( ) 
Befide the varieties occafioned by multipli- 
cation, there are others arifmg from many 
accidental caufes ; but the moft general caufe 
may be cftecmcd culture: it is from the gar- 
dener's art that we receive fo many delicious 
fruits and vegetables for our tables; culture 
too is the teft, whether a plant be a true 
fpecies, or a variety. By a change of foil we 
can produce the moft valuable varieties; or 
oblige them to return to their original form, 
by refufing them our nourifliing care. The 
ingenuity and induftry of man is not feen 
in any thing more confpicuoully than in his 
culture of corn, which, without the fcience of 
agriculture, would be of fmall value ; with it, 
we muft efteem it the firft bleffing of life 
Botanifts are careful to diftinguifh between 
varieties obtained from feed, and the genuine 
fpecies, from which they deviate. Such plants 
will not be found noted in the Syftem of Ve- 
getables, which contains only the genera, and 
the permanent fpecies. In the Species Planta- 
rum the varieties are diftinguiftied by a ca- 
pital B being placed immediately before the 
defcriptions of them. What has been ex- 
plained refpecling the changes which take place 
in the fruclification of plants, is equally ap- 
plicable 
