GROUPS OP CLASSES. 135 



tries ; without this uniformity no permanent improvement could be 

 made in the science. 



TBotanical names are chiefly taken from the Greek and Latin; these 

 being the common languages of the learned world. All books on 

 botany were, for a long time, written in Latin ;— the original works 

 of Linnceus are in that language. Although it is important to the 

 interests of science that there should be such a medium, by which the 

 learned may communicate, it is also highly important to the general 

 improvement and happiness ofmankind, that their discoveries should 

 be made accessible to all ; — it would be useless to attempt to divest 

 botany of all its technical terms, and names borrowed from the dead 

 languages ; in doing this we should destroy the science, and intro- 

 duce confusion in the place of order. But such facilities are now 

 ofl^ered, that every young person can easily become acquainted with 

 the grand outlines of the vegetable world ;— and, oh, how much are 

 the beauties of nature enhanced, when viewed with the eye of a 

 philosopher, and the emotions of a Christian! 



Groups of Classes and Orders in the Linncean System. 



1st. T/ifi .^rs< <en c/asscs are founded upon the nwrnber of stamens. ■ 



2d. Eleventh and Twelfth, upon the number and insertion of stamens. 



3d. Tliirteenth and Fourteenth, upon number and relative length of stamens. 



4th. Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth, upon connexion oi stamens 

 by filaments or anthers. 



5th. Nineteenth and Twentieth, upon position of stamens, relative to the pistil. 



The Twen<y-Jfrs< class includes all plants which either have not stamens and pis- 

 tils, or in which these organs are too minute to be seen without the' help of a micro- 

 scope. 



The Orders are founded, 



1st. Upon the number of pistils. 



2d. Upon the seeds being covered or uncovered in the calyx. 



3d. The relative length of the pods. 



4th. The comparison between the disk and ray-florets of compound flowers. 



5th. Number of stamens. 



6th. The orders of the class Cryptogamia are distinguished by natural family cha- 

 racters. 



Names of the Artificial Classes. 



1. MoNANDRiA, one stamen. 



2. DiANDRiA, two stamens. 



3. Thiandria, three stamens. 



4. Tetrandria, four stamens. 



5. P:entandria, five stamens. 



6. Hexandria, six stamens. 



7. Heptandria, seven stamens. 



8. Octandria, eight stamens. 



9. Enneandria, nine stamens. 



10. Decandria, ten stamens. 



11. Icosandhia, over ten stamens, situated on the calyx. 



12. PoLYANDRiA, over ten stamens, situated on the receptacle. 



13. DiDYNAMiA, four stamcus, two long and two short, flowers labiate. 



14. Tetradynamia, six stamens, four long and two short, flowers cruciform. 



15. Monadelphia, stamens united by their filaments into one set. 



16. Diadelphia, stamens united by their filaments into two sets, flowers papiliona' 



17. Syngenesia, five stamens united by their anthers, flowers compound. 



18. Gynandria, stamens growing on the pistil. 



19. Moncecia, stamens and pistils on different flowers of the same plant. 



20. Dkecia, stamens and pistils on different flowers of different plants. 



21. Cryptogamia, stamens and pistils invisible. 



Why are botanical names taken from the Greek and Latin?— Why cannot all the 

 terms in botany be translated into common language?— Repeat the distinctions in 

 the groups of the Linnanaii classes?— On what are the orders founded ?— Repeat the 

 names and characters cf the artificial classes. 



