THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 57 



the same year as Ray, died 1693. Malpighi was the first to 

 observe the cellular structure of plants, and may well be termed 

 the father of anatomy. 1 am happy to submit a copy of his 

 work for your ins|)eclion. In coai[)any with Malpighi should be 

 mentioned die names of the Englishman, Nehemiah Grew, and 

 the Dutchman, Van Leeuwenhoek. Whit Malpighi did for 

 anatomy, Grew did for die physiology of plants, while Leeuwen- 

 hoek was the observing microscopist. The works of all three 

 were published in London at the expense of the Royal Society. 

 A third shining light rf this period was Professor Camerarius, 

 director of the Botanic Garden of Tuebingen, who lived from 

 1665 to 1721. Camerarius demonstrated by actUcd experiments 

 the sexual organs of plants. Some other botanists of this time 

 should yet be mentioned, especially Magnol, the director of the 

 Botanic Garden of Montpellier, after whom the genus Magnolia 

 has been named ; further, Caspar Commelinus, director of the 

 Botanic Garden in Amsterdam, three of whose works are exhibited 

 here to-night. Professor Vaillant of Paris, whose book, " Botani- 

 con Parisiense," is bef. re you. A lesser light is Jacob Breynius, 

 a merchant of Danzig, whose illustrated work, " Centuria Plant- 

 arum," I have also here. Then we have Leonard Plukenet, 

 Professor of Botany in London, 1652 to 1706, repres:;nted to-night 

 by some of his works. Although of a somewhat later date, I will 

 here mention the name of Buxbaum, for some time Professor of 

 Botany in St. Petersburg, whose large work on the plants growing 

 near Constantinople we have also here. Kaempfer published an 

 illustrated work on the plants of Japan in 1712. Sir Hans Sioane 

 issued a catalogue of Jamaica jilanis in 1696. Rheede's " Hortus 

 Malabaricus," in twelve large volumes, 1678 to 1703, is still quoted 

 on account of the good illustrations and original observations. 

 Perhaps the greatest name up to the time of Linne remains to be 

 dealt with — that is, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, born at Aix, in 

 Provence, in 1656, travelled a great deal in Europe, Asia, and 

 Africa, and became professor of botany at the Jardin des Plantes 

 in Paris, where he died in 1708. He has generally been con- 

 sidered as the first who clearly defined the systematic character 

 of a genus, and some botanists still place his name as author 

 after a number of genera. As already stated, the authorities of 

 the Royal Gardens of Kew condemn this and write Linne's 

 name. Professor Sachs gives it as his o|)inion that the merits of 

 'I'ournefort have been overrated, inasmuch as generic distinctions 

 were already drawn by some of his predecessors, and that his 

 whole system was in many respects inferior to some already 

 known — notabl}', to that of Ray. Neverthelsss, Tournefort's 

 " Instilutiones Rei Herbariae,'" with numerous excellent illustra- 

 tions, was for fifty years the standard botanical work, at least on 

 the Continent. A close observer and excellent traveller, he 



