68 TALKS AFIELD. 



tivated it, and that from them it was ob- 

 tained by early adventurers. In 1629 the 

 tubers had become very abundant and cheap 

 in London, according to Parkinson, a bota- 

 nist of that time. As the culture of the po- 

 tato spread, that of the artichoke decreased. 

 The true artichoke is a very different plant 

 from this tuber-bearing sunflower, although 

 it is a composite. It is a native of South- 

 ern Europe and Barbary. To botanists it is 

 known as Cynara Scolymus. The part eaten 

 is the large unopened flower head. The 

 Cardoon, which is occasionally grown in this 

 country for the bleached inner leaf-stalks, is 

 also a Cynara. 



Having now obtained an idea of some of 

 the principles of classification, we are pre- 

 pared to consider a few of the striking pe- 

 culiarities of common plants. With very 

 few exceptions the essays which follow can 

 be verified by the unprofessional observer. 

 They relate mostly to the visible parts and 

 operations of plants. The essays are selected 

 at random from the book of Nature, from 

 which every one is invited to read. They 

 may aid as interpreters to some of the per- 



