110 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



before the name was ascertained was greatly narrowed. 

 The great objection to the system is that plants of the most 

 different natures are classed together simply from their 

 possessing the same number of stamens or pistils; thus, 

 the valerian and the iris are placed together, though in 

 every other respect they differ widely. Linnaus himself 

 only regarded his arrangement as a temporary one, and 

 before his death arranged all the known plants of his day in 

 what may be termed a natural manner. Jussieu, De 

 Candolle, and Lindley have all worked in this direction, 

 and it is on their labours chiefly that modern botanical 

 science is founded. The natural system is the grouping 

 together of plants that have the greatest degree of similarity 

 in their various parts, properties, and qualities, and by its 

 aid the nature of an imperfectly known plant may often 

 be judged by that of another and more familiar species 

 with which it is evidently allied. 



The labiate order, to which the hedge-calamint belongs, 

 is one of the most clearly defined, all the very numerous 

 plants that belong to it being very similar in their 

 general growth. In all of them the calyx is tubular, and 

 the corolla is monopetalous, or all in one piece one could 

 not pick it to pieces as we can a buttercup flower. The 

 stamens are four in number, and the stigma has two lobes. 

 The leaves always grow opposite to each other in pairs, 

 and the stems are seen to be square when cut across. Many 

 of the species of the order abound in an essential oil, and 

 have a strong odour when bruised. We find them largely 

 employed by the perfumer, the regular practitioner, or the 

 rustic herbalist. Sage, mint, peppermint, thyme, marjoram, 

 horehound, betony, wound-wort, ground-ivy, and self-heal 

 are all characteristic examples of the order. 



