Cadwallader Colden with Gronovius, LinncBus, fyc. 93 



and which you tell me is the Myrica foliis oblongis alternatim 

 sinuatis, PI. Virg. p. 192.* According to Linnseus's character 

 of the Myrica, it is of the Dioacia class ; I can assure you that 

 this species is of the Monoecia, and carries male and female cat- 

 kins on the same plant. * # * I cannot think that I have acci- 

 dentally fallen upon all the exceptions of this kind that are to be 

 found. # * * In vegetables it is necessary that the males be in 

 greater number than the females, in order to make sure of their 

 impregnation ; and therefore I do not think it against nature to 

 have in the same species one plant with all male flowers, and an- 

 other with hermaphrodite flowers. 



One reason for Dr. Linnaeus's establishing so many classes, 

 (I suppose,) is to avoid as much as possible any of them from 

 being too much crowded. This, I think, may be done, by di- 

 viding, as Mr. Ray and others have done, plants into trees and 

 herbs. This is a distinction that all mankind make, and there- 

 fore I cannot doubt of its being a natural distinction ; and cer- 

 tainly an obvious natural distinction is to be preferred to one 

 more obscure. As to my part, if two plants, one a tree and the 

 other an herb, should happen to agree in every part of the fruc- 

 tification, yet I could not persuade myself to think them of the 

 same kind ; there is something so very different in the whole 

 formation and constitution between a tree and an herb. I know 

 it is objected that there is no certain criterion to distinguish them, 

 that any criterion hitherto given by botanists will agree to some 

 herbs : but this objection I do not think sufficient, for it may be 

 only a proof of our want of knowledge in giving the proper cri- 

 terion, not that the distinction is not real. If this objection 

 should hold, it may go further, even to destroy all distinction 

 between vegetables and animals ; because I know no criterion 

 to distinguish animals from vegetables but what leaves room to 

 doubt to which of them some species belong : witness the poly- 

 pus, which has been the subject of late observation. Indeed, 

 my opinion is, that the natural gradation from the lowest class 

 to the highest is by such small and imperceptible steps, that it is 

 very difficult to distinguish even the next step, either upwards 

 or downwards ; though at some distance the distinction be very 

 remarkable. For this reason, any system in botany would give 

 me a strong prejudice in its favor, where there appears such a 



The Comptonia asplenifolia of Geertner. — A. G. 



