An oration, on chemistry and botany : delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at New Haven, Dec. 9, 1802 / by Dr. Eli Ives, A.M. ; published by order of the Society.

  • Ives, Eli, 1779-1861.
Date:
1803
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An oration, on chemistry and botany : delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at New Haven, Dec. 9, 1802 / by Dr. Eli Ives, A.M. ; published by order of the Society. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    grefs of this fcience, fince the adoption of the new fyf- tem, and the prefent competition of its votaries promife to carry it, within a few years, to its ultimate point of perfection. Our country may already boaft, of a long lift of chemifts, the number and accuracy of whofe exoe- riments, are not inferior to thofe of European chemifts; and who are ardently engaged in the advancement of this fcience. Among whom, are Prieftley, Woodhoufe, Mitchel, Maclean, Pafcalis, and the late Prefident of the Medical Society of Connecticut. The other part of natural philofophy, upon which was propofed to make a few obfervations, is botany ; a part of fcience not lefs pleafing, though more neglected by our citizens, than any other of the whole circle of the fci- ences. This branch of knowledge, is recommended by the example of Solomon, who is recorded to have written of all the plants, from the cedar of Lebanon, to the hyfop upon the wall. The ancients were perhaps as well ac- quainted, with the virtues of plants, as the moderns j but their difcoveries are in a great meafure loft to us, for want of an accurate fyftem of defcription and claffifica- tion. This defect has been fupplied, by the labors of Turnfort, Ray, Boerhaave, Linnaeus and Miller, who have given to botany, a fyftem, which has defervedly ranked it am«ng the fciences. In many parts of fcience, America is not inferior to the moil enlightened countries of Europe. The genius and enterprife of our citizens are not infer ior. Yet how- ever degrading it may be to our national pride, it is a fact undeniable, that we are dependent upon the Europeans, for the knowledge of the plants of our own country. No part of the globe abounds, with fo great a variety of bo- tanical productions, which from their magnitude, number