PROGRESS IN BOTANY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20304, 11 July 1929, Page 13

PROGRESS IN BOTANY.

BANKS MEMORIAL LECTURE.

" FROM LINNAEUS TO DARWIN."

THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS.

The first of tho annual lectures which the Institute of Horticulture liar, dedicated to tho memory of Sir Joseph Banks, the hotanibt with Captain Cook's first expedition to New Zealand, was given l>y Professor J. C. Sporriu-Johnson in tho University College Hall lasL evening. 'lhe subject was "Two Centuries of Botanical Progress: From Linnaeus to Darwin."

Prior to the studies of Linnaeus, a Swede, who was tho outstanding figure of (he 18th century, nothing had been done to present conclusions or generalisations regarding plant life, Professor Spcrrin-Johnson said. The contribution to botany of Aristotle, the great naturalist of the classical era, was negligible. Tho students of tho medieval period were more concerned with tho economics of plant life. Many hcrbals were published, works which contained descriptions of plants supported by quaint woodcuts, and in which emphasis was given to the medical and pharmaceutical values of tho plants mentioned. In these there was gradually evolved fairly accurato descriptions, but little more. The Naming of Plants. Tho great definite step forward was made by Linnaeus, who brought accuracy to plant classification by means of binomial nomenclature. He invented the fashion of giving plants surnames and names, tho surname being used first as in rosa, arvensis, tho wild rose of the field. With his early research, external anatomy became definito in terminology. Later, the development of tho miscroscope permitted of further anatomical details being brought out, leading to further accuracy in classification.

While Linuaeus was at work with his classifiaction, an English clergyman, Stephen Hales, set another inilestono with his treatise "Vegetable Statieks." 'lhis was a valuable work on physiology and ]ed to the study of the rise of sap, previously something unknown. Another important step was tho discovery of the part played by tho pollen in tho fertilisation of the egg of tho plant, which led to the study of seed germination. Economics o! Botany.

Tho climax in botanical research was ecology, tho study of plants in their natural surroundings. This belonged to the 20th century. There, was also the economics of botany, aspects of this phase mentioned by the lecturer being the cultivation of' green peas in spite of Nature's persistent/ attempts to make them revert to their natural wild colour of yellow, and the selection of disease-resisting and good-milling wheats. Tho lecture was illustrated with many interesting lantern slides, depicting pages from tho old herbals, details of plant structures and apparatus for experiments. Mr. F. J. Nathan, president of tho institute, presided, and Professor SperrinJohnson was accorded a very appreciative vote of thanks for the lecture.