742 
ON THE SCIENCE OF BOTANY. 
lowing communications, to give your juvenile readers a succinct re¬ 
view of the Linnean Sexual system of Botany. It is natural to sup¬ 
pose the first questions that may arise in the mind of the young 
Tyro are these, what is Botany, and what does it treat of? the an¬ 
swer is short. 
Botany is that science which arranges and distinguishes all plants 
or vegetables, and teaches us their peculiar properties and uses. 
The Vegetable Kingdom is extremely numerous. Naturalists enu¬ 
merate 30,000 species of plants, nor will this number be so very 
surprising, when we consider, that the whole surface of the earth is 
covered with them, about 2000 of these are natives of our own Isle, 
of which one-third are mosses, ferns, sea-weeds, &c. but more bo- 
tanically speaking Cryptogamic Plants. 
The honour of having first suggested the true sexual distinction in 
plants, appears to be due to our own countryman Sir Thomas Mil¬ 
lington, from whose hints Dr. Grew, as he himself acknowledges, 
was led to the observations he has given on this subject, in his ana¬ 
tomy of plants, page 171, published in the year 1682. After this, 
Camararius, Moreland, GeofTroy, Vaillant, Blair, Jussieu, and Brad¬ 
ley, pursued their inquiries and experiments, so far as to remove all 
doubt concerning these discoveries : and lastly, though not least. 
Dr. Linneus, the professor of physic and botany, at Upsal, (a consi¬ 
derable town in Sweden, and noted for its University,) founded his 
immortal system. 
As it has been justly observed by the best writers, that every per¬ 
son who wishes to become a professed botanist, should preserve and 
form into a collection, the plants which he has examined; therefore 
it is my intention, before proceeding with the science under consi¬ 
deration, to offer a few instructions to the young botanical research¬ 
es, concerning the forming and arranging an Hortus Siccus (Hortus 
a garden ; Siccus to dry. Lat.) or Herbarium. 
The first thing required, is a botanical press, made of two 
small boards of hard wood, about eighteen inches long, twelve 
inches broad, and two inches thick, with screws fixed to each corner 
by nuts. Next, some sheets of brown and unsized blotting-paper 
must be provided for drying. The specimens must be gathered when 
quite dry, and if collected at a distance, they must be carefully car¬ 
ried home in a tin box with their names affixed to them, to assist 
the memory ; the specimens must be taken out of the box as soon as 
possible, and carefully spread on a sheet of brown paper, with the 
leaves and petals laid out regular, and another sheet of paper laid 
over them, and so on till the press is full; then screw them down, 
