126 BOTANY. 

quantity of soda, and was formerly much used in the manufacture of 
class. 
Fungi} are another order of the lowest kind of plants. Of this the 
mushroom is an example. All the Fungi are short-lived, they grow very 
rapidly, and soon decay. They do not live in water, but generally 
in moist situations. Many of them are very small, as the different kinds 
of mould which grow upon decaying animal or vegetable substances. 
Many of the larger fungi are pleasant and wholesome. articles of food, as 
the common mushroom, the truffle, and the morel. Some of them, 
however, are very poisonous, and fatal accidents not unfrequently happen _ 
from the mistaking of one kind for another. 
Another large order is that of Lzchens, ‘plants that lick up moisture’ 
[Greek leichén, from leichd, to lick]. Some of them form mere crusts 
upon the stone or bark on which they grow ; some are expanded in a leaf- 
like manner ; others form filaments and tufts. Lichens growing on rocks 
may be said to begin the process of forming a soil for other plants. 
Iceland moss is an example of a lichen used for food. Another kind, 
popularly known as reindeer moss, affords the chief winter-food of the 
reindeer in Lapland and other arctic countries. 
Ascending in the scale of plant-life to the true acrogenous plants which 
have stems, roots, and leaves, the first order which demands special notice — 
is that of Mosses, which chiefly abound in cold and moist regions. They 
are all small plants, but vast multitudes often grow together, covering the = 
ground with a green carpet. 
Another great order of acrogenous plants is that of Ferns. The largest 
ferns, those Hee become trees, are found only within or near the tropical 
regions. Few ferns are of much use to man, but their great beauty has 
led to their very general cultivation, not only i me gardens and greenhouses, 
but in rooms of houses. 
Endogenous Plants.—The two most important orders of Endogenous or 
Monocotyledonous plants are Palms and Grasses. Palms are only found 
in warm countries, and mostly within the tropics. The palm frequently 
mentioned in the Bible is the date-palm, which extends into more northern 
regions than almost any other species. Palms, in general, have tall stems, 
often shooting above the other trees of a tropical forest, and waving their 
great leaves inthe air. Some of them, however, have very short stems, and 
some have very long slender stems, which clamber over trees, and depend — 
upon them for support. Such are the rattans of the East Indies, the stems _ 
of some of which far exceed in length the most stately trees of the forest. 
Rattans are much used for making cane-bottomed chairs and for other 
kinds of wicker-work. The stems of some palms are used in house-. 
building, and for other purposes ; the great leaves are used for thatching, 
ag 
yy 
1 Plural of Latin fungus, a mushroom, 
