LITERARY NOTICE. 
187 
distinct sepals, two of them rather smaller than the others. These sepals 
are not attached—as in most other plants—-at their base, but so as to leave 
nearly a quarter of their length standing up, far beyond the place wheie 
they are fixed to the receptacle, so as to form a sort of border or cup round 
the stem and between it and the flower. The sepals are green, but they 
are edged with a delicate, whitish membrane at the margin, scarcely to be 
seen without a microscope. There are five petals, which are also irregular 
in their construction—two of them being much larger than the others, and 
generally of different colour, one even of the other three being quite different 
from its companions. The two large petals at the back of the flower, 
which in the common heartsease are generally dark purple, are laid over 
each other and behind the two below them. These two side petals, which 
form the centre of the flower, are both furred at the base; and the lower 
petal, which is placed between them, has its claw drawn out behind into 
a spur, which passes between two of the sepals, and which, when the 
flower is looked at from behind, appears to part off the calyx. The furred 
part of the two-side petals forms a triangular, roof-like opening, pressing 
out of which is seen a small, pale, green, ball-like substance, which a 
fanciful imagination might liken to a head looking through a doimer win¬ 
dow ; and this is all that is to be seen in place of the usual appaiatus of 
stamens and pistils. As all seed producing flowers must have stamens 
and pistils, and as it is well known that heartseases and violets produce 
seed in abundance, it is clear that these important organs are not wanting. 
But where are they ? It is easy to guess, after being so far initiated in 
the mysteries of botany, that the little globular body is a part of the pistil; 
but where are the stamens ? It is necessary to pull the flower to pieces to 
discover them. Commencing this work of destruction, which I always feel 
remorse at perpetrating—for I love flowers too well not to feel pain at 
destroying them—commencing this work, I repeat, the petals and the sepals 
must be carefully removed from the stem—a task of some little difficulty, 
as both sepals and petals are firmly attached to the receptacle, and the 
lower petal must have its spur opened with a pin, to avoid hurting the 
delicate organs it contains. When the outer coverings of calyx and co¬ 
rolla are thus both removed the seed-producing organs will be discovered, 
and it will be found that they consist of five very curiously formed stamens, 
with as singular a pistil in their centre. The stamens have no apparent 
filaments; and anthers, which seem to be inserted in the receptacle, look 
like seeds, each tipped with a bit of brown skin, and having what appears 
to be a white rib in front. This rib is the anther, and the broader part is 
the dilated filament, which is drawn out beyond it on both sides and above 
so as to form the brown tip above the anther already mentioned. Two of 
the anthers have each, in addition to the peculiarities, a long tail, which 
the spur of the lower petal concealed when the flower was in a perfect state. 
The pistil consists of a large ovary, full of ovules, with a narrow style, which 
