ICG 



SECTION III. 



GENERAL RULES FOR ASCERTAINING THE CLASS AND 

 ORDER OF PLANTS. 



1. If the class of the plant about to be investigated 

 is desired, you must bear in mind that the classes are 

 taken either from the number, the number and insertion, 

 number and proportion, and so on, as before arranged. 



The divisions into which the system has been related, should 

 be perfectly understood, because an intimate knowledge on this 

 point, will render more clear and familiar the following steps of 

 enquiry. 



FIRST DIVISION. 



2. If the flower under examination is perfect, and 

 not furnished with more than ten stamens, it is a very 

 easy task to discover the class, because the ten first 

 classes of the system are founded on the number of the 

 stamens alone, each flower having no relation to any of 

 the other classes. 



Therefore, if the plant produces perfect flowers with one stamen, 

 (F. 174.) as in the common mare's-tail, it belongs to the first class 

 mnnandria ; if with two stamens, (F. J75.) as in the lilac, to the 

 second class diandria ; if with three stamens, (F. 176.) as in the 

 crocus, to the third class triandria ; and so on in progression to the 

 tenth class. The orders of all these classes being founded on the 

 number of pistils are very clear. 



SECOND DIVISION. 



3. The class of the plant in hand, not being any of 

 the preceding, we will pursue our attempts to decide 



