50 HEROES OF SCIENCE. 



tion and description, and then to comparison, and 

 the greater the knowledge of the botanist of species 

 and genera the more useful it is. There is a diffi- 

 culty in selecting those parts of a plant which 

 should be those on which the classification should 

 depend, and this was the stumbling-block with 

 these early botanists. Ray saw the value of the 

 seed and of the reproductive organs in classifica- 

 tion, and Tournefort, although he erred in classify- 

 ing his "classes" by the coloured part of the 

 flower or corolla, followed nature accurately in his 

 description, and reasoned upon the facts he had 

 discovered. 



This botanist, who lived in the days of great 

 luxury, and when war was almost constant, pursued 

 his useful and simple career, and by his collections 

 alone, assisted in laying the foundations of botany 

 as a science. His travels in the East read like 

 romances, for the habits of Eastern nations were 

 then but little known ; and, moreover, the diligent 

 student was a scholar, and paid great attention to 

 the splendid antiquities which he constantly saw. 

 Tournefort studied the zoology of the countries he 

 passed through, and was an adept in mineralogy. 

 On his return from his long journey in the East he 

 was made Professor of Medicine to the College de 

 France. For the future his life was destined to be 

 quiet, happy it appears always to have been. Year 

 after year he laboured in arranging, cultivating, and 

 describing the treasure of plants he had brought 

 from the East and elsewhere. Moreover, he taught 



