589 



torily refer to any one of them; so Jussieu, at the conclu- 

 sion of his System, reckons up 137, which, as we have 

 already observed, he denominates Plantcc incerta sedis. 

 These are disposed synoptically, by their petals, germens 

 and styles. It is remarkable how nearly, allowing for 

 new discoveries, Jussieu accords with Linnaeus in the 

 number of such genera. These lists have both been greatly 

 diminished by subsequent consideration, or more complete 

 information. 



The attention of botanists, first directed by Gsertner, 

 to the minute and cui-ious diversities of structure in the 

 parts of the seed, has greatly assisted Jussieu and his 

 followers in correcting- and improving the details of his 

 system. Hence he has been led to favour the world with 

 several essays on particular families, or orders, in the An- 

 nates du Museum d'Hist. Nat., some of which have ap- 

 peared in the very valuable Annals of Botany, published 

 by Dr. Sims and Mr. Konig. In these, several of the dif- 

 ficulties, which originally embarrassed their author, are 

 lessened or removed, but on these it is not our purpose to 

 enter. A new edition of Jussieu's Genera Plant arum t 

 which has long been preparing, cannot fail to prove al- 

 most a new work ; more valuable perhaps for the abun- 

 dant information which it must afford, concerning the cha- 

 racters and affinities of particular genera, than for any 

 thing concerning a general natural system, to perfect 

 which the scientific world has not, as yet, sufficient ma- 

 terials. 



As we cannot here undertake to detail Jussieu's own 

 corrections or improvements of his system, neither can 

 we explain what has been attempted, with the same de- 

 sign, by the late ingenious M. Ventenat, or by those ex- 

 cellent living botanists, M. DeCandolle, or Mr. Brown. 

 We shall only observe, that Ventenat, too servile to Jus- 

 sieu, explicitly contends for the natural method of classi- 

 fication, as superseding the artificial one, and that he 

 aims at proving this to have been the intention of Lin- 



