1 l(j LETTER VIIT. 



Herb Bennet, the roots of which have been found by 

 some physicians as valuable in the cure of fevers as 

 the Jesuit's bark itself. 



Very nearly allied to the Rose tribe are two other 

 sets of plants, which by some are reckoned mere 

 subdivisions of it, though by others they have been 

 considered distinct natural orders. We need not 

 trouble ourselves with that inquiry ; I dare say you 

 will prefer to know what they are, and how they are 

 characterized. 



The first of these is the Apple tribe, to which belong 

 all those plants which agree with the Rose tribe in 

 every thing but the carpels being distinct and supe- 

 rior ; in lieu of which they have the carpels united 

 and adhering to the tube of the calyx. Take an 

 Apple tree in flower, as an example of this. It is a 

 plant with leaves having netted veins, and stipules 

 at their base. The calyx has five divisions, the 

 petals are five, and there is a great many stamens 

 growing out of the sides of the calyx. In the centre 

 you will find five styles ; but their ovaries, instead of 

 being merely enclosed within the tube of the calyx, 

 adhere and form one body with it. It is this circum- 

 stance that gives rise to all the difference that you 

 find in the fruit itself. An apple is a large fleshy 

 body having at one end what is called an eye ; which 

 is in reality the remains of the calyx surrounding the 

 withered stamens. The principal part of the flesh is 

 the tube of the calyx, but the central part is the 

 carpels, also grown fleshy, and at this period undis- 

 tinguishable from the calyx itself ; that their number 



