66 



THE FLOWER 



be euabled to locate aud record them and designate those in 

 which we are most interested. This system must be the same 

 throughout the world and for people of all civilized languages. 

 Several systems have been suggested, used and discontinued at 

 various times during the centuries that mankind has studied 



plants. The one that we now 

 use is known as the natural 

 system and is, no doubt, better 

 than any of the preceding. By 

 this system, we try to group or 

 classify plants by their blood 

 relationships and not upon the 

 superficial resemblances. 



We readily recognize that 

 apples, pears and quinces are 

 very much alike. The foliage 

 on the trees is almost identical, 

 the flowers have corresponding 

 parts in the same general ar- 

 rangements, and if we cut the 

 fruits we find that they have the same general characters. 



Peaches, plums and cherries form another well-defined 

 group ; they also have flowers and fruits of the same character. 

 l^ow if we compare one of the two groups with the members 

 of the other we find that the flowers of all are very similar 

 except that in the ovaries and fruits of the two groups they are 

 quite difi'erent. In the first group the ovaries are inferior and 

 the fruit with a five-parted, papery seed chamber, while in the 

 second group, the ovaries are superior and have the one stony 

 seed chamber. 



If we take the blackberries and the raspberries as repre- 

 senting a third group, we find flowers similar to the preceding 

 but with masses of superior ovaries; and if we take the wild 



Fig. 53. — Wild carrot blossoms. The 

 umbel type of inflorescence. 



