PART SECOND. 



CHAPTER I. 



OF THE SEXUAL SYSTEM, AND ITS ORIGINo 



THE Sexual System, as its title imports, is founded on a 

 discovery, that there is in vegetables, as well as in animals, a 

 distinction of the sexes. This was not wholly unknown to the an* 

 cients ; but their knowledge of it was very imperfect. 



It has been seen in the course of this work, that the flowers 

 of the generality of vegetables are bisexual, containing within 

 them the characters of both sexes ; and we shall see in the classes 

 Moncecia and Dixcia, the sexes are parted, and allotted to differ* 

 ent flowers ; and that in the class Dicecia in particular, the sexes 

 are even on different plants, the male flowers growing all upon 

 one plant, and the female upon another. Now this last circum- 

 stance the ancients had observed : indeed it could hardly escape 

 their notice ; for the Palm-tree, whose fruit wafi in esteem, being 

 ©f the class Diazcia, a very little observation was requisite to 

 teach them, that in these trees the flowers of the male were ne- 

 cessary to ripen the fruit; of the female. Accordingly we find, in 



