INTKODUCTION. 



The system of nomenclature of organized beingSj founded 

 by LinnBeua, was looked upon, till the middle of tMs cen- 

 tury, as extremely ingenious, and has been thougbt, by 

 some authors, a most admirable one. It was quoted in phi- 

 losophical lectures, and found superior to that of chemical 

 nomenclature, on account of its adapting itself more readily 

 to changes necessitated by the progress of discovery. 

 Botanists professed for it the greatest veneration. They 

 boasted of having developed a better nomenclature than 

 zoologists, which was not surprising, as the most illustrious 

 botanists, thirty or forty years ago, gave infinitely more at- 

 tention to this subject than zoologists. 



Nevertheless, of late years, a change has been perceptible; 

 opinion is wavering, enthusiasm abated. Here and there, 

 in different countries, doubts have arisen and complaints 

 have been made regarding the system of botanical nomen- 

 clature. Horticulturists are oftentimes at a loss to find their 

 way in the midst of new names and accumulated synonyms, 

 or are eager to get out of the chaos they have themselves 

 created in the nomenclature of cultivated varieties. Bota- 

 nists, on the other hand, alarmed at the increase of names 

 proceeding from the difierent views taken of genera and 

 species, are on the look-out for a nomenclature that shall be 



