100 HOW PLANTS ARE CLASSIFIED AND STUDIED. 



microscope, however nccessarj for studying vegetable anatomy, is of no use for our 

 common botanical j^urposes, whicli require no high magnifying. A pocket magni- 

 fying-glass, held in the hand, is all that is absolutely necessary. 



321. Lessons in examining Plants. How a pupil, or a class, is to proceed in 

 examining any plant by our Popular Flora, for the purpose of finding out its class, 

 its order or family, and then its genus and species, — that is, its name, — we will 

 show by a few plain examples. 



322. Technical words or terms are used all along, which you may not remember 

 the meaning of, as defined in the first part of the book ; and some of them may 

 not have been mentioned or explained there. Whenever you come to a word which 

 you do not perfectly understand, turn at once to the Index and Dictionary, begin- 

 ning on page 217, and look it out. There you will find it explained, or will be 

 referred to the page of the book where the term is explained or illustrated. Turn 

 back to the place, and read what is said about it. Do not attempt to proceed fast- 

 er than you understand things. But by looking out and understanding the words 

 as you meet with them, the principal terms used in botanical descriptions (here 

 made as simple as possible) will soon be familiar, and your subsequent progress 

 will be all the more rapid for the ^^ains taken in the earlier steps. 



323. For the first example we will take a Buttercup or Crowfoot, such as may 

 anywhere be met with in spring and early summer. With specimens in hand, 

 turn to page 105. You ask in the first place, — 



Does the plant belong to the First Series, that of Pha^nogamous or Flowering 

 Plants ? Certainly ; for it bears flowers, with stamens and pistils. (The Second 

 Series, that of Flowerless Plants (p. 97), consisting of Ferns, Mosses, &c., we do 

 not meddle with in this book, they requiring too much magnifying, and being too 

 difficult for the young beginner.) Next yon ask, — 



To wliich class does it belong ? The diflTerences between the tAvo classes are 

 mentioned on page 97, and the characteristics of Class I. are illustrated on page 

 105. As the stem is hollow, it may not be easy to see that it has a dehcate ring 

 of wood under the bark and outside of the pith (as in Fig. 230) ; but this may be 

 perceived in a cross slice under the microscope. And even if we had ripe seeds, a 

 microscope and some skill in dissection Avould be required to take out the minute 

 embryo, and see that it has a pair of cotyledons. But we may tell the class by the 

 two other points, viz. by the leaves, and by the number of parts to the blossom. 

 The leaves are plainly netted- veined, and the parts of the flower, that is, the sepals 



