CLASS CEYPTOGAMIA. 
187 
283. The order Pentandkia contains the hemp, hop, &c. 
Kig. 157 represents the flowers of the hemp {Cannabis satdva) ; 
at a is the staminate Jloioer^ containing five stamens, calyx 
deeply five-parted, corolla wanting. At ^ is a pistillate flower 
with its calyx opening laterally ; c shows the same flower divest- 
ed of its calyx ; the seed, a nut crowned with two styles. The 
hemp belongs to the natural order Urtieacece (from urtica^ a 
nettle) ; the fibers of its stems are manufactured into cloth, 
cordage, and thread ; the hop, of the same natural family, pro- 
duces its fertile flowers in large cones or strobilums, formed of 
membraneous, imbricated scales ; these flowers have a peculiar 
odor, which produces a narcotic effect upon the brain. The 
use of the flowers of the hop to produce fermentation in beer is 
well known. This plant contains a small portion of the nitrate 
of potash (saltpetre). Hexandeia contains the genus /Smilax, 
the type of the Smilaoece or sarsaparilla family. Linnaeus con- 
sidered the species of the Smilax which furnishes the sarsaparilla 
a native of the United States only, but it is indigenous to South 
America. The rhizomes furnish the medicinal parts of the plant. 
OcTANDRiA contains the poplar (Populus), similar in natural 
character to the willow. Monadelphia, or the fifteenth order, 
contains the red-cedar and the yew, which, with the pine and 
cypress, belong to the cone-bearing family. 
LECTUKE XXXYII. 
CLASS XXI. CEYPTOGAMIA, STAMENS AND PISTILS INVISIBLE OR 
WANTING. 
284. The Cryptogamous class is the last in the system of 
Linnaeus. The name Oryptogamia implying a concealed union 
in reference to stamens and pistils is not well chosen, since in 
some productions belonging to this class there are no evidences 
of the existence of such organs. We here find the stamens and 
pistils either wholly concealed from observation, or only mani- 
fest upon the strictest scrutiny. These plants constitute the 
first class of Jussieu's method called acotyledonous ; their seed 
being destitute of any cotyledon. As we proceed in this last 
of the LinnjEan classes, we shall find all our former principles 
of arrangement fail us, and it might almost seem as if we had 
entered upon a new science. Ferns, mosses, lichens, and 
mushrooms, constitute the principal families of this class 
283. Urtieac'«ae — Order Hexandria — OctanJria — Monadelphia. — 284. Class Cryptoganua, 
