PREFACE. 
viii 
Ita]v; RuppiusandDillenius in Germany, and other?, 
Dillenius, reirnwing into England, was chdlen 
profefl'or ot botany in the univcrfity of Oxford. Ele 
pnblidied the third edii ion of Ray’s fynopfis, much 
enlarged, in 1724; and afterwards wrote the Bor- 
ius Elthamenfis ^ in which a great number of uncom- 
mon plants are defcribed; and a large and accurate 
hiftory of moffcs. In ^728, Martyn publifhed his 
Hi/ioria plantai'wn rariorwn at London. In 1731, 
Catefby publidied the natural hihory of Carolina; 
and about the fame time, Biixbaum publiflied at 
Petcriburgh, his Ceniiirice plantarum^ containing the 
characlers of many plants difcovered in Afia and the 
eafei-n parts of Europe. 
Sir Charles Linnxus, chief phyfieJan to the king 
'of Sweden, and pi'ofefTor of medicine and botany 
in the univerlity of Upfal, has, in his numerous 
works, brought the feveral branches of natural hi- 
Rory, and particularly botanyj much nearer to per- 
feefion, than all who have gone before hini. In his 
Syftcnia naturez^ of which the firfl edition was print- 
ed in 1735, he has laid dowm the eifential charac- 
ters of the genera of the three kingdoms of nature. 
In this work, plants are difpofed in a method en- 
tirely new, founded on the fexes, which is followed 
by tiie author in his fucceeding publications. In 
his Genera plantarum. printed in 1737, and feveral 
times fince, he has given the natural character, or 
defeription at large of the fructification, of every 
known genus of plants. But perhaps his greateft ex- 
cellence as a reformer of botany, lies in the inven- 
tion of thofe concife fpecifid diftindtions, which he 
gave fpecimens ofjn the Hortus Cliffortianus^ and 
ether of his works, and fince extended to all the 
plants perfectly known, in that capital work the 
i^peejes plantarum^ firft publi fned at S tockhol m in 1 7 5 3 . 
Before this great naturalifi: arofe, the doctrine re- 
lating to the fpecies v/as involved. in much obfeu- 
