PART I.] 



PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 



mere human skill. We know that we ourselves 

 are " fearfully and wonderfully made," but how 

 few of us are aware that every flower we crush 

 beneath our feet, or gather only to destroy, 

 displays as much of the Divine care and wisdom 

 in its construction, as the frame of the mightiest 

 giant ! 



I have already mentioned that the most con- 

 spicuous part of the flower is merely a cover- 

 ing to protect the seed-producing organs from 

 injury. In most flowers there are two of these 

 coverings, which form together what is called 

 the perianth ; the inner one, when spoken of 

 separately, being called the corolla, and the 

 outer one the calyx. The corolla is generally 

 of some brilliant colour, and in most cases it is 



Fig. 2. — Corolla of a 

 Flowkr. 



Fig. 3.— Calyx of 

 Flower. 



divided into several leaf -like parts called petals, 

 (see ^ in figs. 2 and 3) ; and the calyx, which 

 is commonly green, is divided into similar por- 

 tions called sepals (see h). Sometimes there is 



