HISTORY OF BOTANY. 67 



Thus different structures were raised to reduce into order the ftores 

 of natural produftions, and to facilitate a comprehensive view of them ; 

 but, as in all former fabrics, there was no formal and regular perfeBion 

 in them. The chambers were not sufficiently commodious for common 

 use, and the division of the whole was destitute of solidity and preci- 

 sion. 



A greater architeft arose, who excelled all his predecessors. This 

 was Joseph Pitton de Tournetort, a Frenchman, born at Aix 

 in Provence in 1656, whose genius was wholly created for botany. 

 His parents had destined him for the church, but Tournefort, like 

 our LiNN^us, ranged through the fields and collefted plants instead of 

 going to school. He was left fatherless at the age of 21. He now de- 

 voted himself entirely to his inclination, studied at Montpellier, where 

 the botanical garden was of great service to him ; made a tour through 

 Languedoc, Dauphiny and the Pyrenees ; was appointed professor of the 

 royal botanical garden at Paris, in 1683 ; visited Spain^ Portugal^ Eng- 

 land and Holland ; undertook to travel from 1700 to 1702 at the ex- 

 pence of Louis XV. into Greece and Asia, whither he was accompa- 

 nied by A. GuNDELSHEiMER, a native of Anspach, and physician to 

 the King of Prussia^ and died- at last in a state of celibacy in the year 

 1708. His death was occasioned by a catastrophe similar to that which 

 befel Mori SON, his chest being crushed by a carriage which suddenly 

 passed by him. 



Before he set out on his travels he published a new botanical sys- 

 tem which soon attra£led universal attention. He divided the plants 

 into twenty-two classesj which he determined by the different forma- 



K 2 tion 



