GUIDE TO BOTANY, 
INTRODUCTION. 
.Botany, derived from a Greek word, signifying kerb 
or grass , is that department of natural history by 
which plants are distinguished from each other and. 
systematically arranged ; but, in a more extended 
sense, it includes also a knowledge of the structure 
and functions, as well -as of the properties and uses of 
vegetables. 
The vegetable kingdom, which is supposed to con- 
sist of at least 50,000 species, is divided, according to 
the system of Linnaeus, into 24 classes ; each class is 
subdivided into orders ; and each order is again sub* 
divided into genera and species. The classification of 
Linnaeus, confessedly artificial, is by far the simplest 
and most convenient yet proposed for studying botany j 
and those who have made objections to it, have forgot- 
ten, that its object is to distinguish plants from each 
other with precision, rather than to associate them ac- 
cording to their natural alliances. In all attempts to 
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