries in his biography of Linnaeus enumer- 

 ates 36 of the rarest of these. Among them we notice six American plants, 

 viz., Rhus Toxicodendron, the poison oak, Mirahilis Jalapa, four-o-clock, 

 Asclepias syriaca, milkweed, Phytolacca decandra, pokeweed, Anteniiaria 

 (now Anaphalis) margaritacea, pearly everlasting, and Solanam tuberosum, 

 the potato. It may be remarked that the cultivation of potatoes was 

 introduced into Sweden about twenty years later. We see from this that 

 Linnaeus had learned to know some American plants even in his early 

 childhood. 



Carl Linnaeus was born the 13th of May, O.S., 1707, at Rashult, an 

 annex to the parish of Stenbrohult. His father was the curate there; but 

 two years later, at the death of his father-in-law, Samuel Broderson, he 

 became rector and moved to Stenbrohult. In the fall of 1714, Carl Lin- 

 naeus entered the school of Wexio, and graduated from the "gymnasium" 

 in 1727. His parents, especially his mother, wanted him to study for the 

 ministry; but he had no love for theology, nor for metaphysics, nor the 

 classics. He learned Latin tolerably, however, because that language 

 helped him to study the natural sciences. He decided to study medicine, 

 and entered with that view the University of Lund, which was nearest his 

 home, but remained there only one year, learning that there were better 

 facilities at Upsala. At the latter place he soon became acquainted with 

 Professors Rudbeck and Celsius, two of the most prominent scientists of 

 that time, and was allowed to use their libraries. The former, who had 

 many duties to perform, soon asked Linnaeus to give for him the public 

 lectures in botany. The income from these gave Linnaeus means to sup- 

 port himself, and linked him closer to his favorite study. He became 

 acquainted with practically all the plants of the gardens and fields of the 

 whole region around Upsala, and learned all the scientific names given in the 

 books at his disposal. 



The latter was not an easy matter when we take into consideration the 

 form of scientific names at that period. For example, the most approved 

 name of the common blue-grass that adorns our lawns was, "Gramen 

 pratense paniculatum majus, latiore folio, Poa Theophrasti." Other names 

 of the same grass were, "Gramen vulgo cog7iitum," "Gramen prafen,se 



