STUDY XT. 209 



genius of Sophocles, by prefenting us with a naked 

 catalogue of his tragedies, of the divifion of their 

 acts and fcenes, and of the number of verfes which 

 compofe them. With equal abfurdity are they 

 chargeable who colled plants, without marking 

 their relations to each other, and to the elements ; 

 they fcrupuloufly preferve the letter, but fupprefs 

 the fenfe of it. Far différent was the manner in 

 which a Tournefort, a Vaillant, a Linnœus, profe- 

 cuted the ftudy of Botany. If thefe learned men 

 have not deduced any confequence from thofe re- 

 lations, they have, at leaft, prepared the projecting 

 ftones of expectation, which promife the conftruc- 

 tion of a future fabric of fcience. 



Though the obfervations which \ have juft 

 made, refpecting the elementary harmonies of 

 plants, are but few in number, I have the con- 

 fidence to affirm, that they are of very high im- 

 portance to the progrefs of agriculture. The point 

 in queftion is not to determine geometrically the 

 genera of flowers, whofe mirrors are the bell 

 adapted for reflecting the rays of the Sun in every 

 point of Latitude ; the glory of calculating theii 

 curves is referved for future Newtons. Nature has 

 outrun our moil ardent wifhes, in thofe places 

 where fhe has been left at liberty to re-eftabliili 

 her own plans. We have it in our power to fe- 

 cure profperity to ours, in a manner the mod De- 

 voir, in. p neficiajj 



