U O T A N Y. 



15 



History, s. Floribus anomalis. 



v~ .' 4 monopctalis labiatis. 



5 polypctalis cruciformibus. 



6 rosaceis. 



7 umbellatis. 



g caryophyllasis. 



9 liliaccis. 



10 papilionaceis. 



j 1 anomalis. 



12 flosculosis. 



]3 sciniflosculoeis. 



] }. radiatis. 



]5 apetalis ct stamineis. 



Ifi. Qui floribus carent et semine donantur. 



1 7. Quorum floreset fructus conspicui desiderantur. 



Arborcs ct Frntices. 



18. Floribus apetalis. 



19 amentaccis. 



20 monopetalif. 



21 rosaceis. 



22 papilionaceis. 



From this synopsis of Tournefort's method, it will 

 be seen at once, that the characters of his classes 

 were derived in the most simple manner, from the 

 presence and form or absence of the corolla ; and we 

 may gather from his work, that he was led to prefer 

 this principle of distribution, though a good deal ar- 

 tificial, from the facilities which it afforded of rea- 

 dily distinguishing one plant from another : for while 

 we find him, after some discussion to this purpose, 

 laying it down as his first maxim, in systematic bo- 

 tany, that classes are to be established on the flower 

 alone, we find him adding, with respect to those me- 

 thods which had been proposed before his time, and 

 v.hich generally aimed at being agreeable to the or- 

 der of nature, " Studiososenim,ex quo Parisiis doceo, 

 has addiscere non posse neque iis uti ad plantas ex- 

 tempore dignoscendas, nisi intra spatium plurium an- 

 norum ssepenumero cognovi." As to the classes them- 

 selves, it will be seen, that of the 17 comprising the 

 herbs and undershrubs, the 4 first were made to con- 

 sist of such as have a monopetalous corolla, the 

 ground of distinction between them being, that the 

 corolla, in the first case, is bell shaped, as in deadly 

 night shade and bell flower, in the second, fun- 

 nel or wheel shaped, as in auricula, viper's grass, 

 borage, and loosestrife, in the third, of various 

 forms, and such as cannot be brought under any one de- 

 nomination, as arum and foxglove, and in the fourth, 

 lipped or gaping, as in balm, sage, and lavender. 



The seven following classes were made, on the 

 other hand, to consist of such herbs or under shrubs 

 as have a polypetalous corolla, those having it in 

 the form of a cross, as cabbage, shepherd's purse, 

 and lady's smock, being comprehended in the 5th 

 class, those having it in the form of a rose, as pop- 

 py, water lily, hellebore, and pasony, in the 6th, 

 those having it rosaceous, but disposed in the mode 

 of a parasol or umbel, as parsley, hemlock, and 

 lovage, in the 7th, those having it pink-like, the 

 claws of the petals being universally long, as carna- 

 tion, lychnis, and sea pink, in the 8th, those having 

 it in the form of a lily, as tulip, and hyacinth, in the 



<Hli, those having it papilionaceous, or butterfly- li 

 like, ;M lln- i>'-;i kind, in the 10th, and those which 

 rannot wi-11 be minced under any one denomination, 

 in the llth. The three next classes were made to 

 consist of such herbs and under shrubs as have com- 

 pound flowers, that is several monopetalous florets 

 included in the same flower cup, those of the 

 12th class being distinguished by their florets be- 

 ing all tubular, as thistle-, burdock, and centau- 

 ry, those of the 13th, by their florets being all 

 ligulate, as dandelion, goat's beard, and succory, 

 and those of the 14tth by their florets being tubular 

 in the centre or disk, and ligulate in the circumfe- 

 rence or ray, as starwort, ragweed, bear's foot, and 

 golden rod. The three last classes of the herbs and 

 under shrubs were formed so as to comprise such as 

 are without petals, those having stamens, as blite, 

 pellitory, and the grasses, being included in the 15th, 

 those having no evident stamens but evident seeds, 

 as the fern tribe, in the 16th, and those having nei- 

 ther evident stamens nor seeds, that is to say, the mos- 

 ses, mushrooms, or sea weeds, whose parts of fructi- 

 fication were not then detected, so far as they are now, 

 in the 17th. 



Of the five remaining classes, comprehending the 

 trees and shrubs, the 18th wasmade inversely toconsist 

 of such as are apetalous, as the ash, box, and fig, the 

 19th, of such as have their flowers disposed in a ca- 

 thin, or elongated scaly receptacle, as the hazel, and 

 alder, the 20th, of such as have a monopetalous co- 

 rolla, as jasmine, liliac, and holly, the 21st and 22d, 

 of such as have a polypetalous corolla, the ground of 

 distinction between them being, that the corolla, in 

 the one case, is rose-like, as in the orange, apricot, and 

 cherry; and in the other, is papilionaceous, as in 

 broom, acacia, tamarind, and laburnum. 



The subdivisions or orders, to the number of 122,' 

 were established chiefly, we may add, by characters 

 taken from the pistillum and the fruit. 



Such was the celebrated system of Tournefort ; a 

 system which had no sooner been made public, than 

 it was received almost every where on the Continent 

 with marked approbation, and began to shew itself 

 immediately in the happy effects which it.had on the 

 labours of his contemporaries : Nor did it cease for 

 many years to be the most prominent ; and was at 

 length only eclipsed and allowed to fall into disuse, 

 through the superior merit of the Linnxan method. 



Great however as were the advantages arising from 

 the system of Tournefort, it was not even in this way 

 that he did most service to the science, or gained his 

 best claims to the gratitude of posterity. That dis- 

 tinguished botanist introduced, in another respect, a 

 new sera in the history of arrangement. Before his 

 time plants had been, for the most part, described 

 merely as species, or at best as species distributed 

 into comprehensive classes and sections upon some ge- 

 neral principle. Tournefort perceived the advantage 

 of adding a new step in the process, and of form- 

 ing them into intermediate groupes, and adopted an 

 idea long ago thrown out by Gesner, and recom- 

 mended by Fabius Colonna, a celebrated Italian, who 

 died in 1648. He accordingly proceeded to make use 

 of characters, taken from the flower and fruit, and 

 occasionally, though seldom, from other parts of the 



