The life of Sir Charles Linnaeus ... : to which is added, a copious list of his works, and a biographical sketch of the life of his son / by D.H. Stoever ; translated from the original German by Joseph Trapp.

  • Stoever, Dietrich Heinrich, 1767-1822.
Date:
1794
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The life of Sir Charles Linnaeus ... : to which is added, a copious list of his works, and a biographical sketch of the life of his son / by D.H. Stoever ; translated from the original German by Joseph Trapp. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The ingenious observations which Vaillant made on the sexes of the plants attracted the notice of Linn^us^ refined and confirmed his own remarksj kindled a fresh light, and soon, in a lucid interval, put into the young man’s mind the thought of a New System, by which a better order in the division of plants might be introduced, if this divi- sion were made from their sexes, from the number of stamina or dust-threads and pistilla or dust-ways, a system”“(SYSTEMA Sexuale) —of which he became afterwards the creator, which bears his name, and was acknowledged in course of time as the best and most exaO; me- thod, universally adopted by botanists, and even preferred to the most modern ones. The ideas of a better theory, which Vaileant had hinted, guided now LinnjEus in his botanical observations. He began to consider the plants, especially from their new and unimproved side, by their sexes, by the number of stamina, and compared them with the ancient system, and the divisions which had till then been used. The farther he brought his enquiries, the more deficient did he find the ancient system, and the more consistency did he discover in his own thoughts; in short, the greater, the more powerful were the attrafilions of his own plan. The sexes of plants now occupied his thoughts day and night; and the fresh knowledge which he obtained by this survey, soon paved him the way to a better fortune. In the summer of 1730, a disputation was held before Bishop Wallin, on the copulation of trees (de niiptiis arborim). Linn.eus was present. The subjeH of the controversy was quite familiar to him. None found it more pleasant, nor had any one at