DRIVING THE SPIRIT OUT OF THINGS, EVEN IF NO SPECIES EVER DIG DEVELOP 



OUT OF ANOTHER* THEM * S MY SENTIMENTS; AND I AM DELIGHTED TO FIND YOU 



AND GRAY SO MEASURABLY SOUND ON THE SUBJECT* 



WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT THE AFFINITIES OF CON I FERAE RE GALS TO MY I NO 

 THE WEGWERFENOEN REMARK IN HOOKER'S EDITION OF LE MAOUT & DEC A I.SNE, THAT 

 THE CONIFERS • » M I GHT BE CONSIDERED AS INTERMEDIATE BETWEEN PHAENO GAMS 

 AND CRYPTOGAMS, IF A FEW EXTERNAL RESEMBLANCES ONLY WERE NOTED.., tf NOW 



IT IS PRECISELY HE DISREGARD OF THE NATURAL PRESUMPTION OFFERED BY SUGM 

 »• EXTERNAL RESEMBLANCES* • — OF THAT INDEFINABLE THING ••HABIT" ~ IN 

 FAVOR OF STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES WHOSE, VALUE IS SO LARGELY AN ARBITRARY 

 ESTIMATE t AND SO OFTEN PO I NTE DL Y ' D I SRE GARDE D • E # G. EPIGYNiSM, APE- 

 TALI SM, GA^pPETALISM : THAT I OBJECT TO. SOMETIMES HISTORICAL ACCIDENTS 

 EVEN, SEEM TO HAVE INFLUENCED THE MATTER. FOR INSTANCE, IF CASUAR I NA 

 HAD BEEN A EUROPEAN PLANT, WOULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN CLASSED AT ONCE WITH 

 SALICORNIA? AND IF THEY HAD ONCE BEEN THROWN TOGETHER, ON WHAT WEIGH- 

 TY GROUNDS WOULD THEY HAVE BEE^N SEPARATED, SO LONG AS PYRUS^ND OR YAS, 

 RANUNCULUS AND ACTAEA AND AGU I LEG I A REMAINED WITHIN THE SAME ORDERS! — 

 THERE SEEMS TO ME TO BE SUCH A LACK OF ANY APPROACH TO UNIFORMITY IN 

 THE VALUE OF THE DIAGNOSTIC DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT ORDERS, THAT 

 I CONSTANTLY FIND MYSELF APOLOGIZING FOR IT TO MY CLASSES; ESPECIALLY 

 WHEN I HAPPEN TO BE UNABLE TO. SHOW THE REAL GROUNDS FOR THE ORIGINAL 

 DISTINCTION BY OCULAR DEMONSTRATION OF THE DIFFERENCES OF HABIT. I HAVE 

 BEEN MORE STRUCK WITH THIS FACT OF LATE ON ACCOUNT OF MY USE OF LE MAOUT 

 &C., WHERE A DIAGNOSTIC AND VERY BRIEF DESCRIPTION IS MADE TO PRECEDE 

 THE GENERAL ONE, IN WHICH THE DIFFERENCES OF HABIT ARE GIVEN. IT IS 

 SOMETIMES ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS TO NOTE THE UTTERLY INSIGNIFICANT, AND 

 IN TWENTY OTHER CASES UTTERLY DISREGARDED, STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES ON 

 WHICH THE DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS TO BE BASED. 



OF COURSE, EVERYBODY ADMITS THAT WHEN I T COMES TO ATTEMPTING A 

 SERIAL ARRANGEMENT, WHETHER OF PLANTS, ANIMALS OR CHEMICAL ELEMENTS, THE 

 MOST THAT CAN BE DONE IS TO SATISFY THE MOST PROMINENT AND OBVIOUS RE- 

 SEMBLANCES; AND OPINIONS WILL ALWAYS DIFFER AS TO WHICH ARE TO BE FIRST 

 CONSIDERED* BUT THERE IS A WIDE MARGIN AS YET BETWEEN THESE UNAVOID- 

 ABLE IMPERFECTIONS, AND THAT SPIRIT-KILLING METHOD WHICH MAKES OLD KOC*l , 

 OF THE * • FLORA DEUTSCHLANDS • • , DESCRIBE ACCURATELY THE DIFFERENCES IN 

 THE VENATION OF THE PETALS OF THE VARIOUS VERONICAS, FOR CONVENIENCE : 



: ! ; IN DETERMINATION, WHILE NOT SAYING A WORD EITHER AS TO HABIT OR 

 SIZE — YOUR PLANT MAY BE TEN FEET, OR FOUR INCHES HIGH, FOR AUGHT HE 

 TELLS YOU ABOUT IT. BECAUSE, SAYS HE, MANY PLANTS VARY GREATLY IN 

 HEIGHT : HE QUOTES ERIGERON CANADENSE HENCE IT WOULD BE UNSAFE TO 



COMMIT ONESELF TO ANY PA^ICULAR ONE • NO WONDER GERMAN STUDENTS USED TO 

 CONSIDER BOTANY AS WORSE IN DRYNESS THAN EVEN RE I CHL I N-MELDEGG* sfclETA- 

 PHYSICS, OR THE GREAT LAT i N GRAMMAR. 



Minoimi BoTAmcw- 0«*J 

 George ehs**** 1 ™^ 



copyright reserved 



