jdvi NATURAL SYSTEMS. [Bromhead 



1836. Bromhead, Sir E. French, Bart. 



This author's ByBteni first appeared in the Edmbwrgh Joum.Apr. 1836, and has since 

 been more than once revised to embrace the later discoveries of the science. The last 

 published res ision was in the Mag. Nat. Hiet.July, 1840. The writer proposes to proceed 

 wholly by induction. The families are collected into Alliances, designated by a ter- 

 iniii.itii.il' in ales, from some characteristic or well-known family contained in the assem- 

 blage. Each family is placed in that Alliance in which it may meet the greatest number 

 of families of admitted affinity to it, the character being subsequently deduced from the 

 iblage so constituted, and used as a test of admissibility in the more doubtful cases. 

 ,. Nat. J list. April, 1838. A sketch of characters for the whole series of 

 Alliances as they stood in 1838 appeared in the Edinb. Phil. Journ. April and July of 

 thai year. Be considers it an advantage that above 60 of his Alliances are to be found 

 indicated or adopted with more or less accuracy by other Botanists. He has given 

 some of Iheee synonyms in the Phil. Mag. July, 1837, and in the Mag. Nat Hist. July, 

 I B40. The author arranges with great care the contents of each Alliance in the order 

 <>f tlio immediate affinities and transitions, and then places each Alliance between the 

 two Alliances into which it passes. He considers himself to have thus established by 

 induction a continuous series of Alliances, commencing with Algals and ending 

 with Pungals, in which each family in a continuous succession stands between the two 

 families of nearest affinity. The system thus resulting presents the aspect of two 

 parallel races meeting in the Rhizanths, and presenting in then' progress, at equal dis- 

 tances from the commencement, analogous Alliances, such, for instance, as Rosales and 

 I'.-iliales, l.oraginales and Lamiales, Gcranialcs and Rutales, &c. In the Alliances, aud 

 in the grouping of the Alliances, the system accords with the quinary method; but to 

 this the author does not hind himself, remarking that, quinary combinations very fre- 

 quently occur, and that he has extended them for the sake of convenience, by leaning 

 towards that nn thod in cases where the limits of families are ambiguous. 



He considers tin- theory of the circulation of organic forms to be confirmed by his 

 method, but does not look on them as closed or re-entering circles. He would rather 

 compare them to the approach of the returning parts of a spiral or to the similarity of 

 the opposite ends of a fusiform figure. 



The subjoined table of his Alliances shows their succession, but the transitions and 

 contents of the Alliances could not be exhibited without giving his tables at length. 



Race of the Alg.s. 



a. — Nostocalea. 



It. — Fucales, rhodomelales, nlvnles, charales, osmundales. 



C— Bphedralefl, m yrlca leg, ulmales, piperales, baloragales, o?notherales, myrtales, rosales, saxifragales, 

 enembttalM, portulacnles, chenopodiales, polemoniales, boraginales. solanales, gentianales, apocy- 

 !i:ilcs.riiirli.>ii:ilfs. samhucales. cornales. gerauiales, cistales, brassicales.nymphseales.aristolochiales. 



CO, -Alismales, rastlalflB, agrostidales, cocoales, typhales. 



C.C.O. < vtil,:. 



Race op the Fungi. 

 A — Bfnocnles. 



B. \ iiri.Mi.ii ini rdales, usneales, jungermanniales, lycopodiales. 



C-OnprMsalw, betnlabs, rhamnalea, eupborbiales.sesculales, hypericales, limoniales, fabales, violales, 

 pjMitlon.lcs. Iwnialialus, ebragnales, acanthales, lamiales, rhinanthales, ericales, caiapanulales 

 aiteralai, dipaacales, mjn dnaJea, rotates, malvales, laurales, magnoliales, menispermales. 



( . O.— Aiparagalea, juncales, "nludales, zingiberales, narcissales 



' O.C. e ; . i ,. ■ 



1836. Lixiu.ky, John.— (A Natural System of Botany, &c, second edition,) 

 The arrangement here adopted was nearly the same as that proposed in the Ni.rus 

 Plantanm (see p. xh. An attempt was also made to reform the nomenclature of the 

 Natural, System, by making all the names of divisions of the same value end in the same 

 way. I he Order,, were distinguished by ending in acew, the Sub-orders in ex, the 

 Alliances „, „/,,, and certain combinations, called groups, in osce. It was conceived 

 tl.a certain advantages and conveniences would attend the establishment of uniformity 

 m these matters Botaniste do not however, appeal- to be as yet disposed to entertain 



\ 'i; 1 """,'!; a "nr tlu h , " n ' lm ; lt,, ;» s h ? ve ™>t been generally adopted, in part, no doubt, 

 b( cans,. o| the difficulty ot adapting them to Greek and Latin compounds 



1840. Ehdughsb, St,phen.-(r;,„ ( ,„ Pktow secundum ordines naturale 



atsposOa.) 

 Upon this Bystem has been published the most important systematical work that has 

 :T',.;a^ R commences with plants 



I m i ■ 1 , ," ' w" f eS WUh What , th • , aUth ° r rC - ards as most complicated, viz., 



I gmmnoua plants. It has been executed with great skill, but is too much dependent 



