VI. 



CLASSIFICATION. 



T)ERFORMED consciously or unconsciously, 

 *- the act of classification is indispensable 

 to and accompanies every scientific inference. 

 A mind is orderly or slovenly, according as it 

 does or does not habitually and accurately 

 classify the facts with which it comes in con- 

 tact. The success of an investigation, the 

 worth of a conclusion, are in direct proportion 

 to the fidelity to this principle and the exhaust - 

 iveness with which the process is carried out. 



In nature, constant forces at work upon vary- 

 ing materials necessarily produce segregation; 

 the like are brought together, and the unlike 

 separated. The result is a literally "natural 

 classification." This simple result is rarely 

 realized. The forces at work are so numerous, 

 and have acted so long, that, especially with 

 reference to living things, Nature's serial clas- 

 sifications in space and time have been broken 

 up and thrown into confusion to such an extent 

 that they are seldom recognizable. The result 



