[ 231 3 



of that fiibjed. It is profeffedly a commentary 

 upon the 5th chapter of Linn.^us's Fundamental 

 or Philofophi a Botanica, from fedion 132 to 150 

 inclufive, and contains 49 pages. It is out of our 

 plan to produce any detail of thefe arguments 

 fuffice it to fay, that although, from the writings 

 of Hheophraftus and Fliny^ we learn that the antients 

 had fome idea of an analogy in this refpect, 

 between the animal and vegetable kingdom, 

 drawn perhaps principally from the artificial mode 

 of foecundating the date-tree^ yet, fo crude and 

 erroneous were their ideas, that in many inftances 

 they called thofe plants male or female, which 

 modern difcoveries have taught us are exadly the 

 reverfe. Indeed it does not appear, that any very 

 precife ideas on this fubje6l were eftablifhed till 

 late in the laft century ; and, were it a matter of 

 importance to determine to whom applaufe is due 

 for this difcovery, the EngUJh miight perhaps with 

 juftice claim this honour, and bellow it on S'w'ThO' 

 mas Millington^ Savilian profefibr, who appears to 

 have been the firft that gave the hint to Dr. Grew ; 

 fince whofe time this do6lrine has received fo 

 much light, that we prefume few people can now 

 doubt the following pofition, which briefly con- 

 tains the whole of what is underilood now by this 

 analogy namely, That the influence of the 

 " farina from the anthers of flowers upon the 

 Jligma^ is eifentiaily ncceiTary to give fertility to 

 " the feed." If there are any who yet wifh to fee 

 what arguments may be adduced agaiv.ft this doc- 

 trine, they are referred to the Anthologia of Ponte^ 



0^4 ^ra^ 



