372 CllYPTOGAMTA. 



described, though he mistook their use, being quite 

 ignorant of the fecundation of plants. Dillenius 

 took tlie one tiower precisely for the other, and yet 

 absurdly called capsula what he believed to be an- 

 tlicra. Linuffius, who had previously formed just 

 ideas on the subject, as appears from his Tour to 

 Lapland, too implicitly submitted his own judge- 

 ment to that of Dillenius, and adopted his hypothe- 

 sis, at the same time correcting, as he thought, his 

 phraseology. Hence the whole glare of the blun- 

 der of Dillenius has fallen on Linnasus ; for while 

 we read, in the LinnaDan definitions of mosses, every 

 where the word anther a ^ and in those of Dillenius, 

 usually accompanying them, capsula ; few persons, 

 who have lately been instructed by Hedwig that the 

 part in question is really a capsule, take the trouble 

 to recollect that Dillenius so grossly misused that 

 word. Various ideas have been started on this 

 subject by Haller, Necker, and others, which could 

 only claim attention while it remained in great ob- 

 scurity. The excellent Hedwig has entirely the 

 merit of an original discoverer in this branch of 

 physiology. He examined all that had been done 

 before his time, detected the truth, raised mosses 

 from seed, y! 193 — 196', and established their cha- 

 racters on the principles we have already explained. 

 The Linnasan genera of Mosses are chiefly founded 

 on the situation of the capsule, whether lateral or 

 terminal, with some other circumstances. They are 



