THE AVENS. 151 



cumstances, these properties seem to be but of little real 

 value as remedial agencies. 



We pass now to some few words of description of the 

 more salient features of the growth of the plant. The 

 stems thrown up are but few in number, somewhat thin 

 and wiry-looking, from one to two feet in height, and 

 almost destitute of hairs. The stipules the leaf-like 

 members that in many plants occur at the junction of the 

 true leaf with the stem are in the avens very large, 

 rounded in form, and deeply cut in outline. The leaves 

 vary very considerably in form, according to their position. 

 The upper leaves are made up of three long and narrow 

 leaflets. Those intermediate on the stems have the three 

 leaflets or segments as well, but in these they are round 

 and full ; while the lower leaves are borne on long stalks, 

 have a large terminal leaflet, and a series of smaller ones 

 given off at intervals along the stalk. These smaller leaf- 

 lets vary very considerably in size. There will ordinarily 

 be two or three pairs of considerable size, and between 

 these a number of very small ones. The same curious 

 type of leaf may be seen in the silverweed, the subject of 

 one of our illustrations ; the agrimony, which we have also 

 figured ; the meadow-sweet, and several other plants. All 

 the leaves, irrespective of their position on the plant, are 

 coarsely toothed in outline. The flowers of the avens are 

 deep yellow, and rather small for the general growth of 

 the plant. The corolla is composed of five spreading petals, 

 and, when fully expanded like the blossom of the 

 pimpernel forms a flat disc. The calyx is cleft into ten 

 segments, the alternate members much larger than the 

 others a feature that may be very well seen again in the 

 silverweed or the strawberry. The fruit that succeeds 



