TETRANDRTA. f? 



was named by Sovage in honour of the Count de 

 Buffon; and Linnaeus added the epithet tenuifolia, 

 appropriate to the plant, and at the same time expres- 

 sive of the slender pretensions of the French naturalist 

 to that honour. Unfortunately these two great men 

 entertained but little respect for each other. In 

 France the name of Tournefort r held the first place 



he exemplified his system in the description of 1S,655 species, 

 including varieties. His method was founded upon the gene- 

 ral habit or structure of Plants ; their size and duration, as 

 herbs and trees ; their greater or less degree of perfection ; the 

 place of growth ; the number of seed-leaves, petals, capsulte, 

 and seeds ; the situation and disposition of the flowers ; the 

 absence or presence of the Calyx and petals ; and the substance 

 of the leaves and fruit. From a combination of these circum- 

 stances, he arranged all vegetables in 33 Classes, which he 

 subdivided into 125 sections. His method is extremely elabo- 

 rate, has more natural Classes than any artificial system, but 

 it is extremely difficult, when applied to practice, and, there- 

 fore, is now more studied for curiosity than use. He died 

 January 17, 1704-5. 



Ray was an ornament to learning and evcry'branch of natu- 

 ral knowledge, and had the singular happiness to devote fifty 

 years of his life to the cultivation of the sciences he loved. In- 

 cited by the most ardent genius which overcame innumerable 

 difficulties and discouragements, his labours were in the end 

 crowned with success. He reformed the studies of Botany and 

 Zoology, he raised them to the dignity of a science, and his 

 own investigations added more real improvement to them in 

 England, than any of his predecessors. 



r Pitton de Tournefort was born at Aix. In 1678 he ex- 

 plored the mountains of Dauphiny and Savoy, and the year 

 following went to Montpellier, where he studied medicine, aft«s 



