BOTANY. 
bination of thefe charadtdi's with thole of the dalles ; 
and thele are. again fubdivided into (genera, which pol- 
fofs this. Angularity, that, in place of diftindive charac¬ 
ters hitherto employed,' they exhibit complete defcrip- 
tions of all the. parts of fructification of one or two fpecies 
ofleajOlt genus. 
To thefe multiplied and.laborious-endeavours to form 
a rational .method oficlalling plants, fucceeded the-.fyftem 
of Linnaeus, .wlv.ch is unquaftionably liiotie conformable to 
the tr.ue principles of p.hdofophyj than all thole which 
preceded-it. Yet he ffirenuoufty inlifts that there is an un¬ 
erring and invariable Natural method, by which Creative 
Wildom has ordained that vegetable productions (hould 
be connected by a natural affinity, and yet bediftintt from 
each other ; but lie modeftly owns,his inability to deted 
this.natural method, after long and repeated refearches 
for that.purpofe. He lifis neverthelefs framed a Natural 
Order of Plants, by -placing together under appropriate 
names, all tho-fe which appear to have a natural fsmilitude 
or affinity ; and lie.i-mp.ommes fucceeding botanifts dili¬ 
gently to fcareh after-.this-natural method, as Nature's own 
fyjlcvi. That this fyliem,,days he, is ,no chimera, will, fa- 
tisfadorily appear from hence, that all plants, of what 
order foever, ihe-w an affinity to feme others; and hence, 
if this affinity, or the links-ot thfenaturad chain, could be 
once made out and connected, not only the virtues of a 
great number of fpecies may be afeertained, hut we may 
know with certainty how to find-a proper fuccedaneum 
for plants-which cannot eafily be had. 
Sir John Hill, in his Vegetable Syllein, endeavours to 
detect tills natural order, by clafling plants according to 
their internal ft rue lure. “Perhaps, fays he, upon the 
foundation of a true anatomy of plants, a natural method 
jtlay be e(tab 1 ilhed for it is certain that the forms of all 
the external parts of vegetables depend on the difpofition 
of the internal; and all their differences are founded there. 
On the different inner ftmClure of the vegetable body, un¬ 
der certain courfes of its veffiels, evidently depend the dif¬ 
ferences which ebaradferize the feven firft families, to the 
iliftinclions.of which all daffies are fubordinate ; and as 
thefe original diftinftions are truly natural, we may here 
begin vary ffiafely. The fev.cn families are thefe, i . The 
mufhrooms. 2. The algae, or foliaceous fea and land 
plants. 3. The modes. 4. The ferns. 5. The graffies. 
6 . The palms,. 7. The common race of plants. Their 
diftinCtions-one from another are thefe : 
“1. The mufhrooms are fleffiy,; and are deftitute of 
Leaves and vifible flowers. 2. The algae are merely foli- 
aceous, the entire plant confiding of .a leafy matter with¬ 
out other vifible parts. 3. The modes have precedes of 
the-inner rind for Ieav.es. .4. The ferns' confilt of-a tingle 
Leaf raifedion a ftalk; arid bear their flowers upon its back. 
5. The gv.affies have jointed (talks: and undivided, leaves, 
and hulks to hold the Jedds. -6. Therpalms. have a dim¬ 
ple trunk, with Leaves only on the top, and have the flow¬ 
ers and fruit in divided ears.” The feveiith clads,.' which 
he palls the common race of plants, are fuch as have their 
roots, leaves, ftalk.S, flowers, and fruits, diftincl and ob¬ 
vious ; and have not the charadlersmf pJu-y of the other fix 
families. To this natural method, his artificial one,'con¬ 
fiding -of forty-three eludes, and which itakes.up tlve whole 
of his voluminous work, is defigned only as pn index; 
but as this is tiniverlajjy .allow ed to be inferior-to Liniue- 
.us’s natural metho/d, it is needlefs for us to investigate it 
further. But as the natural order of Linnaeus is followed 
in the generic defer.ptions of all the plants in this work, 
and adopted by.profeffior Marty n-, and many-other of the 
jnoii refpcLlable authors, we Ihould not deem our treadle 
Komplete, without giving it a place, as follows: 
LINNzEUS’s, NATURAL ORDER of PLANTS. 
1. Palmze. Thefe are perennial, and moftly of the 
-ftirub and tree kind. The Hem is in height from two to 
•.one hundred feet and upwards; and the roots form a maf's 
of fibres which are commonly Ample and without any. 
ramifications. This order includes the following genera• 
Areca, the faufel-nut, or cabbage-tree ; Boraffius,° Mala¬ 
bar palm, called ampana, carim-pana, and pulmaira-tree ; 
Caryota, palm with doubly winged leaves,'called fchunda- 
pana ; Chamterops, leffier or dwarf palm, or palmetto; 
Cocos, cocoa-nut tree; Corypha, mountain-palm with 
krgeft leaves, called codda-pana : ; CyCas, todda-pana; 
Elais; Elate, wild Malabar palm, called katou-indel; 
Phoenix, date-tree; Zamia ; Hydrocharis, frog’s-bit; 
Stratiotes, water-foldier; Vallifneria. 
2. Piphritte. Thefe plants are mofily herbaceous and 
perennial. They confift of pepper, and a few genera which 
agree with it is habit, ftrutture, and fenlible qualities, 
particularly the latter. The genera contained in this or¬ 
der are, Ambrofinia; Arum, cuckovv-pint, or wake-ro¬ 
bin ; Calla, African arum ; Dracontium, dragons; Pothos, 
i'cunck-weed ; Zoftera, grafs -wrack ; Acorus, fweet rulli, 
or calamus aromaticus ; Orontium, floating arum ; Piper, 
pepper; Saururus, dizard ? s-tail. 
3. Calamari^e, ’from calamus, a reed. In this clafs 
the bafe of the leaf, which embraces the ftalk like a glove, 
has no longitudinal aperture. The ftalk is generally tri¬ 
angular, and without knots. The flowers have no petals. 
By thefe three particulars this order is -eafily diftinguifhed 
from the family of the graffies,-to which it is nearly allied. 
The genera Contained in this natural order are, Cyperus, 
cyprefs-grafs ; Eriophorum, cotton-grafs; Schcenus, bafe 
cyprefs; Scirpus, rufh-gralfs; Carex, fedge, or cyprefs-grafs; 
Sparganium, burr-reed ; Typha, cat’s-tail, or reed-mace. 
4. Gramina. This natural order conlifts of fhe nume¬ 
rous and natural family of the graffies, viz. Agroftis, bent- 
grafs; Aira, hair-grafs; Alopecurus, fox-tail grafs; An- 
thoxanthum, vernal grafs; Ariftida, oat-grafs; Arundo, 
reed ; Avena, oats; -Bobartia ; Brizsa, quaking grafs.; Bro- 
nnis, brome-grafs; Cinna; Cornucppiae, horn-of-plenty 
grafs; -Cynofurus, dog’S-tail grafs; Daftylis, cock’s-foot 
grafs; Elymus, lyme-grafs; Feftuca, fefeue-grafs; Hor- 
deum, barley; Lagurus, hare’s-tail grafs; Lolium, darnel; 
Lygeum, hooded matweed; Melica, melic, or rope-grafs; 
Milium, millet; Nardus, mat-grafs; Oryza, rice; Pani- 
cum, panic-grafs; Pafpalum ; Phalaris, canary-grafs ; 
Phleum, cat’s-tail grafs ; Poa, meadow-grafs; Saecharum, 
fugar-cane; Secale, rye; Stipa, winged fpike-grafs; Tri- 
ticum, wheat; Uniola, fea-ftde oats of Carolina ; Coix, 
Job’s-tears ; Olyra ; Pharus; Tripfaeum ; Zea, Turkey 
wheat, or Indian corn; Zizania, water-oats, or tare-grafs; 
Asgilops, wild fefeue-grafs; Andropogon, beard-grafs; 
Apluda ; Genchrus, hedgehog-grafs; -Helens, Indian mil¬ 
let; Ifchsemum. 
5. Tr-ip-etai.oidb:E, from <?«, three, and fetalum, a 
petal. Thefe plants have-no very ftriking characters, and 
are nearly allied to fhe graffies. All the genera of this or¬ 
der, however, are not trfpetaloid. The genera are, Aiifqia^ 
'water-plantain; Aphyllanthes; Butomus., flowering-rufh, 
-or water-gladiole ; Calamus; ‘Flagellaria ; Juncus, rivfh'; 
'Sagittaria, arrow-head ; Sclieuchzeria,Teller flowering-rufh ; 
and Triglochin, arrewV-lieaded grafs. 
6. En‘s-a't;e, from ertfis, a fword ; the leaves of the 
-plants of this order being fword-fhaped. Th,e genera are, 
•Antholy^a ; Calllfia ; Commelina, clay-flow'er ; Crocus, 
ifaffiron ; Eriocaulon, net-wort; Terraria ; Gladiolus, corri- 
-flag; Iris, flower-de-luce ; Ixia; Moraea; Pontederia ; 
Sifyririchium ; T-radefcantia, Virginian fpider-^wort, or 
flower of-a day; Wachendorfia r ; Xyris 1 . 
7. Orchideje. The roots of many of thefe plants are 
compofed of one or more flefliytubercl.es or knobs, at¬ 
tached to the lower part of the Item, and Tending forth 
fibres from the top. Thofe of orchis bear an obvious re- 
feinhlance to the ferotum in animals, from which circttm- 
ftance the.genus has derived its name. The genera are, 
Arethufa ; CypripediunV, ladies’-flipper; Epidendrmb, 
vanilla, or vane Hoe ; Lithoddrum, bafchellebore ; Ophrys, 
bec-jlower, bird’s-neft, or tw^ayfelade ; Ordhis, buttei fly- 
flower ; Satyrium, lizard-flbwerj Serapi.as, Iteleborine, or 
bafe hellebore. 
Scita= 
