II 



On Gardeners' Flowers 



I THINK that the question left from 

 last chapter will be most advan- 

 tageously treated in a somewhat 

 more extended form. So we will 

 now inquire into the mischief which is 

 done to taste by a too exclusive atten- 

 tion to highly cultivated plants. A flower 

 in its natural state, as for instance the 

 Primrose or Buttercup, will generally con- 

 sist of the following elements : an outer 

 ring, green and leaf-like, which is called 

 the calyx, and an inner ring, usually 

 coloured, the corolla. These are but the 

 floral envelopes, and either of them may 

 be modified in all manner of ways, — 

 being coloured, colourless (which in bo- 

 tanical language means green), or alto- 

 gether wanting. Within them lies the 

 true flower, composed of the thread-like, 

 pin headed stamens, and the central 

 organs, or pistils, which afterwards ripen 

 138 



