196 DICOTYLEDONS COMPOSITE DIAGRAM 11. 



brandy and all spirituous liquors is nearly always injurious, except 

 perhaps to revive those who have been exposed to wet or cold, but 

 even in this case very little should be taken. This advice is im- 

 portant, for it should never be forgotten that brandy is still more 

 dangerous in winter than in summer. 



FAMILY COMPOSITE. 



[ DIAGRAM 11. ] 



This is one of the most extensive families among Dicotyledonous 

 plants. It does not include any trees, but it covers the fields. 

 Several compositse are useful, and others are cultivated as orna- 

 mental plants. This family includes the endive, the lettuce, and 

 the dandelion, the leaves of which are eatable ; the salsify and the 

 Jerusalem artichoke, of which the roots are eaten ; the chicory, 

 the leaves of which are used as salad, and the powdered root 

 mixed with coffee ; the centaury, thistle, and artichoke, which are 

 also eaten by man or beast ; the marigold, dahlia, and sun-flower 

 which grow in our gardens ; the wormwood, from which the highly 

 deleterious liquor called absinthe is distilled ; the camomile, which 

 is used in medicine ; and finally the daisy. 



If we examine all these flowers, we immediately notice that while 

 they have considerable resemblance to each other, they are at the 

 same time very unlike other flowers ; and at first we recognize 

 neither calyx, nor corolla, nor stamens, nor pistil. The fact is that 

 the thistle, sun-flower, and daisy are not really flowers, but clusters 

 of flowers, as it is easy to perceive with a little attention, and it 

 is on this account that these plants are called compositse. If we 

 take a dandelion, or a sim-flower, and pull out the yellow centre, 

 we shall see that it is composed of a great number of parts, and in 

 each of these a small flower is easily to be distinguished, with its 

 corolla, stamens, and in the middle of them a pistil divided into 

 two recurved branches surmounting the whole. The corolla is 



