LAMARCK AS A BOTANIST 175 
projected two other works which gave him a still 
higher position among botanists. His Dectzonnaire de 
Botanique was published in 1783-1817, forming eight 
volumes and five supplementary ones. The first two 
and part of the third volume were written by La- 
marck, the remainder by other botanists, who com- 
pleted it after Lamarck had abandoned botanical 
studies and taken up his zodlogical work. His second 
great undertaking was L’ /Vustration des Genres (1791- 
1800), with a supplement by Poiret (1823). 
Cuvier speaks thus of these works: 
“LT Tllustration des Genres is a work especially fitted 
to enable one to acquire readily an almost complete 
idea of this beautiful science. The precision of the 
descriptions and of the definitions of Linnzus is 
maintained, as in the institutions of Tournefort, with 
figures adapted to give body to these abstractions, 
and to appeal both to the eye and to the mind, and 
not only are the flowers and fruits represented, but 
often the entire plant. More than two thousand genera 
are thus made available for study in a thousand plates 
in quarto, and at the same time the abridged char- 
acters of a vast number of species are given. 
“The Dzctionnaire contains more details of the 
history with careful descriptions, critical researches 
on their synonymy, and many interesting observa- 
tions on their uses or on special points of their organ- 
izations. The matter is not all original in either of 
5 
the works, far from it, but the choice of figures is skil- 
fully made, the descriptions are drawn from the best 
authors, and there are a large number which relate 
to species and also some genera previously unknown.” 
Lamarck himself says that after the publication 
of his Flore Francatse, his zeal for work increasing, 
