334 



NEW ENGLA2JD FARMER. 



Jm.Y 



to ailorn our houses, school-rooms, and 

 churches ; ami the Horxe-tftils, {Eiiitisefacca',) 

 or those brown, leafless, jointed stems, six or 

 eight inches long, which are found everywhere 

 in early spring, and in those other stems of 

 similar ai)pearance, two or three feet high, 

 ■which grow near streams, and contain so much 

 silica or Hint that they are used for scouring, 

 and hence are called Scouring Hushes. 2d. 

 Anopiiytks, which comprise all the true 

 mosses, od. Thalloimiytics, Avhich include 

 the Alija.', or sea-weeds aiul the like ; the Li- 

 chens, or those incrustations and leaf-like ex- 

 pansions found on rocks, trees, and fences, 

 and the Fungi, or toadstools, mould and vari- 

 ous microscopic plants. 



The grand division, Ph^enogamia, we have 

 already remarked, is subdivided into two 

 classes : Exoyens or outside growers, and 

 Enihigens or inside growers. The seeds of 

 the former having two or more cotyledons, 

 the plants are called TJicoti/Icthnous ; and the 

 seeds of the latter having but one cotyledon, 

 the plants are called Moaocot iilcdanous . 



Again, this grand division is divided into 

 one hundred and fifty-six or more Natural 

 Ordehs, each of which is distinguished from 

 every other by certain well marked features. 

 These orders are each divided into several 

 Gknera, (the plural of Genus,) and each 

 Genus is divided into several Species, and 

 some Species are divided into several Varip:- 

 TIES. Examples : Rosack.e or lioseworts, is 

 the name of an order, in which are twenty- 

 eight genera, according to Hood. The name 

 of the thirteenth genus of this order is Py- 

 Rus, which contains seven species. 1. Pyrus 

 Communis, or the Pear Tree ; 2. Pyrus Mains, 

 or the common Apple Tree, &c., &c. Of 

 each of these species there are several varieties. 



COMi'OsiT.E is the name of another order 

 which contains one hundred and fifteen gen- 

 era. Tlie name of the sixty-ninth genus is 

 Antiiemis, which contains two species, one of 

 which Anthemis nobilis or common Chamo- 

 mile, will be readily recognized by most per- 

 sons. 



UMHELLiFiaLE is the name of another order 

 which contains nearly forty genera, one of 

 which is named Uauccs ; and here we have 

 the Carrot — Daucus Carat a, &c., &c. But 

 the limits of this article will not ]>ermlt us to 

 extend our remarks in this direction. 



Plants are distinguished as to their term of 

 life, into Annuals, Biennials and I'ereimials. 

 An Annual is a plant whose entire life is lim- 

 ited to a single season. It germinates from 

 the seed in spring, attains its growth, blos- 

 soms, I)ears fruit and dies in autunm, as Indian 

 Corn, Flax, the Poppy, Morning (ilory, &c. 

 A Bii.NMAL is a plant which germinates and 

 vegetates, bearing leaves oidy, the first sea- 

 son : and blossoms, bears fruit and dies the 

 second, as the Beet, Cabbage, 'iuniip. Car- 

 rot, &c. A Perennial is a plant which has 

 an indefinite duration of Ufe, iJ3ually of many 



years. Perennials are either herbaceous or 

 woody. IIeruaceous Perennials are plants 

 whose parts are annual above ground and per- 

 ennial Iselow ground, as the Lily, Dandelion, 

 Hop, Potato, &c. Woody Pejiennials veg- 

 etate several years, and attain nearly their or- 

 dinary height before flowering. They are 

 known as Trees, Shrubs, Bushes, (fee- 

 Trees, shrubs and bushes are distinguished 

 as Deciduous Sir\i[ Evergreen. The forme? los- 

 ing their leaves in autumn and remaining naked 

 until the following spring ; the latter j-etaining 

 their leaves and verdure throughout the year. 

 The ConifercB, or Fir tribe, includes nearly all 

 the evergreens of the North,, as the Pine, 

 Hemlock, Cedar, Spruce, &c., &c. Those of 

 the South are far more numerous in kind, as 

 the Magnolias, Live Oaks, Hollies, Cherries, 

 Palmettoes, &c., &c. 



The Pha?nogamous plant in its earliest stages 

 of life is an embryo, contained in a seed, and ' 

 consisting essentially of two parts, the liadi- 

 cJe and the Plumule. After the seed begins 

 to germinate or grow, the embryo extends it- 

 self in two directions to form the axis of the 

 plant. The radicle or root-end grows down- 

 ward, as if to avoid the light, and forn»s the 

 root or descending axis ; while the plumule 

 taking the opposite direction ascends, seeking 

 the light, and forms the stem or ascending 

 axis, bearing the leaves, &c. 



The Root is the basis of the plant, and 

 serves to support it in position, and to imbibe 

 from the soil the food and moisture necessary 

 for its growth. Roots are of various forms, 

 and are named according to their form, as tu- 

 bero'US,Jibrovs, &c. 



The Stem, or ascending axis, with its 

 branches, is that portion of a plant which bears 

 the leaves, flowers and fruit. The stem of 

 the grasses is called the culm or straw. The 

 stem of a tree is called its trnnk. 



The Leaves of plants constitute their ver- 

 dure and beauty, and place them among the 

 most conspicuous and pleasing objects in the 

 scenery of nature. They are also the organs 

 of digestion and respiration, being to the 

 plant and the tree what the stomach and lungs 

 are to the animal ; and hence they are of the 

 highest importance in the vegetable economy. 

 Leaves are radical, when they grow out of 

 the stem at or beneath the surface of the" 

 ground ; caidinc, Avhen they grow from the 

 stem; and raniicd, when they grow from a 

 branch. They are cdterncde when one is 

 placed above another, on opposite sides, as 

 in the elm ; sccdtered, when irregularly spiral, 

 as in the potato vine ; rosulate, when clustered 

 regularly, as in the plantain ; fasciculate, when 

 tufted or clustered together, as in the pine, 

 larch, &c. ; opposite, when two are against 

 each other, as in the maple ; and verticillate 

 or whorl cd, when more than two are in a cir- 

 cle, as in the meadow lil}-, trumjiet weed, &c. 

 The footstalk or stem, by which most leaves 

 are attached to the trunk or its branches, is 



