12 



WEEDS. 



Essential character. — Calyx one-leaved, coriaceous; 

 petals five, clawed border, obtuse, undivided. Capsule one- 

 celled. 



There are four species, of which the " Agostemma githago," 

 or the " Corn cockle " or campion, is the common British 

 plant. It is hirsute or hairy. Calyx longer than the corolla ; 

 petals entire, or shghtly emarginate, and naked. It flowers 

 in June and July, and has a very beautiful appearance. The 

 seeds ripen about the time of harvest ; and from the size, they 

 cannot be easily separated from the corn in sifting ; the farina is 

 oily, and when ground with the corn, it greatly deteriorates 

 the flour. The only mode of extirpation is by hand-weeding, 

 and by driUing the grain crops for that purpose. 



7. The " Corn poppy," or " Papaver rhseas" of botany, 

 infests some soils at particular seasons. It belongs to the 

 class and order ^' Polyandria monogynia" of Linneus, and 

 the natural order Papaveracese" of Jussieu. 



Generic cliaracter. — Calyx : perianth inferior, ovate, emar- 

 ginate, of two nearly ovate, concave, obtuse, immediately de- 

 ciduous leaves. Corolla : petals four, roundish, flattish, 

 spreading, large, contracted at the base, alternately smaller. 

 Stamina : filaments numerous, capillary, inserted into the 

 receptacle, much shorter than the corolla ; anthers oblong, 

 compressed, erect, obtuse. Pistil : germen superior, ses- 

 sile, large, roundish ; style none ; stigma depressed, peltate, 

 flat, radiated. Pericarp : capsule oval, or somewhat ob- 

 long, crowned with the large, flat, permanent stigma of one 

 cell, though imperfectly divided into many, bursting at the 

 top by numerous orifices under the stigma. Seeds numerous, 

 minute ; receptacles, longitudinal folds, attached to the inside 

 of the capsule, equal in number to the rays of the stigma. 



Essential cliaracter. — Calyx of two leaves; petals four; 

 stigma radiated. Capsule superior, of one cell, opening by 

 pores under the permanent stigma. 



There are two divisions of the poppy plant, with the cap- 

 sules bristly and smooth. The common " red poppy," or 

 the corn rose," belongs to the second section. The cap- 

 sules are smooth, nearly globular. Stem many-flowered, 

 rough, with horizontal hairs. Leaves pinnatifid, cut. The 



