36 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



unisexual and bisexual flowers. The classes were divided into orders. 

 In the first 13 classes the orders were determined by the number of the 

 pistils; in the 14th and 15th, by the fruit; and in the 16th to 18th and 20th 

 to 23d, by the number and distinctness or union of the stamens. The classi- 

 fication of the 19th class is too complex to enter into here. The 24th class 

 was divided into four orders: Filices, Musci, Algae and Fungi. 



This system of classification is purely artificial. Linnseus himself re- 

 garded it only as temporary, and expected that it would soon be supplanted 

 by a more rational one, based on natural relationship. The Linnaean 

 system served its purpose, however. It became a means by which it was 

 possible to tabulate every known genus of plants. Before this time there 

 had been no systems at all, or such crude ones as we find even to-day in 

 some popular flower-books, where the plants are classified by the color of 

 their flowers. If the natural systems of DeCandolle, Bentham and Hooker, 

 and Engler and Prantl, are too complicated for popular books, why not go 

 back to the simple system of Linnaeus ? It would at least give a good insight 

 into the structure of the flower instead of the mere color. 



In his "Genera Plantarum," Linnseus applied this system to all known 

 genera of plants, and gave each of them a concise and plain description. 



Cliffort had many American plants in his garden, but he sent Linnaeus 

 to England to visit Sir Hans Sloane, Professor Dillenius and Philip Miller, 

 in order to secure American plants grown by them. Both Sloane and 

 Dillenius treated Linnaeus at first with coolness, because he "confounded 

 botany." On his farewell visit to Dillenius, Linnaeus politely asked him 

 what he meant by "confounding botany." Dillenius took from the library 

 the first few pages of Linnseus's own "Genera Plantarum," and showed him 

 where there was written at numerous places "NB." Dillenius stated that 

 all the genera so marked were wrongly described. The first example he 

 pointed out, if I am not mistaken, was Canna, placed by Linnaeus in his first 

 class, which contains plants with but one stamen. Botanists before this 

 time had described it as having three stamens. To settle the dispute they 

 went out into the garden, and the living plant showed that Linnaeus was 

 correct. Dillenius then retained Linnaeus for several days, and found that 

 the older botanists in most cases were at fault and the young Swede correct. 

 From being an opponent, he became a friend, of Linnaeus and let him have 

 all the plants he wanted. 



After his return to Holland, Linnaeus continued his work in Clifi'ort's 

 garden with renewed zeal, and completed his "Hortus Cliffortianus," a 

 large folio, in which are enumerated and described all the plants found in 

 Cliffort's collections, together with synonyms and citations of nearly all 

 botanical works then in existence. In preparing this work he became 



