212 ELEMENTS OF SCIENCE 



Such are the bulbils which form themselves at the roots 

 of the leaves of the tiger-lily. Some ferns give rise to 

 fresh individuals from the surface of their fronds, and 

 a plant named Bryophyllum calycinum (Fig. 38) forms 

 buds at the margin of its leaves, from which buds new 

 individuals grow forth. Every one knows how common 

 it is for fresh individual plants, new trees, to grow from 

 "cuttings," and the constancy with which plants will 

 repair injuries and reproduce lost parts after pruning, 

 FIG. 39. 



VERTICAL SECTION OF A BUTTERCUP. 



Showing the floral organs which spring successively from its axis. 

 At the bottom are two of the sepals (of the calyx) cut through. 

 Next come three of the five petals (of the corolla). Then come 

 numerous stamens (each terminating in its anther), which sur- 

 round six bisected carpels (of the pistil), each showing an 

 ovule contained within it. 



is so notorious that the only surprise the reader may 

 probably feel in perusing this statement will be surprise 

 that so well known a fact should be referred to at all. 



Every kind of flower and fruit can be understood 

 through the flower of the bean plant, however different 

 from it they may appear to be. Flowers, such as those 

 of the daisy, the dandelion and the thistle, are aggrega- 

 tions of flowers set closely side by side upon a common 

 surface; each separable little group of minute parts in 



