ARRANGEMENT OF TRIBES. 219 



gueldres rose was so near a relation to the honey- 

 suckle, for they thought its large white balls were 

 more like the blossom of the hydrangea than of 

 any other flower. And they were told that, in 

 fact, they do come so near hydrangeas, as to be 

 separated by what seem very small points of dif- 

 ference. I do not expect you," said their father, 

 " to understand the reasons why certain flowers are 

 placed in one tribe and not in another. There 

 are many tribes, indeed, where the family-likeness 

 is so strong, and where the known qualities of the 

 plants are so much alike, that you may feel tole- 

 rably certain as to their situation; but for the 

 greater number, you must simply depend on what 

 you are told about them. I have named the 

 different tribes, as nearly as possible, in the order 

 pursued by an eminent modern botanist ;* but 

 every tribe in its several families touches so many 

 other tribes, that we dare not say that in nature 

 they follow the exact order in which we place 

 them, just one after the other." 



" No," said Henry ; " perhaps they go side by 

 side, three or four tribes together, instead of in a 

 single line." 



" Or perhaps they go round in a ring," said 



* LlNDLEY. 



