INTRODUCTION. 9 



ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF TERMS. 



Latin words are sounded mostly like English, except that ch 

 is sounded like k ; and, in the names of plants, when the letter 

 e ends a word, it must be sounded distinct, thus Si-le-ne. Also, 

 when es ends a word it forms a separate syllable, as mi-tes, and 

 not mites. When ea ends a word, the letter e is long and 

 distinct, as car-ne-a, and not carn-e-a, the e being sounded as 

 in the English word idea. The letter e ending a word is sounded 

 like er, as it is at the end of the Asia. Ge, or gy, when in 

 Greek words, or words derived from Greek, is sounded hard, 

 as in the word begin ; thus in ge-um, and Monogynia, it is thus 

 sounded : otherwise the sound of g is the same as in English. 



THE ARRANGEMENT OF PLANTS. 



Linnseus, the Swedish botanist, who lived above one hundred 

 years ago, observed that although there were many plants without 

 leaves others without stems, or calyces or corollas, yet that 

 there were none which bore flowers at all, which had not sta- 

 mens and pointals within those flowers, and thus he thought 

 that organs so universal as these are might be useful in dividing 

 plants into certain classes. Following up this idea he formed 

 his celebrated system. First, as the easiest mark of distinction, 

 he considered the number of stamens, when they were all of the 

 same length ; and this simple character gave him the first eleven 

 classes. In the two next their position as well as number was 

 taken. In the two next their length is of consequence. In the 

 five next they are joined together. In classes 21, 22, and 23, 

 the flowers do not contain both stamens and styles ; some 

 flowers having stamens only others styles only. While the 

 whole system concludes with a class, which contains all those 

 plants bearing seed, without having first produced flowers. The 

 different classes, with their names and characters, are seen in 

 the following table. 



