17 



and it is claimed by the authors that it seems to approach more 

 nearly the ideal of the natural system than De Candolle and 

 Jussieu's system used in most colonial floras. It differs mainly 

 from the classification employed by Bentham in the distribution 

 of the orders of the great division Monochlamydefe, which it is 

 asserted is " generally considered by the best authorities to be 

 entirely artificial, but the difficulty of assigning the right position 

 in the system to this heterogenous collection of orders induced 

 most English authors to adhere to the old system in spite of its 

 acknowledged defects." It is claimed for the Muellerian system 

 that it "is an easy sequence of closely-allied orders, partly" 

 arranged " by original investigations, and partly by adopting the 

 good points of other more recent French and German systems, 

 and perhaps, with the exception of the disputable position of" 

 Gymnospermaj, and the anomalous position of such difficult and 

 isolated orders as Aristolochiaceit, Cupuliferffi, Casuarinae, etc.,. 

 may be regarded as natural." 



It is eminently unscientific to regard even the best system of 

 classification as anything higher than a temporary expedient ; 

 and this applies to the scheme of the ''Genera Plantarum" as 

 much as to any other system ; though the greatest living botani- 

 cal authority in England has given it as his dictum that Ben- 

 tham's classification will satisfy the requirements of our genera- 

 tion. Yet it is clearly evident that the retention of the sub-class 

 Monochlamydeffi cannot be longer justified, and in this respect 

 Baron von Mueller is moving on lines which daily command more 

 serious attention. There are matters regarding the nomenclature 

 employed in the new "Flora" of our southern neighbour, as also 

 in the " Census of Australian Plants," which cannot be so readily 

 justified. The unearthing of fossil names to replace others, 

 which, though of later date, have at least the authority of years 

 of acceptance, may prove an operation of doubtful value. The 

 replaced name, when ousted, probably has priority in a totally 

 different order, and changes may thus be extended ad infinitum. 

 It would be well to fix a certain term of years, general recogni- 

 tion during which wou^ld give fixity of title, as against obscure 

 and foro:otten names of greater age. 



