296 Historical Notice of 



voted themselves to the study of the natural method nearly at the 

 same period. 



Adanson was struck with the diversity of the systems hitherto 

 established, and perceived that, notwithstanding the different prin- 

 ciples on which tliey rested, the greater part agreed in preserving 

 untouched certain groups which the intuitive perception of natural 

 afiinities led every one to recognize as natural groups. He there- 

 fore conceived, that, by purposely multiplying systems, and founding 

 them on all the organs, and on every consideration which these or- 

 gans could supply, the different relations existing between different 

 vegetables would be thus rendered apparent ; and that by bringing 

 together into one family such of these genera, as were found to cor- 

 respond in the greatest number of particulars in these artificial sys- 

 tems, we should attain to a true natural classification. Proceeding 

 on this principle, he established sixty-five different systems, founded 

 sometimes on characters of importance, at other times on characters 

 of little value, and almost impossible to define. The result of this 

 was, that by assigning nearly an equal value to these different sys- 

 tems, the general classification he deduced from them, instead of 

 being more perfect than that of Linne, interrupted the natural affi- 

 nities even more frequently, in fact, if we apply to them, in order 

 to form a comparative estimate of the two methods, the principle 

 admitted by Adanson himself in judging of the systems antecedent 

 to his — that is to say, if we examine how many of these groups there 

 are, which, notwithstanding the progress the study of natural families 

 has made, continue to be admitted or correspondent to two or three 

 families which our methods still permit to stand by the side of each 

 other,— we will find that, of the sixty-seven Linnean families, thir- 

 ty-four have undergone scarcely any alteration, while of the fifty- 

 eight families of Adanson, twenty-six only have been able to with- 

 stand the same proof. Thus the tedious and laborious investigations 

 of Adanson, at a period, too, when the science had made a great 

 advance, led him to a result which is no nearer approximation to the 

 truth than that of Linn . 



It may only be remarked that Linne, aware of the imperfect 

 knowledge which could be obtained in his time respecting the na- 

 tural classification of plants, had appended to his method, under the 

 title of vagce et etiamnuru incertce sedis, a considerable series of 

 genera either little known, or whose position appeared to him doubt- 

 ful ; while Adanson, in the belief that his method was infallible, 

 attempted to classify them all, and this pretension to outstrip the 

 knowledge of his time was perhaps the cause of many of the impro- 



