The Delaware register, or, Farmers', manufacturers' & mechanics' advocate. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1828-1829, 1829-02-07

loWdrus tne close OF tins perlOd however, attempt
was made to revive it by DIR ROBERT MORRISON, a ma
tive of Aberdeen. Subsequently to the year 1860 he
made several botanical excursions through different
parts OF France, which served to enlarge his acquain-
lance with the vegetable kingdom very considerably.
His system, of which the protested aim was to bring
plants together, as much possible, according to
Their natural afnlties, comprehended Is classes. Of
the contemporaries and immediate successors of Mon
IsoN, the greater part did not avail themselves of te
advantages of method but labored rathe, to promote
the interests of the science in the way hitherto pusu
Ell. But without charging on what concerns their
histories, we hasten TO observe that the systematic hot
ansts OF this period, who deservedy rose superior TO
all their contemporaries, and whose various and en-
lghtened labors had by far the most extensive and
lasting effect on the state OF the science were RAY
and louRNEFoRT. They were both men of very emf
ment talents and indchtigable ndustrr
JOHN RAY an Englshman, nc .c-s Known Cor his
pietY ana anable manners, than his leaning, in hich
he eXceied al preceding boanists YVES Lorn II lG28
At an early age he visited cifcrent parts - Great
Britain, France, Germany Sweden and Italy, where he
iiaia tie greatest attention to all natural producttns
and particularly TO plants. He began TO show himself
IN the character of an author, by publishing, in 1eGO
catalogue of the plants growing round Cambridge,
dgested III tie order of the alphabet and in 1910
4el his return from the continent, having added much
to his previous knowledge Of the Flora of England bv
repeated excursions through various parts of it. lie
pi"oceueu 10 publish WORK on larger Scale-and
three years afterwards he favoured the world with his
Typographical, Moral and Physical Observations.'
made IN the course of Journey through the Low
countries, Germany, Italy and France containing
tmong other things, an account of many plants gathered
ny him. Wchare not indigenous, or at least which were
not known at that time to be Indigenous in England:
and having thus committed himsefto the public, both on
the subject OF native and foreign Botany, he continued
through life to make it his leading object TO render
what ne had begun, as perfect as possible The work.
however, by which RAY evinced at once the immense
extent of his learning and research and conferred the
most signal advantage the science was his "Genera
history OF plants, which may be considered as sys-
tem&uc enumeration, accompanied with descriptions
and remarks taken chiefly from the authors whom he
mad consulted, together with such as were discovered
down to l7o4 the year before his DEATH amounting on
the whole to no less than 1866 species and varieties
Having said thus much with regard to the abors and
merits of RAY in other respects, it may now be added
that the improvements which he tried to introduce into
ue science OF Botany, a systematic writer, were
hot e least interesting part of the service which he
rendered to 1t. In his earlier publications, he had
adopted no better mode of arrangement than what had
been commonly followed before his time, the order of
The alphabet. But it is natural to suppose that
man OF his luminous understanding could not advance
Tar In his muarious labor, without seeing the neces
slty OF Introducing scientific method SO we
md that on the publication of Morrison's system his
thoughts, which had been occasionally occuped with
he subject turned to it with still greater interest
md two years AFTER that is, in 1882 he accordingly
'enturedto propose system in the manner of Morrison