CHAP. I.] THE GENUS AQUILEGIA. 33 



I would advise such of my readers as are 

 anxious to turn the preceding pages to account, 

 to procure as many of the plants 1 have described 

 as possible, and to compare them with each 

 other, and with any other plants belonging to 

 the order Ranunculacese that they can obtain. 

 Those who have access to a botanic garden 

 will have no difficulty in finding the names of 

 the genera included in the order; and those 

 who have not this advantage, must consult 

 Don's edition of Sweet's Hortus Britannicus, or 

 any other catalogue in which the plants are 

 arranged according to the Natural System. 

 When a number of specimens have been col- 

 lected, the student will be surprised to see how 

 many points of resemblance exist between them. 

 The stems of all, when cut, will yield a watery 

 juice ; which is always acrid, though some 

 of the plants are more poisonous than others. 

 The stamens will be found to be always nu- 

 merous, and always attached to the receptacle 

 below the carpels; and the anthers are generally 

 adnate, that is attached to the filaments from one 

 end to the other (see p. 12). The carpels are in 

 most cases numerous, and either distinct, or 

 adhering in such a manner as to show plainly 

 the line of junction between them ; they are 

 also always one-celled, whether one or many- 

 seeded, and generally either caryopsides (see 



