66 
The vegetable system. 
in negledling Nature. One had therefore no right to cenfure the 
other, provided lie kept ftriftly to his own rule. And let me here 
obferve, that the very world, the mold unnatural of thefe productions, 
have been of great ufe to the Idudy of Botany. The father of it had 
fome favourite part of a Vegetable he preferred to the reld j he ex- 
amines this in every light, and gives us a thoufand good obfervations 
relating to it : others do the fame. It is therefore to the united en- 
deavours of thofe contending heroes we owe our knowledge of the 
various organs of Plants ; their writings have ferved for fcalTblds to 
Ray, Haller, and Royen. 
Whoever excels thefe muld Idill begin to mount by the aflildance 
of thofe that went before him. The fuperior genius of Linnaeus 
has, in his Philofoph. Bot. in his characters, &c. difpifed thefe helps, 
and explored untrodden paths: ’what was before him vague and un- 
certain, he has reduced to order and permanency ; and even formed 
an alphabet, a new language, for this delightful fcience ; freed it 
from a thoufand defeCts, and embellilhed it mere in a few years, than 
all the labours of antiquity had done for many ages, but IHll a great 
deal remains ; for Linnaeus is arbitrary, and Nature is yet negleCted. 
Systems of Plants feem to be necelTary for two diltlnCl purpofes,' 
the one to aflifl: the memory ; the other to range Vegetables, in fuch 
a manner, that every Tribe, Divifion, and Family may feem to be 
allied to thofe that precede, as well as follow it. In this lall: ditfri- 
bution, no arbitrary character of Tribes, See. is upon any account to 
feparate Plants naturally connected : this Syftem is therefore more 
adapted to a natural hiftory, than to facilitate the difeovery of an un- 
known plant. 
We have feen in running over the various methods, that they have 
been reputed good or bad, according as they approach Nature; hence 
the difputes between writers on Botany. Whereas, in truth, though 
fome approach nearer the mark than others, no Syflem extent hitherto 
at all deferves the appellation of natural. 
All have had in view the two very different purpofes mentioned 
above, which appear incompatible with one another; they mutf 
therefore be feparated, and Nature feverely followed in the latter, 
though attended with a thoufand difficulties to the learner: not but 
that ways will be found to obviate many of them. 
Pre- 
