CHAPTER XXVIII 



CLASSIFICATION 



IT has already been shown that one may classify living things as to 

 structure or function, that is, as to anatomy or physiology. The early 

 naturalists felt that the most important thing in the study of living 

 matter consisted in finding names and assigning definite places for 

 every distinct individual. A little later morphology, or anatomy, was 

 considered most important. Still later physiology, or the way an animal 

 performs vital activities, was the all-important thing. Then with the dis- 

 covery that urea, an organic compound, could be manufactured in the 



laboratory, much stress was laid upon chem- 

 istry. Formerly it was quite common for 

 naturalists to look for differences, in order to 

 classify an individual, while now we look 

 primarily for similarities in order to under- 

 stand the close relationships which bind 

 individuals into a common group. 



Classification is now no longer the prime 

 factor in the study of Biology, and men, who 

 are interested only in assigning names and 

 groupings, are not considered scientists. It 

 must not be forgotten, however, that there 

 could be no science possible, and biologists 

 would be unable to discuss their work intelli- 

 gently with each other unless some method 

 could be found by which each would know 

 what the other was talking about. 

 It is, therefore, well to know several of the important naturalists 

 whose names are most intimately associated with this particular phase 

 of Biology. 



John Ray (1627-1705), an Englishman, was the first real systematist. 

 Following him came Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linne, 1707-1778), 

 who is in reality the founder of our present method of classifying. In 

 fact, one of the distinguished honors that may come to a botanist is to 

 be elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society. Linne's important work 

 was his Systema Naturae, consisting of twelve volumes, which appeared 

 between the years 1735 and 1768. There was a thirteenth volume, added 

 after his death. Linnaeus practically completed Ray's classification. He 

 used structure as the basis of classification. There were six classes, four 



Fig. 249. 



Carl von Linne, 1707-1778. 

 From G. Stuart Gager's 

 "Fundamentals of Botany" by- 

 permission of P. Blakiston's 

 Son & Co., Publishers. 



