244 AGS REG ATE AND 



and distinct genera by the seeds or parts of the flower, 

 without taking into consideration the general and partial 

 involucral leaves, which they therefore chose to consider 

 as a part of the fructification, and defined as a calyx re- 

 mote from the fiower. The rays of the umbel, of 

 course, became the subdivisions of a branched recepta- 

 cle, and the whole umbel was considered as one aggre- 

 gate flower. It necessarily followed that a Cyme, see 

 p. 192, must be considered in the same light, nor did 

 the sagacity of Linnjeus overlook the arguments in fa- 

 vour of this hypothesis. Many of the umbelliferous 

 tribe, as Heracleum^ t. 939, Caucalis, Coriandnwi, Sec, 

 have their marginal flowers dilated, radiant, and more or 

 less inclined to be imperfect or abortive, thus evincing 

 an analogy with real compound flowers like the Sunflow- 

 er, which analogy is still more striking between Oe- 

 nanthe, t. 363, 347, 348, and the Marigold, Calendula. 

 So the cymose plants, as Viburnum Opulus, t. 332, bear 

 dilated and abortive marginal flowers, and Hydrangea 

 hortensis, Sm. Ic. Pict. t. 12, has scarcely any others. 

 , Cornus sanguinea, Engl. Bot. t. 249, has a naked cyme, 

 ^Sueci<kiy t. 310, an umbel accompanied by coloured 

 bracteas, or, as Linnaeus judged, a coloured involucrumy 

 proving the close affinity between these two modes of 

 inflorescence. 



Notwithstanding all this, I presume to dissent from 

 the above hypothesis, as offering too great violence to 

 Nature, and swerving from that beautiful and philosoph- 

 cal Linnsean principle, of characterizing genera by the 

 fructification alone ; a principle which those who are 

 competent to the subject at all, will, I believe, never 



