1 72 SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF PLANTS, 



VIII. No Flowers apparent on the Plants. 



TWENTY-FOURTH CLASS 43 . 



Stamens and pistils if 

 present, cannot, from 

 their minuteness, be as- 

 certained. The class con- 

 tains five orders ferns 44 

 mosses 45 , liverworts 46 

 sea- weeds 47 , and mushrooms 48 . 



Such is as plain an outline as I have been able to 

 draw up of this celebrated system, which has proved 

 so extensively injurious to philosophical inquiry and 

 genuine science, by leading its disciples to mistake the 

 means for the end. It may not be amiss to remark, 

 however, that it appears easier to understand it on 

 paper than to apply it in practice, for as nature will 

 not bend to our imperfect systems, anomalies are con- 

 stantly occurring which puzzle the beginner. For 

 example, the flowers of red valerian have only one 

 stamen, though they rank in the third class, because 

 the other valerians rank there. In the twenty-fourth 

 class again, the system fails altogether in guiding the 

 student in his inquiries. But with all its defects, this 

 system is every way superior in distinctness and easy 



(43) In Latin, Cryptogamia. (44) In Latin, Filices. 



(45) In Latin, Musci. (46) In Latin, Hepaticee. 



(47) In Latin, Algce. (48) In Latin, Fungi. 



