UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ANDREW SMITH HALLIDIC: Mtlf cl.l. C/.2. THE* FIRST LINES OF BOTANY, OR PRIMER TO THE LINN^AN SYSTEM; BEING A SIMPLIFIED INTRODUCTION TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM, INCLUDING THE STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS, AND PHENOMENA, NATURAL AND CHEMICAL, OF PLANTS. BY J. S. FORSYTH, SURGEON. AUTHOR OF THE "NEW LONDON MEDICAL ANJ>fcE_. r ____ DICTIONARY," &C. &C./f OF THE T> UNIVERSITY LONDON: JAMES BULCOCK, 163, STRAND. C. SMITH, PRINTER, ONE BELL YARD, STRAND. CONTENTS. PART I. CHAP. T. BOTANY. Plants - 21 Annuals Biennials. Perennials - - -22 CHAP. II. THE ROOT. 1. Spindle-shaped - 21 2. Bitter or truncated root - - ib. 3. The fibrous or capillary root - - ib. 4. The bulbous - - - 25 5. The tuberous - - ib. Division and distinction of roots - 26 Caudex - - - ib. Radiculse, or rootlets - ib. Botanical distinctions of roots. }. Situation - - 2 Direction - - 28 3. Deviation - - - ib. 4. Substance - ib. 5. Form . ib. 6. Composition - - ib. Distinction of roots - - - ib. 1. Perpendicular - - - - ib. CONTENTS. 2. Horizontal - - -29 3. Oblique - ib. Duration of roots - - - ib. . Annual, biennial, perennial - - ib. Woody - - - ib. Fleshy - ib. Form and'composition of roots - 30 . i. Simple - - ib. 2. Branched - - ib. 3. Articulated - - ib. Recapitulatory observations - 31 Use and properties of roots - - -32 Circumstances which materially affect the roots - - ib. Enlargement of roots - 33 Experiment - - 34 CHAP. III. OF THE STEM OR STALK. Different kinds and designation : e. g. - 35 1. A trunk - ib. 2. A stalk - - ib. 3. A straw - - ib. 4. A scape - - - ib. 5. A stipe - - ib. Structure of stems - 36 1. Epidermis - - ib. 2. Inner bark - - 38 3. Outer bark - - ib. 4. Alburnum - - - - ib. 5. The wood - - ib. Pith of plants - ib. Distinction of stems - 39 Composition - - - ib. Form - - - - ib. CONTENTS. 5 Direction - - - 40 Duration - - - ib. Substance . . jj-j Manner of branching - . - ib. Surface - - - - ib. Composition of stems - . - - ib 1. Simple - - _ - ib. 2. Divided . . - - ib. Direction of Stems - - . \^ t 1. Erect - ib. 2. Oblique - . - 41 3. Supported - - . jj,. 4. Climbing - - - - ib 5. Decumbent - _ _ jj^ 6. Procumbent - . - 42 Substance of steins - - - ib. 1. Woody - - . - ib 2. Herbaceous - - - ib. Form of stems - - - - - 43 1. Round - - ... 2. Semicircular - 3. Compressed - 4. Angled - _ 5. Knotted 6. Jointed . 7. Kneed Appearance of steins - - - - 44 1. Diehatomous . . [^ 2. Trichotomous - - - - ib 3. Slightly branched - - - - ib. 4. Much branched - - _ - ib. 5. Abruptly branched - . - ib. Terms used to distinguish the surface of steins. I. RARE, and the following Varieties. O CONTENTS. 1. Shining-. 2. Smooth. 3. Even. 4. Punctured. 5. Maculated. 6. Leafless. 7. Unarmed. 8. Extipulate. II. COVERED . - 46 a. Leafy - - - ib. b. Winged . . ib. c. Sheathed - - - ib. d. Stipulated - - ib. e. Tendril-bearing - - - ib. f. Bulb-bearing - - - ib. a. Spiny - 47 b. Prickly - - ib. c. Scaly - - ib. d. Pubescent - - ib. Varieties of this sub-division - - ib. f. Hairy - - 48 2. Hispid - ib. 3. Downy - - ib. 4. Shaggy - - 48 5. Silky - ib. e. Hoary - - - ib. f. Mealy - 49 g. Glaucous - ib. h. Viscid - - ib. i. Glutinous - - - ib. III. ROUGH. k. Scabious - ib. 1. Warty - . ib. in. Vesicular - -60 CONTENTS. 7 Difference of stems - - * - - 50 Experiments - 51 Distortions of stems - - - 52 Influence of light over stems - ib. Experiments (1 and 2) - ib. CHAP. IV. ON THE LEAVES OF PLANTS. Definition and division of leaves - - 54 1. Base. 3. Disk. 2. Apex. 4. Boundary, &c. - - 55 Peculiarities of leaves. 1. The Situation. 8. The Base. 2. Direction. 9. Surface. 3. Duration. 10. Margin. 4. Distribution. 11. Pubescence. 5. Insertion. 12. Colon. 6. Expansion. 13. Substance. 7. -Apex. 14, Productions. Terms originating from the situation of leaves - ib. Radical Seminal - - ib. Caulinear Floral - - - ib. Rameal - M - ib. Use of leaves - - - 57 PART II. CHAP. I. The functions of Vegetation - 57 . Vegetative life - - ib. . illustration of - ib. Generation and production of plants - 58 Spontaneous production of plants - - 59 Microscopical investigations - - 60 Seed plant explained - ib. 8 CONTENTS. Progressive production - -62 Appearances of the magnified sections of plants. - 65 Wormwood - - 66 Parenchyma of plants - 67 The use of the different parts of roots - - - ib. The use of air-vessels in plants - 68 Juice or liquor of the roots of plants - 69 Hazel branch, texture of illustrated - 70 Circulation or motion of the sap Cause of the hollowness of the stalks of some plants - 73 Form or figuration of the trunks of plants and trees, ib. Perspiration of plants - - ib. Variations of the growth of plants - - - 74 Production and texture of leaves - - - 75 Use of leaves - - ib Method of anatomizing the leaves of plants - 77 To make skeletons of fruit - 79 CHAP. II. On the flowers of plants - - 80 Sexual distinction of plants - 81 CHAP. III. On the fruit of plants - - 83 The nature and composition of fruit - ib. The principal uses of fruits, &c. - - 84 CHAP. IV. On moss, mushrooms and other fungous excres- cences adhering to the sides of trees - 86 Fungi in general - 88 Poisonous Mushrooms - - 89 Symptoms of - . Treatment, &c. To distinguish poisonous from edible mushrooms - 91 CONTENTS. 9 Poisonous plants - - 91 Botanical rules to distinguish botanical plants - 92 CHAP. V. Of the classification of plants - 92 Systematic arrangement of Linnseus - - - ib. Classes - - 94 Distinction of the classes, &c. - 96 CHAP. VI. Orders of plants - - 98 Distinction of the orders of plants - - 101 CHAP. VII. Classes and Orders, with reference to specimens. - 103 Directions for forming a Hortus Siccus, or Herba- rium, for the collection and preservation of plants used in botanical investigations. - - - 119 PART III. CHAP. I. Various phenomena observable in the vegetable kingdom. - 122 Animal vegetable analogy. - - ib. CHAP. II. On the decay and fall of the leaves. - 140 CHAP. III. Phenomena of dews - 152 CHAP. IV. Chemical phenomena of germination and vegeta- tion - - 166 CHAP. V. The growth of plants - - 173 CHAP. VI. Food of plants - ISO CORRIGENDA. CORRIGENDA. Preface, page 19, 1st line, for their, read the. Page 75, third line from the top, for devacuated, read divaricated. Page 91, last line of note, for Phellandrum, read Phellandrium. Page 96, fifth line from top (21) for Monceau, read MonoBcia The same, Class 23, for Polyamia, read Polygamia. Page 98, 1st line, for Polydelphia, read Polyadelphia. Page 100, third line from the bottom, for Pencarp, read Pericarp. Page 100, third line from the bottom (6) for Angoi- spermia, read Angiospermia. Page 109, fourth line from the bottom, for Pomanum, read Pomarium. Page 109, third line below Ex. for Libaceous, read Liliaceous. Page 113, third line from the bottom, for Vividis, read Viridis. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 11 DESCRIPTION OF PLATE I. Roots, see p. 23. Fig. 1. Spindle-shaped, or fusiform root, as that of the Carrot. 2. Branching root. 3. Solid bulb, as that of the tulip. 4. Scaly bulb, as that of the lily. 5. Coated, as of the onion. 6. Creeping root. 7. Premorse, or bitter root, as in Devil's bit, or Scabious, Stems or Trunks, see p. 34. Fig. 8. a. Stem (Caulis,; 5. Peduncle or flower stalk. c. Petiole, a leaf. 9. Culm or straw, as of grasses. 10. Scape or stalk, which rises from the root, and supports the flowers but not the leaves, as in the tulip. 11. Frond, as in the ferns. Leaves, see p 34. Fig. 12. Quadrangular. Truncate or abrupt. 13. Ternate, or growing by three. 14. Lobed. 15. Halbert-shaped, or hastate. 16. Roundish. 17. Egg-shaped, or ovate. 18. Oval. 19. Oblong. 20. Spear-shaped, or lanceolate. 12 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. Fig. 21. Spatulate. 22. Wedge-shaped. 23. Linear. 24. Awl-shaped, or sabulate. 25. Kidney-shaped, or reniform. 26. Heart-shaped, or cordate. 27. Crescent-shaped or lunulate. 28. Triangular. Leaves in general are named according to the resem- blance they bear in shape to various material objects ; also from various peculiar habitudes, &c. e.g. Stellate, or star-shaped. Peltate or target-shaped. Palmate, or hand-shaped. Sessile, or sitting. Decur- rent, or running downward. Perfoliate, when the stalk passes through the substance of the leaf. Imbri- cated, when they He over each other, like the tiles of a house. Fasciculated, when many leaves rise nearly from the same point, as in the larch, &c. &c. Corolla *. Fig. 29. Bell-shaped, or campanulate. 30. Cruciform, or cross-shaped. 31. a. Cap or pileus. Calyx. b. Curtain, or annulets. 32. Spine or thorn; this grows out of the woody substance of a plant. Fig. 33. Aculeus, or pricker, is formed from the bark. - The corolla, like the leaves, are denominated after the shape or resemblance they bear to other objects : e.g. Funnel-shaped corolla, as tobacco. Salver-shaped, wheel-shaped. Ringent or gaping. Cruciform, &c. Jc Henbane, SFJKCIMMNS OV POISONOUS PuJ> ? by Jos. B ttlcock . >63. Strand . DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. 13 CLASSES, see p. 94. Stamens, a. Pistils, b. 34. Cl. 1. Monandiia. 35. 2. Decandria. 36. 3. Triandria. 37. 4. Tetandria. 38. 5. Pentandria. 39. 6. Hexandria. Orders, see p. 99. # *^ Further description may be more profitably col- lected from natural objects, under this and the preceding heads, where individual plants have generally been re- ferred to. [For Plate II. see p. 63, Sfc. #c.] EXPLANATION OF PLATE III. [Fronting Title page.] Fig. 1. THORN APPLE. (Datura Stramonium) Class V. Order 1. Monogynia. Natural Order. LURIDTE. Lin. Solaneee, Juss. GENERIC CHARACTER. Corolla, funnel-shaped, plaited. Calyx, tubular, angular, deciduous. Capsule, 2-celled. 4-valved. SPECIFIC CHARACTER. Pericarps, spinous, ovate, erect. Leaves* ovate, glabrous. Fig. 2. DEADLY NIGHTSHADE. (Atropa Bella- donna.) Class V. PENTANDRIA Order I. MONOGYNIA. Nat. Order. LURID.E. Lin. So- laneae. Juss. GEN. CHAR. Corolla, Bell-shaped. Stamens, distant. Berry, globular, 2-celled. SPEC. CHAR. Stem, herbaceous. Leaves, ovat, entire. 14 DESCRIPTION OF TUB PLATES. Fig. 3. MEADOW SAFFRON. (Colchicum.) Class VI. Hex and ri*, Order III. Trygynia. GEN. CHAR. Calyx non. Corolla, one petal, tubular, CapsuJes III. inflated, many-seeded. SPEC. CHAR. Leaves smooth, lanceolate, erect. Co- rolla, oblong- jagged. Fig. 4. WATER HEMLOCK. (Cicuta). Class V- Pentandria, Order, Digynia. GEN. CHAR. Fruit, Voimdish, corded at the base with six ribs. Calyx dilated, acute, unequal. Petals ovate, nearly equal. Styles slightly tumid at the base. Flowers unequal, irregular, fertile. SPEC. CHAR. Leaves bi-ternate, follicle, linear, lanceo- late, decurrent. Fig. 5. FOXGLOVE. (Digitalis purpurea.) Class XIV. DIDYNAMIA. Order II. ANGIOSPERMIA Nat. Ord. LURID,*:, Lin. SCROPHULARI^E, Juss. GEN. CHAR. Calyx 5-partite. Corolla, bell-shaped, 5-lobed, ventricose beneath, capsule ovate, 2- cellec*. SPEC. CHAR. Segments of the calyx ovate, acute. Co- rolla, obtuse, upper lip undivided ; leaves downy. Fig. 6. BLACK OR COMMON HENBANE. Uy- oscyamus Niger. Class V. PENTANDRIA. Or- der I. MONOGYNIA. Nat. Ord. LUHIDJE. Lin. Solanese. Juss. GEN. CHAR. Corolla, funnel-shaped, the lobes obtuse. Stigma, capitate. Capsule, covered with a lid, 2-celled. SPEC. CHAR. Leaves sinuate, amplexicaul ; flowers sessile # ** The above plants are illustrated from that no less elegant than useful work " Medical Botany," edited by Dr. Stephenson, and Mr. J. M. Churchill. PREFACE. The object of the " FIRST LINES OF BO- TANY" is to initiate the young botanist, and such as have no distinct botanical ideas, to the general study of this useful and pleas- ing science, principally through the me- dium of the book of nature ; by referring the student to objects within his reach, instead of abstracting his conceptions by indiffer- ently executed engravings, known only to represent some natural object by the pre- caution taken to have the name of the indi- vidual attached to it ; for those who are only book botanists will but indifferently avail themselves of knowledge thus acquired in a practical point of view. The baby system of education, as old as Adam, called the ' Interrogative/ hitherto so slavishly enforced and patiently endured, as regards the higher order of the sciences, has nothing to recommend it, not even simplifi- 16 PREFACE. cation of ideas; on the contrary, there is much to condemn in its indiscriminate appli- cation ; and in most instances it is inferior, as a channel of communicating the elements of general knowledge, to the usual methods of plain, analytical, and rational display. To children of tender age, indeed, it may pos- sess some advantages, when the subjects are suited to their years and capacity. In these cases it appears plausible enough to connect a string of monotonous laconisms, in the shape of continued question and answer ; but where no distinctions are drawn between an infantile and a mature mind the idea is as ridiculous as absurd. In the present instance, without having servilely adopted or entirely rejected the in- terrogative method, we have used it rather as an occasional diverticulum, as well as a kind of starting post for a fresh subject. Another method of attempting to convey the elements of science, if any thing more PREFACE. 17 objectionable than the ring of changes so pe- culiarly characteristic of the unmodified inter- rogative system, in consequence of its being more quaint and affected, is that which is thrust forward in the conversational or epis- tolatory style, by people indifferently ac- quainted with the sciences they would there- by promulgate; and even in the best hands, there is something in this method at which the unassuming, industrious, and inquisitive mind recoils ; and more particularly when forced, as it were, to draw, through such equivocal channels, upon the fictitious cor- respondence of some garrulous old woman or pedantic spinster, for the higher order of ele- mentary knowledge, when more intelligible narrative and arrangement would answer the purpose much better, and be more cordially received. In the elementary works hitherto extant, constructed on the above plans, systematic arrangement, for the most part, is evidently disregarded. It might appear invidious here to make allusions ; but it is almost needless, in 18 PREFACE. the present state of knowledge, to urge the necessity of a method, particularly in the study of nature; it is the very soul of science ; and all attempts towards the acquisition of knowledge without it, must end in uncertainty and confusion. It is this want of method, in an elementary point of view, which we have here also attempted to correct ; by tracing ( the first lines of Botany,' in the follow- ing simplified and systematic manner ; in or- der to facilitate the introduction to a gene- ral knowledge of the science, through the medium of an agreeable an v d instructive series of connexions, leading the student, link by link, almost imperceptibly, to the acquisition of his object ; which embraces a general ac- quaintance with the vegetable kingdom, the clear understanding of all botanical writers and systems, but more particularly that of Linnasus, which is now almost universally received, and which has gained its author immortal honours. THE AUTHOR. Nov. 20th, 1827. INTRODUCTORY INVITATION TO THE STUDY OF BOTANY. AMONG all the studies which occupy the mind of man, few are attended with circum- stances equally pleasing in their pursuit; few can boast that infinite variety of objects which are perpetually engaging our attention, and inviting us to pleasures equally rational and innocent, as Botany. It is a science which has been cultivated by the wisest of * mankind, and particularly by the professors of the medical art. Nor is it by any means B VI limited to particular professions. Every one, in fact, ought to be so well founded in the principles of botanical knowledge, as to be ac- quainted with the name and history of plants, as to be capable of finding their names in the system ; and to describe each scientifically, whether it be used in diet or in medicine. Notwithstanding the importance of this science in a branch of medical knowledge, it is much to be regretted that it is so little attended to by gentlemen of the faculty in this country indeed so much so, that it obliges them to depend on the pretended skill of the ignorant and illiterate for many of their efficacious officinal plants, frequently at the expense of their own character, and of all that is valuable to their patients. But it is not to physic alone that botany is subservient, as it may be applied with considerable ad- vantage to gardening, and the general pur- poses of agriculture, as to any other science. VH " In this enlightened age," says an emi- nent botanist, " when arts and sciences are carried to a pitch unthought of in former times, we might expect a nation celebrated not less for its arts than its arms, would be the first to promote a science, whose im- provements are the only solid check to the baneful and enervating effects of luxury and dissipation ; and accordingly we find many of our nobility, gentlemen of landed property, and public societies, fully aware of its im- portance, and endeavouring by premiums, and a variety of other means to improve it. 1 * Much, however, still remains to be done ; nor is it probable that their endeavours will be crowned with success, till botany is more ge- nerally cultivated, and plants, particularly the grasses, better understood. Hence the dif- ficulty which many of our modern writers in agriculture have to encounter, in communi- cating their discoveries, for want of botanic information ; by so much the more is the pro- Vlll gress of this most useful science retarded as must be obvious to all who have perused their writings with any degree of attention. Independent also of exalting our concep- tions of the supreme Being, and of leading us directly to the knowledge of causes and effects, so well exemplified in the vegetable world, the advantages resulting from a know- ledge of botany is self-evident; for, whoever has turned his mind so as to comprehend the extensive system of the vegetable kingdom, in the manner as at present taught, and has traced this system through its various connec- tions and relations, either descending from generals to particulars, or ascending by a gra- dual progress from individuals to classes, till it embraces the whole vegetable world, will, by the mere exercise of the faculties employed for this purpose, acquire a habit of arrange- ment, a perception of order, of distinction and subordination, which is not perhaps in IX the nature of any other study so effectually to bestow. In this view, the examination of the vege- table kingdom seems peculiarly proper for youth, to whose imperverted minds the study of natural objects is always an interest- ing occupation, and who will not only find in this employment an innocent and an healthful amusement, but will familiarise themselves to that regulated train of ideas, that perception of relation between parts and the whole, which is of use, not only in the pursuit of this delightful study, but in all the concerns of life. Independent too of the habits of order and arrangement which will be thus established, it may justly be observed, that the bodily senses are highly improved by that accuracy and observation, which are necessary to dis- criminate the various objects that pass in B 2 review before them. This improvement may be carried to a degree of which those who are inattentive to it have no idea. The sight of Linnaaus was so penetrating, that he is said never to have used a glass, even in his minutest enquiries. And there is a striking instance of an individual, who, although wholly deprived of sight, has improved his other senses, his touch, his smell, and his taste, to such a degree, as to distinguish all the native plants of this country, with an accuracy not attained by many of those who have the advantages of sight, and which justly entitles him to rank among the first botanists of the kingdom*. Independent of the propriety of the crea- ture admiring the works of his beneficent Creator^ and of the advantages resulting to the individual who attaches himself to this * Mr. Gough, of Kendal, alluded to by Roscoe, in his address at the opening of the botanical garden, at Liverpool. XI study, " as enlarging the understanding, and rendering his mind more orderly in every concern of life, and his senses more acute," he will find also that there results from the pursuit of botany, the most heartfelt satis- faction. The botanist at every walk, and on every excursion, pleasantly glides from object to object, each flower he reviews excites in him curiosity and interest; and as soon as he comprehends the manner of its structure, and the rank it holds in a system, he enjoys an unalloyed pleasure, not less vivid, because it costs him no great expense or trouble. In this occupation it is that the violent passions are lulled into a dead calm, and only so much of emotion is produced as is sufficient to render life happy and agreeable. Plants even present themselves for our regards; they charm us by the beauty of Xll their forms, the richness of their shades, and the pleasure they spread around our habita- tions ; they alone afford delight, without leaving behind any inquietude. The heart overwhelmed with grief, the sight fatigued by exertion, find in the verdure of fields, adorned with flowers, both comfort and re- freshment. For us the rose kindly unfolds to our view her smiling colours. The pink at the same time flatters our sight and our smell by its agreeable emanations. A thou- sand other flowers, of different forms, every moment present themselves to our notice. Fruit trees, after gratifying our sight, depo- sit into our hands the most delicious food. The waving corn and golden sheaths delight every heart. We meet with other kindly vegetables, which can assuage our pain and cure our maladies. In vegetables we disco- ver the foundation of the linen which we wear, of the paper which hands down to us the wisdom of ages those dyes which im- Xlll press on our garments their brilliant colours. To plants we are indebted to the wood which warms us in Winter, kindling into a blaze, resembling the sun we seem not now to want. Without timber, our houses could scarcely have been constructed ; which, when fashioned into ships, the world, which before was separated from us, with its produce, by a vast expanse of water, is now approached even to our very chambers. " Hence," as Senebier observes, " I behold with still greater veneration those trees, whose stout branches diverge on every side, yet possess- ing a foliage which agreeably quivers to every breeze, but whose massy trunks shew an existence throughout ages. Under their vast shadows, listening to the songs of the inhabitants of the groves, I repose myself; leaving this retreat, I next tread over a rick carpet of innumerable flowers, whose varied enamel yet fixes the tender regards of that old man, who has so much and so often ad- mired it in his youth" XIV The beauties of nature, even those which feast the intellectual eye, are inexhaustible. So vast a profusion of beauty, contrivance, and design, as is seen exhibited by nature, multiplies greatly the inlets to knowledge and to happiness. The inimitable Hervey, after having meditated among the tombs, and descanted upon the starry heavens, then treats the world with his "reflections upon a flower garden : " Here" says he, " NATURE always pleas- ing, every where lovely, appears with parti- cular attractions. Yonder, she seems dressed in her dishabille ; grand, but irregular. Here she calls in her handmaid art, and shines in all the delicate ornaments which the nicest cultivation is able to convey. Those are her common apartments where she lodges her ordinary guests ; this is her cabinet of curiosities, where she entertains XV her intimate acquaintance. My eye shall often expatiate over those scenes of univer- sal fertility ; my feet shall sometimes brush through the thicket, or traverse the lawn, or stroll along the forest glade : but to this delightful retreat shall be my chief resort. Thither will I make excursions, but here will I dwell. " What sweets are these, which so agree- ably salute my nostrils? They are the breath of the flowers ; the incense of the garden. How liberally does the jessamine dispense her odoriferous riches ! How deliciously has the woodbine embalmed this morning walk ! The air is all perfume. And is not this another most engaging argument, to for- sake the bed of sloth ? Who would lie dis- solved in senseless slumber, while so many breathing sweets invite him to a feast of fragrancy; especially considering that the advancing day will exhale the volatile dain- XVI ties? A fugitive treat they are, prepared only for the wakeful and industrious. Whereas, when the sluggard lifts his heavy eyes, the flowers will droop ; their fine scents will be dissipated ; and, instead of this re- freshing humidity, the air will become a kind of liquid fire." " Awake, the morning shines, and the fresh field Calls you : ye lose the prime, to mark how spring The tended plants, how blows the citron grove ; What drops the myrrh, and what the balmy reed ; How nature paints her colour ; how the bee Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweets." MILTON. te How delightful is this fragrance ! It is distributed in the nicest proportion ; neither so strong as to oppress the organs, nor so faint as to elude them." What an enchanting situation is this ! One can scarcely be me- lancholy within the atmosphere of flowers. Such lively hues, and delicious odours, not only address themselves agreeably to the senses, but with a surprising delicacy, the sweetest emotion of the mind." XV11 As regards the appearance of plants, the inspection of the botanist subtracts nothing from the delight which the flowers impart ; on the contrary, his wonder* his admiration, its fragrance, is increased by the minute ex- amination of these fair and exquisite produc- tions of nature. For the more closely nature is scrutinized, the more she gains by a new acquaintance, and the more reason she affords for the admiration of her inimitable perfections. Hill and dale, broad expanse of water, luxuriant verdure; the variety of seasons, with their successive productions, forming, as it were, a diversified drama, a continually shifting scene, which never cloys, but always delights, must at first have capti- vated the attention of man, even the most barbarous or least instructed. For the bo- tanist there is no solitude wherein he wan- ders, he finds food for his genius in the abundant resources of nature. He is always surrounded with agreeable and inviting XV111 companions which ever keep his interest alive. The book of nature is ever open to him in his botanical excursions ; he acquires knowledge, health, and strength; he feels an inward solace which no other pursuit can afford him ; his enjoyments are pure and in- tellectual ; his mind calm and serene ; above all, the fittest moments to contemplate the divinity and admire his providence. Plants appear to have been profusely scat- tered over the earth, as the stars in the fir- mament, to invite man, by the attractions of curiosity and pleasure, to their contempla- tion. But the stars of heaven are placed at a distance from us. To possess this informa- tion requires a previous knowledge and ac- quaintance with the mathematics instru- ments, machines, a long artificial ladder, to bring them within our scope. Plants, on the contrary, grow under our feet, and seem to invite our hands; and if the minuteness XIX of their instruments for their examination are comparatively trifling a needle and a magnifying glass, or at most, a pocket micro- scope, is all the apparatus required. The botanist, at every walk, pleasantly glides from object to object each flower he re- views excites in him curiosity and interest ; and as soon as he comprehends the manner of its structure, and the rank it holds in a sys- tem, he enjoys an unalloyed pleasure, not less vivid, because it costs him no expense or trouble. Before, however, the sentimen- tal enjoyments of botanical pursuits can be fully appreciated, some knowledge of this delightful study must be acquired. We shall now, therefore, proceed in our elementary detail, in the most simplified manner^ as best calculated to promote the desired object, by entering at once on the plan we have already proposed. V- OFTNf^ UNIVERSITY ^gtjrowSJfc* PART I. CHAPTER I. BOTANY. Q. Explain, if you please, in terms as brief as explicit, in what the science of botany is made to consist. A. The science of botany treats of the nature and properties of vegetables ; shewing also how to ascertain the name of any plant which may happen to fall in our way. PLANTS. Q. How is a plant usually distinguished ? A. As an organized body, consisting of five principal parts, e. g. 1. Root. 4. The branches. 2, The stem. 5. The flower. 3 The leaves. 22 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. Q. What is the common division of plants, as regards their appearance and reproduction ? A. Into annuals, biennials, and perennials. Q. Describe the annuals. A. The annuals are those which last but one year, viz, those which grow up in the Spring and die in the Autumn, as wheat and barley. Q. What is to be understood by a biennial plant ? A. Biennials are those which produce flowers, and seed the second year after being raised, and then die ; as the leek and the canterbury bells. Q. And pray, what are perennial plants ? A. Perennials are those, the roots of which last for many years ; and are of two kinds, the one retaining their leaves all the Winter, called evergreens, as the laurel ; and the other casting them, called deciduous, as the apple-tree. These again are subdivided, according to their magni- tude or other circumstances 5 and are either called trees, shrubs, or herbs. Q. In what do trees differ from shrubs or herbs ? A. Trees consist of a single trunk, out of THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 23 which shoot branches, as the oak $ they are also the largest productions of the vegetable kingdom. Q. What is a shrub ? and how is it charac- terized ? A. They are a smaller production than trees, and instead of a single trunk, they frequently send forth many sets of stems from the same root, as the honey- suckle. Q. And what are we to understand by herbs ? A. Herbs are those plants which, like the snow-drop, die away every year after the seed is ripe. CHAPTER II. THE ROOT. Q. How is the root defined ? A. The root is the principal organ of nutri- tion) it feeds upon the earth, to which it at- taches itself 3 and thus conveys the vegetable 24 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY, aliment to the fabric depending upon it for growth, &c. Q. How are the roots of plants usually di- vided ? A. Into five sets, viz. 1. Spindle-shaped, or that kind which, as its name implies, tapers gradually, from the base or collar, to the apex, or conical point of the plant, as exemplified in the carrot and parsnip. 2. The bitten or truncated root, or that kind which, like the spindle shaped, tapers gradually, but terminates abruptly, as if the lower part had been cut or bitten off ; and of which the devil's bit, or scabious, affords a specimen. 3. The fibrous or capillary roots, are those con- sisting of a number of small and thread-like fibres, one of which is generally central, and the rest lateral; and which support the plant not by their individual strength, but by their number and distribution 5 elongating in a diver- gent direction, and rivetting down the plant on all sides, e. g. the roots of trees, those of the primrose, wheat, oats, barley, and the generality of the grasses. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. <25 4. The bulbous roots, or those species which consist of one globe or head, sending out fibres from the bottom, e. g. the crocus, hyacinth, nar- cissus, snow-drops, liiy, &c. Botanical writers mention three kinds of bulbous roots, namely, the solid, or those of one solid substance, as the turnip; the scaly, or those bearing scales, of which that of the lily is a specimen ; and the coated, or those having layers, or coats one over another, as exemplified in the onion. 5. The tuberous, or those roots which consist of a knot or tubercle, furnished with a number of small or scattered fibres, or of a number of knots or tubercles, united by the means of such fibres, and forming clusters, e. g. in ihepotatoe, earth nut, peony, and white saxifrage. OBS. With regard to the term bulbous root, some difference of opinion has existed among botanists as to its propriety -, for, in fact, the bulb merely contains the rudiments of a future plant ; and the fibres issuing from the under surface of the bulb are the only true and efficient root 5 and to prove that the fibres are the only perfect root, if they be cut away the bulb will 26* THE FIRST LINES OF HOT AN V. not germinate. Hence it appears that a bulbous root is, in short, only a fibrous root, with the addition of a bulb, which is very properly con- sidered as the hybernaculum* of the plant. In some instances fibrous roots become bul- bous. Thus the meadow-cats, when growing in a moist soil, which it naturally affects, is uni- formly furnished with a fibrous net $ but when growing in a dry situation, where it is also often to be found, it has a bulbous root. Also the knee-jointed fox-tail grass, when growing in its native marshes, has a fibrous root 5 but when found in a very dry situation, as on the top of a dry wall, it is furnished with an ovate and juicy bulb. DIVISION AND DISTINCTION OF ROOTS. Q. How many parts are roots generally di- vided into ? A. Into two, viz. the caudex or great root, and the radicula, or little root. Q. Describe the caudex. * Vide Botanical Glossary. THE FIRST LINKS OF BOTANY. ' #7 A. The caudex, or great root, is the main part of the root in trees and plants that live for many years ; is generally woody -, and is to the other parts what the trunk or stem is to the branches or bows j it enlarges progressively in a similar manner, and gives off lateral branching shoots, which spread horizontally, i. e. in a direction which forms nearly a right angle with the caudex. OBS. In many annuals, and in those plants in which the herbaceous part dies, whilst the root survives ; the caudex is also a reservoir of nu- triment, which is intended for the renewal of the herbaceous part in the following season, or to be expended in perfecting the flower and seed. Q. Describe the radiculae, or rootlets. A. The rootlets, or little roots, are small, or thread-like productions, proceeding from the caudex, and terminating in exceedingly minute fibrils, which are real absorbing organs of the root. Q. On what are the botanical distinctions of roots founded ? A. On six particular points, viz. 1. Their situ- 28 THE FIRST LINKS OF BOTANY. ation. 2. Direction. 3. Deviation. 4. Substance. 5. Form. 6. Composition. Q. What is meant by their situation ? A. This refers to the place or soil to which they are attached, and which may be said to be 1. Subterraneous; 2. Aerial; 3. Floating, and 4. Parasitical; which are explained as follows: 1. Subterraneous , when they are in the ground, as with snow-drops, and most plants. 2. Aerial, when they are neither attached to the ground, nor any other substitute, but sus- pended in the air ; as with the Indian fig and aerial flower. 3. Floating, when the root has germinated in the soil, separates, and floats upon the surface of the water, as with the common duck weed. 4. Parasitical) when they are attached to the bark of other living plants -, as with the misletoe. Q. How are roots distinguished relative to the direction they take ? A. 1. As being perpendicular, i. e, when the THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 29 caudex or main body of the root extends per- pendicularly into the ground, as in most trees. 2. As horizontal, when the extension is nearly parallel to the plane of the horizon, so that the roots form nearly a right angle with the stem or herbaceous part of the plant, e. g. in winter green, and sweet flag. 3. As oblique, as when the root takes an in- termediate direction, i. e. between the perpendi- cular and the horizontal. Q. What terms are applied to roots as re- gards their duration ? A. Those already explained (see page, C 27.)j viz.., annual biennial, and perennial. Q. In what light are they considered when their substance becomes a mark of distinction ? A. As being either of a woody or of a fleshy nature. Woody, when composed of an epidermis, a bark, a vascular system, woody matter, and pith, as with trees and shrubs. Fleshy, when they belong to herbaceous plants, consist chiefly of cellular and vascular textures, 3O THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. interspersed with slender bundles of woody fibre, as with the snow-drops, lily, hyacinth, and narcissus. Q. Explain what is meant by the form and composition of the root. A. By the form and composition of the root are implied the figure they assume, and the parts which constitute that figure. As regards these, roots are either simple, branched or articulated, e.g. 1. Simple, when they consist of either a single caudex furnished with fibres only, or of one or more rootlets with fibrils, as in the roots of the carrot^ parsnip, horse-radish, dandelion, radish, and primrose. 2. Branched, consisting of a caudex, divided into lateral branches, which are again subdivided, and ultimately terminated in absorbing fibrils, so that the root in its division resembles the stem and branches inverted. This. form of root is the most general, being that of all trees and shrubs, as well as that of many herbaceous plants, e. g. elecampane and seneka. 3 Articulated, i. e. apparently formed of dis- THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 31 tinct pieces, united as if one piece grew out of another, so as to form a connected whole, with rootlets springing from each joint, as with wild ginger, hedge-hyssop, Solomon's seal, and bistort. RECAPITULATORY OBSERVATIONS. The caudex, or main root, consists of the same parts as those met with in the stem of the tree, arranged in the same relative order, and each part, when placed under the microscope, displays nearly the same structure as the corresponding part above ground. The rootlets consist of a spongy centre, resem- bling the medullary sheath divested of spinal vessels, surrounded by a circle of ligneous fibres, and with a bark much thicker than that of any part above the soil. The fibrils are apparently a production of the bark of the rootlets, with a few ligneous vessels shooting into their centre. Whatever may be their structure, their pores are evidently the ab- sorbent mouths of the root, possessing either a valvular apparatus, or a power of contracting strongly, so us to enable them to retain the fluid THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. they imbibe, until it be taken up by the ligneous vessels. Not that the herbaceous root bears so close an analogy to the stem, as this arises in many instances from the difference in the dura- tion of the top of these parts in herbaceous plants j for the root may be perennial or biennial when the stem or stone are annual only, or dying in the Autumn, and giving place to others, which shoot up from the same root in the succeeding Spring. Circumstances which materially affect the root. The life both of the annual and biennial roots may occasionally be protracted considerably beyond their natural period, when any circum- stance occurs that may prevent the plant from flowering, or, in fact, when it actually does flower, from having perfected its seed/ Use and properties of roots. In Keith's system of Physiological Botany, the root is considered as the mouth of the plant, selecting what is useful for its nutrition, and rejecting that which is yet in a crude and indigestible state. The larger portions of the root serve to fix the plant in the soil, and to convey to the trunk the nutritive THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 33 particles absorbed by the smaller fibres, which ascending by the tubes of the alburnum, is con- veyed to the leaves, which are the digestive organs of plants. Like the trunk of plants, the roots will not thrive when wholly deprived of the atmospheric air 5 hence, in all probability, they inhale it by their epidermis, though the pores by which it enters may be invisible, or that it enters into combination with the nourishment of the soil. As regards the enlargement of the roots of plants, observation and experiment prove that, at least, those of woody plants are increased in width, by the addition of an annual layer, and in length, by the addition of an annual shoot, bursting forth from the terminating fibre. The original direction of the growth of vege- table roots is generally perpendicular ; but if they meet with any obstacle, they then take an horizontal one, not by the bending of the origi- nal shoot, but by sending out lateral shoots. The same result ensues, when the extremity of the root is cut off. 34 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. Experiment. Du Hamel caused some cherry stones,, almonds and acorns, to germinate in wet sponges, and when the roots had grown to the length of two inches, he placed them in glasses, as bulbous roots are placed, so as that the ex- tremity of the root only touches the water. Some were previously shortened by the cutting off of a small piece from the point, others were put in entire. The former sent out lateral shoots, but elongated no farther in a perpendi- cular direction j the latter descended perpendi- cularly to the bottom of the glass. He cut off also the tips of some roots vegetating in the earth, and had the same result : the wound cicatrized, and the root sent out lateral divisions. CHAPTER III. OF THE STEM OR STALK. Q. Explain, if you please, what is meant by stem or stalk of a plant, which, as already ob- served, is stated to be its second grand division. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 35 A. The stem or stalk is that part of a plant arising immediately from the root, supporting the branches and other appendages. Q. How many kinds of stems or trunks are there ? and how are they designated ? A. Five, viz., 1. A trunk. 2. A stalk. 3. A straw. 4. A scape. 5. A stipe, which are in- dividually designated as follows : 1. A trunk is the proper stem of trees and shrubs, characterized by its woody structure; by being always perennial, generally naked at the lower part -, divided and subdivided toward the summit into branches and twigs, bearing leaves and the fruit. 2. The stalk means the stem of herbaceous plants only. Its structure is seldom woody -, and it lives but one or two years in the natural state of the plant. 3. The straw, or culm, is the peculiar stem of grasses, rushes, and other similar plants ; ,it is either hollow, or partially filled with pith 5 and generally knotted, articulated and knee'd, but very seldom branched. 4. A scape is that peculiar stem arising from 36 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. the root, which supports the flower but not the leaf. It is always herbaceous, and is either simple and bearing one flower only, as in the common dandelion, or divided and many flowered, as in the cowslip. 5. A stipe is the term used to express the stem of palms, ferns, fuci, and fungi. It is ge- nerally cylindrical, sometimes swollen in the middle, and bears a frond, or the foliage which is peculiar to it, at its summit. STRUCTURE OF STEMS. Q. Of what does the structure of vegetable stems consist 1 A. These are formed of a number of fine ca- pillary tubes, through which, during their growth, sap is sent from the root throughout the entire plant. By most botanists stems are made to consist of six organic parts, viz. 1. The epidermis, which is the external enve- lope or integument of the plant, which extends not only over the trunk, but likewise over the root, branches, leaves, flower, and fruit a including THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 37 their appendages, with the exception of the sum- mit of the pistil. Du Hamel, who was the first to direct any very minute investigation into the structure of the vegetable epidermis, describes it as formed of a multiplicity of fine and delicate fibres placed in a parallel direction, inosculated or united at regular intervals, by means of small and lateral fibres, so as to constitute a net- work, the meshes of which are filled with a thin and transparent pellicle, thus forming a membrane consisting either of a simple and individual layer, as in the epidermis of most plants, or of several distinct and separate or separable layers, as in that of the paper birch, in which he counted six more. OBS. In the permanent parts of woody and perennial plants, the old epidermis often disen- gages itself spontaneously, as in the currant, birch, and plane tree, in which it is apparently undergoing a continual waste and repair j and in such parts it is again regenerated, even though destroyed by accident. But in herba- ceous plants, and in the leaf, flower and fruit of other parts, it never disengages itself sponta- 38 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. neously, nor is it ever reproduced when once destroyed. 2. and 3. The inner and outer bark are those parts situated immediately beneath the epider- mis, which are generally of a spongy nature. 4. The alburnum is the soft white substance . lying between the inner bark and wood. In the course of time it acquires solidity, soon becom- ing wood itself 5 but while soft it performs a very important part of the functions of growth, which ceases when it becomes hard. OBS. A fresh circle of alburnum is annually formed over the old, so that a transverse sec- tion of the trunk presents a tolerably correct register of the age of the tree, by reckoning each zone for a year. 5. The wood is the part between the alburnum and pith, which, notwithstanding its solidity and compactness, will be found, by means of the microscope, to be an assemblage of infinitely small canals or hollow tubes. PITH OF PLANTS. Q. How is the pith of plants described ? THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 39 A. The pith is that soft spongy substance found in the central parts of plants, which is compressed and straightened, as the substance of the trunk becomes more woody, to such a degree that it ultimately disappears. OBS. The diameter of the pith, in some plants, is large in proportion to the stem, as, for in- stance, in the fig, elder, and sumach -, whilst in others, it is scarcely perceptible, as in the oak and elm. Q. Has every species of trunk all these indi- vidual plants r A. Not the whole of them, as may be observed by examining the straw of grapes, and the stalks of the primrose, narcissus, and hyacinth; but all kinds of trunks possesses some of these peculiar characteristics, or at least a modification of them. DISTINCTIONS OF STEMS. Stems are considered botanically, in the de- scription of plants, according to their Composition, Form, 4() THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. Direction, Manner of branching, Duration, and Substance, Surface. Q. How are stems termed as regards their composition ? A. Either simple or divided. 1. Simple, consisting of one piece only, with- out any branches bearing leaves, although the flower may be divided ; as may be seen in the bistort, date-plum, and knotty-rooted figwort. 2. Divided, when the stem divides into branches, as in most plants. Q. What terms are used to denote the direc- tion of the stem ? A. The following six, viz. erect, oblique, sup- ported, climbing, decumbent, and procumbent, illustrated in the following manner : 1. Erect, when its position forms nearly a right angle with the surface of a level soil. It may be straight, as in the spearmint and silver fir -, flexuous, as in the box-leaved staff tree and common birthwort; tortuous, when it is curved in different directions, but not regularly, as in THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 41 the flexuous stems , or nodding, as in the cedar and Solomon's seal. 2. Oblique, when between a perpendicular and an horizontal position. It may be ascending, as in the common clover and common toad-flax j declined, as in the fig-tree j or incurvated, as in the common bramble. 3. Supported, or propped up, as it were, by a number of other stems that surround it, which incline towards each other at their summits, until they seem ingrafted into the base of the stem which they support, as in the mangrove. 4. Climbing, as those which are too delicate to support themselves. These require the aid of some perpendicular body to enable them to ele- vate their foliage and fructification in the air. Hence, they are either twining from left to right, as in the woodbine and the hop -, or from right to left, as in the scarlet bean and great bind- weed ; radiating, as in the ivy and ash-leaved trumpet flower ; climbing, as in the grape vine, purple virgin's bower; bitter-sweet, and all the species of passion flower. 5. Decumbent, as when it rises a little upright 42 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. at its base, but has its upper portion bent down towards the ground, so that the greater part of it is procumbent. 6. Procumbent, as when the stem is too weak to support itself, and lies on the ground. These are either creeping, as in the lesser periwinkle and ground ivy 5 or floating, as in the floating- club rush. Q. How are stems considered relatively to their substance? A. As consisting either of a woody or an her- uaceous nature. 1. Woody, as those in which wood forms com- paratively the greater part of their bulk. They are either solid, as in the oak 5 or fibrous, as in the cocoa nut tree. 2. Herbaceous, as those which contain a small portion of wood, but are composed chiefly of cellular substance. These are either fleshy, as in the common house leek, and most sea-weeds^ spongy, as in Indian corn, great cat's tail, and the mushroom tribe $ or hollow, as in the castor oil plant, the common dropwort, and almost all the grasses. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 43 Q. How are the forms of stems described r A. In the seven following ways, viz. round, semicircular, compressed, angled, knotted, joint- ed, and knee'd. 1. Round, having no angles, as in the thorn- apple, and changeable hydrangea. 2. Semicircular, or half round, that is, half round on one side, and flattish on the other. 3. Compressed, when the stem is flat, as in the flat stalked meadow grass and spleenwort. 4. Angled, when it has several acute angles in its circumference. It may be obtuse, and three, four, five, six, or many cornered j acute and tri- angular, four angled, five angled, six angled, multi-angled; or three sided, when there are three flat sides forming acute angles. 5. Knotted, when it is divided at intervals by swellings or knots, as in knotty crane's bill. 6. Jointed, composed of joints, or apparently . distinct pieces, united at their ends. 7. Knee'd, (geniculatus,) when an articulated stem is more or less bent at each joint, as in the floating fox- tail grass, and three flower fescue grass. 44 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. Q. Does the manner in which branches ap- pear give rise to any peculiar terms for the stem? A. Yes. For instance, a stem is said to be dichatomous, trichotomous, slightly branched, much branched, and abruptly branched. 1. Dichatomous, or forked, when the divisions and subdivisions are, throughout, in bifurcations, as exemplified in corn, salad, petty spunge, and forked marvel of Peru. C 2. Tricho famous, when, instead of being bi- furcated, the divisions are trifid, as in the com- mon marvel of Peru. 3. Slightly branched, when the number of di- visions are comparatively few. 4. Much branched, when not only the greater divisions are numerous, but these again divided and subdivided without order, as in the elm and gooseberry bush. 5. Abruptly branched, when each branch, after terminating in flowers, produces a number of fresh roots, in a circular order, just from below the origin of those flowers, as in the naked flowered Azalea, and many of the Cape heaths. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 45 Q. What are the terms used to distinguish the surface of stems and branches. A. These may include the terms of bare, co- vered, and rough ; each division being subject to considerable variation. I. BARE, when the epidermis is perfectly free from appendages of every description, leaves> scales, spines, prickles, or any kind of pubes- cence. The varieties of which are 1. Shining, when it glistens, as if varnished, as in shining crane's bill. 2. Smooth, when it is free from all kinds of roughness or hairiness, as in periwinkle. 3. Even, when throughout it is perfectly free from inequalities, as in the common white poppy. 4. Punctured, when it is covered with small yet visible perforations, either simple or sur- rounded at the orifice with a raised border, as in rue and perforated St. John's wort. 5. Maculated, or spotted, when it is marked with spots or blotches, as in hemlock. 6. Leafless, when it is altogether devoid of leaves, as in the dodder. E 2 46 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 7. Unarmed, when devoid of prickles and spines. 8. Extipulate, When without stipules. II. COVERED, when the epidermis is clothed with some kind of appendage. The varieties of this are a. Leafy, when it is furnished with leaves from the base to the apex. When the stem passes through each leaf, it is denominated perpliate, as in yellow wort. b. Winged, when the edges or angles are longitudinally expanded into leaf-like bor- ders. c. Sheathed, when it is embraced by the base of each leaf, as if by a sheath ; as in the grasses and snake-weed. d. Stipulated, when it is furnished with sti- pules at the axilla of each leaf, as in com- mon vetch, and broad-leaved everlasting pea. e. Tendril-bearing, when it bears tendrils, as in the passion-flower and grape vine. /. Bulb-bearing, when it is studded with bulbs in the axilla of the leaves, as in bulbi- TttE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 47 ferous coral-wort, and in several of the lily tribe. a. Spiny, when it is furnished with short spines, which are not productions of the bark,, and consequently do not come off with it, as in common hawthorn and sloe-tree. b. Prickly, when it is covered with sharp- pointed bodies., which separate with the epi- dermis, as in the rose. c. Scaly, when it is more or less covered with leafy scales, closely applied to its sur- face, as in broom rape. When, however, the scales, instead of being succulent and leafy, are dry and membranaceous, this variety of the scaly stem is termed r "amentaceous, as in the slender branched heath. d. Pubescent, when it is covered with hair- like appendages. The pubescence varies very considerably according to varieties of soil, climate, and exposure ; there are neverthe- less determinate characteristics, which, more or less, always distinguish it even in its variations. The varieties of this subdivision are 48 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 1. The hairy, or when the pubescence consists of rather long separate hairs, as in mouse-ear and meadow sage. 2. Hispid, when the hairs are stiff and bristly, as in borage and common viper bug- loss. 3. Downy, when the hairs are, soft to the touch, like down, and so matted together that the particular hairs cannot be distin- guished, as in shepherd's club and round leaved crane's bill. 4. Shaggy, when the pubescence consists of long, soft hairs, as in villose speedwell, and downy hedge-nettle, and woolly hore- houncl. 5. Silky, when the hairs are shining, and so arranged as to give the stem the appear- ance of being covered with silk. OBS. Instead of pubescence , the covering in some instances consists either of a dry, pow- dery, or a moist secretion. The dry are three in number, the moist two. e. Hoary, when the entire surface is strewed THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 49 over with a fine white dust, easily rubbed off, like the bloom of grapes, as exemplified in the dwarf shubbery orach. /. Mealy, when the white powder is less minute, or is mealy, as in bird's eye prim- rose. g. Glaucous, when the dust or bloom is of a bluish green, or a sea-green colour, as in palma christi, or castor oil plant. h. Viscid, when it is covered with a clammy resinous exudation, as in the clammy catch fly. L Glutinous, when the exudation is adhe- sive, but instead of being resinous it is gum- my or soluble in water, as in clammy prim- rose. III. ROUGH, when they assume an unequal cha- racter. k. Scabious, when the stem is thickly co- vered with small eminences, which are not visible, but can be felt on passing the finger ever it, as in black knapweed. I. Warty, when it is studded over with 50 THE FIRST LINKS OF BOTANY. small hard warts, which can be both seen and felt, as in the warty spindle tree. m. Vesicular t when the roughness depends on a small elevation of the epidermis, contain- ing a watery fluid, which gives the plant the appearance as if it were covered with ice, as in the ice plant. OBS. It ought here to be observed, that neither branches nor stems are essential organs to the vegetable structure, although they are so to the plants in which they are formed 5 for indepen- dent of some lichens, and many species belong- ing to their tribes of vegetables, which botanists have denominated imperfect, they are never pre- sent in many other vegetables, the foliage and fructification of which spring directly from the roots or some of its appendages 5 as, for instance, in the meadow saffron, stemless asphodel, and stemless artichoke. These plants are neverthe- less perfect, and capable of performing all the functions necessary to their economy. The stems of the same plants also occasion- ally differ, for it sometimes happens that in- THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 51 stead of assuming the cylindrical form common to the species, they are to be found compressed and flattened. When the stem increases in thickness it is not by the enlargement of all its parts $ but is aug- mented in width, as already mentioned, by the addition of an annual layer ; and in length by the addition of an annual shoot bursting from the terminating bud. Though the development of the shoot issuing from the stem is not exactly performed in the same manner, but by the in- tro-susception of additional particles through- out its whole extent, at least in its soft and succulent state, the longitudinal extension di- minishing in proportion as the shoot acquires solidity, and ceasing entirely when the wood is perfectly formed, though often continuing at the summit after it has ceased at the base. Experiment. Du Hamel divided a shoot of the horse-chesnut into several equal parts, dis- tinguished by coloured varnish $ and on inspecting it some time afterwards, found that all the marks were removed from one another to a greater distance than at first $ but on inspecting it at a 52 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. second interval, he found that the upper marks only had continued to increase in distance. Hales made a number of similar experiments on the shoots of the vine, and obtained similar results. Hence then it appears that the stem is evi- dently increased in length by the length of the terminating shoot, and in diameter by twice the thickness of the layer. If the induration be effected slow, then its growth is rapid -, if it be effected rapidly, then its growth is slow ; but the growth and induration of the plant are liable to be affected, both by soil and exposure to vicissitudes of the climate. Q. How are unnatural distortions of the stem or bearers produced ? A. It sometimes happens that one side of the stem will remain in a state capable of extension longer than the other 5 hence the tree is liable to become deformed. Gardeners, however, correct or prevent this deformity by making a number of oblique incisions in the bark of the shoot on the side to which it is inclined, which, THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 53 by causing an eruption of the cellular tissue, brings it back again to an erect posture. Q. In what manner is the growth of the stem influenced by the action of light ? A. In various manners $ for instance, if a plant be placed in a room or cave in which there is only one small aperture for the admission of light, the stem will gradually bend towards that aperture, through which the light is admitted, Q. Has light any influence over the vigour and colour of stems ? A. A very powerful one : for example, if the cutting oT a potatoe is left to vegetate in a cel- lar, where there is little ingress to light and air, the stem would shoot out to an astonishing length in the direction of the light, but it will be found pale and limber, and trailing on the ground. Experiment 1. Some French beans were sowed in a dark cave, with a view to ascertain the effect of the small portion of light trans- mitted to them through the entrance during the day, but it regained its erect position, at least partially so, during the night. 54 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. Experiment 2. Three beans were planted by Bonnet for the purpose of comparative experi- ment ; one in the open air, another in a tube of glass covered at the top, and the .third, in a tube of wood, covered at the top. The first plant was strong and luxuriant, the second was also strong, and inclined toward the sun, but the third, though tall, was pale and sickly. CHAPTER IV. ON THE LEAVES OF PLANTS. Q. How do botanists define the leaf of a plant ? A. A leaf, botanically, is defined to be a part of a plant, extended into length and breadth, in such a manner as to have one side distinguishable from the other. Leaves are properly the extreme part of a branch, and the ornament of the twigs. They consist of a very glutinous matter, being furnished every where with veins and nerves. Q. How are leaves usually divided? A. 1. Into the base, or point, by which they THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 55 are attached to the plant -, 2. The apex, or taper- ing terminating point; 3. The disk, or inter- mediate body of the expansion j 4. The boun- dary of the expansion or margin. OBS. The angle, which the leaf or its foot- stalk forms at its point of attachment to the stem or the branch, is termed its axilla. Many leaves are placed in a small stem or branch, and this part is called a leaf stalk. As a knowledge of the peculiarities attending leaves, in describing the species of plants, is of the greatest importance, botanists have paid par- ticular attention to their names, which are de- rived from the following circumstance : 1. THE SITUATION. 8. THE BASE. 2. DIRECTION. 9. SURFACE. 3. DURATION. 1O. MARGIN. 4. DISTRIBUTION. 11. PUBESCENCE. 5. INSERTION. 12. COLON. 6. , EXPANSION. 13. SUBSTANCE. 7. APEX. 14. PRODUCTIONS- Q. What are the terms originating from the situation of leaves ? A. Five, viz. radical, caulinear, rameal, semi- nal, and floral. (See Uses of leaves, &c, p. 75.) PART II. CHAPTER I. VEGETATION, AND ITS FUNCTIONS, &c. Vegetables are such natural bodies as grow and increase from parts organically formed, or serving as instruments to convey the principles of vegetative life 5 but have no proper life or sensation, such as plants, shrubs or trees. Vegetative life, or vegetation, is the faculty or quality with which all plants are endued, by which they attract nourishment, or nutritious juices from the earth, and which, circulating through their substance, causes it to extend, un- ravel, or unfold its parts by degrees, until every part at length turns out in its proper form and site, and thus the plant is perfected. Q. Do you say that the vegetable life and the THK FIKST LINKS OF BOTANY. 57 growth of plants and trees proceed from the juices of the earth., and not from the earth itself? A. Yes. In illustration of this assertion, Mr, Boyle found, by experiment, that a plant of three branches, and after that a plant of fourteen pounds weight, were produced from a quantity of earth, watered only with rain or spring water, which lost scarce any thing of their weight, being accurately weighed dry, before and after the production of the plants. A more convincing instance that plants receive their growth and weight from the moisture of the earth altogether, and not from the substance of the earth itself, is given by Van Helmont, who dried 200ft. of earth, in which he afterwards planted a willow weighing 5tb, which he watered with rain or distilled water, and to secure it from other earth getting amongst- it, he covered it with a per- forated tile cover. After five years he weighed the tree with all the leaves it had borne in that time, when he found it weighed 169 pounds 08 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. three ounces ; and the earth to have lost about two ounces of its weight *. Q. How is the first generation or production of plants accounted for ? A. All plants and vegetables are immediately produced and generated from some parent plant or vegetable seed, of the same species. Q. How is this to be explained, seeing that plants have been often found to grow where seeds were never sown, or could come ? A. This may be answered in three different ways : 1. It is possible those plants may spring from seeds which may have been concealed in the earth in those places more than the age of man; for some seeds are known to retain their fecun- dity forty or fifty years. 2. They might spring from seed wafted thither by the wind, which, on account of its wonderful sinallness, might escape detection. 3. These seeds might also be brought thither * See also Dr. Woodward's experiments on this sub- ject. Philosoph. Trans. No. 253. Harris' Lexicon, under the word " Vegetation," or in the Philosophical Library, under the word " Botany," page 437. THE. FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 59 in the dung 1 of animals at first, and so increase. Nothing however can be more effectually confu- ted than the atheistical doctrine of the spontane- ous production*,or equivocal generation of plants or animals, in the works of modern naturalists. * By the spontaneous production of plants is meant, their growing, as it were, of their own accord, or without seed \ and this, in regard to animals, is called equivocal genera- tion, whereby they are produced without parents in coitu. That this doctrine is directly atheistical, cannot admit of a doubt ; for supposing the generation of some plants and animals to he spontaneous or casual, it is impossible to say but that the generation of all might have been so at first ; and if the existence of any thing be casual, or proceeding from chance, it is certain all we can find in the nature or composition of such a being, must also be fortuitous, or by chance. And thus all the arguments derived from the wonderful mechanism of the whole, and the surprising structure of the several parts of vegetable and animal bodies (the two great magazines of natural religion) are utterly destroyed. This, however, is so notoriously contrary to common sense and reason as to require no refutation. Indeed to those unacquainted with the use of the micro- scope, and have made no nice enquiry into the nature of things, but take every thing in a coarse and vulgar point of view, there may possibly appear some specious argu- ments for spontaneous generation ; but those who are de- sirous to see them all confuted may consult Bentley's, Boyle's Lect. Sermon 4. Derham's Physico Theol. B. IV. Chap. 15, Note (1.) Watt's Philosoph. Essays, (Essay 9.) 60 THE FIRST LINES OK BOTANY. Q. On the principle already stated, viz. that every plant is produced from the seed of a plant of the same species, give some explanation. A. It is the doctrine of modern physiologists, that every seed has in itself what they call the planta seminalis, or seed plant- that is, the plant which is produced from the seed is really and formally contained in the seed (before it is sown), in miniature -, and when the seed is sown, the parts of the seed plant, now in embryo, begin to vegetate, unfold, dilate, and at last burst the matrix seed, and thus swell out of its native bed of embryoanism. Q. How, or by what means, were such nice investigations made ? A. By the aid of the microscope, which en- abled them to discover the involved stamen* of Wollaston's Religion of Nature, page 88. Fr. Medi. Exper. Nat. 81. de Gen. Insectarum. Ray's Wisdom of God, page 344. Clem. Phys. Part IV. chap. 2. 33. et seq. More's Antidote against Atheism, Book 11. Chap. 6. Harris' Lexi- con, at the word " Generation," and several other authors mentioned in Johnson's Philosoph. Quaest. p. 26, 27. and 33, 34. * By the stamen is to be understood those rudiments, or simple original parts of a plant or animal, which first exist in the embryo, or fetal state, or in the seed, and THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 61 the future plant in every single head, which is a very curious and delightful spectacle indeed. So that according to this doctrine, the first ori- ginal seed of each kind (at the creation) con- tained in it all the future seeds and plants which were produced from it in all succeeding ages -, and yet in itself was then no bigger than we see it now. Q. Is it possible then, for instance, that one of our white boiling pease (capable of producing above an hundred fold yearly) should at the time of the creation, contain within its small globular bulk (about a quarter of an inch diameter) all that yearly product of pease, husks, stalks, of that kind ever since ? A. Matter, you must know, consists of parts which afterwards by distinction and accretion of nutriti- ous .juices, extends itself to its utmost bulk ; and then the plant or animal is said to be perfectly formed, or ar- rived to its mature state. This, in plants, is likewise called germen or gem, also planticle, or small plant ; and may be seen in all seeds with the microscope, and in some with the naked eye, as the bean, and especially the kidney bean, where the very ribs of the leaves of the ensuing year's plant are visible in the seed of the preceding or ex- isting year. 62 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. or corpuscules, inconceivably small j and to raise still higher the admiration, let us make the following calculation : Suppose then that one white pea will produce an hundred in the first year ; then these will each produce an hundred more, and thus in all 10,000; these again in the third year would pro- duce 1,000,000; in the fourth year, 10,000,000 j in the fifth year, 100,000,000,000 ; and so on, increasing each year in a geometrical propor- tion, whose common ratio is 100; so that the product in any year will be expressed by a num- ber consisting of a unit, with so many cyphers annexed, as are equal to twice the number ex- pressing that year. Supposing therefore the age of the world were 5,673 years, then all the pease produced from that one pea to that time, would require a number consisting of 11,346 places of figures to express them ; but the number of pease (reckoning fifty to a foot in length) which would be contained in a cube circumscribing the orb of the planet Saturn (which orb is 1,554,000, OOO miles in diameter) would require no more than 44 places of figures to express : the quan- THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY, 63 tity then produced would equal such a number of these immense cubes, as would consist of 11,303 places of figures, which is considerably beyond all comparison and human comprehen- sion independent of the far greater quantity of stalks, cods, roots, leaves, &c. Q, "What kind of process does nature adopt to raise the plant from the seed in the ground ? A. The method of nature in this respect, as in all her other works, is most admirable, as will appear in the curious mechanism and construc- tion of a bean root for instance (see fig. 1.) In which A. B. represents the two lobes of the bean slit, which are joined together by a little white sprig in O 5 in each lobe are seen the branches aaa, of that called the seed root ee, every where displayed through the body of the bean. These branches of the seed root ee feed the little sprout or earth root oc (descending downwards) with the pulp or matter of the bean (prepared by the ferment of the earth), till the said earth root is capable of penetrating the earth, and extending its parts sufficiently enough to extract, for itself and the plant it is to sustain, nourishment from 64 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. the juices and moisture of the earth; for from this earth root there springs upward the sprout F, called (by Dr. Grew) the pluma, or feather ; and in this pluma and the earth root together is con- tained, in miniature, all the future plant. Thus it appears that the matter or substance of the bean serves much the same purpose to the seed root, as the yolk of an egg to the embryo chick 5 or as the earth does afterwards to the radule, or earth root itself, which has been enabled to shoot into the earth, in order to procure its own nourishment ; after which, by means of the seed root, it is turned to the use of the pluma, caus- ing it also to spring upwards, in order hereafter to become a trunk. Q. What becomes of the seed lobes A B/when the earth root no longer requires their use ? A. In most seeds they are carried upwards with the pluma out of the earth, after which they compose the seed leaves, as they are called, as we see in cucumbers and French beans. Q. Of what use are the seed leaves to the plant ? A. The uses and effects of these seed leaves THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 65 are, according to Malpighi, so necessary, that if they are pulled off, the plant will not grow ; or if it should in any manner increase, it will not be complete, but always defective. Q. In what manner does the root of the plant procure nourishment for its growth and increase? A. In order to explain this, it will be neces- sary to shew the make and construction of the root, and as it were to anatomize the several parts appertaining to it, and then point out their uses : for this purpose choose two roots, viz. a root of wormwood (see fig. 2.), and a horse radish root (see fig. 3.), in each of which T represents the root cut transversely as it appears to the naked eye. The other great quadrantal figures are each a quarter of the aforesaid sec- tion T, magnified by a microscope , which thus enlarged, shews the various organical parts of which it is composed, and by which vegetation is performed. Q. Have the goodness to describe the different appearances of those magnified sections, A. [. Ab is the skin or rind, or outward mem- brane including the root. 66 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 2. From A to C in the wormioood root is the bark, which is a membranous substance, con- sisting partly of a great number of little blad- ders, or vesicles, B BB ; the same as represented by A B in the horse-radish root. It also consists in part of a ligneous or woody substance,, as from B to L in the root last named, 3. The wood of the root is all that part be- tween B and E, in the horse-radish root ; and from C C to the very centre in the wormwood root. 4. The wood of the root consists also of two different substances, viz. a ligneous one, pro- perly the wood, as E E E, and a parenchy- mous one, like that of the bark, as D D D, in- serted regularly between the portions of wood 5 these are very distinct in the wormwood root -, but in the radish root, and in several others, they are not so visible. 5. In the wood you see the orifices of several tubes, or hollow veins, a a a a, which are the mouths of air-vessels. 6. From G to E, in the radish root, is ano- THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 6? ther little circle of vessels, like those of the bark. 7, and lastly, From E to the centre, in the radish root, is the pith, which consists of the same parenchymous *, or spongy substance of bladders, as doth the bark, and part of the wood ; but the pith is not common to all roots, as, is seen, there is none in the wormwood root. Q. What is the use of the several parts of the roots here described ? A. 1. The bladders in the bark render it a spongy substance, which therefore is fit to im- bibe and suck up the watery parts of the soil, which are impregnated with the principles of vegetable life and growth. This impregnated water, imbibed by the bark, is what we call the * The word parenchyma was formerly used to denote that red fleshy substance which lies between the inter- stices of the vessels in the bowels, and gives them their bulk ; as in the liver, kidneys, spleen, &c., whence it was afterwards used to signify the soft, spongeous, or pulpy parts of any body, as of the leaves, roots, &c. of plants ; and hence it is usual to say, such parts are parenchymous , that have such a matter and texture. New. London Med. and Surg. Diet. tfS THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. sap the skin of the root serving as a filtre, to strain and purify it on its first being absorbed. 2. The sap thus filtered and absorbed, fer- ments in the substance of the bark, by which process of nature it is further prepared, con- sequently more easily insinuates itself into the parenchymous substance of the root 5 on which, partly by the appulse of fresh sap, and partly by the pulsive motion of the extended bladder of the parenchyma, the sap is forced thence into the other parts of the root, and is still more and more strained in its passage from bladder to bladder. 3. The sap, thus distributed through the whole root, supplies its organical parts with those principles of nourishment which every one requires - } and thus the root, by the constant application of those nutritious principles, re- ceives its increment, solidity, and growth, or vegetative life and motion in every part. Q. What is the use of the air-vessels, thus called ? A. These contain a proper kind of vegetable THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 69 air or vapour, which serves to ferment the sap entering into the ligneous part, the better to qualify it for assimilation, or uniting therewith. Q. Why do the roots of some plants yield a milky juice or liquor, and others a clear watery one, when cut ? A. Because in each root, the fluid or liquor of each organical part is made chiefly by differ- ent filtrations of the sap through the sides there- of , consequently those which strain more freely the aqueous or watery part of the sap contain a lymph,, or clear water ; and hence are called lymphatics, or lymph-ducts ; and where these are most numerous in roots, these roots, when cut, will bleed a lymph. The same as, on the other hand, those vessels which are disposed to admit the oily or balsamic part of the sap most copiously, are called lactiferous vessels; and roots which a great plenty of those will, when cut, give out a milky, oily, or balsamic fluid. Q. The root thus formed, and invested with all its different organs of vegetation, what then is the next step which nature takes in the pro- duction of the plant ? 70 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. A. The root having now become the procu- rator for the future plant, by extracting from the earth, through the medium of its vessels, proper vegetable juices and aliment, administers or communicates the same to the pluma, or seed plant (supported hitherto from the substance of the seed, by the seed root, or seed leaves), and thereby causes it to shoot forth vigorously and increase ; and gradually to swell out or unfold all its blades, branches, buds, leaves, flowers, and seeds again, from various parts of its stalk or trunk. Q. Apparently then, the same mechanism or apparatus of organized parts, is continued from the root to the trunk or stem of the plant, for the communication of this vegetable sustenance. A. Yes ; and in order to illustrate this, (see fig. 3) T represents one quarter of a section of a hazel branch, as it appears to the eye 5 A G B is the same as it appears through a good mi- croscope j in which A B is the skin ; A B C D the bark j Q Q Q the parenchyma of bladders, or sap-vessels , H I a ring of a special sort of vessels ; P P common sap-vessels ; C D E F THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 71 the ligneous substance, or wood, of three years growth 5 K L F E the wood of two years ; M N E F the wood of the first year j X X the parenchymous insertions 5 O, the pith full of vesicles ; the black parcels are the solid wood ; the numerous holes appearing over the same are the mouths of air-vessels. Thus it is seen, that the organical constitution of the stalk, or trunk, is the same with that before shewn in the root : a wondrous contrivance indeed, an analogy of the organization of the vege- tables. The motion of the sap is as follows : 1. The nutritious sap ascends the first year of a plant's growth by the vessels of the pith ; after which the pith becomes dry, and so continues. 2. The next part, through which the sap rises, is the wood, by the air-vessels, and that only in the spring. 3. The third part, by which it ascends, is the bark, as already stated, the greatest part of the year 5 and this is the general theory of the mo- tion of the sap *. * Thus far the learned Dr. Grew, and others : but it is still a matter of great controversy how the sap ascends, 72 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. Q, But since both root and branch contain air-vessels, into what part of the plant does the air first enter ? A. The principal entrance of the air is at the root along with the sap ; but it also enters more or less at the trunk, leaves, &c. parts of the plant. The air, or airy part of the sap, being thus raised in its proper vessels, is filtered through the same into the vesicles of the paren- chymous insertions in the wood ; and is thus distributed through all the parts of the plant or tree *. and what course it takes after it is imbibed by the roots ; whether it be by the bark, the pith or the wood, or all, as above-mentioned. The supporters of each hypothesis, and the arguments produced to support it, may be seen by consulting SHAW'S Notes to Boerhaave's Chemistry, p. 146, 147, &c. The circulation of the sap in trees is de- nied by Mr. Hales, in his Vegetable Statics, Vol. 1. Exper. 46, &c. Boerhaave says (see Theory of Chemistry., by Shaiv, p. 147), that since the sap is furnished by the earth, it will consist of somefossile parts, some parts delivered from the air and rain, and others from putrefied animals, plants, &c., and that therefore in vegetables are contained all kinds of salt, oil, water, earth, and probably all kinds of metal too, since their ashes always afford somewhat which the loadstone attracts. * Hales has proved, by many curious experiments, that THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY* ?3 Q. Why are the stalks of some plants hollow within ? A. Partly for the more expeditious ripening of the fruit or seed, which is better effected by a more plentiful supply of air by these hollow trunks $ and partly for the better determining the true age of the plant ; for the air in this hollow, by drying up the sap, contracts the sap- vessels so much as to prevent the circulation of the sap in them ; whence the plant must of course perish: hence the reason why the greater part of annual trunks are hollow. Q. Whence proceeds the form or figuration of the trunks of plants and trees ? A. Chiefly from the air in the air-vessels : for instance, almost all shrubs have a greater num- ber of air-vessels, and those of a smaller size, which, consequently, yielding more readily to the magnetic attraction of the external air, spread most abroad, by which the air-vessels all plants perspire in a considerable degree, but evergreens the. least of any. He discovered that the quantity of nou- rishment, imbibed and perspired in a sun-flower, is to that of a man, bulk for bulk, as 17 to 1. See J^eget. Statics, Evp. 1 . 74 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. sooner, and with more facility, shoot into the bark, and so produce collateral buds and branches, and that upon the first ruins of the plant from the root, hence it becomes a shrub. But if the air-vessels be very large, as in the oak, walnut, elm, &c. they will not so easily yield or shoot out collaterally -, and so the trunk grows up taller and more entire. Q. Why do some trees run up so very slender, and others so very thick and big ? A. These variations of growth is a conse- quence of the position of the air-vessels ; for where these lie most circular round the centre in the form of rings, as in elm and ash, there the tree in proportion grows more tall and taper, and less thick. But when these air-vessels spread more broad, and are postured in line from the centre, as in the oak, &c., then the tree grows very thick ; in this the diametrical growth of the wood is more promoted than in any other; for which general reason, also, trees grow round or angular. Q. How comes it to pass, that several stalks of plants have joints or knots ? And what is their use ? THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 75 A. Because in forming the branch or blade, both the rind and woody substance of it are, in their shooting forth, devacuated from their perpendicular posture to a cross position ; and as they, with the other, grow and thrive toge- ther, they bind and crowd each other into a knot, Q. How is the production and texture of leaves accounted for ? A. The parts of the leaf are substantially the same with those of the branch - 9 its skin is the continuation of that branch -, the fibres or nerves, dispersed through the leaf, are only ra- mifications of the branch wood, or ligneous body : the parenchymous substance, which lies between the fibres, is nothing but the continu- ation of the cortical body, or substance of the bark, spread through the same. Of the different distinctions of leaves, accord- ing to their position and form, above an hun- dred are enumerated. (See observations on the fall of the leaf.) Q. What is the use of leaves ? A. 1. For protection, which they afford to 76 THE FIRST LINES OF HOT AN V. each other, and to the flower in the bud ; as also to the fruit itself in some parts. 2. For augmentation for the capacity of the due spreading and ampliation of a tree or plant, are its leaves. 3. The leaves, which may comparatively be termed the digestive organs of plants, serve to purify and prepare the sap, the grosser parts of which are retained in the leaves, while the more elaborate and essential are supplied to the flower, fruit and seed, as their proper aliment. 4. They serve for promoting the functions of perspiration as the orifices observed in leaves perform the same function in trees, as the pores of the body do in animals namely, they cause an insensible or invisible perspiration in plants*. (See fall of the leaf.) * It is difficult, notwithstanding the great perspiration in animals and plants, to discover any thing like pores in the scarf-skin of the one, or the fine membranes which cover the leaves of the other ; even with the best sort of double reflecting microscopes. Mr. Lowenhoek (Trans. Philos. No. 369.) tells us, however, that he has viewed these pores or spiracles very clearly in the leaves of box ; and that in one superficies of such a leaf, he has com- puted 172,090 pores, and in the other as many. The Royal THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 77 OBS. The leaves of plants (such as have, woody fibres) are easily anatomized, and a ske- leton of the fibres made, in the following manner : a. The leaves must be gathered when full grown, or old, but not dry. They are then to be exposed in an open vessel of water, and as fast as it evaporates filled up again. b. After the expiration of a month or two the leaves will begin to putrify, or grow soft ; and the pellicle or thin skin on each side, will first begin to separate from the pulpous part of the leaves. c. The leaf is now to be put into a broad pan Society received and admitted this for truth, " whence," says Benj. Martin, (See PMlosoph. Grammar, p. 276.) " I believe it may be easily made to appear that nothing is more false ; and that, instead of seeing 344,180 pores, he never saw one." There is, however, something exceeding fine and delicate in the texture of the pellicle or fine mem- brane which covers the box leaf, and also in the skeleton made thereof; also that the transparent sphericles, or round clear drops, standing well over the surface of the leaves of hyssop, mint, &c., and others of forms and colours in other plants, make a very pleasant and delight- ful view in the microscope. 78 THE FIRST LINES iF BOTANY. of water, where there is room to squeeze the pulpous or green substance of the leaf, which must be done very gently ; and it will easily separate from it, and leave an entire skeleton of fibres. d. Or the leaf, stript of its skins or mem- branes, may be laid on a piece of paper, where after it has lain a little to dry, take hold of the tail of the leaf, and gently raising it, the skele- ton has separated freely from the pulp, which adheres to the paper*. e. In many of these skeletons, as that of the apple-tree, cherry-tree/holm, &c., you will find that all the fibres, great and small, are double ; or that there are two layers or planes of fibres, which, it may be observed, will easily detach from each other through the whole skeleton. f. These two planes of woody fibres, which compose ^he skeleton of a leaf, are supposed to be analogous to the arteries and veins of an animal body. But there is no discerning which are the arterial, and which the venal fibres. (See the * See Herbarium. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 79 figure of the skeleton, and its duplicature, of an apple-leaf, fig. 4.) g. In the same manner may fruits be pre- pared, and skeletons of them be procured, as apples, pears, peaches, &c. They must be sound and good, pared very nicely, then boiled gently till they are thoroughly soft -, then taking them out, and putting them into a bason of cold water, hold the tail in one hand, and with one finger and thumb of the other, rub the pulp gently off, and preserve the skeleton in rectified spirit of wine. h. Carrots, and other roots that have woody ftbres, must be boiled without paring till they grow soft, and the pulp comes off. Not only many sorts of roots, but the bark of several trees also, may be reduced after this method into skeletons, presenting rare and curious views of vegetables. Philosoph. Trans. No. 414. and 416. 80 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. CHAPTER II. ON THE FLOWERS OF PLANTS, &c. , Q. What is there particularly to be observed relative to the flowers of plants ? A. In the flower may be observed 1. The empalement, calyx, or cup, which contains the flower, and is designed for the guard and security of the other parts of the flower. 2. The foliation or composure of the leaves, which is of various forms and colours ; whose constituent parts are the same as those of the leaves, viz., skin, parenchyma, air, and sap- vessels. 3. Within the foliage stands the attire; namely, those fine upright stems, with their apices, and the style in the very middle of all $ and these are the general parts of which the flower consists, Q. What are the uses of those several parts of the flower ? THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 81 A. The empalement, as already observed, is for the security of the flower in embryo, and af- terwards for the support of the foliage, to keep the leaves of the flower in due and decorous posture, which would otherwise hang in an un- seemly and tawdry manner. The foliage, or leaves of the flower, defend the attire, and in some plants the fruit ; it also serves for the fur- ther refining and separation of proper parts of the sap, for bringing the seeds to perfection. The attire is an ornament and distinction in flowers. It also supplies various small insects with food which harbour in it, that is, in the hollow of the style. Lastly, it is supposed that it likewise serves as male sperm, to impregnate and fructify the seed. SEXUAL DISTINCTIONS OF PLANTS. I. That there is a sexual distinction in plants, that some are male, others female, and most hermaphrodite j and that the flower is the pu- dendum of the plant, as containing the parts of generation, are points agreed upon among modern naturalists. H 2 89 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 2. The male parts of a flower are the stamina or stem, and their apices or little tops, which con- tain the fine powder, or farina, which is sup- posed to be the semen, or seed of the plant. 3. The female parts are the style, which serves to receive the semen- and the seed-case at the bottom of the style, which is imagined to be the matrix, or womb of the plant. 4. Some plants have only the male parts of the flower, and they never bear fruit} others the female parts only, and they bear fruit. In others, as cucumbers, melons, gourds, walnuts, oak, leech, &c. the male and female flowers grow at some distance from each other. 5. But most plants are hermaphrodites, or have the male and female parts in the same flower, as the pulp, lily, polyanthus, &c. 6. The manner in which plants are impreg- nated and generated is not clearly understood, although it is generally agreed that the farina, falling upon the apicis, is received by the style, or pistse, which conveys it to the seed-case below, where it impregnates the embryo seed contained therein. Much has been said for and against this THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 83 hypothesis ; a short view of which controversy may be seen in Shaw's notes to Boerhaave's chemistry, as well as in other botanical authors. CHAPTER III. ON THE FRUIT OF PLANTS, &c. Q. What is the nature and composition of fruit ? A. The general nature and composition of fruit is one and the same -, that is, their essential and truly vital parts are in all the same, and only the continuation of those which, as already ob- served, constitute the other parts of the plant. But from the different constitution and textures of these parts many considerably different fruits result, as apples, pears, plums, nuts, berries, &c. Q. What are the particular parts which com- pose those different structures ? A. 1. The apple consists of the following four parts, viz. the pilling, the parenchyma or pulp, branchery, and core. 84 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 2. The pear has five distinct parts, via. the pilling, the parenchyma, the branchery, calculary, and acetary. 3. The plum (to which the cherry, apricot, peach, &c. may be referred) consists of four parts, viz. the pilling, parenchyma, branchery, and stone. 4. The berry consists of four parts, viz. the pilling, parenchyma, branchery, and seed. 5. The nut consists of three parts, the cap, the shell, and pith. (See pith, p. 67.) Q. What are the principal uses of fruits ? A. The use of fruit is two -fold : 1st, It serves man as well as beast, as a delicious and pleasant meat or food, besides the various purposes of medicine ; 2d, It supplies the seed with a due and most convenient sap- the fruit doing the same office to the seed as the leaves do to the fruit, viz. that by a due purification and exaltation of the sap, the seed may arrive at perfection. Q. What is the seed in its state of generation? A. As the original, so the ultimate end and perfection of vegetation, is the seed. The manner THK FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 85 in which in its state it has been adapted to ve- getables is already explained. Its state of gene- ration is as follows : The sap, in the root, trunk, and leaves, having passed divers concoctions and separations, is at last in some good state of matu- rity advanced towards the seed. In the fruit, as was said, it is still farther prepared, and the more essential part is transmitted into that particular part of the branchery, called the seed-branch} which, because it is a good length, and very fine, still farther maturates the sap in passing through it : in this mature state, it is conducted through the seed- branch into the coats of the seed, as into the womb. The meaner part of the sap to the outer coat, the more fine is transmitted to the inner coat, where it is farther prepared by fer- mentation 5 and thence it is filtered through a fine skin into the innermost part or substance of the seed, where it becomes a liquor fit for actu- ating the future embryo seed, that is, causing it to vegetate, and the plume to shoot forth. 86 THE F1R&T LINES OF BOTANY. CHAPTER IV. MOSS, MUSHROOMS, AND OTHER FUN- GOUS EXCRESCENCES, ADHERING TO THE SIDES OF TREES. Mushrooms, moss, and other fungous excres- cences, are a spurious kind of plants, or rather excrementitious plants, since they entirely arise from the bodies of other plants, or from a kind of viscous mucilage of the earth. They indeed grow, and have roots, some inserted into the fibres of the plant producing them, e. g. misletoe is radicated into the fibres of the oak ; and moss to the fibres of the barks of trees ; mushrooms arise from various matters in earth and wood, and are found to consist of a vast bundle of fibres, proceeding from the substance on which they grow, and which forms the stalk; thence devaricadng, spread and extend them- selves into a spherical canopy or head, which con- tains a succulent parenchyma ; on the under part of which, it is probable, the seed is produced, THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 87 though none hitherto has been seen, which, being wafted about by the wind, falls in divers places of the earth, and there takes root and grows : thus moss undoubtedly bears seed, by which the various sorts of it are propagated, though, on account of their smallness, they cannot be seen. a. Of moss, naturalists make mention of about 30O different kinds ; though those which grow common are not above 50 in number. They have a great variety in their growth, form, and make; and most of them form an agreeable sight in the microscope. In consequence of nothinglike flower seeds being found in many of them, they are truly judged to be plants of their own kind. b. Dr. Lister takes the gills of mushrooms to be the very flower and seed of the plant 3 in- deed no other can be detected by the microscope. The mouldiness on leather, paste, pickles, &c. is of the mushroom tribe ; they are well known to be of a speedy growth, and consist of a mul- titude of fine stalks and stones ; on the tops of which grow round heads, containing a kind of liquor, which may be found by bruising them under the microscope. 88 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. c. The fungi, or what we ca\Uew's-ear, Agaric, #c., which grow on the rind of trees,, are of a very porous substance. If the superficies of some be viewed with a microscope, they will appear like a honey -comb, full of holes, which go deep, and make a fistular substance. In these^ there is still less discernible of roots, flower, or seed. d. The puff-balls are another sort of odd pro- duction -, these at first have a fleshy substance, pretty firm, which, by degrees, becoming more ripe, change to a kind of dust, which Mr. Brad- ley supposed to be the seed, e. The truffle, like the puff-ball, is formed under ground, it lies about six or eight inches deep ; is of a firm and fleshy substance within, and cortical without. The fleshy part, if viewed in their slices under the microscope, appears to be composed of roundish, opake, and very small particles, thickly interspersed through a white, transparent, and seemingly vascular substance, which runs in larger and finer veins all over the substance of the truffle. They are of two kinds, one round, the other of an egg-like figure. They are of a strong and very disagreeable THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 89 odour ; but esteemed in food as a very delicious and luxurious piece of dainty. They are found very common in the woods of Italy and France j and latterly in different parts of England. And dogs are there taught to hunt them out with as great sagacity, and as easily as to set game. f. As regards submarine vegetables, namely, as those which grow in and under the sea, as the large green membranous sea-belts, which grow on stones - } the fuci and other sea- weeds -, the co- ralines on stones and oyster- shells 5 the sea fan ; the coral, which grows on rocks 5 the sponge, &c., they are so numerous and various, as not to admit to be treated of in this place,, further than to observe, that they in general appear to be deficient in roots, flowers, and seeds y and are most of them of a very wonderful texture and make ; especially the sponge, which has a very fine effect seen through the microscope. POISONOUS MUSHROOMS. Among the numerous species of fungous plants, none are so decidedly poisonous as the 9O THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. pepper agaric, the deadly agaric, champignon^, and some others. The symptoms they occasion are nausea, heat and pain in the bowels, with vomiting and purging ; thirst, convulsions, faint ings ; small and frequent pulse ; delirium, dilated pupil, and stupor ; cold sweats, and often death. The treatment, under these circumstances consists in clearing out the stomach and bowels by means of an emetic of tartarized antimony, followed by frequent doses of Glauber or Epsom salts, and large stimulating glysters. After the evacuation of the poisonous substances aether may be administered, with small quantities of brandy and water ; but should inflammatory symptoms present themselves, such stimuli should be omitted, and other appropriate means, as bleeding, and the antiphlogistic regimen, put in practice. (See New London Medical Pocket Book, p. 247.) THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 91 TO DISTINGUISH POISONOUS FROM EDIBLE MUSHROOMS. The poisonous fungi may be distinguished from such as are eatable by their botanical cha- racters, and the following simple indications 5 viz., the former, or poisonous mushrooms, grow in wet shady places, have a nauseous odour, are softer, more open and porous -, with a dirty look- ing surface, sometimes a gaudy colour, or many very distinct hues, particularly if they have been covered with an envelope ; they have soft bul- bous stalks, grow rapidly, and corrupt very quickly. POISONOUS PLANTS. Among the principal of this class of poisons may be enumerated. 1. Blue monkshood. 5. Fool's parsley. 2. Bane berries. 6. Fox-glove. 3. Deadly night-shade. 7- Long leaved water 4. Bear's foot. hemlock*. * Persons not conversant in practical botany are very apt to con found this plant with what is called the phellan- drum aquaticum, called also water-hemlock, an instance 92 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 8. Thorn apple. 13. Garden night-shade. 9. Henbane. 14. Woody night-shade. 10. Dog's mercury. 15. Mezereon. 11. Hemlock dropwort.16. Meadow saffron. 1 C 2. Laurel. 17- Wall-pepper, &c*. OBS. All plants, whose flowers have five sta- mens, one pistil, one petal, and whose fruit is of the bernj kind, may at once be pronounced as poisonous $ the umbelliferous plants which grow in tuater are mostly poisonous - } and such as have the corolla purple and yellow, may be suspected of being so. CHAPTER IV. OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. The botanical systematic arrangement of Lin- na?us contains, in a compendious manner, a view of the whole vegetable kingdom, disposed of which occurs in Mr. Wilmer's Pamphlet on Poisonous Vegetables, published in 1781, when Captain Donellan's trial was so generally the subject of conversation. * Many of these are irritating, others narcotic poisons, that is, some act through the medium of the circulation, THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 93 according to the order of which he was the in- ventor, and is founded, as regards its classifica- tion, upon the sexes of plants. A system which is now almost universally received, and which has gained its author immortal honours. It is in this branch of the study of nature that the illustrious Swede so eminently shines ; from him it is that botany justly boasts a new era, and without derogating from the merit of for- mer writers, it may truly be said, that it never really was reduced to a science before. It is almost needless in the present state of knowledge to urge the necessity of a method in the study of nature - } it is the very soul of sci- ence, and amidst such a multiplicity of objects as the vegetable kingdom affords, all attempts towards the acquisition of knowledge without it, must end in uncertainty and confusion. Of this there are sufficient proofs among the writers on plants before the invention of systems -, and we see and deplore the want of it in the loss of others through that of the brain and nerves. For the several symptoms and treatment, see New London Medi- cal Pocket Book, p. 244., for an excellent, well connected and condensed view of this subject. i 2 94 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. many valuable articles, not in the Materia Medica^ but in the Pictoria and Tinctoria of the ancients. Q. How many classes are there in the Lin- nsean system 5 and on what are the characters of these classes founded ? A. Twenty-four -, the characters of which are taken from the number, connexion, length and situation of the stamens. Q. How are these classes distinguished ? A. There are stamens and pistils in the same flower, in each of the first twenty classes j in the twenty-first class they are in distinct flowers on the same plant 3 in the twenty-second, in dis- tinct flowers on different plants ; in the twenty- third they are in the same flower as well as in distinct ones ; and in the twenty-fourth class they are not all to be seen. CLASSES. The names of the classes are founded on Greek words, which express their respective characteristics. The first ten are named from the Greek numerals, and the word andria, which must be considered as equivalent to stamens. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 95 These are as follow : 1. MONANDRIA, having One stamen. Two stamens. Three stamens. Four stamens. Five stamens. Six stamens. 2. DIANDRIA, 3. TRIANDRIA, 4. TETRANDRIA, 5. PENTANDRLA, 6. HEXANDRIA, 7. HEPTANDRIA, 8. OCTANDRIA, 9. ENNEANDRIA, 10. DECANDRIA, 11. DODECANDRIA, 12. ICOSANDRIA, 13. POLYANDRIA, 14. DlDYNAMIA, two longer. 15. TETRADYNAMIA longer. 16. MONADELPHIA, Filaments united at bottom^ but separated at top. 17. DIADELPHIA, Filaments in two sets. 18. POLYADELPHIA, Filaments in many sets. Seven stamens. > Eight stamens. Nine stamens, Ten stamens. Twelve stamens. Twenty stamens. Many stamens. Four stamens, - Six stamens, four 96 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 19. SYNGENESIA, having Stamens united by antherae. 20. GYNANDRIA, Stamens and pis- tils together, 21. MONOSAU, Stamens and pis- tils in separate flowers upon the same plant. 22. DICECIA, Stamens and pis- tils distinct, upon different plants. 23. POLYAMIA, Variously situated 24. CRYPTOGAMIA, Flowers invisi- ble. DISTINCTION OF THE CLASSES. a. All plants having but one stamen are of the first class -, those that have only two are of the second ; those that have only three are of the third, and so on - } the number of stamens being the same with the number of the class in the first ten classes. b. The eleventh class (Dodecandria) contains all such plants as have from twelve to nineteen stamens fixed in the receptacle. c. The twelfth class (Icosandria) is known by THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 97 having twenty or more stamens, fixed to the in- side of the calyx. In this class the place of in- sertion is more to be relied on than the numbers of the stamens, for there are sometimes less than twenty and sometimes more. d. The plants comprehended in the thirteenth class (Polyandria) are those that have more than twenty stamens attached to their receptacle. e. The fourteenth class (Didynamia) are dis- tinguished by four stamens in a flower, of which two are longer than the others. /. The fifteenth class (Tetradynamia) is known by having six stamens in the flower, four of which are longer than the other two. g. In the sixteenth class (Monadelphia) the stamens are united by their filaments into one set, forming a case round the lower part of the pistils, but separating at the top. h. In the seventeenth class (Diadelphia), the corolla are paplionaceous (like a butterfly) as the blossom of a pea -, the stamens are con- nected by their filaments, but divided into two sets, one of which is thicker, and forms a case round the pistil ; the other is smaller, and leans towards the pistil. 98 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY* t. In the eighteenth class (Polydelphia) the stamens are united by their filaments into more than two sets or parcels. k. The nineteenth class (Syngenesia) consists of compound flowers, as the common daisy or dandelion - y and they are called compound, be- cause each single flower consists of a collection of little flowers or flowerets, attached to the same broad receptacle, and contained within one calyx. I. In the twentieth class (Gynandria) the sta- mens are attached to the pistil. m. The twenty-first class (Monoecia) is known by containing those plants which have flowers of different kinds on the same plant, some bear- ing pistils, and others stamens only. n. The twenty-second class (Dicecia) consists of those species which have stamens on one plant, and pistils in another. 0. The twenty-third class (Polygamia) em- braces those plants which have at least two, and sometimes three kinds of flowers : 1. Some with pistils and stamens in the same flower. 2. Others having stamens only. THK FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 99 3. Or having flowers with three pistils only. p. In the twenty-fourth class (Cryptogamia) are comprehended all plants in which the flowers are invisible to the naked eye, e. g. mosses, ferns, mushrooms, sea- weeds, &c. CHAPTER V. ORDERS OF PLANTS. The orders of plants are as ingeniously and simply formed as the classes. In the first thirteen classes, the orders are founded wholly on the number of the pistils ; so that by adding gynia instead of andria, to the Greek words which signify the numbers, they will be easily recollected. Where they are not distinguished by the number of the pistils, their names are derived from some circumstance rela- tive to the stamens, pistils, or seed. The first thirteen orders are : 1. Monogynia, having One pistil. 100 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. I 2. Digynia, having Two pistils. 3. Trigynia, Three pistils. 4. Tetragynia, Four pistils, 5. Pentagynia, Five pistils. 6. Hexagynia, Six pistils. 7. Heptagynia, Seven pistils. 8. Octagynia, Eight pistils. 9. Enneagynia, Nine pistils. 10. Decagynia, Ten pistils. 11. Dodecagynia, Twelve pistils. 1<2. Icosagynia, Twenty pistils. 13. Polygynia, Many pistils. Q. In the fourteenth class, how many orders are there, and how are they known ? A. In this class there are only two orders, which depend on the presence or absence of the pencarp or seed-vessel : a. Gymnospermia. Naked seeds in the bot- tom of the calx, e, g. mint, dead nettle, thyme, &c. b. Angolspermia. Seeds enclosed in a pen- carp -, as in fox-glove, eye-bright, figwort, wood-flax, &c. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 1O1 In the fifteenth class (Tetraclynamia) there are two orders, taken from a difference in the pen- carp. a. Siliculosa, Seeds enclosed in a silicle, or roundish seed-vessel, consisting of two pieces, called valves, and the seeds fixed to both edges, or sutures j e. g. cress and shepherd's purse. 6. Siliquosa. Seeds enclosed in a silique, or long seed-vessel 5 as in mustard. Q. How do you distinguish the orders of the next three classes ? A. In the classes Monadelphia, Diadelphia, and Polyadelphia, the orders are distinguished by the number of stamens, namely, Penlandria, five stamens 5 Hexandria, six stamens. Q. In the nineteenth class (Syngenesia), how many orders are there ? :* A. Six orders, which derive their name from the structure of the flower : 1. Polygamia cequalis, having both stamens and pistils in the same floweret, e. g, thistle, dandelion, &c. < 2. Polygamia superflua}vihw\ the flower is com- 1O2 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTAXY. posed of two parts a disk or central part, and rays or petals projecting outwards, as in sun- flower, tansy, daisy, camomile, &c. 3. Polygamia frustranea, the flowerets of the centre, perfect or united 5 those of the margin, without either stamens or pistils, as blue-bottles. 4. Polygamia necessaria, where the flowerets in the disk, though apparently perfect, are not really so, and therefore produce no perfect seed -, but the fertility of the pistilliferous Jloscules in the ray, compensate for the deficiency of those in the centre of the flower, as in the marygold. 5. Polygamia degregata, when each of the flowerets has a calyx, besides the common, or general calx of the flower. 6. Monogamia, when the flower is not com- pound but single, and the anther united. The orders formed in the next three classes (grandria, monoecia, and dioecia), are from the number and other peculiarities of the stamens, e- g.~ MONANDRIA, having one stamen. DIANDRIA, two stamens, &c. POLYANDRIA. seven stamens. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 103 MONADELPHIA, stamens united into one set. POLYDELPHIA, stamens united into different sets. GYNANDRIA, stamens upon the pistil. In the twenty-third class (Polyamia) are com- prised three orders, viz. monceda, dioecia, and tri- cecia. In the twenty-fourth order (Cryptogamia) are four orders, namely, ferns, mosses,, sea-weeds, and funguses. CHAPTER VI. CLASS!. MoNANDRiA.(OneStamen.)TWo ORDERS. Ex. Most of the plants belonging to this order are natives of India, as ginger, cardamoms, arrow root, turmeric, &c.; but we have the hippuris (mare's tail), which grows in muddy pools and ditches 5 and as it is not difficult to be procured, it may serve for an example of the first order. Description of the Hippuris, or Mares tail. It has neither calx nor corolla. A single pistil de- notes its order, and it has only one stamen, 104 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY, which grows upon the receptacle, terminated by another slightly divided, behind which is the pistil, with an awl-shaped stigma, tapering to a point. The stem is straight and pointed, and the leares grow round the joints $ at the base of each leaf is a flower, and it is seen in bloom in the month of May. The star-wort belongs to the second order of this class, and takes its name from the upper leaves making a star-shaped appearance. It contains two pistils, and is to be met with in ditches and standing water ; and may be seen in blossom at any time between April and October. CLASS II. DIANDRIA. (Two Stamens.) THREE ORDERS. Ex. The privet (sigustrumj, a shrub very com- mon in our hedges. It bears a white blossom, and generally flowers in June, having a very small tubulated calx of one leaf, with its rim divided into four parts. The blossom is also funnel-shaped, with an expanded border, cut into four ovate or egg-shaped segments. It is known to belong to this class by having two THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 105 stamens placed opposite to each other, and nearly as long as the blossom. The seed is roundish, the pistil or style short, terminated by a thick blunt stigma. The leaves grow in pairs, and are sometimes variegated with white or yellow stripes. It bears berries. The seed-vessel is a black berry, containing only one cell, which in- closes four seeds. OBS. The berries of the privet are used in dyeing, from their giving a durable green co- lour to silk or wool, by the addition of alum. The common jessamine (jassminum officinale), a native of India, but long cultivated in Europe, also belongs to the class diandria. It is an or- namental shrub, chiefly reared against walls, and is interesting not only from the elegance of its foliage, but also from the number of beautiful white flowers with which it is adorned, that exhale a grateful odour, particularly after rain, and during the night. Also several useful spices, as pepper, of which there are upwards of sixty different species, all natives of the East and West Indies. 106 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. CLASS III. TRIANDRIA. (Three Stamens.) THREE ORDERS. To this class belong various grasses, every single blade of which bears a distinct flower, perfect in all its parts, which, when accurately observed, cannot fail to excite our admiration. The general character of grasses, of which there are upwards of three hundred species, may be de- scribed as follow : The leaves furnish pasturage for cattle 5 the smaller seeds serve as food for birds, and the larger for man , some, however, are preferred to others, as fescue, for sheep 5 meadow grass, for cows ; canary, for small birds j oats and beans, for horses 5 rye, wheat and barley, for man. They also furnish us with our most important articles of food and clothing, as bread, meat, beer, milk, butter, cheese, leather, wool, &c. j and all the advantages resulting from the use of cattle would be lost without them. Grasses are distinguished from other plants by their simple, straight, emb ranched stalk, hollow jointed, commonly called a straw, with long, narrow, tapering leaves, placed at each knot THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 107 or joint ef the stalk, and sheathing it by way of support. Their ears or heads consist of a husk, composed generally of two valves, which form the calx ; inclosed in which is the blossom, be- ing also a husk of two valves. The sugar cane, as well as the celebrated plant called by the an- cients papyrus, belong also to this class *. OBS. Linnaeus has arranged grasses into four divisions. The first three include those which are produced in panicles or loose branches, dis- tinguished by the number of flowers in each em- palernent : the first, having one flower -, the se- cond, two ; the third, several. The fourth divi- sion consists of all those that grow in spikes or heads, as wheat, rye, barley, &c. CLASS IV. TETANDRIA, (Four Stamens.) THREE ORDERS. Ex. Teasel (dipsacusfullonurii), madder, ladies' bed-straw, holly (ilex aquifolium), &c. * Papyrus, the ancient paper, the inner bark of which the ancients used to write upon. Some books are said to be composed of leaves. Volumen was the manuscript rolled up. Hence our words library and volume, from the word liber, signifying the inner bark of a tree. 108 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY, OBS. Teasel is distinguished from other plants of the same tribe, by having its leaves connected at the base, the flower scales hooked, and the general calx reflected or bent back. CLASS V. PENTANDRIA, (Five Stamens.) SEVEN ORDERS. This class, which comprises one-tenth of the vegetable world, includes many very agreeable flowers, as well as noxious plants. The primrose, oxlip, passion flower, polyanthus, &c, belong to this class, as well as a tribe of plants called luridse, which are distinguished not only by having the characteristic marks of five stamens and one pointal, but they coincide in a calx that is permanent and divided, like corolla, which consist of one petal, into five segments. Their seed is either a capsule or a berry, inclosed with- in the flower, e. g. the deadly night-shade, fatropa belladonna) ; the thorn apple, (datura) henbane, (hyoscyamus) ; the night-shade, (sola- num) ; which comprises two kinds, namely, the woody night-shade, known by its blue blossoms and red berries j the garden night-shade, distin- guished by its white blossom and black berries* THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 109 CLASS VI. HEXANDRIA. (Six Stamens.) six ORDERS. Ex. The tulip, the hyacinth, lilies of every kind, the amaryllis, the great American aloe, and many other exotic plants of the libaceous tribe belong to this class 5 also the snow- drop, (galanthus nivalis) , barberry, daffodil, narcissus, &c. CLASS VII. HEPTANDRIA. (Seven Stamens.) FOUR ORDERS. Ex. The horse-chesnut (cesculus hippocustanum) , in botanical characters, are a small calx of one leaf, slightly divided at the top into five seg- ments, and swelling at the base 5 a corolla of five petals, inserted into the calx, and a capsule of three cells, in one or two of which only is a seed. For an interesting account of chesnut- trees, see Phillip's Pomanum Britannicum. CLASS VIII. OCTANDRIA. (Eight Stamens,) FOUR ORDERS. Ex. Various shrubs, native and foreign ; among 110 THE FIRST 'LINES OF BOTANY. the first may be included the common maple and sycamore trees, and the cranberry and whortle- berry shrubs, with the common heath, which grows wild on mountainous wastes in almost every part of England. Among the foreign ones are the balm of Gilead shrub, which grows in several parts of Abyssinia and Syria 3 the sugar maple of North America, which is 50 or 60 feet high - y and the rosewood tree, in the island of Jamaica, &c. CLASS IX. ENNEANDRIA. (Nine Stamens,) THREE ORDERS. Ex. Several foreign plants, as cinnamon, cassia, sassafras, bay, camphor, and rhubarb. The only plant belonging to this class in this country is the flowering rush (butomus umbella- tusj, which grows in the water, having a round smooth stalk, rising from one to six feet in height, according to its situation 3 at the top of which is a head of bright red flower*, sometimes not less than thirty ; three short leaves form the cup, and the corolla has six petals. This plant is so hardy as to defy the severest frost. THK FTRST LINKS OF BOTANY, 111 CLASS X. DECANDRIA. (Ten Stamens.) THREE ORDERS. Ex. In this class are comprised several trees of foreign growth, as well as various plants and flowers common to this country. The lignum vitae, logwood and mahogany, all natives of the West Indies, all belong to this class. The car- nation, the sweet William, and whole tribe of pinks j also the fly-trap of Venus, a native of America. Q. Describe the fly-trap of Venus. A. At the bottom of the footstalk of this sin- gular plant are several leaves, each of which are divided into two lobes at the extremity, having long teeth on the margin, like the antennae or feelers of insects, and armed within with six spines ; these lie spread upon the ground round the stem, and are so irritable, that when a fly happens to light upon a leaf, it immediately folds up and crushes it to death. OBS. Dr. Darwin observes, that he " saw this plant in the collection of Sir B. Boothby, of Ashbourn-hall, Derbyshire (17S8), and that on 112 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. drawing a string along the middle of the rib of the leaves as they lay upon the ground round the stem, each of them in about a second of time closed and doubled up, crossing the thorns over the opposite edge of the leaf, like the teeth of a spring rat trap/' CLASS XI. DODECANDRIA *. (Twelve Stamens.) SIX ORDERS. Ex. Weld, or dyer's weed, which is found on barren ground, or on walls. In the clothing counties of England it is cultivated to a great extent, for the purpose of dyeing, as it affords a most beautiful yellow for cotton,, woollen, silk or linen, which is procured from its roots and stems 5 and blue cloths dipped in a decoction of it turns green. The yellow hue of the paint, called Dutch pink, is also obtained from this plant. Its leaves are open-shaped and entire, with a dentiform or toothlike process on each side of the base. The flowers are yellow, and * Although the word Dodecandria, implies twelve sta- mens, yet this class includes plants, as have from twelve to nineteen. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 113 in long spikes ; and the calx is divided into four segments. CLASS XII. ICOSANDRIA. (Twenty Stamens.) THREE ORDERS. Ex. A great variety of fruit trees, such as the apple, pear, cherry, plum, nectarine, peach, al- mond, and medlar. Also various shrubs and herbs ; such as laurels, roses, strawberries, &c. CLASS XIII. POLYANDRIA. (Stamens numerous and indefinite.) SEVEN ORDERS, Ex. The poppy and tea-tree. CLASS XIV. DIDYNAMIA. (Four Stamens, two long and two short.) TWO ORDERS. Ex. The plants comprehended in this class are for the most part garden herbs, and valued for their odoriferous smell and kitchen uses, as well as for the medicinal qualities which some of them possess : of the first order, may be in- cluded, common spearmint fmentha vividis), dead- nettle, thyme : of the second, foxglove,, wood flax, eye-bright, figwort. 114 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. CLASS XV. TETR ADYNAMIA. (Six Stamens, four long and two short.) TWO ORDERS. Ex. The plants of this class are all eatable, and generally supposed to possess anti-scorbutic properties ; as the cabbage, turnip, the water cress, and mustard, with a variety of wild plants and flowers. Shepherd's purse and cress belong to the first order -, mustard to the second. CLASS XVI. MONODELPHIA. (All the Filaments united at the bottom, but separate at the top.) EIGHT ORDERS. Ex. The cotton plant, cultivated in the East and West Indies, and other hot countries. CLASS XVII. DIADELPHIA. (Filaments united in tWO SetS.) FOUR ORDERS. Ex. Of this class are many plants known to us, as beans, peas, vetches, clover, lucern, broom, furze ; these are called paplionaceous, that is, having the leaves butterfly-shaped. The curious sensitive plant called Sensitive Heydasarum, a native of Bengal, and which may THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 115 be considered as one of the most extraordinary plants in the vegetable kingdom, belongs to this class. When the air is quite warm and very still, its leaves are in continual motion, some rising, others falling, and others turning round by twisting their stems. The cause of these phenomena are by no means accounted for, though Dr. Darwin conjectures that this spon- taneous motion of the sensitive plant may be as necessary as respiration to animal life. It grows about three feet high ; the leaves are of a bright green ; and the flowers of a pale red, slightly tinged with blue or yellow. CLASS XVIII. POLYADELPHIA. (Filaments united, making many sets.) THREE ORDERS. Ex. Several foreign fruit trees, as the orange, the lemon, the citron, and the cocoa-nut trees. In Bowdler's poetical introduction to Botany, are the following beautiful lines, so beautifully descriptive of the citron, lemon and orange, that we cannot resist the pleasure of introducing them to our readers. 116 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. "In beauty blooming, and in artless grace, The fragrant citron rears her glittering race - 9 The pale-eyed lemon, lofty and austere, Checks her gay suitors with a tone severe ; With milder charms along the fertile glade, Glows bright Amantia with a deeper shade ; Rears her tall head in vegetable pride, And bends her loaded boughs on every side ; These juicy stores to foreign skies unfold, In clusters thick, like pendent drops of gold. CLASS XIX. SYNGENESIA. (Stamens united by Antherae, flower compounded.) six ORDERS. Ex. Dandelion, thistle, sun-flower, tansy, daisy, camomile, blue-bottle, marygold, &c. Q. Describe the daisy. A. The daisy, if taken separately, will be found to contain much beauty and variety. The calyx is formed of a double row of spear-shaped leaves, the numerous tabular florets in the centre are yellow, and furnished with both stamens and pistils, while those composing the ray, which are white above, and pink beneath, contain pis- tils only. The receptacle is naked and conical, and a naked stalk supports a single flower. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 117 CLASS XX. GYNANDRIA. (Stamens situated on the pistils). NINE ORDERS. Ex. Several well-known field-plants of the or- ches tribe. They have an oblong withered germ, below the flower, which has no proper calyx, but only sheaths ; the corolla consists of five pe- tals, the two innermost of which usually join to form an arch or helmet over the top of the flower In some species the root is composed of a pair of solid bulbs 5 in others it consists of a set of oblong fleshy substances, tapering towards the ends. The beautiful and scarce flower, called the ladies' slipper, found in its wild state in some unfrequented woods in the north of England, belongs to this class. CLASS XXII. MONCECIA. (Stamens and pistils in separate flowers, but upon the same plant.) TEN ORDERS. Ex. A variety of trees and plants, both native and foreign, belong to this class. Among those of native growth may be enumerated the oak 118 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. birch, alder, beech, walnut, sweet chesnut, fir, hazel nut, filbert and mulberry trees, and the numerous kind of sedges. Among the foreign may be reckoned, the bread fruit tree, the cork tree, the cocoa nut tree, the tallow tree, maize, or Indian corn, &c. CLASS XXII. DICECIA. (Stamens and pistils dis- tinct, upon different plants.) EIGHT ORDERS, Ex. The willow, the parasitical misletoe, the yew tree and hemp. CLASS XXIII. POLYGAMIA. (Stamens and pistils variously situated.) THREE ORDERS. Ex. The plantain tree, a valuable production growing in the West Indies, &c., and is found to be an excellent substitute for bread. CLASS XXIV. CRYPTOGA:,IIA. (Flower invisible.) FOUR ORDERS. Ex. Mosses, ferns, fungusses, including the mushroom, &c. THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 119 CHAPTER VII. DIRECTIONS FOR FORMING A HORTUS SICCUS, OR HERBARIUM, FOR THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF PLANTS USED IN BOTANICAL INVES- TIGATIONS, &c. The best method of preserving them is by drying them 3 specimens ought to be collected when dry, and carried home in a tin box. Plants may be dried by pressing, in a box of sand, or with a hot smoothing-iron. Each of these has its advantages. 1. If pressure be employed, a botanical press may be procured. The press is made of two smooth boards of hard wood, eighteen inches long, twelve broad, and two thick. Screws must be fixed to each corner with nuts. If a press cannot easily be obtained, books may be employed. Next, some quires of unsized blossom blot- ting paper must be provided. The specimens, 120 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. when taken out of the tin box, must be care* fully spread on a piece of pasteboard, covered with a single sheet of the blossom paper quite dry ' } then place three or four sheets of the same paper above the plant, to imbibe the mois- ture as it is pressed out 5 it is then to be put into the press. As many plants as the press will hold may be piled up in this manner. At first they ought to be pressed gently. After being pressed for twenty-four hours or' so, the plants ought to be examined, that any leaves or petals which have been folded may be spread out, and dry sheets of paper laid over them. They may now be replaced in the press, and a greater degree of pressure applied. The press* ought to stand near a fire, or in the sun- shine. After remaining two days in this situa- tion, they should be again examined, and dry sheets of paper be laid over them. The pres- sure then ought to be considerably increased. After remaining three days longer in the press, the plants may be taken out, and such as are sufficiently dry may be put in a dry sheet of writing paper. Those plants which are succu- THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. 121 lent may require more pressure, and the blossom paper again renewed. Plants which dry very quickly, ought to be pressed with considerable force when first put into the press j and, if delicate, the blossom paper should be changed every day. When the stem is woody it may be thinned with a knife, and if the flower be thick and globular, as the thistle, one side of it may be cut away -, as all that is necessary in a specimen, is to preserve the character of the class, order, genus, and species. 2. Plants may be dried in a box of sand in a more expeditious manner, and this method pre- serves the colour of some plants better. The specimens., after being pressed for ten or twelve hours, must be laid within a sheet of blossom paper. The box must contain an inch deep of fine dry sand, on which the sheet is to be placed, and then covered with sand an inch thick : another sheet may then be deposited in the same manner, and so on, till the box be full. The box must be placed near a fire for two or three days ; then the sand must be carefully removed,, 122 THE FIRST LINES OF BOTANY. and the plants examined. If not sufficiently dried, they may again be replaced in the same manner for a day or two. In drying plants with a hot smoothing-iron, they must be placed within several sheets of blotting paper, and ironed till they become sufficiently dry. This method answers best for drying succulent and mucilaginous plants. When properly dried, the specimens should be placed in sheets of writing paper, and may be slightly fastened by making the top and bottom of the stalk pass through a slip of the paper, cut neatly for the purpose. Then the name of the genus and species should be writ- ten down, the place where it was found, nature of the soil, and season of the year. These specimens may be collected into general orders and classes, and titled and preserved in a port- folio or cabinet. PART III. CHAPTER I. I VARIOUS PHENOMENA OBSERVABLE IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. CONSIDERED in various points of view, the vege- table kingdom exhibits innumerable phenomena,, which still continue to excite great variety of sentiment and inexhaustible conjecture. Among these, the curious botanist will not fail to ob- serve the locomotive faculty possessed by vege- tables 5 the extreme sensibility of some, and that remarkable phenomenon, in particular, which is called the