PENTANDHIA. 125 



For this purpose, however, the Bird Pepper, ( Capsicum bacca- 

 tum,} is commonly employed. It is said that a mixture of 

 sliced cucumbers, shallots, or onions, cut very small, a little 

 lime juice, and Madeira wine, with a few pods of Bird Pepper, 

 well mashed and mixed, seldom fail to provoke the most lan- 

 guid appetite, in the West Indies. The common Capsicum, 

 called Squash Pepper, is cultivated for its green fruit, which 

 is chiefly used in pickling. 



GENUS Campanula. Bell-flower. Campanula means little 

 bell, so named on account of the bell shaped corollas of this 

 genus. The species are very numerous, and some of them 

 beautiful. The Canterbury Bell, (Campanula medium,} which 

 bears a profusion of blue flowers, is well known, and is a 

 general favorite. The varieties of this are double, with red, 

 purple, or white flowers. Some species of this genus are 

 annual, some are biennial, and others are perennial. They 

 are cultivated chiefly as border flowers, and most of the spe- 

 cies are very easily raised. 



GENUS Lobelia. Name in honor of M. Lobel, physician and 

 botanist to James I. of England. This genus furnishes some 

 very splendid herbaceous plants. Of the forty or fifty species 

 it contains, we have about ten in New England, and among 

 these, one of the most beautiful, the Cardinal flower, (Lobelia 

 cardinalis.} This superb species, which is cultivated and highly 

 esteemed in England, is a native of this country, and is com- 

 mon about the sides of our brooks and ponds. It rises to the 

 height of about two feet. Stem simple, or not branched ; 

 leaves alternate, lanceolate, and serrate. The flowers are 

 scarlet red, color very intense and brilliant, on which account 

 it is, in some places, called Eye-bright. Terminal raceme, 

 one-sided, flowers large, and showy at a distance. 



GENUS Coffea. Coffee-tree. Coffea Arabica is an erect 

 conical shaped low tree, with a light brown bark, and oppo- 

 site, oblong, shining, light green leaves ; flowers in clusters 

 at the base of the leaves, white, and of a grateful odor. The 

 berries are at first green, but become red, when fully grown, 

 and black, when ripe. It is a decoction of this berry that 

 forms the well known beverage, called coffee, and which is 

 said to have been drank in Ethiopia from time immemorial. 



What is the general character of this genus ? When were the first 

 coffee houses opened in Paris, and in London ? What is the height and 

 form of the coffee tree ? 



11* 



