CULTIVATION AND AN ALT SIS OF PLANTS. 
FLOWJERS. 
OOKING at flowers from the technical, scientific standpoint, they are 
the whole aggregate of the organs of reproduction; assthetically they 
are the crowning glory of the plant; and familiarly, the bloom or 
blossom, the part for which alone most plants are cultivated. The 
chief parts of the flower are the Calyx, Corolla, Stamen, Pistil, Peri¬ 
carp, Seed, Receptacle and Nectary. 
Calyx, from the Greek through the Latin, denoting a cup, is the outer 
covering or leaf-like envelope of the flower, mostly green, but at times colored; 
it enfolds the bud before it is fully in bloom, and afterward generally surrounds 
the blossom loosely. Its chief use apparently is to support and protect the fine 
inner parts by its greater consistency; it was considered by Linnaeus to be the 
continuation of the outer bark, performing the same service to the bud as the bark does to 
the stem. The calyx varies much; it is sometimes double, as in the Flax (49), and at 
others is a mere ring which afterward becomes the down, as in the Teasel (50). 
Corolla, an abbreviated form of the Latin coronilla , a little crown, comprises the 
leaves of the flower proper, or blossom, within the calyx. These leaves are called petals, 
and are usually as many as the sepals of the calyx. When the petals are all of the same 
size and shape, the corolla is called regular , as in the Silene (51); and this regular corolla 
may be salver-shaped , as in the Lychnis (52); funnel-shaped , as in the Primrose (33); 
wheel-shaped , as in the Holly (54); bell-shaped , as in the Bellflower (55); trumpet-shaped , 
as in the Convolvulus (56). Other corollas are termed irregular , as when the petal is 
only one, but divided into lobes; if the lobes are open, it is called gaping, as in the 
Mint ( 57 )> ^ closed, personate or masked , as in the Snapdragon (58); when there are four 
petals placed crosswise, the corolla is called cruciferous , as in the Radish (59); papiliona¬ 
ceous , or btdteifly-shaped , when there are five rudely resembling a butterfly, as in the 
Pea (60). 
\Y hen the calyx and corolla are not readily distinguishable, the whole corresponding 
part that encircles the stamens and pistils is called perianth , from two Greek words: peri , 
around, and ant ho s , a flower. Sometimes this word is used by preference, and said to be 
double when the calyx and corolla are both present and clearly distinguishable. Some 
flowers have neither calyx nor corolla, as in the Equisetum (61). 
Stameil, from the Greek through the Latin, signifying the warp, and this from its 
standing or upright property, denotes one of the small organs, of which there are 
generally several, that stand around the center of the perianth, as in the Coreopsis (62), and 
in most flowers. I hey comprise the f lament, or thread-like (sometimes awl-like), upright 
portion, and the anther , or flower proper, which is the part essential to reproduction, and 
contains the fine white, yellow or black dust called pollen , or fertilizing matter. The 
filaments are sometimes in bundles, as in the St. Johnswort (63), and at others form a 
hollow tube, as in the Mallows (64); the anthers are sometimes free when standing sepa¬ 
rately (63), or united into a ring, as in the Dandelion (65). 
Pistil, from the Latin denoting a pestle, is the central part and seed-bearing organ 
of the flower, as in the Anagallis (66); and comprises three parts: the ovary (a), the hoi- 
