L 10 1 



botanicott, and received fuch afliftance from the crkical 

 knewledge of his friend as probably could not elfewliere 

 have been procured. 



in his eager fearch after botanical literature, he 

 accidentally found Vaillant's difTertation on the ftrudlurc 

 of flovs^ers, where fome mention is made of the itamina 

 and piftils, which had before been confidered as infigni- 

 ficantly ufelefs, and where fomething is faid of a better 

 theory. This, co-operating probably with his own 

 obfervations, kindled the firft fpark of that luminous 

 fyflem which has fince difFufed its influence wherever 

 the light of literature has found its way. He compofcd 

 therefore a fmall treatife on the fexes of plants, full of 

 erudition and novelty; and which fpeedily conduded him 

 to thofe honours and regards which his perfevcrance and 

 {attainments fo jufty merited, 



The do£lrine that plants had diftinft fexes was by 

 no means a new one: but it remained for Linnaeus 

 clearly to elucidate this obfcure and intricate fubjedl, to 

 demonftrate its univerfality, and to make it fubfervient 

 to fyftem. Theophrafius and Ariilotle obferve that 

 plants are commonly divided into male and female, one 

 of which is fertile the other barren. " If the dull of the 

 branch of a male palm be fhaken over the female tree, 

 fays Ariftotle, the fruit of the latter will ripen quickly." 

 Piofcorides names feveral plants male and female,' but 

 l^vithout a knowledge of their relative fexe?, for he calls 



