It excites no small astonishment after all Ray’s judicious and clear-sighted utterances on the nature and method of the natural system to find him adopting the division into woody plants and herbs; nor is the matter improved by his making the distinctive mark of trees and shrubs to be the forming of buds, that is, distinct winter buds, which is a mistake into the bargain. Yet we feel ourselves in some degree compensated for this serious error by his dividing trees and herbs into those with a two-leaved and those with a one-leaved or leafless embryo, in modern language into Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons. Ray’s system is undoubtedly the one which in the time preceding Linnaeus does most justice to natural affinities. The following synopsis of his Classes will serve to show the progress made since Cesalpino. The names in brackets are the Linnaean names for some of the genera in particular classes. A. PLANTAE GEMMIS CARENTES (HERBAE). (a) _Imperfectae._ I. Plantae submarinae (chiefly Polypes, Fucus). II. Fungi. III. Musci (Confervae, Mosses, Lycopods). IV. Capillares (Ferns, Lemna, Equisetum). (b) _Perfectae._ Dicotyledones (binis cotyledonibus). V. Apetalae. VI. Planipetalae lactescentes. VII. Discoideae semine papposo. VIII. Corymbiferae. IX. Capitalae (vi-ix are Compositae). X. Semine nudo solitario (Valerianeae, Mirabilis, Thesium, etc.). XI. Umbelliferae. XII. Stellatae. XIII. Asperifoliae. XIV. Verticillatae (Labiatae). XV. Semine nudo polyspermo (Ranunculus, Rosa, Alisma!). XVI. Pomiferae (Cucurbitaceae). XVII. Bacciferae (Rubus, Smilax, Bryonia, Solanum, Menyanthes). XVIII. Multisiliquae (Sedum, Helleboreae, Butomus, Asclepias). XIX. Vasculiferae monopetalae (various). XX. Vasculiferae dipetalae (various). XXI. Tetrapetalae siliquosae (Cruciferae, Ruta, Monotropa). XXII. Leguminosae. XXIII. Pentapetalae vasculiferae enangiospermae (various). Monocotyledones (singulis aut nullis cotyledonibus). XXIV. Graminifoliae floriferae vasculo tricapsulari (Liliaceae, Orchideae, Zingiberaceae). XXV. Stamineae (Grasses). XXVI. Anomalae incertae sedis. B. PLANTAE GEMMIFERAE (ARBORES). (a) _Monocotyledones._ XXVII. Arbores arundinaceae (Palms, Dracaena). (b) _Dicotyledones._ XXVIII. Arbores fructu a flore remoto seu apetalae (Coniferae and various others). XXIX. Arbores fructu umbilicato (various). XXX. Arbores fructu non umbilicato (various). XXXI. Arbores fructu sicco (various). XXXII. Arbores siliquosae (woody Papilionaceae). XXXIII. Arbores anomalae (Ficus).