As it may be thought requifite that fome general familiar defeription fhould precede the arrangement, the 
following is extracted from Profelfor Martyn’s Letters on the Elements of Botany ; which the Editor is certain, 
will be deemed much more pertinent, plain and elegant than any defeription he could poflibly compofe himfelf, 
- “ Grafs vulgarly forms one Angle Idea; and a bufbandman when he is looking over his inclofure, does 
tf not dream that there are upwards of three hundred fpecies of Grafs, of which thirty or forty may be at prefent 
“ under his eye. They have fcarcely had a name belides the general one, till within thefe twenty years; and the 
“ few particular names that have been lately given, are far from having obtained general ufe : So that we may 
“ fairly aifert that the knowledge of this moil: common and valuable tribe of Plants is yet in its infancy.” 
—-“ The greater part of the world fcarcely know that Grafs has a flower j or if they are ihewn it, will coldly 
t( aik—and is this all ? And yet Grafs not only has a flower, but every conftituent part of it ; which is more than 
«« we can fay of a Tulip, and fome others, that have engrofled almofl: all the attention of mankind ; nay, there is 
«« luch a variety in the parts, difpolition and manner of the flowering, that we have fuffleient marks in the fruCti- 
“ fication to diftinguifh about forty Genera. 
“ Some particular characters, refpeCting the Flowers, you will find common to every Grafs you examine. 
«« But this tribe of Plants does not agree in the parts of fructification only. The whole appearance, the general 
** air, the manner of growth, is the fame in all. A fimplicity of ftruCture runs through the entire Clafs. Every 
“ one has a Ample, unbranched, ftraight, hollow Item, ltrenghened with knots at certain intervals. There is 
«< none but has a Angle leaf to each knot, invefting or fheathing the ftem to fome diftance, and then fpreading 
te out into a long narrow furface of equal breadth all the way, till it approaches the end, when it draws off 
“ gradually to a point. The leaf is alfo invariably entire in every fpecies; and without veins or branching 
“ veffels, "being only marked longitudinally with lines paralel to the Ades, and to a nerve or ridge that runs the 
* c whole length of it. There is another curious circumftance almofl: peculiar to this tribe of Plants, and common 
“ to them all j namely, that the body of the feed does not fplit into two lobes, but continues entire till it has 
“ accomplifhed its purpofe of giving the young plant its firfl: nouriflunent and then rots away.” 
Martyn’s Letters on the Elements of Botany, 
Let. 13th Page 133 and feq. 
