DIDYNAM1A. 



this order, on account of their having only two stamens, and 

 which are placed in the class Diandria. This order embra- 

 ces many valuable herbaceous, aromatic genera, which are 

 in universal use as kitchen condiments. Among these are 

 the well known Marjoram, Mint, Thyme, Balm, &c. Hys- 

 sop, Summer Savory, Catmint, Lavender, Archangel, Beto- 

 ny, Horehound, Motherwort and Calamint, also belong here. 

 GENUS Nepeta. Cat-mint. Name, said by Linnaeus to be 

 derived from Nepet, a town in Tuscany. ' Common Cat-mint, 

 (Nepeta cataria,) is said to have had its name from the fond- 

 ness of cats for this plant, especially when it is withered. 

 Hence it is said that these animals will destroy such plants 

 as have been recently transplanted, while they will not touch 

 those that are vigorously growing. An English botanist con- 

 firmed this by experiment. He set plants from another part 

 of his garden, within two feet of others which were growing 

 from the seed, and found by repeated trials, that these were 

 destroyed by the cats, while the others remained untouched. 

 The true reason appears to be, that the odor of the plant is 

 strongest, and therefore most attractive to the cats, when it is 

 a little withered, or bruised, by the act of transplanting. The 

 old vulgar saying, 



" If you set it, 



The cats will eat it ; 



If you sow it, 



The cats won't know it," 

 seems to be founded on this observation. 



ORDER II. ANGTOSPERMIA. Stamens 4. Seeds many, 

 enclosed. 



GENUS Bignonia. Trumpet Flower. Name, from the 

 Abbe Bignon, librarian to Louis XIV. This is a genus of 

 beautiful plants, most of them climbers, some deciduous, and 

 others evergreen, and chiefly natives of hot climates. The 

 leaves are opposite, pinnate, ternate, or conjugate. The 

 flowers are in panicles, with spreading petals, of various 

 colors in different species, as red, blue, yellow, or white. 

 Bignonia radicans, known under the name of Trumpet Flower, 

 is a native of the southern states, and is common by cultiva- 

 tion in all parts of New England. The flowers are yellowish 

 scarlet ; the corolla trumpet shaped, and thrice as long as the 

 calyx ; leaves pinnate ; leaflets ovate, acuminate and toothed. 



What plants fall under the order Angiospermia ? What well known 

 aromatic plants belong to the first order? What is said of the genus Big- 

 no nia ? - 



