298 STUDIES IN INSECT LIFE, ETC. 



above gave a great impetus to the study of the 

 anatomical structure of plants and later of ani- 

 mals ; and in relation to this we must not over- 

 look the work of Nehemiah Grew (1641-1712) 

 who, with the Italian Malpighi, may be con- 

 sidered a co-founder of the science of plant- 

 anatomy. He was the son of a clergyman, who, 

 as clergymen were apt to do in those days, got 

 into trouble under the Act of Uniformity. 



Nehemiah studied at Pembroke Hall, Cam- 

 bridge, and afterwards took his Doctor's Degree 

 at Leiden. He published numerous treatises deal- 

 ing with the anatomy of vegetables, and with the 

 comparative anatomy of trunks, roots, etc., illus- 

 trated with admirable and somewhat diagram- 

 matic plates. Although essentially an anatomist 

 he made certain investigations into plant physi- 

 ology and suggested many more. Perhaps his 

 most interesting contribution to the science, 

 however, was his discovery that flowering plants, 

 like animals, have male and female sexes. It 

 seems odd to reflect that this discovery is only 

 about 250 years old. When Grew began to work 

 the study of botany was in a very neglected 

 condition the old herbal had ceased to interest, 

 and with its contemporary, the bestiary, was 



