CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS 347 
artificial one, thus comparing unfavourably with that of Ray, 
though many of the classes are identical. — = merit of 
ournefort’s work is his accurate definition of gene 
he era inaugurated by the German herbali rte was essentially 
one of accumulation of material; of collecting and describing plants, 
i i ria and botani 
nger that the sc 
mechanical process of icon ei ‘That this was a real 
Sexua ystem was redstiedl! e number of plants known was 
aa increased, and new ones were continually being dis- 
overed. ready means of sorting the material was impe erative 
and this was supplied by the sc janes which put the least 
possible tax on the observing powers. It was necessary only to 
determine the number, or some 8 equally obvious character, of the 
stamens and at, les. Linne oe ver, r, regarde is tae as 
of the aie symmetry, as he oh ee it of all the parts. "The 
higher divisions, or classes, would follow when the orders had been 
settled. His Classes Plantarum (1788) contains an arrangement, 
under the title Fragmenta Methodi Natur als, of all known genera 
as 
i neus am tn 
indication of their distinguishing characters, and he did not adopt 
Ray’s distinction of monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Some of 
ad already bee: 
system during the remainder of his life, Linnzus went no further 
with its elaboration 
e further development of a natural system was owed to 
French botanists. Bernard de Jussieu adopted, with certain 
modifications, the si pie of Linneus in his arrangement of 
at the Trianon. 
worked at and greatly sacle the limitation of the orders, and 
was followed on similar lines by his nephew, Antoine Laurent 
de Jussieu, whose Genera Plantarum secundum Ordines ar 
peste ( ea contains the first complete system which ¢ 
to | natural one. The orders of Linneus, orem and 
pace Dat iecoed, ar are here arranged under the great groups a 
cotyle 
oup is divided ing to the absence, and fresdom or 
union when present, of the sith , and the o ndred orde 
press characterized by the relative position of the 
s and o 
agplie by Jussieu. Jussieu also published careful monographs 
of several families, recognizing l ra 
system attainable. The ‘aed was continued by Augustin Pyramus 
