DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



PAET I. 



EXPLAN"ATION OF THE PAETS, STRUCTURE, LIFE, 

 ORGANISM, AND CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 



THE different forms composing the vegetable kingdom 

 were first brought to the notice of man under three 

 heads^ — viz., Trees, Herbs, and Grass,^ which as a whole 

 were called Plants. This word, in its modern applica- 

 tion, comprehends all vegetable organisms growing on 

 the earth, from microscopic mildew to the largest of 

 trees ; about one hundred thousand different forms are 

 known, each bearing seed after its kind. To name, de- 

 scribe, and classify this vast host, known as the vegetable 

 kingdom, constitutes the science called Po^ani/ ;t for the 

 study of which a special language has gradually been 

 formed, consisting of 3500]: technical words, denoting 

 the different nature, form, and structure of the various 

 parts of plants, visible and microscopic. But as the 

 purpose of this work is to endeavour to teach botany to 

 those not conversant with Greek and Latin, I deem it 

 unnecessary to use more than about 200 of these techni- 



* Genesis, chap. i. 

 •f From a Greek word, Botane, grass, or herbs. 

 ;|; Lindley's " Glossary of Botanical Terms." 



