ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURAL BOTANY. 



113 



turist , but tbe study of sjjecks is the great end and 

 aim of the botanist. 



180. Those Species which are considered to resem- 

 ble each other most nearly are grouped into Genera, 

 and the Genera, in like manner, into Orders ; 

 but tliese particular groupings are more or less 

 artificial, and are subject to continual alteration in con- 

 sequence of our imperfect knowledge. As, year by 

 year, new facts are brought to light, modifications in 

 arrangement take place. In the Classification which 

 constitutes the Second Part of this work, the Divi- 

 sions spoken of above are placed in the order named. 

 In the Polypetalous Division, those Orders are put 

 first which embrace plants with hypo'jijtwus stamens 

 and apocarpous pistils, the parts of the flowers beiug 

 consequently separate; then those with similarly in- 

 aeried sttimen3, hnt si/ncarpous pistils ; then those witli 

 perigynous stamens ; and, generally, we proceed from 

 plants whose flowers have all their parts separate 

 to those exhibiting more or less cohesion and adhesion, 

 and finally to those having one or more parts of the 

 flower wanting. 



181. In looking up the name of a plant, it will be 

 your object to determine the Gemis to which it belongs, 

 and also the Siwcies. The name of every plant consists 

 of two parts : its Genus first, and then its Species. The 

 name of the Genus is a Latin noun, and that of the 

 Species a Latin adjective agreeing with the noun. The 

 Buttercup, for example, which we examined at the 

 outset, belongs to the Genus Ranunculus. In this 

 Genus are included many Species. The particular one 

 examined by us is known as acris ; so that the full name 



