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Lea diagrammes suivants iliuatrent la m^thoda. 1 2 3 "■^— — ^— — — iL^— ^ n il 1 2 3 4 5 6 s~- INTRODUCTOEY LECTUEE TO TBI COURSE ON BOTANY, OELITERED BEFORE THE STUDENTS OF ARTS AND MEDICINE, McGILL COLLEGE, SESSION, 1857. BT JAMES BARNSTON, MR, EDIN. PR0FESS0E0F:B0TANY, UNIVERSITY OF M'GILL COLLEGE, MONTREAL. (^From the " Canadian Naturalist and Geologist.'^) MONTREAL: PRINTED BY^JOHN LOVELL, AT THE ':'ANADA DIRECTORY OFFICE. ST. NICHOLA.a 8LBSET. 1857. INTRODUCTORY LECTURE TO THE COUESE OE EOTANY, McGILL COLLEGE, MONTREAL. i Gentlemen, — The course of Lectures on Botany upon which we are about to enter, is autlioiised to be delivered in connexion with the Lectures on general Natural History, under tlie auspices of the Principal of this University. Being called upnn to per- form the responsible office of instructing you in this department of Science, there are considerations that prompt me to offer one or two suggf^stions for approval, which will serve to ameliorate the austerity of the circumstances under which we meel. You can readily conceive the difficulties under which a teacher usu- ally labours, who is brought for the first time in presence of a class of intelligent Students— the unpleasant tax upon his ner- vous modesty, the severe trial of his mental and physical energies, accompanied by an inward consciousness of his possible inability to perform satisfactorily the duties before him. The consciousness of such difficulties generally implants a desire in the teacher to meet faithfully the requirements of his office employing both time and labour in their fulfilment. The sincere and candid acknowledgment of them may, therefore, be received as a direct apology for such inefficiencies as may become appa- rent. Under such circumstances, it is becoming in the hearer to oveilook the infirmity and extend the indulgence required. It is not for me to demand of you more than necessity requires. That necessity, however, is great, and will compel me throughout the course to draw largely upon your indulgence and patient atti'niion, which I now crave at your hands. Relying then upon your generous forbearance, it will be my en- deavour to fulfil, to the best of my ability, the purposes for which these lectures are intended, namely, to bring prominently before you the beauties and perfection of nature, as exhibited in that portion of God's creation — the vegetable kingdom — to sketch out to you the philosophy of the plant in its structural and physio- logical aspects, to systematise tlie varied productions of the earth's surface upon principles derived from an actual study of nature's laws and manifestations, and to adapt the knowledge which bo- tanical science imparts to the true interests of man. In pursuance of these objects, it will be my duty to enter .nto the minute de- tails of plants, in reference to their structures, functions, chemical composition and natural relations, and show you the value of such scientific knowledge in its application to medicine, horticulture and agriculture. In a youthful and growing country like this, there is usually a tendency to undervalue a science which apparently cannot pro- mise results of a practical and useful character. The advantages to be derived from a cultivation of scientific knowledge are scarcely recognised in comparison to the supposed greater benefits of an early acquaintance with the grand material object of man's temporal exis- tence. Wc are all aware that it has been through no ordinary diflS- cultiesthat we have attained the position wenow hold; first, asacom- munity desirous of supporting literary and scientific institutions, and secondly,as a University, whose great aim is the thorough education of the student in matters which will best serve his interests, as an accomplished and useful member of Society. If such have been the difficulties of the past, how much greater now should be the vigour — how much stronger the animus — prompting us to main- tain the value and importance of the University in which we labour, as students and professors, to study with spirit and assiduity while within its sacred walls, in order to attain that knowledge which will refine the mind, enrich the intelligence, and entitle us to honor and preferment. It is difficult at first to estimate the value of a science like Zoology, Geology or Botany and how far the study of the one or the other may bear upon intellectual improvement or general success in life. It is this primary difficulty that forms the great drawback to the more general acquisition of scientific knowledge. It is moreover too often considered that the study of science is an arduous task — one that burdens the head with hard and inexplicable names as well as :: many useless and may be questionable theories and dogmas, It is much to be regretted that an error of this kind should prevail so universally, since it places science in a false position and pre- vents the student from attempting what he believes to be a labori- ous undertaking, and one of little utility, even were he to prosecute his studies and researches successfully. There is but one method of relieving the doubts and difBculties that here harass the youthful mind — it is, to search and receive the testimony of those who have been in their day active and diligent students of nature, acute obser- vers of its laws and manifestations and faithful interpreters of its great truths. The history of such men furnishes ample evidence that there is in science an influence for good, a power within it to im- prove the quality of the mind and in some measureto regulatehuman action. la its study there arc brought into play, in an eminent degree, such powers and qualities as those of observation, compa- rison and judgment, which may be at first feeble, but they are gradually increased in vigour and acuteness and at length per- fected under the beneficial influence of a well regulated and me- thodical training. The development of such qualities gives pre- cision and force to the thoughts and actions, and their application to the ordinary pursuits of life renders one more capable of meeting its necessities and overcoming its difficulties. When we observe the advantages of a well-regulated mind, we cannot ignore the importance of those studies, whose tendency is to per- fect the qualifications necessary for the successful prosecution of an active business or profession. The most marked facilities are now given in this University for the attainment of scientific knowledge, because it is felt ihat such a course will raise the standard of ffeneral education, open up a ncwficid forthe active operations oftheyouthful mind and give to those of the community, who value their own men- tal improvement, such instructive information as will tend to elevate their tastes, refine their qualities of mind, and extend the range of their sympathies beyond the contracted limits of a business life. It is within the reach of all, to partake of these advantages and derive benefit from those eflforts which have successfully terminat- ed in the institution of special courses of instruction on the most important departments of Natural History. To the student who is undergoing a regular course of collegiate education, the sciences of Natural llistory jjoshcss intercBt of con- siderable value. They form, as it were, a sister-all iancc with his strictly professional stuilicH and, as an adjutict to the latter, contri- buts. materially to the health of his mind. We admit, it is of paramount importance that professional students slioidd be tho- roughly educated in the science and literature of tlieir respective professions, a perfect knowledge of wliicli is eRsentiul to their callings. But while granting this, wo would not, hesitate to em- ploy moans for the octcanional diversion of the mind, by turning the thoughts into channels, giving a wider range foi* the occupa- tion, improvement and gratification of the penses, the feelings and the imagination. It would thus bo in our power to counteract the tendency of an education purely professional, a tendency too apparent, but rarely acknowledged ere it be too late to remedy. And what is this tendency? "To limit the range of mental vision," is the expressive language of one who stood pro-eminent in science, the late Professor Forbes, for, said he, "were the sciences so infused to be entirely professional, we should warp and contract the mind, the tonic would be too strong, would not in- vigor>ite but corrugate." These remarks are applicable to students of all professions, but it is particularly to the student of medicine that the Na- tural History sciences prove of so much practical value. The necessity and importance of admixing them with his professional studies is an opinion now firndy established, and of the advan- tages there can be no question. To quote the words of the late Sir George Ballangall, " it is indispensable to any man who aspires to the elevated rank of a Physician." But I cannot do better here than give the testimony of the able authority, (Forbes) previously mentioned, who spoke thus; — "We can most benefic'ally counteract the natural tendency of piu-ely professional studies, through the collateral sciences, which are sufficiently allied to the professional ones to prevent an undue dissipation of the students' thoughts, and at the same time are sufficiently different to give them a wider sphere of action. It is in this point of view, that we should regard the Natural History sciences as branches of metliciil cflucntion. For niv own part, after rmuli intercourse with medical men, who liad studied at many seats of professional edueatioii, some collo^jfiiite, some exelusively profoPHional, I have no hesitation in sayinj; that, as a rule, the former had the intel- lectual advantage. There anj 'loMe and notable exceptions, old and young, but the rule is true in tin; main. The man who has studied in a seat of learriinir, a college or university, has a wider range of sympathies, a more philosophical tone of mind atid a higher estimate of the objects of intellectual ambition, than his fellow-practitioner, who, from his youth ujjwards, had concentrated his thoughts upon the contractedly professional f^ubjects of an hos- pital school. . . . There are not a few, too (medical men) who may some day find themselves isolated in distant anlcs and improved upon the information of his great teacher. In his History of Plants, he exhibits deep reasoning and furnishes evidence of his constant and excellent observations of the phenomena of the vegetable world, Theophrastup was also the first who kept a garden for plants, and in his legacy he named some of his scholars as keepers of this property. Immediately after his time, the science of nature lapsed into comparative ob- scurity till the subjugation of Greece by the Romans, who, acting upon the knowledge imparted to them by the conquered, applied it to rural economy, horticulture and agriculture. It was in the middle of the first century of our era that flourished the most cele- brated of writers on ancient Botany. This was Pedacius Dios- corides of Anazarbus in Silicia, a renowned physician who fol- lowed the Roman armies in their expeditions throughout the Empire. In his Materia, Medica, he enumerates all the mcdici- 10 il »al plants then kno^vn, describes their characters and properties, and gives proofs of their efficacy in disc.ises. This work held universal sway in tho schools for more than 1500 years, as the onIyfountai«.of all knowledge relating to Naturafllistory and particularly of botanical information. To him succeeded Caius Plmius Secundum, known as the elder Pliny, who left lasting me- moriale, of his great learning in his '« Summary of all Science Knowledge and Arts." He al.o added to the list of known plants! A dark cloud again brooded over the science of Boiany. It^ study was for a long period forgotten .>r neglected by tho Romans. It would seem that during the darkness of the middle ages up to the thirteenth century, the Arabian., who derived their knowledge entirely from Dioscorides through a . founder of the historical part. 12 He possef^sed a peculiar relish for Botany, and his writings and works give evidence of his unwearied labours and devotion to the cause of botanical science. He established an artificial nomen- cluture, gave specific characters to plants, arranged them into genera and formed a gigantic system of artificial classification, in which liigh value is put upon the stamens and pistil, and upon the corolla. Into the merits of this system wo shall hereafter have occasion to enter. Let me merely observe here, that despite the declamations of the promoters of the natural method of classifica- tion, who either greatly undervalue or entirely reject the Linnaean system, it stands not merely the historical monument of past ge- nius, but forms a simple key to the naming of plants, and an essen- tial preliminary to the understanding of the intricacies of natural classification. During his own time, Linnaius met with much op- position both in Germany by Haller and the followers of Rivinius, and in France by the disciples of Tournefort, and by Bernhard Jussieu. Other theories and systems were also - started and had their supporters. But their influence was merely temporary, and all gave way before the simple and fascinating system of Linnaeus. In process of time, while herbaria were enriched with numerous new plants and sj'steraatic works written in Linnajan order, the elementary structure and physiology of plants were more minutely studied, the organs of reproduction were better examined and due attention was paid to the essential products of vegetation — the fruit and seed. In consequence, the science made rapid advances and resulted in the construction of a natural method and ar- rangement of plants. France, Germany and Italy vied with each other in discoveries. The botanist of the present day is familiar with the names of Lorentzo Jussieu, Augustus Pyramus Decan- dolle, Mirbel, Rudolphi and Treviranus, whose works on structural botany and natural systems were published at the beginning of the present century. Since that period, botany has made rapid strides. The natural systems of Jussieu and Decandolle have been materially improved by Endlicher, and more especially by Lindley in his elaborate work entitled "The Vegetable Kingdom." The vari- ous interesting researches of Gaudichaud, Schleiden, Mohl, Brown, Amici, Griffith, Schultz and others, have in a measure completed :