OF THE LIFE OF LINN^US. 195 



the greatest part of the flowers were contrafted and concealed, and 

 found that the vegetable reign was almost entirely in a dormant state*. 



The flower, as the most admirable and most curious part of the 

 plants, had occupied him chiefly, and furnished him with the model of 

 that new system, by which the vegetable reign obtained its male and 

 female sexes, in the same manner as the animal rqjgn. The truth of 

 this system he corroborated successively by several irrefragable proofs 

 and observations. He demonstrated, ho\v the flower and fruit developc 

 themselves as embryos, how there are even bastards among the plants, 

 and how the mixture and bastard-species might be produced by putting 

 the blossom dust of one plant, upon the notch of fruftification of 

 another, in the same manner as we see the production of a mule by 

 an ass and a mare in the animal reign. This is a palpable proof of 

 the double sexes in the vegetable reign, which the French botanist 

 Adanson would not in the least admit t. The objeftions and repre- 

 sentations of M. Necker at Manheim, against this discovery, are be- 

 sides many others but too v/ell known. According to the Linn^ean 

 method all the vegetable productions are propagated by seeds. He 

 extended the same mode of propagation to the mosses, but could not 

 accomplish those enquiries which were to make him triumph over his 

 opponents. At last Dr. Hedwig of Leipsic, the Dillenius of 

 Germany, decided the contest in favour of Linnaeus J. 



* Somnus Plantariim, 1755; Amcenitat. Academ. vol. iv. of which an English extraft 

 by Dr. R. Pulteney may be seen in the Gentleman's M.igazine for 1737, p. 315. 



-f- M. Li NN£ ignore-til, qu'il y a dans rertaincs plantes, comme dans les animaux, des 

 families entieres, on il n'y a point de stxe distinJt, ni sensible, 011 toits les individiis se nml- 

 tiplient sans auciine fecondation. 



J See Hedwig's Fimdamentum Historije Natiiralis Mii?corum frondosoriim, concernens 

 coram Acres, seminalem propagationem, &c. Lrps. 1782,410. also Ludwigu Epistola de 

 Sexu Muscoriim dctefto Lips. 1778. 4to> 



c c 2 One 



