18 ANALYSIS OF THE POPPY. 



deft^ '^eshy^ ^contracted toward the top;' * petals 5' (this is always the'case with 

 a rose in its natural state, unassisted by cultivation) ; * seeds mimerous, bristly, fixed 

 to the sides of the cali/x icifJnn.' There is no seed-vessel, or proper pericarp, to the 

 Rose ; but the calyx swells, and becomes a dry, red berry, containing many seeds. 



b. The genus Rosa contains many species, distinguished one from another by the 

 different shape of the germ, the smoothness or rougliness of tlie stems, the presence 

 or absence of thorns, the shape of the leaves, and the manner in which the flowers 

 grow upon the stalks, whether solitaiy, crowded together in pairs, or scattered, and 

 whether they are erect or drooping. The Moss-rose (Rosa mnscosa) is distinctly 

 marked by the hairs resembling moss, which cover the stems of the calyx ; these 

 hairs are a collection of glands containing a resinous and fragrant fluid. 



c. The apple-blossom appears like a little rose ; its calyx becomes thick and 

 pulpy, and at length constitutes that part which we usually call the fruit, though, 

 strictly speaking, the seed only is the fruit. On examining an apple, the five di- 

 visions of the calyx appear at the end opposite the stem. 



17. The Perry affords a good illustration of the 12th class, Polyandria ; here are 

 numerous stamens, always more than ten, sometimes more than a hunilred, growing 

 upon the receptacle ; the Poppy has but one pistil, and therefore belongs to the 

 first order, Monogynia; the genus is Papaver. The Poppy has a ^ calyx of two 

 leaves or sepals,' but these fall off as soon as the blossom expands, and are there- 

 fore called ' caducous ;' the corolla (except when double) ' is four-petaled ;' it has 

 no style, but the stigma is set upon the large ovary, and is therefore said to be 

 sessile. 



a. The ovary is somewhat oblong, the stigma is flat and radiated. The pericarp 

 is one-celled, it opens at the top, by pores, when the seeds are ripe. The species 

 of Papaver which is cultivated in gardens (ojDe«??i-poppy) is the somniferum, which 

 name signifies to produce sleep. 



b. The analysis of even a few flowers cannot fail of suggesting thoughts of the 

 beauty of a system which so curiously identifies the different plants described by 

 botanists, and points to each individual of the vegetable family the place it must 

 occupy. 



18. In the commencement of a new science, it is not to be expected that every 

 idea, or principle of arrangement, will seem perfectly clear, as such may often re- 

 late to principles not yet explained. It would be impossible to form a clear idea 

 of the use or beauty of a particular part of an edifice, except considered in its re- 

 lation to the whole. The beginner, in any branch of scientific knowledge, is not 

 hke one traveling a straight road, where every step is so much ground actually 

 gained ; but the views wliich he takes are like the faint sketches of a painter, 

 which gradually brighten, and grow more definite as he advances. It is by some 

 supposed that students sliould learn perfectly every thing as they proceed ; but 

 this idea appears to be founded upon a wrong view both of the nature of the mind, 

 and of the sciences. The memory may be so disciplined as to retain a multitude 

 of words, but w(jrcls are only valuable as instruments of conveying knowledge to 

 the mind ; and if, after a careful attention to a subject, some parts . may appear 

 obscure, the student must not be discouraged ; the subject may be connected with 

 something which is to folU>w, therefore he should patiently proceed, in tlie ex- 

 pectation that difficulties will gradually disappear. 



a. The student is now supposed to be prepared to analyze flowers of any of the 

 first thirteen classes ; but it is necessary, before proceeding further, to remark, that 

 the two circumstances of the number and insertion of the stamens, are not all that 

 are to be considered, in the arrangement of the classes. 



19. It is necessary to commit to memory the Latin and Greek numerals, to 

 understand the names given to the classes and orders. It is not in Botany alone, 

 that a knowledge of these numerals is useful ; many words in common use are com- 

 pounded with them ; as» uniform, from unus, one, and forma, form ; — octagon, from 

 qgto, eight, and gonia, an angle, hexayon, pentagon, &c. 



b. Circumstances which distinguish the different species of the genus Rosa. — c. Apple-blossom and 

 frnit. — 17. Analysis of the Poppy — The analysis of a few flowers useful. — 18. Remarks. — Words of 

 tse only as instruraeuts.— a. Remark. 



