INTRODUCTION TO BOTANY.

9

echnical terms and laboured phrases with which some of

| IS adh erents have loaded it, will be found very simple,

' B within the comprehension of every person who chooses

o bestow upon it a few hours ; and he will certainly make

neth ^ rogress in finding out the names of plants by this

nod, than he could by any other in the same time.

as it is our object to instruct the pupil in a knowledge

a-2 scier >ce, rather than to give a dissertation on the

erent s >' s tems that have been formed, we shall proceed

to give such explanations as will tend to lead the young

botanist into this delightful path.

It must be noticed, in the first place, that the vegetable'ingdom is divided bv Linnaeus into twenty-four classes,w some one of which every plant that has hitherto been"., °It rec r is **«% referred; and on this basis the wholeit is necesauy tte^*"^ founded - To understand this,viously known to' the^CaTontole^ends^t^"ncation. And these, generally speaking, are four: viz.

1. The Calyx.

2. The Corolla.

3. The Stamen.

4. The Pistil.

t e TZ** H * take 'J s!n g le -flowered rose, for instanceI find the part next the stalk to consist of a small cuncomposed of five distinct pointed leaves, that are of a greencolour; and tins is termed the Calyx or Flower-cup. Itmay be here remarked, that the calyx is that part of arose-bud which, before opening, covers the tender partot the bloom, and winch, as the bud advances, is dividedinto fave parts: m fact, this is the part below the flowerwnicn has the mossy appearance in the Moss Rose.

fivfl. T r T Up '- when divided as in the rose > ^ calledanpp?/, i, t m . some flowers ' wh en it has the appear-ed a • ' aud ls not dlvlded > it is termed a one-leafed'-aiyx, as is to be observed in the Potato, Campanula, &c.

k r C ^,?„ LL ^*~7 The corolla is the P art of th e flower whichInn?- K 1 ?? ° f the fine colour e d leaves; each of which di-stinctly taken ls called a Petal. Thus the five leaves in thej»2