40 THE GARDEN OF EA^TH 



Lily-of-the-Valley and the Narcissus grow thus; as 

 also do Rushes and Grasses and Orchids. 



If this distinction of either One or Two Seed-leaves 

 stood alone, it might be of interest, though we could 

 hardly count it to be worthy of much attention. But 

 the number of Seed-leaves is not the only sign which 

 marks off one big Subdivision of Flowering Plants from 

 another. 



It is a curious fact that most of the One Seed-leaf 

 plants seem to grow or, as one may say, to be built 

 up in threes. Their flowers, for instance, have usually 

 three sepals and three petals, or else twice or three times 

 three ; that is, six or nine of each. 



But the Two Seed-leaf plants are hardly ever thus. 

 They are commonly found to be in fours and fives 

 or in twice four or five, as the case may be. 1 



Any of us may put this to the test. We may count 

 the sepals and petals of a Lily and a Narcissus, and then 

 those of a Buttercup and a Primrose. And usually 

 these rules will be found true that the Threes go with 

 the single Seed-leaf, and the Fours or Fives with the 

 double Seed-leaf. Once in a way a flower seems to have 

 made a mistake, and to have its numbers wrong; but 

 this is rare ; and we have to examine several of a kind, 

 noting what the greater number are like. 



1 These lesser Divisions of Flowering Plants are known as 

 Mono -cotyledons and Di-cotyledons ; by which is meant Plants 

 with One Seed-leaf, and Plants with Two Seed-leaves. There 

 are also Plants which have several, called Poly-cotyledons, and 

 Plants which have none, called A-cotyledons. "Mono" means 

 One; " Di " means Two; "Poly" means Many; and "A" 

 means "No." But we need not trouble our heads with the 

 two last. 



