239 
I fuppofe Thomfom meant this Water- 
lily in thefe lines, 
See how the lily drinks 
The latent rill, fcarce oozing thro* the grafs, 
Of growth luxuriant, or the humid bank 
In fair profulion deeks. 
Under thofe trees, in the language of the 
fame poet, 
where purple violets lurk 
With all the lowly children of the fhade, 
you will find fome purple flowers. You 
know them to be violets by the fmell. But 
you wifh to learn to what Clafs and Order 
they belong. Carefully infpefting the cen- 
tre of the flower, you will difcover 5 fta- 
mina, the anthera of which are united. Now 
this being the efiential charafteriftic of the 
Syngenefia, it certainly is of that clafs ; but, 
as in this Violet, we do not find a number 
of florets inclofed in one common calyx, it 
muft necefTarily belong to the Order Mono- 
gamia; which differs remarkably from the 
other 5 Orders of this clafs, in the flower 
being fimple. This Order excepted, the 
clafs Syngenefia is perfectly natural. The 
generic character of the Violet is, Calyx of 
5 leaves; 
