LINN^US 329 



understood to apply to the plants which you have 

 associated. In such cases as you refer to, I followed 

 the logical rule, of borrowing the name a potiori, from 

 the principal member. Can you' (he added) 'give 

 me the character of any single order ? ' Giseke. ' Surely, 

 the character of the Umbellatse is, that they have an 

 umbel ? ' Linnceus. ' Good ; but there are plants which 

 have an umbel, and are not of the Umbellatae.' G. ' I 

 remember. We must therefore add, that they have two 

 naked seeds.' L. ' Then, Echinophora, which has only 

 one seed, and Eryngium, which has not an umbel, will 

 not be Umbellatse ; and yet they are of the order.' 

 G. ' I would place Eryngium among the Aggregates.' 

 L. ' No ; both are beyond dispute Umbellatse. Eryngium 

 has an involucrum, five stamina, two pistils, &c. Try 

 again for your character.' G. ' I would transfer such 

 plants to the end of the order, and make them form the 

 transition to the next order. Eryngium would connect 

 the Umbellatse with the Aggregatse.' L. 'Ah! my 

 good friend, the transition from order to order is one 

 thing ; the character of an order is another. The 

 transitions I could indicate ; but a character of a 

 natural order is impossible. I will not give my reasons 

 for the distribution of natural orders which I have 

 published. You or some other person, after twenty or 

 after fifty years, will discover them, and see that I was 

 in the right.' " 



ESTIMATE OF LINN^US 



Cuvier ^ sets forth the merits of Linnseus in a passage 

 which is both just and instructive, so far as it goes : — 

 "Aimable, bienveillant, entour^ de disciples enthousi- 

 astes, dont il se faisait autant de missionnaires, attentif 



1 Eloge d'Adanson, p. 289. 



