THE POPPY TRIBE. 23 



of the Poppy is formed of two sepals ; these sepals grow 

 so firmly together by their edges, where they touch 

 each other, that when the time for them to fall off 

 arrives, they are unable to separate ; but as it is ab- 

 solutely indispensable to the plant that the calyx 

 should in some way or other be got rid of, in order to 

 enable the flower to expand, nature has provided the 

 calyx with the means of separating from the stalk by 

 its base ; and thus it is pushed off in the manner I 

 have mentioned. This, which is the first instance 

 you have yet seen, of two parts that stand next to 

 each other ha\'ing grown together, is an exceedingly 

 common occurrence in plants, and is one of the means 

 by which the real nature of flowers is frequently so 

 masqued that one can hardly discover how it is they 

 are formed. I would advise you to recollect this 

 occurrence, and in good time you will see how it 

 explains other things. 



This letter will have found occupation enough for 

 your little girls in beginning their Botany, without my 

 carrying the subject further for the present. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE L 



1. The Crowfoot Tribe. — A. A tw4g of the upper part of the 

 stem of the IJpnght Meadow Crowfoot ; a a bracts, h calyx. — 1. A 

 petal seen in the inside with the scale at the base. — 2* An anther 

 w-ith a part of the filament seen in front ; 2** the same more mag- 

 nified, viewed sidewise. — 3, The centre of a flower cut through, the 

 calyx and corolla being removed ; the stamens arc seen spreading 

 outwards, with their filaments originating from underneath the 



