LEYDEN-THE FAT OF THE LAND 297 



Garden, a school of horticulture and forestry, where the 

 glass-houses are kept in fair working condition, but 

 not in apple-pie order for show. 



To return to our friends, ' This is very rare,' said 

 Bunnann, pointing out a plant in his herbal. Linnaeus 

 asked for a single flower ; he softened it in his mouth, 

 examined it, and pronounced it to be a species of laurus. 

 1 It is not a laurus,' said Burmann. ' But it is,' said 

 Linnaeus ; ' it is the cinnamon tree.' ' It certainly is the 

 cinnamon,' rejoined the other. Linnaeus then convinced 

 him that this tree was a species of laurus, and also cor- 

 rected his classification of other plants. 



Burmann was at this time preparing his ' Thesaurus 

 Zeylanicus,' a great work on the plants of Ceylon, 1 and 

 he was so charmed with Linnaeus that he offered him a 

 handsome apartment, with attendance and his table, if 

 he would be his guest and help him with his book. 2 

 Linnaeus availed himself of these advantages until the 

 following year. Burmann had a fine collection of natu- 

 ral curiosities, and a well-chosen library. Carl took 

 the opportunity of studying them to complete and 

 publish his own 'Fundamenta Botanica,' 3 a small octavo 

 volume of thirty-six pages, in the form of aphorisms, 

 which contains the very essence of botanical philosophy. 4 

 Linnaeus says he amused himself with looking over 



1 The Flora of Ceylon, though rich, has scarcely proved so volu- 

 minous as was expected ; yet it comprises 3,000 plants. Ireland, a 

 somewhat larger island, has only 800 kinds of plants. 



8 Diary. s Signed C. Linn., Stipend, Wredian. 4 Carr. 



