28 EVOLUTION, SOCIAL AND ORGANIC 



Linnaeus not only proved sex in plants but 

 made it the foundation of his classification. He 

 also reminds us that plants were known to be 

 of both sexes by oriental people in early days. 

 Living as they did on the fruit of the date- 

 palms they found it necessary to plant male 

 trees among the females. Their enemies in 

 war time struck a terrible blow when they cut 

 down the male trees, thereby reducing them to 

 famine. Sometimes the inhabitants themselves 

 destroyed the male trees during impending in- 

 vasion, so that the enemy should find no 

 sustenance in their country; a war measure 

 similar to that of Russians who burned 

 Moscow in the face of Napoleon. 



In the same year that Sweden produced Lin- 

 naeus, France gave birth to Buffon. Rich and 

 independent, he chose to devote a long life to 

 the study of natural history. He had remark- 

 able powers of research and displayed genius 

 in presenting the results of his investigation. 

 But alas! he had less courage than Linnaeus 

 and he lived nearer that terrible enemy of 

 eighteenth century science, the theological de- 

 partment of the University of Paris — the 

 dreaded Sorbonne. 



As long as he confined himself to the mere 

 description of animals he was a pet of the 

 church, which seems to have pleased him, but 



