iv.] THE SEED. 35 



with a distinct blade and petiole ; and if you hold the 

 blade of any of them up to the light you may notice that 

 the small veins which ramify through it are netted irregu- 

 larly. In the flowers you have observed that the parts of 

 the calyx (sepals) and of the corolla (petals), whether free, 

 coherent, or adherent, are either in fours or Jives, that 

 is, 4 or 5 to a whorl ; and that all of them have their 

 ovules enclosed in a pistil, upon the stigma of which the 

 pollen is shed. 



Reviewing generally the plants above described, in- 

 cluding the Buttercup, you will observe that we have but 

 two which grow to the dimensions of a tree viz. the 

 Apple and Willow. Another, the Bramble, is a shrub. 

 These three differ from the rest, in the formation of a 

 distinctly woody stem, which does not die down each 

 season. On this account we may speak of them as woody 

 or ligneous plants. The rest are herbaceous plants ; the 

 flowering stems usually dying down annually, although 

 in some of them the stock that is, the shortened per- 

 sisting portion of the stem from which the roots are given 

 off, and in spring the flowering branches lasts two or 

 several years. 



14. Now the characters of (i) leaves more or less 

 distinctly narrowed at the base into a petiole ; of (2) 

 irregularly net-veined leaves : and (3) the arrangement 

 of the parts of the flower in fours or fives (which three 

 characters we have found to apply more or less to all the 

 specimens which we have examined hitherto), are sup- 

 ported by other characters afforded by the seeds and 

 mode of growth of the wood, which it is important you 

 should correctly understand. 



15. We have already briefly noticed the small seed of 

 the Buttercup enclosing a minute embryo. Take, now, a 

 few Peas, the seeds of the Pea-plant, or, better still, be- 

 cause larger and more easily examined, Beans the seeds 

 of the Windsor or Garden Bean, a plant very closely 

 related to the Pea, and agreeing with it in all essential 

 particulars. This description and the accompanying cuts 

 refer to the Bean. If the beans be dry and hard, let 

 them soak over-night, or, to save time, put them in 

 boiling water for a few minutes. This will soften them 

 and render their examination easy, 



D 2 



