THE GREEN-HOUSE CATALOGUE. 233 



alphabetically, would afford a genus for most letters 

 of the alphabet, and thus be scattered throughout the 

 whole catalogue. Then to each genus the soil, mode 

 of propagation, and the statement that it was a bulb, 

 &c. &c., must have to be added ; whereas, by keep- 

 ing them together, the title of the order at once gives 

 the idea of the plants contained in it — their ensate 

 leaves, brilliant flowers, and bulbous roots. These 

 ideas the reader will carry along with him in perusing 

 the names and descriptive traits of each genus and 

 species, and thus have a more definite notion of what 

 he is reading about than could be otherwise obtained. 



An arrangement according to the natural resem- 

 blances of plants is also far more suitable for such as 

 wish to choose a general collection ; for to a person 

 who does not know plants, what guide will the mere 

 names afford ? or their alphabetical or Linnsean ar- 

 rangement ? None whatever. But a person wholly 

 unacquainted with plants, if he chooses a species or 

 one or two species from each of the natural orders, 

 even at random, would be certain of having a collec- 

 tion exhibiting a prototype of the whole list of green- 

 house plants. If instead of this he were to select two 

 or three plants from each of the Linneean orders, he 

 might omit many of the natural orders altogether; 

 might omit some of the finest kinds of vegetable 

 beauty, and, of course, could not have anything like 

 a complete collection. In short, the advantages of 

 the natural arrangement of plants are more numerous 

 than we can here afford room to explain, not only to 



