THE NATURAL SYSTEM. 



117 



Now viewing this as one grand whole, we want to divide it 

 into two subkingdoms. How shall we do it ? 



250. Every attentive observer has noticed that some of 

 these plants produce no flowers ; as, e. g., the Ferns and 

 Mosses. Let us then take all such plants and consider them 

 as forming one sub-kingdom, viz., the FLOWKRLESS PLANTS 

 All other plants will of course constitute the other sub -king 

 dom, viz., the FLOWERING PLANTS. Botanists call the latter 

 the Phsenogamia, and the former, the Cryptogamia (Greek 

 words of the same import). 



251. Now these two sub-kingdoms have other 

 distinctions besides flowering and not-flowering. 

 See the fruit-dots growing on the back of Fern 

 leaves. The microscope shows them to be clusters 

 of hollow cases, and each case tilled with a fine 

 yellow dust. But this dust is not seeds, with 

 embryo, radicle, &c. (Less. 24), but little sacs, 

 containing a fluid, similar to the pollen grains 

 (Less. 15). We call them SPORES. See, also, the 

 Mushrooms having no leaves, and the Lichens 



355 356 357 



Some of the Cryptogams. Fig. 355. A Fern, showingthe fruit dots. Figs. 356, 357 



858, are Lichens, some appearing to have stems, and some with uo appearance of any 



250. Please distinguish the two suttkingdoms. The meaning of Crypto 

 ?amia ? Phfenogamia ? 251. What about the Spores of Ferns, &c. 1 



