FAMILIAR BOTANY," 



265 



tbns. We shall, then, endeavor to sim- 

 plify the early lessons, and thus clear the 

 way for those who know nothing about 

 botany, so that they may be enabled to 

 classify plants for the better understanding 

 of their nature, and the avoidance of such 

 as are poisonous. 



Linnseus divided plants into twenty-four 

 classes^ and arranged them according to 

 the construction of the flower. What is a 

 flower? It may appear singular that a 

 question, apparently so simple, should be 

 asked ; but there are two answers to it, as 

 diametrically opposite as they can be, and 

 both cannot be right. By an author of no 

 little celebrity in horticulture, we are told 

 that a flower " is in reality a stunted branch; 

 the growth of which is checked, and its 

 power of elongation destroyed." We dont 

 believe a word of it ; for, to our conception, 

 there is nothing in nature more -perfect than 

 a flower. It is well to talk of the spread of 

 learning, and the advancement of science ; 

 but if by this, we are to understand a blind 

 following of teachers who outrage truth, 

 better that we leave it alone. 



The second answer we like better :■ — a 

 flower " is a perfect specimen of God''s handi- 

 work.'''' So we think, and so thought Pro- 

 fessor Rennie and Dr. Herschel, in opposi- 

 tion to the absurd fancies and unmitigated 

 nonsense but recently propagated. 



The most ready way of beginning the 

 study of botany, is by learning about a 

 dozen terms, and being able to number as 

 far as thirty, which every child can do ; 

 thus, any one may so m get a tolerable 

 knowledge of several hundred plants, and 

 be able to assign these to their proper 

 classes and orders in the Linnsean system. 

 To facilitate the learning of the terms, get 

 any flower — a lily, a primrose, or a butter- 

 cup, and study them over once and again, 

 naming them each time, till they are fami- 



liar. The annexed figures will explain the 

 several parts clearly. 



1. On the outside of the flower a green 

 sort of cup is seen, (a,) in which the coloured 

 part stands as an eg^ does in an egg-cup. 

 The learner may call this i\ie flower- cup ; 

 but botanists call it by the Greek name, 

 calyx. 



2. Within this flower-cup, or calyx, which 

 may be taken ofT lo show v/hat it contains, 

 is seen the coloured part of the flower, (// ;) 

 that part which is yellow in the primrose, 

 blue in the violet, and red in the rose. 

 This may be called the blossom; but bota^ 

 nists call it by the Latin name, corolla. 



3. In the primrose, this blossom, or corol- 

 la, is seen to be in one piece ; but in the 

 rose and other flowers, it is of several pie- 

 ces, (c.) The learner may call each of the 

 pieces a fioioer-lenf ; but botanists call it a 

 petal. 



4. Within the flower-leaf, or petal, in 

 the primrose, 6ne small bodies may be seen 

 standing round in a circle, {d,) with little 

 tips, somewhat shaped like a barley-corn, 

 though a great deal smaller, and a slender 

 stalk supports them. Each of the fine 

 bodies the learner may call a male; but 

 botanists call it a stamen. 



5. The male part, or stamen, has two 

 parts ; an upper, and an under part. The 

 under part may be called the stalk, (e;) but 

 botanists call it i\\e filament. 



6. The top part (/,) may be called the 

 tip ; but botanists call it the anther. 



7. When the tip, or anther, of the male 



