OR, PLAIN TEACHING. 31; 



which has been greatly reduced by covering up 

 the fires. The tea now remains over the slow 

 charcoal-fire, covered with a flat basket, until 

 it is perfectly dry— carefully watched, however, 

 by the manufacturer, who every now and then 

 stirs it up with his hands, so that the whole 

 may be equally heated. The black colour is 

 now fairly brought out, but afterwards improves 

 in appearance. The after processes, such as 

 sifting, picking, and refining, are carried on at 

 the convenience of the workmen. 



Cinerarias, 1, are a group of 

 ornamental plants, generally 

 hardy, and of easy culture. They 



863. 



derive their name from cineres, 

 ashes, on account of the soft 

 white down which covers the 

 lower, and often the upper sur- 

 faces of the leaves. They belong 

 to the natural order composite, a 

 very extensive family, characte- 

 rised by their being formed of 

 florets, 751, or involucral heads — 

 that is, heads in which the 

 bracts, 717, form a xvhorl, 741, 

 which surrounds the florets, and 

 appears to be incorporated with 

 the flowers. The heads of many 

 of them are umbelliferous, 16-735, 

 others are corymbose, 15-735, 

 some are racemose, or panicled, 

 &c, 734. The prevailing colour 

 of the flower is yellow, but 

 there are also white, red, and 

 14 



purple varieties. The cinerarias 

 are derived from the Canaries, 

 the Azores, the Cape of Good 

 Hope, Cape Horn, the Caucasus, 

 Siberia, and the South of Europe. 



The generality of people are 

 in the habit of comparing the 

 flowers of the composite, or com- 

 pound-headed plants, with the 

 double blossoms of cultivated 

 plants, from which they are 

 perfectly distinct. The small 

 florets which make up the discs 

 of composite flowers are for the 

 most part complete in themselves, 

 possessing calyx, 2, corolla, 3, 

 stamens and pistils in a sheath, 4. 

 The green covering, which a 

 people often confound with I 

 the flower cup, or calyx, of J|Y ( ...$ 

 other flowers, is not a calyx IPp 

 in the composite, but a wk 

 general involucre, or cover- if 

 ing to the flowers within, life 

 The term involucre is em- 864 - 

 ployed whenever a series of bracts 

 surround a number of flowers. 

 Besides the outer involucre, which 

 surrounds all the florets, and 

 which is called the common one, 

 each floret has a distinct bract. 

 The true calyx is that covering 

 of the flower which externally is 

 enclosed by the bracts, and inter- 

 nally lies next to the corolla. 

 As it is in some cases difficult to 

 distinguish the bracts from the 

 calyx, it is customary to regard 

 the external covering as the 

 calyx, in such cases. 



Chrysanthemums, 5, named from 

 two Greek words, meaning gold 

 and a flower, because many of 

 the species bear rich yellow 

 flowers, belong also to the com- 

 Iposita? order. They greatly 



