THE BLOSSOM 287 



lower. Well, the upper lip is split in two by a deep 

 indentation, the sign of two petals, and the lower 

 lip is split in three, indicating three petals. The 

 corolla of the snap-dragon, al- 

 though apparently all in one pi< 

 is therefore in reality composed of 

 five petals welded together." 



1 1 There are, then," said Claire, 

 4 * five petals in the mallow, pear, al- 

 mond, digitalis, tobacco, and snap- 

 dragon, with this difference, that 

 the five petals are separate in the 

 mallow, pear, and almond, and 

 \\elded together in the digitalis, 

 snap-dragon, and tobacco." 



"Five petals, either separate or united," Uncle 

 Paul went on, "are found in a great many other 

 flowers. 



"Let us come back to the calyx. The little green 

 leaves of which it is composed are called sepals. 

 There are five in the different flowers we have just 

 examined, five in the mallow, five in tobacco, five in 

 digitalis, five in the -nap-dragon. Like the petals, 

 the parts of the calyx, or sepals, sometimes remain 

 separate, sometimes join together, but generally 

 leave some indentations showing their number. 



"The calyx having its parts distinct from one an- 

 other is called a polysepalous calyx. That of the 

 digitalis and of the snap <lram>n is of this class. 



"The calyx with sepals united is known as a mono- 

 gepalotu calyx* Such is that of the tobaooo blos- 

 som. By the five indentations at its edge one can 



