ORDER MONOGYNIA. 239 



this native of our own swamps ; it is well worth the trouble 

 of cultivation by those who are fond of collecting rare plants. 

 The White Pond Lily (Nymphsea*), is a splendid American 

 plant, very fragrant and with a larger leaf than almost any 

 other northern plant. This flower closes at evening and sinks 

 tinder the water ; at the return of day its blossoms expand 

 and rise above the surface. 



The Yellow Pond Lily (Nuphar), though less showy, is 

 equally curious in its structure. 



In this artificial class and order is the Tea tree (THEA) ; of 

 this plant there are two species, the bohea tea (bohea), and the 

 green tea (viridis). It is a small ever green tree or shrub, 

 much branched and covered with a rough, dark coloured bark. 

 The flowers are white, the leaves are lanceolate and veined, 

 the capsule or seed vessel is three celled, opening ; the seeds 

 are three, oblong and brown. This shrub is a native of China 

 and Japan. Some suppose, that all the teas are taken from the 

 same botanical species, and that the different flavour and ap- 

 pearance of them depend upon the nature of the soil, and cul- 

 ture, and the method of preparing the leaves. 



On account of the secret and jealous policy of the Chinese, 

 the natural history of the Tea plant is less known than might 

 be expected from its very general use. The Chinese begin 

 in February to gather the tea leaves, when they are young 

 and yet unexpanded. The second collection is made in April, 

 and the third in June. The first gathering, which consists 

 only of the young and tender leaves, is the Imperial tea; the 

 other two kinds are less odorous; the last collected is the 

 coarest and cheapest kind. Tea was introduced into Europe, 

 by the Dutch East India Company, in the year 1666, when it 

 sold for sixty shillings a pound, and for many years its great 

 price limited its use to the most wealthy. In considering the 

 effects of tea upon the human system, medical writers differ 

 in opinion, and a doubt seems to remain whether the use of it 

 is on the whole beneficial or injurious to the health of mankind. 

 If it is not injurious to health, the use of it no doubt promotes 

 the happiness of society, as it is exhilarating, and adds to the 

 enjoyment of social intercourse. 



The Poppy (Papaver) was one of the flowers early given 

 you for analysis. Its numerous stamens standing upon the re- 

 ceptacle around the base of the germ, and its large stigma, with 



* An extensive locality of this plant exists upon the Saratoga lake, I have 

 seen its surface for a quarter of a mile whitened by these lilies, occasionally 

 intermixed with the yellow lilies, and the rich blue of the Pontederia, another 

 beautiful aquatic plant. 



Pond lilies Tea tree Poppy. 



