POPULAR BOTANY. 465 
and all the various spun and woven stuffs for our clothing, and even 
wool and silk belong to this class — however indirectly. 
Plants, again, give us the means to feed our beasts of burden, whose 
services, bones, skin, hair, wool, horn, &c, and our domestic animals, 
whose meat, milk, cream, batter, cheese, &c, have become so indispen- 
sably necessary in our household. The trees of our forests produce 
lumber and timber for our houses, ships, and furniture of all descrip- 
tions. 
For fuel we use the raw wood as well as peat, pitch, charcoal, coal, all 
of which are also of vegetable origin ; and there is hardly any thing used to 
satisfy our daily wants of food, shelter and raiment, that is not either 
a product of this part of nature or, at least, in some way connected 
with it. 
As with men, so a great many of the animals are dependent on 
vegetables. Not alone do the vegetables comprise their food wholly or 
in part, but a great many of the animals are dependent on the trees for 
their habitation, or as a shelter from the scorching rays of the sun, or 
against the rigors of winter, and also as a hiding-place against their 
natural enemies. 
Nearly all animals are dependent on some particular kind of plant, 
or at least live on it in preference to others. Even poisonous plants 
have their votaries, and are particularly preferred by some animals, 
while the same fuod would cause the death of most others. This 
phenomenon is found most remarkable among the insects, as for 
instance, a great many of the caterpillar species would sooner starve than 
eat any other food than that to which they are used. 
It is, therefore, but natural that a kingdom in nature, to which we 
are indebted for so many advantages — even for our very existence — 
should for ages have drawn the most serious attention to its study. 
Plants have, therefore, been both scientifically and practically exa- 
mined, described, and classified in many, more or less, serviceable 
systems. They have been divided into classes, orders, families, genera, 
and species, and each described with two names, the first denoting the 
genus and the last the species. 
On dividing the classes, orders, families, and genera, the calyx, the 
shape of the corolla, the number and situation of the filaments, and the 
number of pistils, and, finally, the shape of the fruits and seeds, are 
generally used as characteristics ; in the determination of the species, 
however, the shape and position of the leaves are mostly used for this 
purpose. 
Before concluding, I wish to say something about cultivated plants 
hybridizing or producing new varieties. Among the great number of 
plants cultivated for some purpose or other, hardly any exist in their 
original natural state. Some of them have largely extended in size by 
proper management and manuring, others yet have to undergo an alter- 
