GARDENING FOR CHILDREN, 
567 
another, and sending out from its lower end 
downy fibres or roots. All the nourishment 
which it receives at present, is derived from 
the enlarged seed-lobes, called seed-leaves in 
this stage of their growth ; consequently, if 
they are destroyed, the young plant perishes 
likewise. 
'' The true leaves, which shoot up between the 
seed-leaves, are generally different in form 
from the seed-leaves, as may be observed 
in the young cabbage-plant (fig. 2). They 
usually consist of two pai ts (fig. 3 '. The leaf- 
Fig. 3. 
stalk, is a collection of tubes enclosed in a 
thin rind, and destined to convey juices and 
air upwards and downwards between the leaf 
and the stem. The flat part of the leaf is 
composed of a network of tubes like those of 
the leaf-stalk, the interstices being filled up 
with a number of minute cells, which contain 
a green juice, and the whole is covered, above 
and below, with a thin, transparent skin. This 
thin skin, or cuticle, is perforated over its 
whole surface, both upper and under, with 
numerous pores, so small as to be invisible to 
the naked eye ; but, nevertheless, perfectly 
adapted to the purpose of giving out all the 
superfluous moisture and air received from the 
roots, as well as of absorbing from the atmo- 
sphere all that it contains necessary for the 
growth of the plant. The leaves also perform 
the function of preparing the various juices 
wdiich are destined for the use of all parts of 
the plant ; they are, consequently, as important 
as the mots. 
" At the base of every leaf 
is a bud, which contains either 
leaves precisely similar to 
those described, or rudiments 
of flowers (fig. 4). Gener- 
ally, only a portion of these 
come to perfection, most 
plants having, as it were, a 
Fio- 4 reserve of these useful or- 
gans, to be called into life 
if required, and in trees they are carefully 
protected from cyld in winter by scales, wool, 
or gum. 
" When the plant has gained size and strength, 
it is enabled to produce a new organ yet more 
dfilicate and complex than the leaf ; this is 
the Jlorcei- or blossom. A perfect flower in its 
natural state consists of a green cup or calyx, 
the leaves of wdiich, if there be more than one, 
are called sepals ; the corolla, the coloured 
leaves of which are called chives or petah ; 
stamens, and pistils. The beauty of the flower 
mainly depends on the perfection of the corolla; 
the production of seed depends exclusively on 
the presence of stamens and pistils. The art 
of the florist consists in increasing the number, 
size, regularity, and bright tints of the petals. 
" In the rose (fig. 5) the calyx consists 
of five sepals, which remain attached to the 
plant after the pe- t, ^ 
tals have fallen . ^ i? 
off; the prim- 
rose has a calyx ■tP''/?''^y/^ 
of one leaf, di- ' ' 
vided into five 
segments (fig. 6); 
the tulip has no 
calyx. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. 
" The corolla of the poppy consists of five 
petals (fig. 7) ; that of the primrose has but one, 
which is divided into five segments (fig. 8) ; 
k 
Fie:. 7. Fig. 8. 
and some plants have no corolla, but these are 
rarely cultivated by gardeners. 
"A stamen consists of three parts ; the Jila- 
ment, which is a thread of tubes for conveying 
nourishment to the other parts ; the 
anther, a case usually of two cells, which, . '/^ 
when ripe, burst and shed a quantity 
of fine powder, called pollen or farina 
(fig. 9). The honeysuckle contains five pig. 9. 
such stamens ; the poppy a countless 
number. ,^ 
" The place of the pistil, or, if there | 
be more than one, of the pistils, is in the 
very centre of the flower. Its summit 
is called the stigma, and its lower part 
the germen, and these are generally -p.^ 
separated from one another by a third "" 
part, called the style. In the primrose ^^^ 
the stigma is globular (fig. 10) and the r^ 
style long ; in the poppy the stigma is \^ 
radiated, and there is no style (fig. II). | 
The germen contains the rudiments of 
the seed, and when enlarged is usually ^=" ^- 
