40 
POSTSCRIPT. 
made, and to lend my humble aid to those who are more com- 
petent to effect it. After mature deliberation I do not see that 
1 can improve the disposition made of those three genera in 
my MS. where they form the first suborder, being distinguished 
by branching stems. Whether as such they shall form a sepa- 
rate order is a discretionary point, of too little importance to 
deserve much discussion. I think it will be inconvenient to 
detach them so, and I am certain that, if it be done, the cau- 
lescent portion must make another separate order, and Ama- 
ryllidaceae be confined to the scapaceous plants ; but this 
would narrow, instead of enlarging, our views of the creation. 
It is gratifying to me to observe, that although my arrange- 
ment of the monocotyledonous plants was made upon the 
principles which I have laid down, without any reference to 
that division made by Dr. Lindley, which he calls nixus or 
alliances denoted by the termination ales, when I subsequently 
examined my scheme to see how it would affect his alliances, 
it appeared to dissever but one, which I think he may perhaps 
abandon on further consideration, the union of the bright- 
petaled Xyris and its fellows with the grasses. The rushes 
seem to me more closely allied to the grasses than the 
plants which have some coloured petals ; but the half-glu- 
maceous orders stand in need of careful reconsideration. It 
is impossible, as I have before said, that any consecutive 
arrangement should exhibit a perfect concatenation of 
vegetables ; but I have effected one in strict conformity 
with the principles I had previously laid down, and 
though of course it must be capable of improvement and 
rectification, when the plants it contains shall be more per- 
fectly understood, it will be found that, proceeding systemati- 
cally on those principles, I have disjoined fewer affinities than 
has yet been done by any of the existing arrangements, which 
are based on no fixed principle. For instance, Bromeliaceae, 
which are chiefly epiphytes, find themselves next to the gy- 
nandrous epiphytes, where every cultivator would place them; 
and the gynandrous epiphytes to the Scitamineous plants, 
which have almost a gynandrous appearance ; whereas, I 
find Bromeliaceae placed by Dr. Lindley between the Irises 
and the aquatic frogbits which intervene between them and 
the other epiphytes. The closely allied Amaryllidaceous and 
Liliaceous plants, which are all called lilies by the unlearned, 
and are only separated by ovary inferior and superior, are 
brought in contact by my systematic arrangement, though 
