CHAP, ii.] from {^esdlpino to Linnaeus. 55 



middle of the ipth century argued still in favour of this opinion, 

 little suspected that they were endeavouring to establish a dogma 

 of the Aristotelian philosophy. It is a similar case to that of 

 the crown of the root mentioned above. But other plants, 

 continues Cesalpino, produce true seeds ; and he proceeds to 

 treat of this division first, on account of its great extent as 

 comprising all perfect plants. Three things, he says, contribute 

 especially to the constitution of organs, the number, position, 

 and shape of the parts ; the play of nature in the composition 

 of fruits varies according to their differences, and hence arise the 

 different divisions of plants. He then shows how he proposes 

 to apply these relations to the framing of his system, but his 

 various points of view may be omitted here, as they can be 

 better and more shortly gathered from the table below. 



Other marks to be derived from roots, stems, and leaves, 

 may be used, he says, for forming the smaller divisions. 

 Lastly, some marks which contribute to the constitution neither 

 of the whole plant nor of the fruit, such as colour, smell, taste, 

 are mere accidents and are due to cultivation, place of growth, 

 climate, and other causes. 



The first of Cesalpino's sixteen books ends with this general 

 view of his system. The remaining fifteen books contain 

 about 600 pages of descriptions of individual plants arranged 

 in fifteen classes ; some of the descriptions are exceedingly 

 minute ; the trees come first, and are followed by the shrubs 

 on account of their affinity (' ob affinitatem '). Two things have 

 interfered with the recognition and acceptance of this system ; 

 the omission of a general view to precede the text, and its 

 appearance in the traditional form of books and chapters, such 

 as we find in de 1'Ecluse, Dodoens, and Bauhin, instead of in 

 classes and orders, though it is true that the headings and 

 introductions to the several books contain the designations and 

 general characteristics of the classes described in them. Lin- 

 naeus has done good service by giving in his ' Classes Plantarum ' 

 a general view of all the systems proposed before his time, 



