The above are the main features to be observed,, and until all 

 these are known and recorded a description is not considered to be fuU 

 and complete, although such may be sufficient to distinguish the plani 

 from its allies. 



Paets of Pio-WEEs Pointed Out, oe Flow^ie DissectM. 



It has been suggested that to some who are just beginning the 

 study o| plants, a few plain directions and explanations as id ihe 

 composition of flowers would be an advantage. To comply with ihe 

 ^u^estion would seem to necessitate the use of figures, whichi must 

 b^ispensed with on account of cost. Probably, however, by selecting 

 only the cpmndonest and most abundant plants for exam,ples, the loss 

 of figures, will not be felt. As all parts of a plant will b^ .found, in 

 the body of the book, here need only be givei^i their ppsitipn in ti!e 

 flower one after ihe other. Thus, gather the flower of ihe common 

 Sida weed; its flower is borne upon a slender stalk, pedicel; th,e first 

 whorl of leaf es is a five-lobed cup, the calyx •' the next wi^ori' is the 

 ebrotla, composed of five yellow leaves, the petals ; the next wh(Jrl ia 

 com^daei oi stamens; in the present flower they are joined toge'Ehe'r 

 for some part of their lengjthy forming a cylinder ; they are free m the 

 upper part, tod u|)cin the summiit of endi ^lament is a globose body ; 

 the anthhi; Within the single cell of which is the pollen ; the ientfe of 

 the flower is occupied by the pistil ; the swelling at the base iridieites 

 the ovary ; above this is the style, which is branched, at the top, eiich 

 branch bearing a stigma. The petals of flowers of the Pea fiMly 

 have received distinitive terms; thus the upper oiie ik called thie 

 standa'rd! or vexillim, ; the two lateral ones the wings or alee ; the tinfo 

 lower or inferior ones the keel or carina. 



Now let a floWer be gathered of the common SoW Thistle. "What 

 appears the caly± of this floW^r, as it is terraed in conimon coiversatio'i, 

 is called its involucre, and the leaves of which it is cotiposed ai^e 

 if-dbfs. "Within the involucre are a number of flowers usually terined 

 Jloreis, the base uppn which these rest is termed the recepidcle ; in 

 the present iistance it is without scales. In some flower-heads of this 

 Order the receptacle bears bristles or scales between' the flor^fe. (See 

 the coinmon Bluebottle). The florets are all Ugtllate — that is to say, 

 the slender tube of each floret is furnished at the top with a sti'ap- 

 like limb (Wanting this limb the florets are said to be tubular)!, The 

 stamens will be found inserted in the tube of the corolla, ari^ the 

 anthers Will be seen near the io'p of the corolla tube, cohering into a 

 Cylinder round the style. The ovary is inferior, striated (wlieH i^ipe 

 termed an aCnene), crowned by & pappus of numerous fine soft white 

 bristles (this pappus is the calyx of the floret). The fruit is often 

 carried some distance. from the parent plait by means of the light 

 pafipus. 



Next let an orchid flower be explained — say, a Bendrohiuni, as this 

 genus is abundant with us. The floWers are all on pedicels, and eS.ch 

 subtended by a leaf teamed a tract. The perianth is superior, coii- 

 ppfied of six segments. The three outer are often called sepati : i^^se 

 are nearly equal in length. The lateral ones are, tpwevei*, obK^ely 

 dilated at ihe' base, and coiiate with a projection' tfoii the MAte ir the 



