100 SYSTEMS. 



In Botany again, what is preposterously lauded as 

 the Natural system, is asserted to lead at once to a 

 knowledge of the qualities of a plant by merely as- 

 certaining what is called its natural order ; in the face 

 of the glaring facts of the wholesome potatoe with the 

 poisonous deadly night-shade, and tobacco, being 

 found in one of these so-called natural orders ; and 

 the wholesome bread-fruit tree, the fig, and the mul- 

 berry, with the most poisonous known vegetable, the 

 upas, in another of these natural orders. (*) 



Confining ourselves to insects, all sorts of blunders 

 are committed by those who undertake to display 

 what they term the natural system. Moths, for ex- 

 ample, are said to be distinguished from butterflies 

 by flying only during the night, though there are 

 numerous examples of day-flying moths ; and even 

 groups are actually termed diurnal by the very theo- 

 rists, who set out by telling us they are nocturnal. 

 A nocturnal-diurnal moth, can only, I should think, 

 be imagined to be of pure Hibernian origin. 



There is no system indeed without some such 

 striking error either of omission or commission, and 

 hence we must be contented to make the best we can 

 of their imperfections. 



I am most particularly disposed to object to the 

 very fanciful and theoretical terms Kingdom, Tribe, 

 the like, not only as being founded on no 



obvious ground, there being no proper king, chief, nor 

 head, in the divisions so termed, but actually in- 

 volving serious hypothetical errors, contradicted by 

 well-known facts'. The terms " Class," " Order," 

 "Rank," "Group," "Species," "Variety," from 

 having some basis to go upon, are much less objec- 

 tionable ; though it is not always necessary to employ 



(l)This will be more fully explained in the "ALPHABET OF 

 BOTANY," now in preparation. 



