DB CANDOLLE, AUQUSTIN P VRAM US. 



DECHALES, CLAUDE FRANCOIS MILLIKI'. 



at this period correctly estimated its merit*. ' The natural method," 

 he observed, "endeavour* to plaoe each individual object in the mklit 

 of th<>o with which it pouessee the greatest number of point* of 

 momblaoce; the artificial has no other end than that of enabling u 

 to recognise each individual plant, and to isolate it from the net of 

 the vegetable kingdom. The former, being truly a science, will servo 

 a* an immutable foundation for anatomy and physiology to build 

 upon ; whilst the second, being a mere empirical art, may indeed offer 

 some conveniences for practical purposes, but does nothing towards 

 enlarging the boundaries of science, and places before us an indefinite 

 number of arbitrary arrangements. The former, searching merely 

 after truth, baa established its foundation on the organs that are of 

 the greatest importance to the existence of plants, without considering 

 whether these organs are easy or difficult of observation ; the second, 

 aiming only at facility, bases its distinctions upon those which are 

 most readily examined, and therefore present the greatest facilities 

 for study." 



In the collection of plants Da Candolle spared no personal pains, 

 and from tho time of his being associated with Lamarck to 1812, 

 travelled over every district of the then extensive possessions of France 

 for the purpose of examining its native plants. In these excursions 

 ulo he w.is frequently employed by the government to report upon 

 the state of agriculture. 



In 1807 De Candolle was made Professor of Botany in the Faculty 

 of Medicine at the university of Montpellier. In 1810, a choir of 

 Botany being constituted in the Faculty of Sciences of the same place, 

 he was appointed to it During his residence at Montpellier he 

 devoted much time to the botanic garden ; and published a catalogue 

 of the plants contained in it, with descriptions of many new species. 

 Circumstances however occurred which led him to quit Montpellier, 

 ninl in 1S16 he returned to his native city, which was restored to its 

 independence on the ru-estabHshment of the Bourbons on the throne 

 i T Fr.mce. A chair of natural history was established especially for 

 him at Geneva. In the same year he visited England to examine the 

 collections of plants in the Hritish Museum, the Linnrcau and other 

 societies, for the purpose of aiding him in the publication of his great 

 work on tho vegetable kingdom. 



In 1818 appeared the first volume of this work, intended to com- 

 prehend a description of all known plants. He had in a measure 

 enunciated the principles on which this work would be based by the 

 publication of his ' Tbeorie Klt'-mentaire,' in 1813. In this work he 

 nut only carried out the principles of a natural arrangement of plants, 

 which bad been previously developed by Jussieu and Adanson, but by 

 a more extended study of the principles of morphology he was enabled 

 to clear up many of the difficulties which existed in the grouping of 

 plants in previous classifications. Whatever may bo the claims of 

 previous writers in this department of botanical inquiry, to De Candolle 

 must be conceded the merit of giving definite expressions for the 

 various causes which act upon tho structure of plants, and pointing 

 out the relation between abnormal forms in individual plants and 

 normal forms in particular groups. 



The natural system of the vegetable kingdom however was only 

 commenced; a second volume appeared in 1821, but the author was 

 obliged to abandon the design, as a work of too great magnitude. He 

 therefore in 1824 commenced the publication of a Prodromus of the 

 larger work. But even this proved a work too extensive for com- 

 pletion during hia lifetime. This work embraced descriptions of all 

 the known specie* of plants. Commencing with the phanerogamous 

 plant", each order in the natural system was exhausted as far as the 

 material* of the author would allow. All the orders belonging to the 

 polypetalou* division of Kxogens were completed, as well as the orders 

 of the monopeUloua division as far a* the Composite. To this last 

 difficult order De Candolle bad paid much attention, and hi* desire to 

 give it in as perfect a form a* possible led him to devote so much 

 time to it as materially to injure hi* health. The work was left 

 incomplete at hi* death, but partly from the materials which he had 

 collected it was continued by hi* son, assisted by other eminent 

 botanist*. The importance of this publication to the working botanist 

 can hardly be overrated, as it supplies him with the mean* of recog- 

 niing a vast number of specie* that had before been either undeacribed 

 or inacoenible to the student from the place* in which they were 

 published. Another point which enhance* the value of this work is 

 the care which the author bestowed in drawing up the description* of 

 plant*, which could not have been done so well by any one who 

 Doomed a lee* extensive herbarium and library than himself. 



But although the labour bestowed on thi* great work, and the 

 judgment with which it was executed, have given it the most pro- 

 minent position amongst hi* work*, it can only be regarded as the 

 result of an accurate knowledge of the structure and function of 

 plant*. On this subject he lectured for many years, and although 

 frequently producing monographs on various department* of botany, 

 which indicated hi* knowledge of vegetable anatomy and physiology, 

 it was not till 1827 that he published hi* 'Organographie Vegctele. 1 

 In this work he proceeded on the principle of tracing each organ 

 through all it* several modification* of structure in the different 

 plant* in which it occurs, and of reducing every part to it* organic 

 clement*. It i* thus not a mere detail of particular structures, but a 

 development of tho great doctrine of metamorphosis, which bad been 



explained in his previous work on tho principles of classification. 

 This work was followed in 1832 by one on the physiology of plant*. 

 This was a comprehensive digest of all that bad been done up to the 

 period at which it was written. It wai however published at. a time 

 when the chemist and physiologist were both turning their attention 

 to the functions of the vegetable, as affording the means of better 

 understanding the nature of the functions of the animal, and conse- 

 quently many of tho views of the author have had to give way before 

 more extended investigation. 



For several years previous to his death, De Candolle suffered from 

 ill-health. In 1811 he was induced to visit the meeting of naturalists 

 held at Turin, in the hope that change of climate would restore his 

 failing powers, but he derived no benefit from his journey, and died 

 on the 9th of the following September. 



As a botanist De Candolle must be placed in the first rank in the 

 century in which he lived. lie possessed a quick apprehension, 

 which enabled him to make use of the labours of others, added to a 

 habit of methodical arrangement, by which he could at once refer the 

 various facts that came to his knowledge to their proper position in 

 the departments of the science which he pursued. It was this whi.-h, 

 combined with a clear and pleasing delivery, made him a successful 

 lecturer, and enabled him to produce with rapidity so many works 

 on botany. But he was not only a botanist : he was earnest in bis 

 sympathies with mankind, and was a zealous philanthropist and 

 energetic citizen. In Paris, in the early part of hi- li:'e. un.l.T the 

 auspices of Benjamin Di lasscrt, he took an active part in the formation 

 of the Sock' to Philanthropique of Paris, and the Society for tho 

 Encouragement of National Industry was formed under his direction 

 and management. He was for many years a member of the legislative 

 body of Geneva, and also rector of the academy in the same place. 



The following is an alphabetical list of his works : 



1. ' Astragalogia, nempe Astragali, Biserrnlic, et Oxytropedi*, necnon 

 Phacre, Coluteee, et Lassertitc Historia, Icunibus illustrata a KedouUi,' 

 fol., Paris, 1802. This work was an account of the Astragalus and 

 some allied genera, and was illustrated by Kedout<5. 2. ' Catalogue 

 des Arbres Fruitier* et des Vignes du Jardin Botanique de Geneve,' 

 Geneva, 1820. 3. 'Eloge Historique d'Aug. Broussonet' (the botanist), 

 4to, Montpellier, 1809. 4. ' Essai Elementaire do Geographic Bota- 

 nique,' 8vo, Paris, 1821 : a reprint of an article in the ' Dictionnaire 

 des Sciences Naturellea.' 5. ' Kssai sur les Proprieties Mcdicitiales de* 

 Plautes, companies avec leura Formes c-xtc'rio.urcii et lour Classification 

 Naturello,' 1804, 8vo, Paris, 1816. This was his inaugural dissertation 

 on the medical properties of plants in 1804, which he republished in 

 the year 1816. 6. Flore Francaise, on Description de toute* lex 

 Plantes qui croissent nnturellement en France.' The third edition of 

 this work was edited by De Candolle. It was published nt dillV-rent 

 tiines from 1803 to 1815, and contained a description of COUO pl.mt-', 

 and was accompanied by a coloured chart, indicating the distribution 

 of plants throughout France. 7. ' Icones Plontarum Gallioc roriorum,' 

 4to, Paris, 1804. 8. ' Instructions Pratiques sur les Collections 

 Botaniques,' 8vo, Geneva, 1820. 9. ' Mcmoire sur les different* 

 Espece, Races, et Varie'tcs de Choux et de Raiforts cultivi's en 

 Europe,' 8vo, Paris, 1822. This is a translation of a memoir which 

 appeared iii the ' Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London.' 

 10. 'Me'moires sur la Famille des Ldgumineuses,' illustrated by 70 

 plates, 4to, Paris, 1825. 11. 'Notice sur 1'Histoire et 1' Administrations 

 des Jardins Hotanique*/ 8vo, Paris, 1822. This was a reprint of an 

 article which appeared in tins ' Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturellos.' 

 12. ' Organographie Vogo'tale,' 2 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1827. 13. 'Plantarum 

 Succulentarum Historia,' 4 vols. 4to and fol., Paris, 1799. 14. 'Plautes 

 Rares du Jardin de Geneve,' 4to, Geneva, Ib25. It was pub- 

 lished in part*, each part containing six plates. 15. ' Proih-omus 

 Systemati* Naturalin Kegni Vegrtabilis,' 8vo, Paris and London. 

 4c. Id. ' Regni Vcgetabili* Systema Naturalc,' 8vo. Paris, 1818. 

 This work, which was to have contained a full description of all the 

 plant* then known, was only commenced by De Candolle, and tin; 

 ' Prodromii* ' was published in its place. 17. ' Projet d'une Klure 

 Qcographiquc du Leman,' 8vo, Geneva, 1820. 18. 'Rapport h la 

 Socio'to' de Lecture do Geneve,' 8vo, Geneva, 1820. 19. 'Rapport sur 

 la Fondation du Jardin de Botanique de Geneve,' 8vo, 1819. A second 

 report on the same subject was published in 1821. 20. 'Rapport sur 

 la Question de* Magazine de Subsistence, fait an ' '"n - il Ucprcaentant 

 do Geneve,' 8vo, Geneva, 1819. 21. ' Rapport sur la Poinme de Torre, 

 fait a la Claw d'Agriculture de Geneve,' Svo, Geneva, 1822. This was 

 followed by two other reports on the culture and uses of the potato. 

 22. ' Thoorie Elumentaira de la Botanique,' Svo, Pan*, 1813 and 1810. 



Besides the above works, De CondoUa contributed papers to the 

 ' Transactions ' of almost every scientific society in Europe, a bare 

 list of which would far exceed the limits of this article. 



(Dr. Daubeny, Sketck of the Writingi and Philosophical Character of 

 A. P. l>e Candolle; Proceedings of the Linnaan Satiety, 1842; Bischoff, 

 Lekrbuck der Botanilc; QutSrard, La France LittCraire.) 



DECHALES, CLAUDE FRANCOIS MILL1ET, was born at 

 Chambery, the capital of Savoy, in 1611. He wrote largely on 

 several branches of mathematical, mechanical, and astronomical 

 science; but the only work by which he is generally known is his 

 edition of Euclid, which was long a favourite text-book in France aud 

 in other port* of the continent It was also translated iuto Engli-h, 



