65 4 USTRALIAN BOTAXl '. 



THE NATURAL SYSTEM. 



This is the system now generally adopted. Ray, a 

 celebrated botanist, made the first attempt at an arrange- 

 ment of plants according to a Xatural System : but Bernard 

 de Jussieu was the first to practically demonstrate the 

 system, by arran^ins a royal garden in France in accord- 

 ance with its principles. He was, however, of an extremely 

 reticent disposition ; and it was reserved for his nephew, 

 Laurent de Jussieu, to develop and make public the new 

 mode of arrangement. After thirty years' continuous 

 labour, his Genera Plantarum, published in 1789, was 

 accepted as the long sought substitute for the artificial 

 system of Linnaeus. With the Jussieus — as with the 

 Darwins, De Candolles, Herschels. and Hookers — talent 

 in a peculiar walk of science appears to have been 

 hereditary. Adrien, the son of Laurent de Jussieu, also 

 became a distinguished botanist. He was the author of 

 several very valuable botanical works. 



According to the Xatural System now in general use, the 

 vegetable kingdom is divided into Sub-Kingdoms, Classes, 

 Sub-Classes, Orders or Families, Genera, Species, Varieties, 

 and Races. 



A Class is an union of many orders or families having one 

 or more main similar characters. Example : — Dicotyledons. 



A Sub-Class contains those plants which have, in addition 

 to the former, other characteristics. 



A Natural Order or Family is a collection of genera, 

 resembling each other in a botanical sense. Example : — 

 Rosacea?. 



