The Daisy^s Pcdic^rec, 



21 



so that each compound flower had as a rule a pistil 

 of five or ten carpels, surrounded b}' a row of five 

 or ten stamens. And almost all their existing de- 

 scendants still bear obvious traces of this original 

 arrangement in rows of fives. On the other hand, 

 the ancestors of our lilies, and of the other half of our 

 modern flowers, had about the same period acquired 



a. Carpels or ovaries ; d, stamen<; : r, petals ; (/, calyx. 

 KiG. 6. — Diagram of primitive dicotyledonoiis flower. 



an arrangement in rows of three. And of this other 

 ternary arrangement all their existing descendants still 

 bear similar traces. In fact, most flowers at the 

 present day show clear signs of being derived either 

 from the original five-stamened or the original three- 

 stamened blossom. I don't mean to say that this is 

 the only mark of distinction between the two great 

 groups : on the contrary, it is only a very minor one ; 



