THE CHICKWEED TRIKE. 97 



iceed tribe ; which is composed for the chief part of 

 plants of little interest or beauty, among- which there 

 is not a single species with unwholesome properties. 

 Uninteresting as many of them are, they are so com- 

 mon that every one who pretends to botanical know- 

 ledge must learn how to recognize them, even if it 

 were not for the sake of the few kinds, which, like the 

 Pink, are our familiar acquaintances. 



To understand the structure of the Chickweed 

 tribe, I shall not ask you to take the Chickweed 

 itself, because it is a plant with very small flowers ; 

 let us rather seek some species in which all the parts 

 can be easily seen ; as a Pink for instance. Plere is a 

 pretty species, the glaucous Pink (Dianthus glaucus) of 

 Scotland; if you have it not in your garden, any 

 other will do as well, provided it is not double. 



This little herb is called glaucous, from a Latin 

 word signifying blueish-grey, because its leaves, like 

 those of many other pinks, have such a colour in a 

 remarkable degree. Its stefms are very much swoln 

 at the joints, where the leaves are set on. The leaves 

 are exceedinCTlv narrow, undivided, and rather rouoh 

 at their edge ; they have only one single vein which 

 runs through them from one end to the other. How 

 then are we to ascertain whether this plant is Exo- 

 genous or not ? for there is nothing here to shew 

 whether the veins have a netted structure; there is 

 apparently only one vein to examine. I must con- 

 fess this looks very like a difficulty ; and I dare say 

 you will now suppose that the time has come when 

 you must have recourse to patience and a microscope, 



H 



