FEBRUARY. 17 
ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM. 
The great naturalist, Linneeus, divides plants into twenty- 
four classes, arranged according to the number and situation 
of the stamens; these are subdivided into orders, principally 
distinguished by the pistils, and again into genera and 
species. 
This method of classification is shown in the following 
table, and is to be referred to by the student after an exami- 
nation has taken place of the number and situation of the 
stamens and pistils, and other peculiarities of the plant in 
question. Jor instance, if the flower has five stamens and 
two pistils, it is in the class Pentandria, order Digynia; or 
if there are six stamens, two of which are shorter than the 
rest, and the pod left by those flowers which have withered 
or fallen off is long and narrow, then the plant is in the class 
Tetradynamia, and the order Sihiquosa. Reference must 
then be made to the body of the work, according to the 
month in which the plant is found, where, if it is not very 
uncommon, an account of its habits and uses will be 
found. 
