STRUCTURAL BOTANY. 19 



and merely some obvious external circumstance noted. 

 An artiJiGial system has no other aim than to serve as a 

 convenient means of reference, as a contrivance for den- 

 tifying plants, and does not attempt to express fully their 

 points of resemblance. 



57. The best of all artificial systems is that of Lin- 

 ncBus. Charles de Linne {Garolus Linnceus) was born 

 May 23d, 1707, in the hamlet Eashult, the province 

 Smoland, in Sweden. His system consists of twenty- 

 four classes and a variable number of orders. It was 

 designed as a provisional substitute for the natural 

 classes and orders, which Linnaeus would have established 

 himself, had such a thing been possible. In his day, when 

 the list of known genera embraced a comparatively very 

 small number of names, he divided the plants into two cardi- 

 nal series, Phmnogams and Cryptogams — a division which 

 is accepted by the authors of natural systems. But in de- 

 termining classes and orders, he proceeded differently. Jle 

 divided the Phomogams into those with stamens and pis- 

 tils in the same flower, and those with these organs in 

 separate flowers. In the case of hermaphrodite flowers, 

 he examined whether their stamens are united with the 

 pistils or not; next, whether the stamens are united with 

 each other, aud, finally, whether they were of equal or un- 

 equal length, if numbering 4 or 6. This system is best 

 understood from a tabular view. 



I. Series : Stamens and Pistils Peesekt. 



PH^NOGAMIA. 



A. Stamens with the pistils in tlie saine flower : 



* Not united with the pistils, 

 ** nor with one another ; 

 *** of equal length, if 4 or 6. 



