460 PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY, ETC. 
to natural history, justly be called the century of 
discovery. It must however be admitted, that, did 
philosophers really wish te make their writings more 
generally useful, they would make their works less 
expensive, and not give us repeatedly copied plates, 
which only render the study less attainable. Besides, 
we are so unfortunate since Linné’s death to get new 
plants under different names, and to see new names 
given to plants already known. Should this anarchy 
become prevalent in botany, we must expect to see 
again the old times, where each author gave to his 
plant the name he fancied to be the best. 
Johann Hedwig, Professor of Botany at Leipzig, 
born at Cronstaedt in Transylvania, Oct. 8, 1736; 
studied medicine at Presburg in Hungary, and died 
Feb, 7, 1799, at the age of 69 years. He discovered 
by means of an extremely high magnifying micro- 
scope, that those parts in mosses, which Linné took 
for female flowers, were male flowers, and that those 
which were thought to be the male flowers were 
seed capsules only. His discoveries relate likewise 
to the filices, algze, and fungi *. 
* Johannis Hedwigit Fundamentum Historie Naturalis 
muscorum frondosorum. Pars I. 11. Lipsiee, 1782, with 20 plates. 
Kjusd. Theoria generationis et fructificationis plantarum 
cryptogamicarum. Petropol. 1784. 4to. with 37 coloured plates. 
In 1798 a new, corrected, and much enlarged edition of this 
work was published. | 
Ejusd. Descriptio et Adumbratio muscorum frondosorum. 
Tom. I.—IV. Lips. 1787-1797, with 160 neatly coloured 
plates. Not continued, 
Jonas 
