6 INTRODUCTION 



to the study of animals and plants an impetus 

 so far-reaching or so long-sustained. 



Whatever we may claim to have been 

 accomplished by those naturalists who pre- 

 ceded him, we must admit that to Linnaeus 

 we owe the essential features of our present 

 system of naming the various species of 

 animals and plants, and it is not too much 

 to say that Linna3us is the father of systematic 

 zoology and botany. 



The personality, the biography, of one who 

 has done great things in the world is always 

 interesting. The study of the lives of such 

 men is one of the most potent factors in 

 moulding the life of the student, filling it 

 with clean ambitions and leading to right 

 thinking and rational living. 



Professor Greene has told the story of the 

 life of the great Swede in a way that will 

 prove not only entertaining and instructive 

 to all who are interested in Nature, but also 

 in language delightful in its simplicity and 

 literary charm. 



BARTON WARREN EVERMANN. 



