the: john • craig LIBRARY COLL-EIGE OF AGRICULTURE NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT OF HnPTini| jifp^ CQRNFI I IIMlvcpcn ITHACA, N. Y. Cornell University Library The original of tinis book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924001753130 Flower Object Lessons; OB, I'IRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. FAMILIAR DESCRIPTION FEW FLOWERS. FROM THE FRENCH M. EMM. LE MAOUT, DOCTOK OF JUEDICINE AND MEMBER OP THE *' 60CIETE PHILOMATHIQTJE. " NEW YORK: Wm. J. Read, Steam Peintbr, IIB FniTOH Street. 1873. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 187d, by Miss A. L. PAGE, Jn the oflk-e of the Lil)i'ariau of Congress, at "Wasliington. SPECIAL NOTICE. FloAver Object Lessons; OR ' Fllisr ZJSSSOJVS IJV HOTAJYT. A Familiar Dbscription of a Few Flowers. From the French of M. EMIVl. LE MAOUT, TKANSr-ATED BY Miss A. L. PAGE. This little work of 55 pages, illustrated by 47 woodcuts, has been translated for the purpose of placing within the reach of those interested in object teaching a manual that is most admirably adapted for the purpose, and is offered to parents and teach- ers with the belief that it fully supplies a gap in the literature of our country. Furnished at retail by the Translator (Miss A. L. Page, Danvers, Mass.), and by the Naturalists' Agency, at 75 Cents a Copy, in cloth binding. Sent by mail on receipt of retail price. 7"fte Trade supplied on usual terms by THE MTUEALISTS' AGENCY, Salem, ]\la,ss. [See Testimonials on other side.] The folloavixg Tti::STi:\iONiALS5 from higli Miithorities. ai-eall tliat are deemed necessary to call attention to the merits of this book. Of Miss Peabody, the pioneer of kindergarten teaching in this country, and of her friend and coadjntor, Madam Kriege, it is need- less to say that their aiJprobation wonld not be given inconsider- ately. The same may trnly be affirmed of Prof. Rns sell and Drs. VaoDerWeyde and Bouai. To the last, has been jnstly a.'^oibed the merit of " having made the Duchy of Altenburg one of the best educated portions of thoroughly educated Germany." '^ I have no doubt that it is a great advance upun former botanies for beginners; and, for the older children of the khidergartens, say tVom five to heven, would be highly useful. The little bonk * * ought to be followed by a translation of the whole work." — ;Mai>a.m KrieGE, to the tranitlator. ''Under skilful presentations [the Flower Object Lcstons] will prove of the gi'eatest import towards kindling the love of nature, sharpening the senses, and all the mental poweis. and exciting moral sentiments." — Du. Adolf Douai, in preface. ''I like exceedingly the informal method of presenting flowers to children, that I lind in your little book, and feel sure that in this way they can best be led to observe and compare."— :Miss Euzaueth P. Peabody, to the translator. '■We wish Miss Page's little book in the hands of all parents as well as teachers, that they may read ifc, and learn what real teaching- ought to be." — Peof. p. H. VAX Dkk Weyde. in '^ The Mana- facturer and Builder." Having thought for a long time that the Science of Botany might be rendered especially available in furnishing topics for "object lessons, admirably united to young children, because they love flowers, and are interested in being told about them, I M'elcome the little book entitled ''Flower Object Lessons; or Firf-t Lessons in Botany. From the French of .M. Emm. Lc Maout," as the liarbinger of a new era in the study of Botany. I think it will be u good introduction to the more advanced study of that science, and give it my cordial recommendation.— Johx L. Russell, Botanist, fo fAe translator. PREFACE. The present little book may prove of consider- able benefit for Object Lessons to be given in Kin- dergartens and Primary Schools, if the right kind of treatment is acCDrded to its teachings. Its con- tents are intelligible and salutary for pupils of a genuine Kindergarten in the third year of their stay, and for pupils of Elementary Schools where Objective Teaching is practised, and only for such. Other pupils would lack the powers to feel interest in the subject matter, and to appropriate it; but for the classes of pupils mentioned it would, under skillful presentation, prove of the greatest import towards kindling their love of Nature, sharpening their senses and all their mental powers, and ex- citing moral sentiments. The right kind of treatment does not consist in reading the chapters of the book to the children, nor in relating to them orally what ' they teach. The several flowers should be presented, shown round, carefully observed, and questions asked about what the pupils see, smell, feel and gener- ally observe about them. The answers should be given in complete sentences, and incorrect ex- pressions used in describing the flowers, and their parts, should be corrected by the teacher, if pos- sible in familiar English (not Latin) terms. The attention of the children should be directed to such features to be noticed as would otherwise be over- 11. PREFACE. looked; the single parts of the flowers, when severed from them, or dissected, should be examined by every pupil so attentively, that they may be able to describe them after they have been removed. In all such lessons the material purpose of teaching (the le jrning scientific facts), though it ought not to be made slight of, is less essential than the formal purpose (the power gained by the learner in employ- ing his senses in comparison, perception, recollection and generalization). Of course the latter aim will be reached exactly in the same proportion as the former; only by a correct appropriation and assimi- lation of all the facts can the powers of the learner be harmoniously developed. The two purposes of learning must go strictly hand in hand. But no fact will be useful for the learner, which ia not fully ascertained by his own perception and com- parison ; none will be preserved which has not strengthened his powers through the very act of acquisition; none will interest him which is not of his own mental growth. On the whole, teachers wishing to engage in this branch of Object Lessons would do well to study Miss Youman's " First Lessons in Botany." This little book, though somewhat too abstract for the younger classes, very well exemplifies the proper manner of Objective Teaching as regards Natural Science. Newark, Nov. Isl, 1872. DR. ADOLF DOUAI. INTEODUOTION, AND SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. These first pages of M. Emm. Le Maout's truly elementary work have been of great use to the translator, and they are offered to the public in the hope that they will be useful to others. They eon- tain the analyses of about twenty flowers, on a new plan. Not a technical word is used. The eyes are sim- ply opened to observe and compare. Those who have endeavored to make botany per- manently attractive to the young, and to lead them to observe for themselves, must have felt a want, which it is hoped this little book will supply. The preparation of the manuscript was begun, without thought of publication, for a friend who is teaching a Kindergarten School, and it is hoped that it may be a useful book in the hands of Kinder- garten teachers, and for parents who wish to in- struct their children by the objective method. It is indispensable that the teacher should use a lens of some kind, but a simple and inexpensive one will answer very well. 5 G INTRODUCTION. The studies, as M. Le Maout suggests, need not be confined to the plants mentioned here. Others of the same family may be added or substituted, and some idea of the natural divisions may be given by shomng the likeness between the flovrer described and others of the same family easily found out by the teacher, with the help of Gray's or Wood's Manual. Children may be led to examine some plants of the great composite family (not described here), such as the dandeUon, daisy, thistle, burdock, groundsel, sunflower, and other common composite plants. Show them that each head is not one flower, but a bouquet of tiny flowers, each having its own set of organs. Some of the French species may differ from ours, but the difference is so slight (except perhaps in the orchis) that the teacher with the flowers in hand, as they always should be, will not find it difficult to give a lesson from them. The wall-flower, mentioned here, does not grow wild with us, but is easily cultivated in pots, or in the garden. The seeds can be readily obtained. The gilly-flower of the gardens is an excellent sub- stitute. The single flowers only can be used to study the parts. In the double ones the children can be shown that ihere are no perfect powder- wands, and told that they have changed into leaves of the inner envelope. INTBODUCTIOK. 7 Some may be found in the transition state, thus giving an idea of the way in which flowers become double, and they will see, in the loss of the powder- wands, the reason why seeds are not matured in double flowers, or in those double flowers in which all the powder-wands are metamorphosed. The radish, turnip, cabbage, honesty, candytuft, sweet alyssum belong to the same family, and may be used in addition to the gilly -flower, or ten weeks stock, as it is often called. It has been suggested that the trilUums (although quite different frbm the wall-flower) would serve very well to teach the organs of the flower, as they are symmetrical, of large size, and widely diffused over the United States. This translation has been submitted to Madame Kriege, whose authority as a conscientious inter- preter to us of the system of the great and good Froebel, will be unquestioned. She says of it : "I have no doubt that it is a great advance upon form- er botanies for beginners, and for the older children of the Kindergarten, say from five to seven, would be very useful. A few lessons, of a general charac- ter, on plant Hfe might precede, if you wish to be in accordance with Proebel's method; and then, if possible, have the whole plant before the child, if even you treat only of the flower, or let them culti- vate them in their gardens, so that they first get an impression of the whole. " The mode of instruction ought not to be that 8 INTR0DT30TI0N. the teacher shows the child the plant, or even the flower^ and says, 'We see,' or 'Tou see in the centre of the flower a little upright column,' &c., but ask the child to investigate, to cut open, as M. Le Maout directs, and then describe what he sees, and if he cannot find all the parts, or a proper word, give or suggest one, and draw his attention to all the minutiae. With these modifications, I think the little book would be of the greatest use, and ought to be followed by a translation of the whole work." The lessons of a general character, which Madame Kriege here suggests should precede the study of the flower, might be given somewhat in this way: Show the children a whole plant, taken from the ground carefully, so that the fibres are not broken oif, and, by questions and suggestions, lead them to observe the different uses of the upper and lower parts of the plant, one holding up the leaves and flowers into the sun and air, and the other keeping the plant firmly fixed in the earth. The roots taking up from the soil the food of the plant, and the up- per part taking in air and sun-light. Just what we need — food, sun-light, and fresh air. The plant may live for a time, and grow, without the last two named, but it will be pale and weak, like human beings who exist in that way. The color in flower and leaf, like the color in our cheeks, comes from sun-Hgbt and fresh air as well as food. In connection with some of the lessons the pupils might be led to notice that the fruits they eat INTKODUCTION. S are the seed-vessels at the bottom of the central column. When studying the apple-blossoms, show them the little seed-vessels below^ the outer envelope, and tell them when the apple-trees are ia bloom, we only notice the beautiful fragrant flowers, but by and by, after the powder-wands have opened and the powder has fallen on the top of the central column, the leaves of the inner envelopes drop like snow- flakes, and the powder- wands and the top of the cen- tral column wither away, and nothing is left but the Httle seed-vessel, which always forms the lowest part of all central columns, and in these flowers is found below the outer envelope. Tell them, also, that these little green things grow large, and when the seeds are ripe, they are found in the midst of soft, juicy pulp, very delicious to eat. The outer en- velope does not fall, but may be seen at the top of the ripe fruit. Some seeds are not wrapped in juicy pulp, but in a soft, dry substance, which is made into cloth, and serves for clothes instead of food. After giving them, in this or in some better way, these gen- eral ideas of the structure of the plant, the children will be ready for the first lesson in the translation. The whole work contains nearly six hundred pages, these first twenty-five treat only of the flow- er. The other parts of the plant, together with the flowers, are afterwards studied in a simple and de- lightful mannei-, with wonderful fulness of descrip- tion, and with enlarged and beautiful figures. 10 INTKODtrOTION. The peculiarities of the great botanical divisions are grouped about fifty typical plants. The student is not required to learn a number of technical terms before he can make any progress, but receives them only as they are needed in the course of an examination of some plants or family of plants, and finding a use for each as it is given, it is fixed without much conscious effort in the mind. The book ends with some chapters on vegetable an- atomy and physiology, written in the same simple and attractive manner. On introducing the first study after those here translated, the author gays : " You have compared and studied twenty plants. You have already ob- served a great variety of forms. If you have gained only general ideas, they are at least exact, and even if you pause here in your studies, you are now capa- ble of making an examination, full of interest, of all the fiowers that come under your observation. You have obtained this result without the aid of nomen- clature; simple words have sufficed to name each organ. Now that the thing is well known to you, the technical words will not be difficult. " Danvers, Mass., Aug., 1872. FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; on, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY, We are in the first fortnight of May. We 'will suppose that you have compared the plants figured in the plates* with the descriptions and with the plates, and that your eye is familiar with their gen- eral aspect, and will now study particularly the dif- ferent organs of which they are composed. With which shall we begin? If we follow the natural order of development of plants, it seems as if we should study first the seeds which, in sprouting, produce first a root and then a stem, then another root and another stem, with their branches, then the leaves and the flowers which spring from this stem, and finally the fruit, in which are contained the seeds, similar to those from which we started. This order of proceeding is perhaps the most me- thodical, but certainly would be the most uninter- esting. Now, the first duty of those who vnsh to * The plates referred to here are large colored plates in the •original work. — Trans 11 12 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS ; inspire their pupils with a love of sciencOj is to make them enjoy it as soon as possible; we begin, then, with the study of the most brilliant part of the plant, that which pleases most, that also which we know the best — the flower. Moreover, as the language of science, in spite of all my efforts to simplify it, would dismay you if I thrust it upon you abruptly, we will only employ in this first study common terms; and when, by the use of your mother tongue, I shall initiate you into the mysteries that conceal in their depths the flowers that you have only known superficially hitherto, then I am sure the pleasure that these revelations wiU give you will excite in you a strong desire to study the other organs of the plant; then, also, I shall have the privilege to call your attention to the detailed analysis of these organs, and to the scien- tific terms which serve to describe them. § 1. Take a specimen of the Wall-flower, either growing wild on the walls or cultivated in the gar- dens ; select a bud nearly open, and, with the aid of a long needle, strip caref uUy the leaves from the bud, so as to see plainly what is in the interior. The first barrier that you will have to destroy is formed by four little leaves of a dark brown color, that are erect, touching at their sides, and forming around the other parts of the flower an envelope that completely covers them. Within this barrier you find a second, less rigid, composed of four odorous leaves of a golden or OR, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 13 rusty yellow. These leaves are covered in the bud, but in the open flower you see them exposed, and making together a cross of four rounded limbs (fig. 51). You can cut them off with your needle and detach them from the four exterior leaves. Then you will observe in the centre of the flower (fig. 52) a little upright column, slightly flattened and indented at the top (sti). STl,. Fig. 51. — ^WAttPLOWBH. Entire Flower. (Enlarged). Fig. 62. — Wamfiowbk. Flower Stripped of Two of its EnvelopcE. Elg. 68 Will, FLOWBB. Powder-wand of the Flower. (Enlarged). Around tins column stand six little wands; there are two shorter than the rest (e.g.) placed opposite each other, and each facing one of the two sides of the column; the four others are in two pairs, each pair encloses one of the projecting sides of the column. These little wands, lite the column, are placed upon the base of the flower, which base, as you see, is sHghtly swollen at the top (k), to form a surface on 14 FLOWEB OBJECT LESSONS; which the central column, the wands which sur- round it, and the leaves which envelop them all, can stand. You will see that each little wand is composed of a long and slender stalk (fig. 53), which makes the greater part of it ; then the little enlarged body (a) covering the top of the wand, and shaped some- thing like an aiTOw. it is a satchel, or rather a wal- let, which contains a very fine yellow powder, which you can see by passing your needle along the seams which are on each side. Observe also the depressed top of the column (52, stig) placed in the centre ; you find it soft, moist, and often retain- ing some of the yellow powder from the little wallet. If, with a knife, you cut along this column, you will observe that it is hollow, and that it con- tains little round bodies, like eggs. This organ grows larger as it grows older, and you wiU find it fully grown in the withered flowers which are on the lower part of the branch, from the top of which you have selected the bud. If you cut wallfloweb. WiiLFLowS. "^ Central Ot^n of Ceotral Organ of this column across and through fKi^S; ""(Sn^'^dr- OK, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 15 the middle (fig. 54), you will see that it forms two cavities, between which is i^laced a partition. This double cavity is separated from the indented head (stig) by a short and contracted neck (sty). Now select from the bottom of the flower-branch a column fully grown, and try to open one of their cavities by opening from below one of these flat sides. There is upon this flat side a seam that will show you the place where you should apply the blade of your knife. This seam yields readily to a sharp instru- ment ; the pod opens and shows you (fig. 55) the eggs (ov), fastened to the partition (ol) which separates the two cavities, and suspended by little threads (cn) ; these eggs have grown in size together with the hollow column which contains them. You have examined all the organs constituting the flower, now see what is the use of these organs. It is not, I think, necessary to tell you that these little eggs contained in the two cavities of the cen- tral column are the young seeds which will repro- duce plants like this from which they grew. As to the exterior envelope which covers the whole flower in the bud, it is evidently an organ of pro- tection. The odorous and colored envelope which we find within the first, serves also to shield the in- ternal parts of the flower, but it fulfills other re- markable uses, of which we will speak presently. Now we will consider the use of the six httle wands which surround the column containing the young 16 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; Fig. 56. — Mblon. Flower uninflated. Fig. 57. — Melon. Powder Sacka of the Flower. (EolargHd). seeds. A plant very unlike the wallflower will serve our purpose. § 2. Notice the melon in the beds- where ' it is grown, and you will see upon^the same stem two kinds of flowers. The envelopes, it is true, are alike, but this (fig. 56) never has the column placed in the centre; it has nothing but little sacks of powder. These sacks are borne upon short stems, and their form is wavy (fig. 57) ; in the midst of them, if you cut the fiower open length- wise (fig. 58), you will find the trace or mark of the central column. The other flowers, on the contrary (fig. 59), show a kind of Swelling, of which the rather long neck (fig. 60) is terminated by three or five thick crests, and h;ive a round body containing the young seeds (fig. 59), situated in the midst of the envelopes of the flower. The sacks of powder are wanting, and we see only their traces about the column. If you question the gardener, he will teU you that the inflated. or swollen flowers will grow into fruit, and that the other flowers will wither and fall with- out producing anything. It will be easy for you to prove for yourself the truth of this information. You know the use of the inflated flower, but what is OK, nilST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 17 the use of those flowers which produce no melons ? A very simple experiment will teach you. FiR. 53 — Melon. Tbe Unin- flated Flower cut open vertically. Fig. 59. — Mblon. Inflated Flower. Fig. 60.— Mblok. Top of tlie Central Organ of the Inflated Flower. If, in a garden quite isolated, in which you iind a ' bed of melons, you are careful to cut every uuswol- len flower (figs. 56 and 58) before they open, taking care to spare the buds intended to produce fruit (fig. 59), these last will bloom very well, but will grow no more after flowering. The little eggs con- tained in their cavities will not grow and will never become seeds. It is evident that the sterility of the inflated flowers is to be attributed to the absence of the others. Now, what did these flowers contain that you have taken away ? Only the little sacks full of pow- der (fig. 57) ; it is probable, then, that this powder is 18 FLOWEE OBJECT LESSONS; necessary to the fruitfulness of the other flowers. If you wish to see this probability become certainty, go choose from a bed far removed from yours somo flowers similar to those you have cut off. Shake these flowers upon a sheet of paper, to get the powder contained in the little sacks ; then return to your first bed, where there remain only the swol- len flowers ; select some of them and deposit, with a little camel's-hair brush, Feme of the powder upon the moist and wavy crests which crown them. It is necessary to do this in bright sunshine, to put but a little powder on each flower, and to apply it with a brush, so that all the grains will be caught by the sticky surface of the crests; and care must be taken that the wind cannot blow them to the neighboring flowers. It will be important, besides, that you cover the bed with a fine gauze, that wiU prevent the passage of flying insects. All the flowers that you have powdered. wiU be developed and wiU become melons ; those you have not touched will be sterile. Thus it is proved that the powder in the sacks is indispensable to the fruit- fulness of the inflated flowers. This experiment, and many others no less con- vincing, which you wiU learn in their order, have shown, in a decisive manner, that plants are repro- duced from real eggs called seeds, and that the fine powder contained in the little sacks (of which pow- der you may, perhaps, have seen, in the gillyflower, some grains collected on the surface of the little OB, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 19 indentation terminating the central column), has for its use the impregnation of the seeds. These seeds, once impregnated, grow by means of the threads which hold them suspended. TL ^ draw through them the nourishment which they need, in order to ripen, and then, detaching themselves from the mother-plant, they become themselves plants like those from which they had their birth. You know the use of the central organ, the pow- der-wands, and the outside envelope ; it now re- mains for you to learn the use of the colored and odorous envelope placed inside this last. Is it for man exclusively that God has created, this part of the plant ? Is it only to gratify the sight, the smell, the touch, that he has lavished the brilliant colors, the varied forms, the penetrating odors, and the soft tissue that we admire in the iiowers ? While admitting this belief, founded upon the vanity of the human mind as much as upon re- ligious feeling, do you not suspect that the orna- mental part of the plant has been given it for its own use ? This is a question which we shall exam- ine with interest. Tou know that the powder con- tained in the sacks which terminate the Uttle wands is a necessary agent in the fertilization of the seeds, but how is this powder carried to the moist and spongy crest of the central organ ? In many plants the wands are higher than this organ, they nearly surround it, and the powder, in leaving the sack, is easily brought in contact with the top of the organ 20 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; which contains the seeds. In many others the wands are shorter than the central organ. This does not hinder fertihzation if, in that case, the flower is drooping, so that the top of the central or- gan is below the sacks which it exceeds in height, and easily catches their powder. But it often hap- l)ens that the flower remains upright and then the powder cannot reach of itself the top of the organ which it should fertilize. Sometimes the sacks of powder and the seed-bearing organs do not grow in the same flower, as you have seen in the melon. Sometimes, too, as in the palm tree, the date tree, and the pistachio tree, the flowers containing the sacks of powder are upon one tree and the flowers containing the seed-bearing organs upon another, and the two trees are often several leagues apart. This is the case also with the bottle-pink. How, in these different circumstances, can the powder be trans- ported ? Can it be that the wind takes it, and the scattered powder goes through the air as if it obeyed a sort of attraction to find the seed-bear- ing organ which needs it ? About the middle of the last century Bernard de Jussieu, teacher of botany in the royal garden, in examining the trees of which he had the care, saw that a pistachio tree, which till then, had flowered every year without producirig fruit, was now bearing; the fruit was already formed. The summit of the fruit-bearing organ had certainly been impregnated; but from whence came the pow- der? There was not in all the royal gardens a OE, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 21 single pistachio tree with flowers containing sacks of powder. " They searched the gardens in the neighborhood, but could find none. Fruit formed by seeds developed without the conjunction of the powder in the sacks ! It was a rude check to the theory of the impregnation of flowers, which was not as firmly established then as now. The great botanist, much distressed by the un- profitableness of his search, insisted that there must be somewhere in the neighborhood of Paris a pis- tachio tree having the powder-wands, and that the ' powder must have come in contact with the flowers on the tree in the royal gardens, but still he could not find it. Bernard de Jussieu then appUed to the govern- ment ; the police immediately put agents in the country with the exact description of the individual who had hidden himself so closely. These agents went through every garden, enlarging gradually the sphere of their search. Finally they discovered near Luxembourg, in a corner of a nursery in Char- treux, far removed from the. observatory, a little pistachio tree whose flowers had the powder-wands, and which had this year bloomed for the first time. The powder had then been obliged to pass over the faubourg St. Germain, the faubourg St. Jacques, and the f:iubourg St. Marcel, in order to reach the top of the seed-bearing organ of the pistachio stand- ing in the midst of the royal garden. Now it is very hard to believe that the wind could have trans- 22 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; ported SO far such a small quantity of the fertilizing powder without scattering it everywhere except upon the narrow surface of the flower which needed it. We must search, then, for some other agent of fertilization. You have often, without doubt, amused yourself by sucking at the bottom of the flower of the honey- suckle, the jasmine, the lilac, and the primros.-, to extract the sweet juice which is found there. This dainty feastof yours is a theft from the creatures who have no other food. These creatures are the butterflies, the flies and other insects, smaller than these, which you may often see filling up the depths of the flowers, where they find at the same time their shelter and their food. It is to this nec- tar that we owe the honey of the bees ; it is distilled by the organs which we shall study presently. The wallfloner, the melon, and most of the plants are provided with it, and it is this which attracts the sucking insects. Do you believe that the flower furnishes the insects their hving and their shelter gratis? See the bee. when it gathers its harvest. It drinks eagerly the nectar, but at the same time its body, bristling with hairs, fills itself with the powder of the sacks, into the midst of which it has ciept. Presently, it takes its flight, scattering some of the powder on the top of the flower. Then it goes to plunder other p'ants of the same kind, and while penetrating to the depths of their flowers, rubs itself against the top of the organ containing 01!, riHST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 23 the seeds. Now, listen carefully to tli:s : it is at the time when the little powder-sacks open that there appears on the top of the central column a sticky liquid. It is also at this time that the honey is distilled and that the insects appear ■vaIio feed upon it. Does not this coincidence impress you ? Are you not led to believe that these insects, com- ing with the flowers, are the grateful messengers who, in pay for their hospitable entertainment, dis- tribute, when they come to an inn, the life-giving- powder which they have gathered in the inn which they have just left? Of what use is the odorous and colored envelope of the flower ? This envelope opens when the sacks shed their powder, when the top of the central or- gan becomes moist, when the honey is distilled, and when the insects appear to drink it. No great sa- gacity is needed to conclude, from this union of cir- cumstances, that the colored envelopes, by their forms, their shades, and their odors, are designed to show the insects the reservoir from whence they can draw the sweet juice. The form of the vase containing the precious nectar, the invariable ap- pearance of all the flowers of the same species, make a brilliant sign that shows plainly to the insect travellers the scented inn where they may find their food. Insects are then the useful auxiliaries in the fertilization of flowers, either in carrying the powder from cue plant to another, or in assisting to scatter it among the parts of the same plant. It is on this 24 TLOWEK OBJECT LESSONS; account that it is necessary in the experiment of the melons, of which we spoke just now, to cover the plant with a fine gauze, which the insects could not pass through. Without this precaution, one Oif these insects might carry the powder to a flower which the experimenter wished to deprive of it, and thus render the experiment doubtful. It is a German, Conrad Sprengel, who has made known, by a great number of experiments, the part which the inner envelope and the sweet liquid plays in the history of the flower. It is he who has discovered this new link in the great chain which unites the vegetable and the animal kingdom. With a truly German patience, he has passed whole days in the country, stationed before one plant, waiting with his eyes constantly fixed upon a flower, whose powder-sacks are not yet opened ; finally, after a motionless and noiseless watch, that often lasts till evening, he sees the airy messenger arrive whose movements he wishes to observe. The insect, after some preliminary evolutions, creeps into the flower, and makes his repast. Then, when he has gone, Sprengel sees the grains of powder adhering to the top of the organ which contains the seeds. Then he goes, too, content with liis day's work. It is especially since the coming of the great Linnaeus that we find these fine minds to whom sixteen hours in the hot sun passes as one minute when they are observing the marvels of creation. It is not quite true to say that the inner envelope OB, FIBST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 25 of the flower is designed only to point out the plant to the insects. Nature knows so well how to unite economy with magnificence, that we might well sup- pose that one organ would serve for many uses. It is evident, for example, that the inner envelope is like the fii'st — an organ of protection which shel- ters the central parts of the flower. "We shall soon study their other functions ; thus far we have only spoken of the most important and the one most worthy of your consideration. AVe will now study in other flowers the organs which we have observed in the wallflower, namely : 1st. The exterior en- velope. 2d. The interior envelope, formed by the colored and odorous blades which everybody calls the leaves of the flower. 3d. The organs containing the fertilizing powder. 4th. The central organ containing the seeds. 5th. Lastly, the base of the flower, which expands more or less at its summit, to serve as a support for all the parts of which the flower is composed. § 3. Take, for instance, the Herb Robert. Choose a flower not yet open. You see, first, an exterior envelope, composed of five leaves ; these leaves are of a purple color, and their outer surface is bristling with white hairs. If you pull them off one by one, you will find a second envelope formed by five pretty red leaves, pointed at the base and rounded at the top like a roof-tile. It will be easy to take them off without tearing them. When you have thus exposed the parts which these leaves sheltered, 26 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; you will see these ten powder-wands (fig. Gl), five of which are shorter than the others. Their stems are shorter than the others, and they just meet at their base. The sacks are of a red-wine color, and instead of being placed at the top of the stems, as in the wallflower, they are attached to them by the middle of their backs. Opening the seams of these little sacks, you find in them the fertilizing powder, of a yellow color, whose grains are larger than those of the wallflower. Pull off, now, these ten little wands from the base on which they stand, and you will find the central organ, containing the seeds. It will be rather difficult to study it, as it is so young, but you can examine one more fully devel- oped by taking flowers that have been in bloom for some time. In these you will see that the five leaves of the flower, which have spread in the form of a star, are fallen, and in the midst of them is a little rose-colored sheaf, of five separate branches, of which the surface is soft and moist, in order to re- tain the powder. This sheaf belongs to the central column, about which are grouped the ten wands (fig. 62), of which many have already lost their sacks. Take away the ten stems, and you will find in each one the central column (fig. 63) terminated at the top by the five rose-colored branches, and swollen at the base. This base has five rounded protu- berances, very distinct from each other, and forming as many little cavities that you can open with the point of a knife. Tou will find in each one or OR, riEST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 27 two eggs, -whicli are the seeds of tlie plant. These fiye cavities correspond with the five little rose- colored branches from which they are separated by a very long neck, which is remark- able, especially after the faU of the interior en- velope, when the fruit begins to grow. It is the eXCes&lVtJ leugm ^^l^ The Flower '>"■'■■ Tke Flower j: i-l.' ... 1.. with two Envelopes with twoEnyelopea OI tniS neCJi removed. removed, and the (Enlarged); Powder Sacks. which has given (Enlarged). this plant the name of Crane's-bill. §4. We will now take the Barberry. If you gather one of the clusters hanging from the bush and ex- amine one of the little flowers which compose this cluster (fig. 64), you will see first an exterior envel- ope of six yellowish ~^^ X . : X leaves(fig. 65). Out- ^ , , , , , , side these we usu- Vy^ ' \\ V I /.•• 1 ally fijid a little ex- tra envelope com- posed of three scales. When you have ta- ken away these nine F[£. 64.— BabbssbT Big. 65.— BarBEBHY. a Leaf of , , , . i Fi.ow]tB. fte eiterior Envelope of the leaVCS ( WhlCU are (Enlarged). Flower. (Enlarged). ^ 1g.68.— Cb^ute's. BILL. Central Organ of the Flower. (Enlarged). 28 FLOWER OBJECT LESSOSS ; easily detached from the base) you find six more leaves of a brighter yellow (fig: 66) which can be removed without tearing. Notice at /"^TX the bottom of every one two little pro- // jecting orange-colored eggs, about | j which you will soon learn. When I i this last envelope of the flower has Y'] been taken oif, there will remain six N] wands resting, like the leaves, upon ^^JI/ the base, and grouped about the central j,||, gs-babiehky. organ. The body of this central organ, ^En'°eiope i? ttT at first in the form of a spindle, rounds (Enlarged). with age into an oval sphere. This body is crowned ■ with a large crest, designed to receive the fertilizing powder. There is no neck separating this crest from the body upon which it is placed. Until now you have studied no flower which lacks this part, for in the crane's-bill there were five remarkably long necks, in the wall-flower one, very short, but plainly visible, and that of the melon was yet more distinct. We will return to the wands (fig. 67). The sacks containing the pow- der are attached to the wands by the whole length of their sack. They shed their powder by the aid of a very curious contrivance. It is not by a- seam opening on each side of tlie bag that the powder escapes (as it does in the flowers which t?nnr.'~ri'- vou liavo hitlicrto observed). When the iler wand of fha ' (Si?J'd). time for fertilization has come each of the OE, riEST LrSSONS IK BOTANY. 29 two pockets of the -wallet open, first upon the out- side, as in the other plants, and then upon the seam which extends along the stem. These two clefts are joined at the bottom, and thus we see open at the side of the central organ a little trap-door, rounded at the bottom, and hanging by the top from the sack by a narrow hinge. This trap-door lets out the fertilizing powder and leaves the back of the pocket in place, supported by tl^e stem. You See that each sack is composed of two pockets with two trap-doors just alike. This phenomenon in the Barberry may be ob- served in fine weather and during the, warmest hours of the day. You can open it artificially by means of a needle by following the outline of the double seam at which it opens. But the powder-wands of the Barberry offer the observer a spectacle much more interesting than the opening of their sacks, in the manifest sensi- bility of the stems upon which these same sacks are borne. If, under a bright May sun, you take hold softly of a cluster of flowers without breaking them from the stem and with the point of a needle touch lightly the foot of the little powder-wand (taking care to choose one well opened out, and lying in one of the leaves of the interior envelope), you will see it rise suddenly, move quickly towards the cen- tral column, and remain leaning against that organ. If you give the bunch a sudden and violent shake. 30 FLOWEB OBJECT LESSONS; all the wands spring up instantly, and the leaves of the flower follow the movement. It is not necessary that they should be touched with a needle to excite this partial sensibility of the powder-wands, biit if an insect, searching for honey, brushes them with his wings, they straighten them- selves -.instantly, and, hitting against the central column, scatter the fertilizing powder upon its summit. § 5. In observing the flowers of the wall-flower, the melon, the crane's-bill and the barberry, you have seen that the powder-wands and the colored leaves of the inner envelope always spring together, that is, from the same starting-point. In an plants, without exception, the same arrange- ment of these two organs may be seen. This com- munity of origin established between these parts of such different form, yet of many similarities, will soon be a very interesting study for you. We will examine the Comfrey. You first find an exterior envelope formed of five narrow and pointed leaves, bristling with rough hairs. If you try to remove them one at a time, you will find that you cannot do it without tearing them, be- cause they are joined together by their lower half ; this increases their strength, and they remain even after the rest of the flower has fallen. Open this envelope, and you will find within it the leaves of the interior envelope ; there are five of them, but they are united in such a manner that one OK, FIKST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 31 can only know their niimber by their tops, which remain free, and show five little round points. Below these five rounded summits these leaves unite into a long tube, swollen in the middle, and resting wholly upon the base like the interior envel- opes of all the flowers we have examined thus far. At the opening of this tube you find five little fringed, triangular blades, placed opposite the five free extremities of the interior envelope ; they form scales drawn near each other and making a conical dome, which seems to be designed to shelter the or- gans contained in the interior of the tube. These scales are hollow, and open by a cleft that can be easily seen from the outside of the tube of the flower, and in it, as in a sheath, one can introduce the „ blade of a knife. Now open along the tube and you wiU find, first, the central or- gan, formed of four rounded protuberances, So^SfTFi,™ quite distinct, - in the centre of which rises a long slender neck (fig. 68), terminated by a little head which re- I. — C0UTBB7. Inner Envelope of the Flower, Epread open (Enlarged). 32 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; ceiyes the fertilizing powder. Each of these protu- berances is hollow and contains one seed, as you can see for yourself. The wands are attached to the tube of the envelope by their stems and are only free from it for a little distance. Take off this tube in which five leaves make one leaf, spread it open with the blade of your knife, and you see be- tween the five scales, and a little below them (fig. 69), the five wands whose sacks are in the form of an arrow, opening by two seams at the side. This union of the powder-wands with the interior envelope is always found when the leaves of the lat- ter are themselves joined together, and it shows more clearly than the preceding flowers the relation- ship of these two organs. § 6. Now we will look at the Pansy. It is easy to see at the first glance that this flower is unhke all the others we have analyzed. The preceding flowers have a regular form, that is to say, all the parts having the same use are exactly alike. Thus, the leaves of the exterior envelope are of the same size. The interior envelope, the powder-wands, the parts of the central organ, form regular groups, and when these organs differ in size the smaller or the larger parts are alike. In the crane's-bill, for ex- ample, five of the wands are shorter than the five others, but the five smaller ones are of the same size and so are the five large ones; In the wallflower there are two wands shorter than the four others. This seems to destroy the OB, rlK3T LESSONS IN BOTANY. 33 regularity; but the short ones are placed opposite each other, the four larger ones are brought together in pairs opposite one another, and the regularity is preserved. In the flower of the Pansy, on the contrary, this regularity is wanting in a remarkable degree. No- tice first the exterior envelope ; it is composed of five green leaves, quite distinct from each other, but joined in the middle, where they unite with the base of the fiower, about which they form a border. In other respects their appearance is regular, that is, they are alike, or nearly so. The leaves of the interior envelope are entirely irregular. In order to observe them carefully begin by cutting off, neatly, the leaves of the exterior envelope, leaving only the part which adheres to the base. You see then the leaves of the flower, which are separate. There are five which differ re- markably, even to their color. The two large leaves are the same color and the same size ; the next two leaves are also of the same color and of peculiar shape, and are equal in size. Lastly, the fifth, which is lowest and also the largest, with shades differing- from those of the others. Take off carefully, one by one, the four upper leaves, you will see that they spring from the base ; the lower leaf springs also from the same place, but you will see that it is prolonged and forms a kind of short and round horn (fig. 70). Pause heie and observe the powder organs. These are five little 34 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; Fig. 70- -Pansy- Flower cut opea lengtbwiEe. yellowish sacks each surmounted by an orange- colored scale ; this scale is dry and drops off easUy ; these sacks are slightly joined and lie against the central organ. If you ex- amine their stems closely you will see that they are very short, very fragile, and are blended together at the bot- tom in a single circle which serves them for a common support. The three highest are nearly alike. The two lowest, placed opposite the lower leaf, spring from the same base as their brothers, but they are both furnished with a very long tail, and these two tails r n up into the deep horn of the lower leaf. If you cut the horn lengthwise you will find them hidden there. The sacks open, as in most of the flowers, by the seams in the side, but they open rather towards the interior. The organ which occupies the centre of the flower (fig. 71) appears at first a little triangular (ov), and the angles become more prominent at maturity. This body is surmounted by a neck (sty), which widens and terminates in a little irregular enlargement (stig) Hke the entrance of a trumpet or a funnel. It is to the moist and sticky J.. ii.-PiNBv. Cental opening of this funnel that the fer- '^c'Enii'4oii)?""' tilizing powder adheres. If now you ral. OR, FIBST LESSONS IN BOTANTT. 35 open the body of this organ you find a great num- ber of young seeds attached to the sides of this cavity. § 7. Now take the Snapdragon. This flower pre- sents a still more striking irregularity than the pansy. You find first an exterior envelope of five unequal leaves, rounded and quite distinct from each other, except at their base, where they are joined together and adhere firmly to the base of the flower. Within this envelope is an organ of a beautiful color, either purplish rose color or white shaded with j'ellow. In form it resembles the closed mouth of an animal, and when you press lightly with the fingers against the sides it looks much like a gaping mouth, of which the two lips are plainly seen. The upper lip is straightened and divided into two large strips, the lower lip is parted into three strips curved from the base. Upon the lower lip rises a sort of a tongue, bristling with white and yellow hairs. These five strips correspond to the five leaves of the interior envelope, which are separ- ate only at the top, and are joined together for the rest of their length and form a kind of tube. No- tice that the tube is swollen at the base into a round knob, and, as. in the pansy, th« lower part runs back into a horn. The tube springs from the base as in all the flowers examined thus far (except the melon, to which we will return again). Tou can see now the powder-wands and the top of (lie central organ. There are four wands un- 36 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; equal in height, brought together in two pairs; the largest pair makes an arch above the central organ; the smaller pair is situated inside the larger, and join themselves by the sides of their head to the same central organ. Notice the powder-sacks : each is divided into two quite different parts ; it is a real wallet, whose pockets are joined by a narrow neck. Each wallet is set back to back upon its stem, and the two openings by which the powder is scattered are towards the centre of the flower. You can see that the two wands making a pair are lightly FlR, 7S. — SVAPDIUGOK. Inner Envelope of the Flower iprend open to show the Pow- der-waQdB< Fig. 73. — Snaprragon. Central Organ of the Flower, with the outer En- velope. joined together by their sacks, but it is easy to separate them. Open the tube (fig. 72) from bottom to top along the length of one of its sides, from the knob as far as the junction of the two lips. It is easily detached from the base, and spread open. You see then the wands which are free for nearly the whole of their length, being joined to the tube only by their lower OE, riEST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 37 extremity, which is swollen and hidden in the thick- ness of the tube. We come now to the central organ (fig. 73); it has a rounded base surmounted by a long neck, which is enlarged a little towards the summit, and is terminated by a soft and moist surface, almost forked, designed to catch the fertilizing powder. If you cut across the body of this organ, through the middle, you see two quite distinct cayities, sepa- rated from each other by a partition (fig. 74); upon each of the faces of this partition is fastened a kind of shield or buckler, whose rounded surface bears a multitude of little seeds, which are joined imme- diately to it, and draw through it their nourish- ment. This ar- jjixii, i^ vfell . grown, it rangemeat is not 7*^03^^ can very easily be seen plainly with- I ^ cS'h seen with the naked out a glass, in the \^-^'E eye. It is neces- young flowers; but j^^<<^ sary, in order to see upon those whose rig. 74.-s»iPDiiAoo». plainly the struc- Central Organ cut across seed-bearmg organ transversely (Enlarged), ture of a seed-bear- ing organ, to cut with a sharp knife a very thin slice, and hold it between the eye and the light. § 8. Take the Pea. In all the preceding flowers (the melon excepted) you have seen the powder- wands an.d the inner envelope springing from the base of the flower at the foot of the central organ. In the comfrey and the snapdragon, the powder- wands are joined to the inner envelope; but as this springs from the base, the same origin should be 38 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; attributed to the wands, although they are joined secondarily to it with this envelope In the Pea you will see these wands and the leaves of the flower springing a little outside the base which sup- ports the central organ. Choose a flower nearly ready to open, and you wiU. find the outside envelope (fig. 75o) to consist of five green leaves, pointed and irregular. The two upper leaves (when the flower is in a natural position) are large and spreading, the three smaller ones are narrow and closer together. Out the leaves off with a pair of small scissors, and you will then have left only a little green edge; ,you will see that it is from the top of this edge that the leaves of the inner envelope spring. These leaves are inserted one in the other, and, to understand fully their connection and their use, it is necessary to take them off in the order in which they grew. The most external (fig. 756t), which is at the top, is the largest. If you lift it up gradually and care- filly> you will see the crimping indented in the cor- responding little cavities which you will see in the leaves beneath. These crimpings are six in number. The two first are the largest, and slant to the out- side; the two next are much smaller, and slant to the inside; finally the two last are vertical, and. situated towards the base of the leaf. Besides, the Fig. 76,— Pea-flowee. OR, FIBST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 39 foot of the leaf is provided with two little tongues, which press against the sides of the lower leaves, and help to hold them in position. When you have raised the upper leaf, you find the two leaves (fig. 75ai) whose cavities form as many mortices to receive the projections that you noticed just now. These two leaves are only half the size of the first; they are placed on a level, and you can see that their cavities above become pro- jections beneath, which in their turn fit into the cavities of the lowest leaves. When you have taken them away, there remain only two leaves below, which look like a small slender boat (fig. 75car). These leaves are light- ly joined by their lower border, which resem- bles the keel. You can easily separate this keel by passing the back of your knife through it; but it is better, in order to see the organs lodged in the interior of the boat, to nip it lightly by the keel, and bring it down toward, the stem; this movement separates the parts of the boat without tearing, and leaves completely exposed the powder-wands and the central column, which they shelter. In detach- ing one at a time the five leaves of the exterior en- velope, you will see from whence they spring; not from beneath the central organ, as in the preceding flowers, but from the sides of this organ, upon the little edge, which bears also the exterior envelope. Tou see now that the powder-wands have the same origin. There are ten (fig. 76e8). Their stems are 40 FLOWEB OBJECT LESSONS, not entirely free, but for two-tliirds of their length are united by a fine membrane. Theie is but one — the highest — that is not held in the common group, as you can prove by raising it with a pin (fig. 76el). These ten wands are curved; five are shorter than the other five, and their sacks open by two seams which are towards the centre of the flower. We come now to the central organ; you see a flat green body, thinner at its two extremities, and borne upon a little stem, which is a con- tracted continuation of its base. It is surmounted by a curved, yellow neck I .' '?■^ (fig. 76st), forming an elbow A,^^ |J%i with it, and furnishing the /''^^^^^^JJ^K hairs near its summit, which /.— ^^^^^^^S^'^ retain the fertilizing powder. C I If you cut this body (fig. 77 car) along the seam of the Fig. 7C.~PicA Flower, deprived of Us , -, , ... ji , inkrior Envelope. lOWCr edgC, yOU Will SCO tliat it is composed of two blades, fitted to one another, and containing the seeds suspended by very short cords along the upper edge. It is for the preservation of these deli- cate seeds that these blades have been joined with such admirable precautions — precautions which may be continually seen by the least thoughtful and observing of the students of natural history The treasure hidden in this little boat has more to fear from dampness than anything; but the Maker of this boat has taken care to guard its sides with an OK, FIKST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 41 F^g, 77. — Pea. Flower opened ver- tically to allow the Central Organ. impervious lining, and, above this lining he has placed a solid deck, morticed together with six mortices, under which the cargo is perfectly pro- tected from injuries from the air. When the flower has bloomed, the deck rises, the two sides of the lining spread gradually, the boat grows, and the seeds seem only sheltered by the body of the cen- tral organ; but then the deck becomes a large sail, and favored by the flexibility of the slender and mobile stem, which carries the flower, it turns with the least wind, always presenting its back to the wind, and protects the ship as well as when it served it for a deck. In spite of all this care, the body of the organ will be compressed in its youth by the sheaf of powder-wands which form a brist- ling tube about it. This compression would hinder its growth, and end by stopping it; but just where the seeds are suspended the sheaf is spht the whole length, the tenth powder-wand becomes perfected, and is en- tirely detached, and the upper edge of the central organ (fig. 78), which bears the seeds and transmits to them their nourishment, becomes free, and can grow without hindrance. § 9. Take the Cherry Flower. Tou can choose 42 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; either the flowers of the»garden cherry, the wild cherry, the plum, or the apricot. The general cha- Fig. 78.— Pba. Ripe Centr&l Organ of the Flower, opened vertically. racter of all these flowers are really the same. The exterior envelope is composed of five rounded leaves, green or brown, formed like a cup, and springing from the base ; from the edge of the cup .spring five leaves, white or rose color, forming the interior envelope, and a score of wands curved in before the flowers open. The sacks of the powder- wands have two pockets, and they open by two seams at the side. In the midst of these wands (fig. 79b) rises the central organ. Its body (o) is lengthened and surmounted by a long neck, that expands into a little swelling at the top, destined to receive the powder. It is . this body which will be by and by a Flg.,9.-CtoB»T. Flow cut vertically, ^j^^^.^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^_ cot. We will return soou to the organization of these fruits. § 10. Take the flower of the Strawberry. The exterior envelope is like that of the cherry; there OR, FIEST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 43 are five leaves (fig. 80), thin and pointed, making a continuation of the border, which springs from the base, and is strengthened on the outside by five other leaves, which are much smaller. As in the cherry, the inner envelope and the powder-wands spring from this border. The central organ is com- posed of a multitude of little bodies with curved backs, which rest upon the base of the fiower. This base (fig. 81), instead of being narrow and flat, rises in the form of a growing, it sepa- pyramid. It is IvW^ rates the seeds of "dry and tough ^^"^^^t^ the central organ, when the flower ^''^P^^^:^ which at first form is young, but af- \T ^ upon it a close terwards as it || layer ; it creeps grows becomes ^ fib. eo.-smiWBEiticv between them. ^ Flower, witnoat the iiiner ' juicy and red. In Eo^iope. surrounds them, and ends by nearly burying them in its soft pulp. It is this pulp, fragrant and deHcious, which consti- Flg. 81.— STBA\rBKBiir Flower, opened vertically. Fig. 82.— Fmli of tie Straw- berry. tutes the fruit called the strawberry (fig. 82). will also return to this again. We 44 TLOWEB OBJECT LESSONS; § 11. Take the Rose. To study this flower con- veniently, let us begin with the organs in the centre. Notice first the point from which the leaves of the interior envelope spring : you will see that the powder-wands start from the same place. Pull off these leaves; they are completely free and distinct from each other; then, with a knife, cut the flower into two parts equal from the base, where they be- gin to enlarge to the top, where the outermost en- velope spreads iuto five parts (fig. 83). This done, you will see a considerable cavity rounded at the bottom, and open- ing at the top by a narrow neck, and containing the little bodies which are attached to its sides. These bodies lengthen out towards the top into as many necks (sty), which stretch up towards the mouth of the cavity, and unite into a sheaf which occupies the centre of the flower, and together constitute the central organ. You see that the nest where they are hidden is filled with a soft, short down, which lines the cavity, and even partly covers the bodies of which we spoke. If you ask me, what is this organ which makes this kind of a hollow cup, I shall advise you to wait for an answer to this question, which you will be better able to understand by and by. Fig. 83.— Boifl riower, opened vertically. OB, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANT. 45 § 12. You may take either the flower of the Pear, the Apple, or the Quince: you will find a structure like that of the rose. Take away first the five colored leaves of the interior envelope (fig. 84p); you see on taking them, that they spring from the same place as the powder-wands (e) : these wands are exactly like the wands of the strawberry, the rose, and the pear. The parts of the central organ are less numerous : there are but five, whose necks you can see stretching up in the midst of the powder-wands. Open the flower along its length — that is, from top to bottom. In separating it into two pieces (fig. 84), you will see that the five necks Fig. 84.— Peak Flower, opened vertically. Fig. 85.— Applb. Yoong Fruit, cut acroEB. (st) correspond to the five round bodies (o) placed on a level in the centre of the cavity whose origin is the same as that of the rose, which we will study by and by. The five bodies of the central organ (o) at first adhere but little to each other and to the exterior envelope, but presently the cavity in which they are placed grows to an enormous size ; it then presses them, attaches itself to them, and after some months forms the fruit known as the apple, the pear, or the quince. The five separate pieces of the outer 46 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; envelope do not grow with the part below them ; on the contrary, they fade and dry up gradually, and form at the top of the fruit the part called the eye. As to the five parts of the central organ, it is only necessary, if you wish to see them, to cat the young fruit across, through the middle (fig. 85): you will see five little compartments, each containing two seeds (there is often only one that thrives in each compartment). In the quince each compartment contains many seeds, disposed in rows. These com- partments are protected against the swelling of the pulp about them by firm and elastic scales, which serve as roofs or protectors. There are two scales for each part of the central organ. They are the inner lining of these parts, and are all that remain distinct after the ripening of the fruit, all the rest being joined with the pulp which surrounds them. § 13. Take the Iris. In the preceding plants that we have observed, you have seen that the two en- velopes of the flower are different from each other : ihe outer one is green, or a little colored; the inner one is colored brightly, and has more or less odor. In the flower of the Iris the two envelopes are alike, and one might easily believe, on seeing them shaded so beautifully, that there was no exterior envelope, but only one interior, composed of two rows of leaves; many botanists, even, do think so. If this is the cas8, it is more convenient for us to preserve these names, and we will continue to use them. The outside envelope is, then, composed of three leaves. OR, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 47 exterior- leaves. richly colored. These leaves are spread out, and then united in a very small tube, which is placed upon the triangular body of the seed-bearing organ. The three leaves of the second envelope are upright, and shorter than those of the first. As to the three powder- wands, they lie upon the Notice these magnificent powder- sacks : they open by two long seams, which are towards the out- side of the flower. We will now study the central organ. Begin by removing the three separate leaves of the outer envelope, then the three inner, then the three powder- wands; there will only remain in the centre three narrow leaves, no less brilliant than those you have taken — away (fig. 86). These ofihecSralOrgaa^of leaves are recurved Fig. Se.-I,.™. Ceatr.lOr- the Flower, cut acroBB. ' in : J „„ Ban of tie Flower upon the powder- wands, and hide them under their exterior face; they are slightly notched at the top. Notice be- low this little notch, on the outside, a little open- ing (st), like a cut across the tissue of each blade. It is by means of this open mouth that fer- tilization takes place ; it \s the opening of a little tunnel which passes through the middle of the 48 IXOWEB OBJECT LESSOKS; blade, and reaches as far as the cavity containing the seeds. You can prove this by carefully intro- ducing a .bristle into it. Now cut from top to bottom the tube of the exterior envelope, and you wUl see that the three colored leaves of this en- velope are united in one single one, which rests, as I have told you, upon the seed-bearing organ. Ex- amine this organ — cut it into little horizontal slices (fig. 87) : you will see these cavities containing the s. seeds. These seeds are P placed in a double row, at the inner angle of each § 14. Take the Orchis, or Whit-Sunday Flower. The flowers of this plant are irregular in all their parts and difficult to study ; Rg. 88,— Okctib Flower (Enlsrged). but if yOU foUoW cloSOly my directions, it will be only play for you. Take, then, a spike of Orchis, and choose a flower which is ready to open (fig. 88). Spread open first, and cut off a little narrow, colored leaf (b), with which each flower is furnished: you will find first an exterior envelope of three leaves (s, s, s), form- ing a semi-circle, and colored like those of the second envelope (as in the iris). The middle leaf is slightly recurved upon the central organ, and looks like a kind of hood. Take off these three leaves, and you will see the seed-bearing organ situ- OB, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 49 ated below them. Within these three leaves are three others, free for nearly their whole length; they form the interior envelope. Two of them are alike (p, p), and situated before the hood; the third is of a pe- culiar form — it spreads down like a large hanging Up (l), and lengthens below into a spur or hollow horn (e). In the middle of the flower rises a column, which bears both the powder-organs and the seed-bearing organ, an unusual arrangement, which you have not met before. At the top is the powder-organ. It is not in the form of a powder- wand; there are two httle compartments, each open- ing by one seam (a). If you introduce the point of a needle into one of these compartments, you will push out a small green mass, composed of angular grains, which are held together by a very small and very elastic thread; this mass itself is supported by a very slender stem, which is inserted, like that of the neighboring compartment, upon a little button, covered by an easily-detached cap. These green masses are the fertilizing powder. "When the time for fertilization has come, they leave their compartment and hang down, still held by the little stems which prevents their falling. They remain suspended, and come in contact with the large and glossy surface (st), which you see below the little button which holds their feet. This surface is nothing else than that part of the central organ destined to receive the fertilizing powder. Presently these grains, cling- ing to the moist and sticky surface, separate and 50 FLOWER OBJECT LESSONS; dissolve, and the fertilization is made sure. "We will study this curious phenomenon again. As to the long slender body of the seed-bearing organ, you see it (o) below the free envelopes of the flower; if you observe it in a mature flower, you will find it twisted so that the lip and the horn, which at first were at the top of the flower, are now at the bottom. § 15. The Oak. You meet upon the same tree (as upon the same vine in the melon) the flowers of two Fig. 90 — Oak Flower GOQtaming only the Fow- der-waiids. 89.— Both Flowers. Fig. 91.— Oak. Young Flower with the Seeds. different kinds, one kind containing the sacks of powder and the other the seed-bearing organ. You see first a soft cluster of a thumb's length, upon which are hung spirally the flowers which contain only the powder-wands (fig. 89); the number of these powder- wands vary from five to ten in each flower; they spring from the midst of a kind of envelope, composed of some dry and almost ragged leaves OE, FIEST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 51 (fig. 90). There is no interior envelope ; without this single envelope is a scale of the same color, but shorter and larger. The seed flowers are less numerous ; they are placed upon a stem which varies in length. Every one of these (fig. 91) Ie surrounded at the bottom by a little cup; this cup is formed of a number of short scales, crowded against each other. Cut the flower lengthwise in two pieces (fig. 92); within this additional envelope (inv) is Pig. 92. — Oak. Young Flower with Seeds cut vertically, and Dighly magnUied. Fig. 93 — Oak. Long Flower with Seeds cut across (Enlarged). Fig. 94 Oak. Ripe Fruit. situated another of six leaves, free only at their ex- tremities (cal), and crowning the body (ov) of the seed-bearing organ. This body bears upon its sum- mit three little brown crests (st), which are placed -immediately upon it. If you cut it across (fig. 93), you see it divided into three parts, each one con- taining two seeds. We wiU study by and by the changes which this organ undergoes in its develop- ment, in order to become the fruit that is called the acorn. § 16. The Wheat. You do not find in this, as in all the flowers observed up to this time, the sacks 52 HOWEB OBJECT LESSOKS; of powder and the seed-bearing organ contained in the envelopes of leaves grouped in a circle about it. In the wheat, it is true, these organs are protected; but it is not by an encircling envelope: it is by little scales, which, instead of being on a level, are placed one above another, so that the lower fits into the higher, placed opposite to it. If you break off a flower of wheat (fig. 95), you find, first, two leaves or scales {gl, gl), nearly equal, which seemed to be Fig. 96.— Wheat FloweiB* placed on a level; but on looking carefully, you will see that one is lower than the other, and that it wraps it more ag the flower is less opened. If you take away the two scales, there will remain a rather flat body, pointed at the summit, and bear- OE FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 53 ing upon the middle of its back a kind of stiff and slender beard (a), which soon falls off. Press with the fingers, and try to unfold with the back of your penknife the folded scales upon which you have seen the beard : you will see that this scale euYelopes another much smaller {pt), whose summit is not pointed, and upon whose back there is no beard, and which is placed upon the stem opposite, and a little above the large scale, in which it is com- pletely wrapped. When you have taken it away, you find the central organs of the flower (fig. 96). First, there are ^ ^ these is a little oyal three wands, on a r....^ p body, which is the very slender stems - ^^ IJE seed-bearing or- (f), whose sacks vB?!?'' S^^- I^ i^ crowned (a) are in the form ""\Tii | with two dehcate of a long X, and fj plumes (st), upon open by two seams. rioJSf de^i^™nt. which must be de- In the midst of ^'^'"^^^^'^"s"- posited the ferti- lizing powder. After removing the smaller of the two interior scales, you may see (fig. 95) a little slender stem, upon which is a scarcely perceptible enlargement (/s) ; it is an undeveloped flower, of which I will tell you more by and by. § 17. The Arum. This flower has no encircling envelopes, either inner or outer,^ nor any scales to protect the powder and seed-bearii:g organs. These organs are not, however, entirely naked, as you wiU see. Notice a large yellow-green leaf, rolled into a horn. This horn is inflated at the bottom. 54 FLOWEB OBJECT LESSONS; Tou -will see, also, a kind of plume, of a red--wiiie color, which rises gracefully in the niche formed by the leaf around it. If you open this leaf near the bottom (fig. 99), you will see a very complicated apparatus. Quite at the bottom are the seed- bearing organs ; they are set directly upon the stem, and form about it many rows, every one of them tapering to a bearded neck. Above them are the pow- der-wands. Their sacks have no stems, but are placed directly up- on the main stem, like the seed- bearing organs, and are arranged in series much more numerous. Above them you see two or three pointed bodies, with their points rolled back: these are the un- developed sacks ; finally, above all, is the plume, which we have noticed before. "We will return again to this' singular flower. I will only men- tion now that at ascertain time, in its flowering, the plume acquires considerable heat, perceptible to the hand, and shown still more plainly by ihe thermometer. This heat begins between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, its Fig. 99.— Arum Flower, opened at the bottom. OK, FIRST LESSONS IN BOTANY. 55 highest degree is reached between six and eight in the evening, and it ceases towards ten. The plume grows black during this phenomenon, which you can easily observe for yourself. .,.'tsa!rfitf£feiiiSe**®ff!'tf&x°!»28tasS-rfi*i-i5a=r#^^^