BOX 



BOT 



B. Pe:ich tree borer {J^geria cxUioia). 1, female; 



infested with peculiar borers. These 

 also deposite their eggs about July. 



BORING. In draining, rods are 

 frequently thrust into the subsoil for 

 the purpose of ascertaining the nature 

 of the earth, or the existence of wa- 

 ter or springs. See Auger. 



BOS. The generic name of rumi- 

 nating quadrupeds, having the char- 

 acters of the ox and buffalo. The or- 

 igin of the domestic ox is unknown. 



BOTANY. That department of 

 knowledge which investigates the 

 forms, varieties, and functions of 

 plants in a natural state. It is de- 

 rived from jSoTavTi, an herb. 



Structural botany, or Organogra- 

 phy, details the figures of the differ- 

 ent parts of plants, both internal and 

 external. We learn from this de- 

 partment that the interior of vegeta- 

 bles is either made up of small cells, 

 resembling the cavities of the honey- 

 comb (cellulares), or consist also of 

 tubes and veins, as the higher plants 

 (vasculares). The cells are destined 

 either to store up starch, wood, res- 

 ins, or other products of vegetation ; 

 the tubes to cronvey sap and fluids. 

 In a complete system of organogra- 

 phy, the minutest shades of difference 

 between leaves, roots, &c., are detail- 

 ed with uninteresting prolixity. 



Physiological botany teaches the 



use of the leaf, root, flower, seed, &c. 



It will be fully illustrated under the 



various parts of the plant. 



Descriptive botany is that portion 



C, male; 3, case in which the pupa (4) is enclosed. 



of the science which is devoted to de- 

 scribing and recognising plants. In 

 this there are two methods of proce- 

 dure, the Linnaean and Jussieuan : 

 the former is the simplest, the latter 

 the most perfect, and will be intro- 

 duced in the cases of the leadmg agri- 

 cultural families, as the bean tribe, 

 cabbage tribe, &c. 



To understand Linnaeus's classifi- 

 cation, it is necessary to state thai 

 perfect flowers consist of four parts : 

 1st, an external green or coloured 

 wrapper seen on the bud, called the 

 calyx, consisting of one or more leaf- 

 lets ; 2d, an inner similar system 

 of flower petals, called the corolla ; 

 3d, a number of thread-like bodies 

 carrying a head ; these are the sta- 

 mens, the head being called the an- 

 ther ; 4th, a central thread-like body, 

 single, or divided into several parts, 

 called the pistil, whereof the extrem- 

 ity is the stigma. The pistil is only 

 the upper part of the young fruit, or 

 ovarium. In all these points there is 

 much diversity : sometimes neither 

 calyx nor corolla is present ; again, 

 the stamens, which are also consid- 

 ered the male organs of the flower, 

 may be in one plant, and the pistil, 

 or female organ, in another, or in dif- 

 ferent parts of the same plant. It is 

 well known that unless the yellowish 

 dust, or pollen, given off by stamens 

 can reach the stigma, no seeds are 

 formed, and that fruit is only produ- 

 ced in female plants, or such as con- 



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