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SEC T. II. Of the Method of reducing Plants to Classes, Orders, Genera, and Species; and of invefligating their generic and specific names by certain marks or characters. "'OcrE obferved in the former feftion, that in the pro- by the many analogies that fubhft between plants and a^ ’ grefs of this part of botany many different me- nimals, which (hail be more particularly pointed out in thods had been followed by different authors. Casfalpi- the third fe&ion. It is from this circutnftance that Linnus, R iy, Bauhinus, Van Royan, Ricinus, Tournefort, nams’s fyftem of botany has got the name of the Jexuat Linnteus, Sauvages, have each adopted a peculiar me- fjftem. The names of his ciaffes, orders, <hc. are all thod of chara&erizing and claffing plants. It would be derived from this theory. He calls, the ftamina of flowers foolifli to diffrad the attention of the reader by an ex- the males, or the male parts of generation; and the piplanation of all thefe methods. We fhall therefore pro- fHls females, or the female parts of generation. Plants ceed to explain that of Linnaeus, which is perhaps the whofe flowers contain both male and female parts, are only one now taught in Europe. faid to be hermaphrodites, &c. His claffes, orders, and This method of reducing plants to claffes, genera, genera, are ah derived from the number, fituation, proand fpecies, is founded upon the fuppofition that vege- portion, and other circumftances attending tliefe parts, tables propagate their fpecies in a manner fimilar to that of as will appear from the following fcheme. animals. Linnteus endeavours to fupport this hypoihefis SCHEME of the Sexual System. See Plate LIU. Either publicly, i. e. have vilible flowers. ' Monoclinia, males and females in the fame bed:—/. e. The flowers are all hermaphrodite, having ilamina and piliils in the fame flower.. f Diffinitas, the males or ftamina unconnected with each other. Indifferentijfmus, the males or ftamina having no determinate proportion betwixt each other as to length. 1. Monandria, / e. one male or ftamen in a hermaphrodite flov/er. 2. Diandria, two males or ftamina. 3. Triandria, three males. 4. Tetrandria, four males. 5. Pentandria, five males. 6. Hexandria, fix males. 7. Heptandria, feven males. &. Octandria, eight males. 9. Enneandria, nine males. 10. Decandria, ten males. ix. Dodecandria, eleven males. 12. Icosandria, twenty, or more males inferted into the calix, and not into the receptacle. 13. Polyandrja, all above twenty males inferted into the receptacle. ySubordinatio, two of the males or ftamina uniformly fhorter than the reft. 14. Didvhamia, four males, two of them uniformly fhorter than the other two, 1 j. Tetradynamia, fix males, two of which are uniformly fhorter than the reft. j4ffinUas, the males or ftamina either connedted to each other, or to the piftillum. 16. Mon gdelph ia, the males or ftamina united into one body by the filaments. 17. Diadelphia, the ftamina united into two bodies or bundles by the filaments. 18. PoLYADELPHtA, the ftamina united into three or more bundles by the filaments. 19. Syngenesia, the ftamina united in a cylindrical form by the antlrerse. 20: Gynanoria, the ftamina inferted into the piftillum. Diclinia, males and females in feparate beds /Ye. plants that have male and female flowers in the fame fpecies. 21. Monoecia, male and female flowers in the fame plant. 22. Dioecia, male flowers in one plant, and females in another, of the fame fpecies. 23. Polygamia, male, female, and hermaphrodite flowers in the fame fpecies. Or clandeftinely, /. e. whofe parts of fructification are invifible. 24. Cryptogamia, the flowers invifible, fo that they cannot be ranked according to the parts of frudtification. Thefe-