Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnaeus Part 20

The king, Gustavus III., ordered a medal to be struck in commemoration of him who had contributed so essentially to elevate the Swedish character in the scientific world; and in 1778, at a convention of the Diet, expressed himself in the following terms:--"The University of Upsal has also attracted my attention. I shall always remember with pleasure that the chancellorship of that university was intrusted to me before I ascended the throne. I have inst.i.tuted in it a new professorship; but, alas! I have lost a man whose renown filled the world, and whom his country will ever be proud to reckon among her children. Long will Upsal remember the celebrity which it acquired by the name of Linnaeus." The Academy of Belles Lettres, History, and Antiquities of Stockholm, offered a prize for the best panegyric in Latin, French, or Italian. One written in French was received in 1786, but the Academy judging it unsuitable, offered a second prize, which in 1792 was conferred on Mr Gunnar Baekmann, a Swede. The late Dr Hope of Edinburgh erected to his memory, in the botanic garden there, a monument bearing the simple inscription, "Linnaeo posuit, J. Hope;" and the Duc d'Ayen-Noailles placed in his garden a cenotaph, with the bust of the naturalist in a medallion, surrounded by the _Linnaea_ and _Ayenia_,--the latter plant having been dedicated to himself. Three eloges or panegyrics were p.r.o.nounced; the first by his friend Dean Baek, at a meeting of the Royal Society of Stockholm; the second by M. Condorcet, in the Parisian Academy of Sciences; the third by M. Vicq d'Azyr, in the Medical Society of Paris. In 1787, an a.s.sociation was formed in that city, under the name of La Societe Linneenne, which subsequently changed its designation into that of Societe d'Histoire Naturelle. In 1788, the Linnaean Society of London was established by Dr Smith and other admirers of the Swedish sage; and in 1790, another, bearing the same appellation, was const.i.tuted at Leipsic. It is unnecessary to mention all the honours that have been paid to this ill.u.s.trious professor, as his name has been distinguished in all civilized countries beyond that of any cultivator of natural history, and in our own is as familiar as that of Newton or Herschel. We shall therefore conclude with stating, that in 1822 the students of the university of which he had so long been the chief ornament, resolved to erect a statue as a token of their admiration of his character. It was executed by a native artist, and in 1829 was erected upon a pedestal of porphyry.

Besides the three medals which were struck in Sweden to perpetuate his memory, his portrait has been repeatedly engraved. It appears, for example, in the edition of the Systema Naturae, published at Leipsic in 1798; in the second edition of the Species Plantarum, published at Stockholm in 1762; and in the sixth edition of the Genera Plantarum, which appeared in 1748. In Trapp's translation of his life by Stoever is another likeness engraved by Heath, which, being the most characteristic that we could find, has been selected for the purpose of adorning the present volume. In the biography of Linnaeus by M. Fee, are two lithographic portraits, one taken at the age of 20, the other at that of 60.

On inspecting our engraving, the physiognomist will readily detect several of the more prominent traits of his character. The person represented is evidently an active, lively little man, possessed of much acuteness, great judgment, love of order, a self-estimation not susceptible of being diminished by opposition, and a love of approbation, prompting his benevolent mind to generous labours.

SECTION X.

_Correspondence of Linnaeus._

Linnaeus's first Letter, addressed to Rudbeck in 1731--His last, to Dr Cusson in 1777--Correspondence with Haller--With Dillenius, Ellis, and other English Naturalists.

The correspondence of Linnaeus was so extensive, that he declared to a friend that ten hands like his were insufficient to return answers to all the letters which were sent to him. Some time before his death, he drew up a list of 150 persons with whom he had maintained a communication of his ideas in writing. Among the earliest of his epistles was one directed to his benefactor, Olaus Rudbeck, professor in the University of Upsal, and is dated the 29th July 1731. The last is addressed to Peter Cusson, M.D. of Montpellier, and was written in 1777.

The first of his correspondents of whom we shall make mention is the celebrated Albert Haller, who was born in October 1708, and died on the 12th December 1777, aged 69. He was eminently distinguished for his knowledge of the physical sciences, as well as by his poetical talents, and his general acquaintance with literature. In fact, he aimed at universal dominion; and the renown of Rousseau, Voltaire, Linnaeus, and Buffon, excited his envy of some and his contempt of others of these celebrated men. After the death of his father, who was an advocate and citizen of Berne, he chose the medical profession; and in 1723, went to Tubingen, where he studied comparative anatomy under Duvernoi. In 1725, he removed to Leyden, then the first medical school in Europe. After taking his degree at the former seminary, he visited England, whence he went to Paris, and dissected under Le Dran. He then proceeded to Basil, to study mathematics under Bernouilli. There he imbibed also a taste for botany,--a science in which he subsequently made great progress. In 1729, he returned to Berne, and commenced his professional career as a lecturer on anatomy. In 1736, he was appointed by George II. to the professorship of surgery and botany in the University of Gottingen. Here he resided seventeen years, in the course of which he distinguished himself by his numerous and important discoveries. But, in 1753, having taken a journey to Berne, where his countrymen received him with the honour due to his talents, he settled there, and, having been elected a magistrate, entered with zeal on the duties of a citizen. The correspondence of Linnaeus with this eminent naturalist and physician commenced when the latter was at Gottingen, and originated in a report that he was hostile to the proposed system of the young Swede, who thus supplicates his forbearance:--

"_From Mr Cliffort's Museum, April 3, 1737._

"... 1. I must declare, that I am anxious to avoid, if possible, all anger or controversy with you; my wish is rather to act in conjunction with you. I should detest being your adversary, and, as far as possible, I will avoid it.

May there be peace in our days!

"2. I have always, from the time I first heard your name, held you in the highest estimation; nor am I conscious of ever having shown a contrary disposition. Why then should you provoke me to a dispute? Let me know if I have unwillingly offended, and I will omit nothing to satisfy you. I ask but for peace.

"3. If my harmless s.e.xual system be the only cause of offence, I cannot but protest against so much injustice. I have never spoken of that as a natural method; on the contrary, in my Systema, p. 8, sect. 12, I have said, 'No natural botanical system has yet been constructed, though one or two may be more so than others; nor do I contend that this system is by any means natural. Probably I may, on a future occasion, propose some fragments of such an one, &c.

Meanwhile, till that is discovered, artificial systems are indispensable.' And in the preface to my Genera Plantarum, sect. 9,--'I do not deny that a natural method is preferable, not only to my system, but to all that have been invented.... But, in the mean time, artificial cla.s.sification must serve as a succedaneum.' Therefore, if you establish a natural method, I shall admit it.

"4. If you detect any mistakes of mine, I rely on your superior knowledge to excuse them; for who has ever avoided errors in the wide-extended field of Nature? Who is furnished with a sufficient stock of observations? I shall be thankful for your friendly corrections. I have done what I could of myself; but a lofty tree does not attain its full stature by the first storm that bursts forth.

"5. I have been acquainted with most botanists of distinction, who have all given me their encouragement; nor has any one of them thwarted my insatiable desire of natural knowledge. Will you be more severe than any body else? You appear, by your dissertation, too n.o.ble to triumph over the ignorance of others.

"6. You may, with great advantage, and without injury to me, display your profound learning and intimate knowledge of the works of Nature, so as to acquire the thanks of all the learned world. Do but turn over the writings of botanists in general, and you will see, by their earlier performances, how they are puffed up at first with their own consequence, and scarcely able to keep from a.s.saulting others; of which I myself have perhaps been guilty, which I deeply regret, having now learned better. But when these same people have pa.s.sed a few years in the field of battle, they become so mild, candid, modest, and civil to every body, that not a word of offence escapes them. This chiefly leads me to doubt the truth of the report in question; for I know your reputation has already been long established.

"7. It seems wonderful to me that I should have excited so much of your displeasure; for I cannot but think there is no work of any author more in unison with my ideas than this essay of yours.

"8. I, and perhaps I alone, have acquired what I know entirely by the rules you have laid down, of studying without a master. I am still but a learner; and you must pardon me if I am not yet become learned. If knowledge is to be acquired by your mode, the hope of it, at least, still serves to illuminate my path.

"9. I doubt, indeed, whether you, or any other lecturer, can enter into controversy with propriety. Professors and teachers should, above all things, acquire the confidence and respect of their hearers. If they appear in the light of students, how much of human imperfection must appear, and what a depreciation of their dignity! What man was ever so learned and wise, who, in correcting others, did not now and then show he wanted correction himself? Something always sticks to him. We have lately seen an instance of this in a most distinguished professor, the ornament of his university, who, having long indulged himself in attacks upon schoolmasters, has at last got so severe a castigation from one of this tribe, that it is doubtful whether he can ever recover his ground at all, and certain that he cannot recover it entirely. A very wise physician has declared, that he would rather give up physic, and the practice of it altogether, than enter into public controversy.

"10. Look over the whole body of controversial writers, and point out one of them who has received any thanks for what he has done in this way. Matthiolus would have been the greatest man of his day if he had not meddled with such matters. Who is gratified by 'the mad Cornarus,' or 'the flayed fox,' (t.i.tles bestowed on each other by Fuchsius and Cornarus)? What good have Ray and Rivinus done with their quarrels? Dillenius still laments that he took up arms against Rivinus; nor has the victory he gained added any thing to his fame. Did not Threlkeld give him much more just cause of offence? But he was now grown wiser, and would not take up the gauntlet. Vaillant, at one time a most excellent observer, attempted to cut his way with authority through the armies of Tournefort; has he not met with his deserts? and would he not have risen much higher had he left him unmolested?

"11. I dread all controversies, as, whether conqueror or conquered, I can never escape disgrace. Who ever fought without some wound, or some injurious consequence? Time is too precious, and can be far better employed by me as well as by you. I am too young to take up arms, which, if once taken, cannot be laid aside till the war is concluded, which may last our lives. And, after all, the serious contentions of our time may, fifty years hence, seem to our successors no better than a puppet-show. I should be less ashamed to receive admonition from you than you must be to take it from me.

"Behold, then, your enemy, submissively seeking your friendship; which, if you grant him, you will be more certain of securing a friend than of stirring up an adversary. I know you to be of a more generous nature than to level your attacks at one who has not offended, unless any enemies of mine have raised doubts in your mind against me. If, after all, I cannot obtain that peace which, by every argument and supplication, I seek of you, I hope you will at least be so generous as to send me whatever you may print on the subject, and I will take care to convey my answers to you.

"If the news I have heard be without foundation, I earnestly beg of you to forgive me for the trouble I now give you."

Linnaeus is here exhibited under the influence of fear, with much flattery and humiliation soliciting the forbearance of a powerful rival; but the report which had reached him was false, and Haller hastened to dispel from the mind of the young botanist the apprehensions under which he laboured. The correspondence thus commenced continued with great regularity, the letters of Linnaeus manifesting entire confidence in Haller; who, however, from a feeling of envy, or, as he alleges, in his own defence, thought proper to publish what had obviously been intended to remain private. The publication of these epistles, as we have seen, was productive of great distress to their author; and more especially of the following one, which gives an account of his earlier years. The Swiss professor concludes one of his notes in the following generous terms:--"Farewell, my dear Linnaeus! may you enjoy your health and your botanical pursuits, with every advantage for the prosecution of your labours! My studies and engagements, of a different kind, draw me unavoidably aside; but my inclination always leads me to the charms of Flora. To botany I wish to devote my leisure and my old age; and my fortune to the collecting of drawings, plants, and books. May you, from whom Flora expects more than from any other mortal, make the most of your advantages, and one day or other return to a more genial climate!

If at any time my native country should invite me, or I can ever, as I hope, return to it, I have fixed upon you, if the situation be worth your having, to inherit my garden and my honours, such as they are. I have spoken on this subject to those in whose hands all these concerns are placed. As soon as I hear from you, I will tell you all the news I can, for I shall be happy to resume our agreeable correspondence."

The following is Linnaeus's answer:--

"Stockholm, Sept. 12th, finished the 15th, 1739.

"Your letter, of which the value to me is beyond estimation, though dated Nov. 14, 1738, did not reach me till the 12th of August of the present year, when I received it from the minister of the German church at this place. Of the cause of its delay I am ignorant.

"A thousand times have I invoked the honoured shade of Hermann! How well did he deserve the compliment of having all the fountains in the royal gardens play on his arrival, if we consider his liberal conduct towards Tournefort!

Hermann had previously offered to resign the botanical professorship (at Leyden) in his favour, intending himself to seek some other situation during Tournefort's life. But what shall I say of you, who have conceived so strong an affection for a stranger, as to invite him to accept your professorial appointment, your honours, and your garden! A man could scarcely do this for his brother, or a father for an only son. I can only say, in one word, I have had a numerous acquaintance among my fellow-creatures, and many have been kindly attached to me; but no one has ever made me so bountiful an offer as yourself. I would express my thanks, if possible, but cannot find words for the purpose.

Your memory shall be engraved on my heart whilst I live, and shall be cherished by those who come after me.

"I cannot give an answer; but as you have placed yourself in the light of a father, and me of a son, I will lay before you a sort of history of my life, down to the present time.

"In the year 1730, I taught botany in the garden at Upsal.

Our common friend, Dr Rosen, returned thither the same year.

I, then a student of medicine, was Professor Rudbeck's deputy in botany, as Rosen was in anatomy; he being likewise the adjunctus or coadjutor in medicine. In 1732, I went to Lapland, and returned; after which, I read lectures on botany and metallurgy for a whole year. I then quitted Upsal, and, as Providence ordained, went into Dalecarlia.

Having accomplished my journey, I returned to Fahlun, the princ.i.p.al town of that province. Here I lectured on mineralogy, and followed the practice of physic. I stayed a month at Fahlun, where I was received with universal kindness. A physician named Moraeus resided there, who was esteemed rich by the common people. Indeed he was one of the richest persons in that very poor country. With regard to learning, he might undoubtedly claim the first rank among the medical men of Sweden. I have heard him say, a thousand times, that there was no line of life less eligible than the practice of physic. Nevertheless, he was much attached to me. I found myself frequently a welcome visiter under his roof. He had a handsome daughter, besides a younger one, the former of whom was courted, but in vain, by a gentleman of rank and t.i.tle. I was struck when I first saw her, and felt my heart a.s.sailed by new sensations and anxieties. I loved her, and she at length, won by my attentions, listened to my proposals, and returned my pa.s.sion. I became an accepted lover. I addressed myself to her father, avowing, not without much confusion, my total want of fortune. He was favourable on some accounts, but had many objections. He approved of me, but not of my circ.u.mstances; and desired that things might remain as they were for three years, after which he would tell me his determination. Having arranged my affairs, and made the necessary preparations for a journey, I quitted my native country with thirty-six gold ducats in my pocket. I immediately took my medical degree (at Harderwyk in Holland), but was not in circ.u.mstances to return home with much comfort. I remained, as you know, in Holland. In the mean time, my most intimate friend B---- regularly forwarded the letters of my mistress by the post.

She continued faithful. In the course of last year, 1738, which I pa.s.sed at Dr Van Royen's with the approbation of the young lady, though it was the fourth year of my absence, and her father had required but three, B---- thought he had himself made considerable progress in her favour. By my recommendation he was made a professor; and he took upon him to persuade my betrothed that I should never return to my own country. He courted her a.s.siduously, and was very near obtaining her, had it not been for another friend, who laid open his treachery. He has since paid dearly for his conduct, by innumerable misfortunes.

"At last I came back, but still dest.i.tute of a maintenance.

The young lady was partial to me, and not to him. I settled at Stockholm, the laughing-stock of every body on account of my botany. No one cared how many sleepless nights and toilsome hours I had pa.s.sed, as all, with one voice, declared that Siegesbeck had annihilated me. There was n.o.body who would put even a servant under my care. I was obliged to live as I could, in virtuous poverty. By very slow degrees I began to acquire some practice. But now my adverse fate took a sudden turn, and after so long a succession of cloudy prospects the sun broke out upon me. I emerged from my obscurity, obtained access to the great, and every unfavourable presage vanished. No invalid could now recover without my a.s.sistance. I began to get money, and was busy in attendance on the sick, from four in the morning till late in the evening; nor were my nights uninterrupted by the calls of my patients. Aha! said I, Esculapius is the giver of all good things; Flora bestows nothing upon me but Siegesbecks! I took my leave of Flora; condemned my too-numerous observations a thousand times over to eternal oblivion; and swore never to give any answer to Siegesbeck.

"Soon afterwards, I was appointed first physician to the navy. The magistracy immediately conferred upon me the regius professorship, that I might teach botany in the seat of government at Stockholm, with the addition of an annual stipend. Then my fondness for plants revived. I was also enabled to present myself to the bride to whom I had been for five years engaged, and was honourably received as her husband. My father-in-law, rather fond of his money, proved not very liberal to me; but I can do without it, and those who come after me will enjoy it.

"Just now, both the medical professorships are likely to become vacant. Professors Rudbeck and Roberg, both advanced in age, are about offering their resignation. If this takes place, probably Mr Rosen may succeed Roberg, and I may obtain Rudbeck's appointment. But if I do not, I am content to live and die at Stockholm; nor shall I oppose the pretensions of any compet.i.tor. If, therefore, I should not obtain the botanical professorship at Upsal, and you, at the end of three months, should invite me, I would come, if I may bring my little wife with me. Otherwise, if there be any chance of my ever seeing you at Hamburg, for that reason alone I would go thither, though I live here at a great distance. My regard for you makes me wish to know you personally, to see and talk to you, before I die. Farewell!

may you long continue to be the load-star of our science!"

Linnaeus and Haller, notwithstanding the frequent disputes that took place between them, continued upon the whole on friendly terms, and wrote to each other occasionally, until 1749. The last letter from the Swiss naturalist is dated Berne, April 10, 1766. The correspondence, which is full of interest, more especially with respect to botany, is given by Sir J. E. Smith, from whose "Selection" the above translations have been copied.

"It is to be lamented," says he, "that Haller published so many confidential letters, unjustly reflecting, here and there, on Linnaeus; and that he betrays, in his prefaces and notes, so much petulance towards this old and distinguished friend. He pretends, indeed, to have excluded from all the letters he published every thing personal or confidential. But there are few more disgraceful chronicles of ill humour than this collection of letters of various persons to Haller. He leaves chasms, truly, in many places, which, like Madame Dacier's asterisks, is 'hanging out lights;' for they serve to aggravate the force of what remains. Above all, he is censurable for printing letters from this very son of his, after his death, reflecting severely on persons who had, as the young man says, shown him the greatest favour at Paris; and abusing the Academy of Sciences, which had just elected him into its body as a corresponding member."

Linnaeus, in one of his letters to Haller, says, "There is n.o.body in England who understands or thinks about genera except Dillenius." We may therefore mention, as next in order among his correspondents, this celebrated professor of botany. Born at Darmstadt in 1685, and educated as a physician at Giessen, he was brought to England by Sherard in 1721; and, when the latter, who had been English consul at Smyrna, founded his botanical professorship at Oxford, he appointed him to it.

Dillenius was a plain blunt man, and used great freedom of speech in writing to Linnaeus. Thus, in one of his letters, he says,--"I feel as much displeased with your Critica Botanica as I am pleased with your Lapland Flora, especially as you have, without my deserving such a compliment or knowing of your intention, dedicated the book to me. You must have known my dislike to all ceremonies and compliments. I hope that you have burthened but few copies with this dedication,--perhaps only the copy which you have sent me. If there be more, I beg of you to strip them of this vain parade, or I shall take it much amiss. At least I cannot offer you my thanks for what you have done, though I gratefully acknowledge the favour of the copies you have sent me of the Critica as well as the Flora. We all know the nomenclature of botany to be an Augean stable, which C. Hoffmann, and even Gesner, were not able to cleanse. The task requires much reading, and extensive as well as various erudition; nor is it to be given up to hasty or careless hands.

You rush upon it, and overturn every thing. I do not object to Greek words, especially in compound names; but I think the names of the ancients ought not rashly and promiscuously to be transferred to our new genera, or those of the New World. The day may possibly come when the plants of Theophrastus and Dioscorides may be ascertained; and, till this happens, we had better leave their names as we find them. That desirable end might even now be attained, if any one would visit the countries of these old botanists, and make a sufficient stay there; for the inhabitants of those regions are very retentive of names and customs, and know plants at this moment by their ancient appellations, very little altered, as any person who reads Belonius may perceive. I remember your being told, by the late Mr G. Gherard, that the modern Greeks give the name of amanita ([Greek: amanita]) to the eatable field-mushroom; and yet, in Critica Botanica, p. 50, you suppose that word to be French. Who will ever believe the _Thya_ of Theophrastus to be our arbor vitae? Why do you give the name of cactus to the tuna? Do you believe the tuna, or melocactus (pardon the word), and the arbor vitae, were known to Theophrastus? An attentive reader of the description he gives of his sida, will probably agree with me that it belongs to our nymphaea, and indeed to the white-flowered kind. You, without any reason, give that name to the malvinda; and so in various other instances concerning ancient names; in which I do not, like Burmann, blame you for introducing new names, but for the bad application of old ones. If there were, in these cases, any resemblance between your plants and those of the ancients, you might be excused; but there is not. Why do you, p. 68, derive the word medica from the virtues of the plant, when Pliny, book xviii. chap. 16, declares it to have been brought from Media, &c.?

"I fear I have angered you by saying, as you observe in your last, so much against your system of arrangement. Nevertheless, I could say a great deal more, and should be able to prove to you that you separate and tear asunder several genera nearly related to each other. But this is not my aim, as I value your friendship too much."

In another letter, dated May 16, 1737, he writes as follows:--"I must say a word concerning stamens and styles, as being unfit to found a system of arrangement upon; not only because they vary as much as flowers and seed-vessels, but because they are hardly to be discerned, except by yourself, and such lynx-eyed people;[K] and in my judgment, every scheme of cla.s.sification offers violence to nature.

Notwithstanding all this, I applaud and congratulate you, in the highest degree, for having brought your premature birth to such perfection. You have accomplished great things, and, that you may go on and prosper still more, let me exhort you to examine more and more species. I do not doubt that you yourself will one day overthrow your own system. You see, my dearest Linnaeus, how plainly I speak my sentiments, depending on your candour to receive them favourably."

One of the most respectable of his English correspondents was Peter Collinson, with whom he became acquainted when he visited London in 1736. He belonged to the Society of Friends, possessed a most amiable disposition, evinced the strictest probity and the purest benevolence, was blessed with a genuine and ardent love of nature, enjoyed a long life of active virtue, and died in the glorious hope of a happiness unappreciable. The gentle though rather romantic character of the quaker shines forth in all his letters, but in none more than in the last he wrote, which is as follows:--

"Ridgeway-house, on Mill-hill, ten miles north of London,-- March 16, 1767.

"I am here retired to a delightful little villa, to contemplate and admire, with my dear Linnaeus, the unalterable laws of vegetation. How ravishing to see the swelling buds disclose the tender leaves! By the public newspapers we were told that with you in Sweden the winter was very severe, the Sound being frozen over. I have no conception of the power of that cold which could fetter the rolling ocean in icy chains. The cold was what we call severe, but not so sharp as in the year 1740. It lasted about a month, to the 21st of January, and then the thaw began and continued. February the 1st and 2d were soft, warm, sunny days, as in April, and so continued, mild and warm, with southerly winds, all the month. This brought on the spring flowers. Feb. 8th, the _h.e.l.leborus niger_ made a fine show; the _Galanthus_ and winter aconite by the 15th covered the garden with beauty, among some crocuses and violets, and _Primula veris_, &c. How delightful to see the order of nature! Oh, how obedient the vegetable tribes are to their great Lawgiver! He has given this race of flowers a const.i.tution and fibres to resist the cold. They bloom in frost and snow, like the good men of Sweden. These flowers have some time made their exit; and now, March 7th, a tenderer tribe succeeds. Such, my dear friend, is the order of nature. Now the garden is covered with more than twenty different species of crocuses, produced from sowing seeds, and the _Iris Persica_, _Cyclamen vernale_, and polyanthos.

The 16th March, plenty of _Hyacinthus caeruleus_ and _albus_ in the open borders, with anemones; and now my favourites, the great tribe of narcissuses, show all over the garden and fields. We have two species wild in the woods that now begin to flower. Next, the _Tulipa praec.o.x_ is near flowering; and so Flora decks the garden with endless variety, ever charming.

"The progress of our spring, to the middle of March, I persuade myself will be acceptable to my dear baron. Now I come to thank him for his most acceptable letter of the 8th of October last. I am extremely obliged for your kind intentions to send me the work of works, your Systema Naturae. I hope it will please G.o.d to bless my eyes with the sight of it. I feel the distress you must be under with the fire. I am glad, next to your own and family's safety, that you saved your papers and books. By this time I hope all is settled and in order; so pray now, at your leisure, employ some expert pupil to search into the origin of the nectarine; who are the first authors that mention how and when it was first introduced into the European gardens. It is strange and marvellous, that a peach should naturally produce or bear nectarines, a fruit so different, as well in its exterior coat as flavour, from a peach; and yet this nectarine will produce a nectarine from the stone, and not a peach. This remarkable instance is from a tree of a nectarine raised from a stone in my own garden, which last autumn had several dozen of fruit on it, finely ripened. For more particulars I refer to my last letter. Pray tell me who Perses was, what countryman, and who is the author that relates his introducing peaches into the European gardens?