172 OF THE FERNS AND FLOWERING PLANTS. 



plant is absorbed by the sand. It is then removed with 

 great care, and flattened in the usual manner, between 

 sheets of paper. By this plan the petals retain their colour 

 in a way that I have never seen equalled. — Ed.] 



With regard to the physiological and anatomical inves- 

 tigation of the flowering plants, the limits of this little 

 volume will not allow of my entering into it, nor would it 

 lie within my province to do so. 



[At the same time I offer no apology for concluding this 

 chapter with the following useful suggestions from the late 

 Dr. Lindley's excellent ' Descriptive Botany.' 



' The student should select for examination as perfect a 

 specimen as he can obtain, and should carefully study every 

 part. ... In doing this he. must on no account guess, 

 but be certain that he sees correctly, what is before him. 

 This is not difficult in the case of roots, stems, leaves, and 

 their parts ; but the flower, from its general smallness and 

 somew T hat complicated structure, demands a little skill in 

 dissection, which is only to be gained by experience. 



-' After its external structure has been determined, it is 

 necessary to open the flower. Mere looking down into its 

 tube or interior leads to nothing but error. The student 

 should hold it in his left hand, and split it longitudinally by 

 a rapid cut from below upwards. This lays bare the whole 

 of the interior, shows the number and position of their 

 parts, and their insertion, which is very important. If he 

 attempts to divide a flower by cutting it from above down- 

 wards, he only crushes and disfigures his specimen. In the 

 case of the ovary it is usually necessary to ascertain its 

 placentation, which, if it is not seen in the first longitudinal 

 section, can be best determined by making a transverse 

 section. ... In examining seeds of any kind, where dis- 

 section is required, cut into them perpendicularly, beginning 

 at the hilum, and passing the knife through the axis : in 

 this way the embryo and its relation to other parts usually 

 becomes distinctly visible. Failing this, the observer must 



