1246 On the Position of the Composite and 
Kingdom (p. x1). He says: “Consistency is but another wor 
obstinacy. All things are undergoing incessant change. Every 
of observation most so. Since 1836 the views of the autho 
have, of course, been altered in some respects, although the 
have experienced but little modification in others. This is inevi- 
table in such a science as that of systematic botany, where the 
discovery of a few new facts or half a dozen fresh genera may it- it 
stantly change the point of view from which a given object is 
observed. The author cannot regard perseverance in error com- 
mendable for the sake of what is idly called consistency ; lt 
would rather see false views corrected as the belief of their er 
arises. * * * All that we can do is to throw our pebbles 
upon the heap which shall hereafter, when they shall have sufi 
ciently accumulated, become the landmark of systematic bo 
With our modern ideas and knowledge of botany, 
pretty nearly all come to the conclusion that any A 
arrangement of plants is out of the question. Nor is the 10 
altogether a modern one, for we find many old writers expresi 
the same opinion. Says Lindley, in 1845: “ It is impossible, fro! 
the nature of things, that any arrangement should an , 
shall represent the natural relations of plants ma ma 
series. Itis generally admitted by those who have turned 
attention to a consideration of the manner in which or 
beings are related to each other, that each species is ames 
others in different degrees, and that such relationship is bestet 
pressed by rays (called affinities) proceeding from a given ce 
(the species).” And Brongniart, in 1843, had also insisted 
impracticability of a lineal arrangement of plants. 
Although it is universally admitted, however, that r 
cotyledons are of a lower type than the Dicotyled 
would be rash, indeed, who would say that the 
former division should stand lower than the lowest of t 
That, for instance, the Orchideæ should be below the C 
diaceæ or the Euphorbiaceæ. So that the only way Oe z 
can with justice and method arrange plants, is on severa 
lines. 
As evolutionists, botanists must acknowledge that al 
Monocotyledons or Dicotyledons, have sprung ad, and no t 
but they must have diverged at a very early period, 
