a fringe of 8-16 awned teeth; root perennial. This tall and handsome plant often overtops the ripening corn in June and July, or is levelled with it by the reaper a month later. The flowers are so much like those of the Scabious, that the plant was long retained in that genus, and called Scabiosa arvensis. It grows, too, very commonly in meadows in all parts of the kingdom, and we might say with the American poet, Lowell, as we look at some gathered or stray blossom"Then think I of deep shadows in the grass,

Of meadows where in sun the cattle graze;

Where as the breezes pass,

The gleaming rushes bend a thousand ways:-
Of leaves that slumber in a cloudy mass,
Or whiten in the wind :--of waters blue,
That from the distance sparkle through
Some woodland gap:-and of a sky above,

Where one light cloud, like a stray lamb, doth move."

The flowers of the Knautia are large and convex, the outer florets being larger than the inner ones, and cut into unequal segments. It forms a beautiful addition to the wild nosegay gathered at this season, and it is amusing to see how, under the influence of tobacco smoke, the petals gradually assume a rich light green colour, and seem at first uninjured by the process, though they wither soon after. Several bluish lilac flowers are affected in a similar way by the influence of this smoke; a purple violet, if placed in a scent-bottle, containing smelling salts, soon assumes a most singular and beautiful green tint.

ORDER XLVI. COMPOSITÆ

COMPOUND FLOWERS.

Calyx tube adhering strictly to the ovary, the limb mostly becoming a pappus, that is either a chaffy margin of the fruit, or a tuft, or ring of bristles, hairs, or silky feathers; corolla regular or irregular, tubular or strap-shaped; stamens 5, united by their anthers; ovary inferior, 1 to each style, 1-celled; style simple, with a simple or 2-cleft stigma, sheathed by the tube of the anthers; fruit a solitary erect seed, crowned by the pappus, which usually consists of a plume of simple or serrated feathery hairs, sometimes elevated on a stalk, but which is in other cases merely a chaffy margin. The flowers of this Order are called Compound, because they consist of a number of florets, inclosed within a calyx-like involucre, composed of a number of bracts. These florets are inserted upon a broad receptacle, which is either furnished with chaffy scales or naked. This Order is divided into three Sub-Orders.

SUB-ORDER I. CICHORACEA. THE CHICORY TRIBE.

In this the florets are all strap-shaped and perfect; that is, each contains 5 stamens and a pistil, which is not swollen beneath its fork. The plants mostly abound in milky juice. Some are slightly astringent, others bitter, but they are chiefly remarkable for their narcotic properties. They are generally innocuous plants, and their bitterness being lessened by culture, they form in some cases wholesome vegetables. The prevailing colour of the British species of this division is yellow, as in the Dandelion, Goat's-beard, and Hawkweeds; but the Alpine Sow-thistle and the Salsafy have purple, and the Chicory bright blue flowers.

SUB-ORDER II.

CYNAROCEPHALE. THE THISTLE TRIBE. In this division the florets form a convex head, and are all tubular and perfect, except in Centauréa, in which the outer florets are larger than the inner, and are destitute of stamens and pistils. The style is swollen below its branches.

The flowers are usually purple, often varying to white; but the Carline thistle is yellow, and the Corn-flower bright blue. Their properties are bitter and tonic.

:

This Sub-Order is composed of two Groups. In the first the florets are all tubular, 5-cleft, having stamens and pistils, and forming a flat head, the style not swollen below the stigma. These form the group Tubiflora. In the second division, termed Radiata, the central florets are tubular, 5-cleft, having stamens and pistils; the outer florets are strap-shaped, forming a ray, and furnished with pistils only the style not swollen below the stigma. Senecio vulgaris, the common groundsel, has no rays. The flowers of the first division of this Sub-Order are mostly yellow; but some, like the Hemp-agrimony and Butter-bur, have flesh-coloured flowers. A powerfully bitter principle resides in many of the plants, as in the Wormwood. In the Radiata, the prevailing colour of the disk is yellow, and of the ray white or yellow. Of the former, the Daisy is an example; the latter may be seen in the Golden Rod and Corn-marigold. In one instance, the Yarrow, both disk and ray are white; and in some, as the Michaelmas Daisy, the petals of the ray are purple. Several tonic and bitter plants, like the Chamomile, are found in this group. The Order of Compound flowers is said by Professor Lindley to amount to 1,005, and of species to 9,000; the Compositæ comprehend about one-tenth of all known plants; their proportions varying in different parts of the world. In temperate regions they are mostly herbaceous plants, but near the equator they are shrubs or trees.

extensive. very

The number of genera is

SUB-ORDER I. CICHORACEÆ.-CHICORY TRIBE.

All the florets strap-shaped, having stamens and pistils.

1. TRAGOPÓGON (Goat's-beard).-Involucre simple, of 8-10 long scales united at the base; receptacle dotted; fruit rough, with longitudinal ridges tapering into a beak; pappus feathery. Name in Greek signifying a goat's beard, from the bearded fruit.

2. HELMINTHIA (Ox-tongue).-Involucre of about 8 equal scales, surrounded by 3-5 leaf-like bracts; receptacle dotted; fruit rough, with transverse wrinkles, rounded at the end and beaked; pappus feathery. Name from the Greek, helminthos, a small worm, from the form of the fruit.

3. PÍCRIS.-Involucre of many compact and upright equal scales, with several small narrow ones spreading at the base; fruit rough, with transverse ridges, not beaked; pappus of two rows, the inner one only feathery. Name from the Greek, picros, bitter.

4. APÁRGIA (Hawk-bit).—Involucre with the scales imbricated* unequally, the outer scales smaller, black and hairy, in several rows; receptacle slightly dotted; fruit tapering to a point; pappus of one row, feathery. Origin of name uncertain.

5. THRÍNCIA (Thrincia).—Involucre of one row, with a few scales at the base; receptacle slightly dotted; fruit of the outer florets forming a short scaly cup, of the rest long and feathery. Name from the Greek, thrincos, a battlement, from the turret-like form of the seed-crown of the marginal florets.

6. HYPOCHÉRIS (Cat's-ear).-Involucre oblong, imbricated; receptacle chaffy; fruit rough, often beaked; pappus feathery, having often a row of short bristles outside. Name in Greek denoting its fitness for hogs.

7. LACTÚCA (Lettuce).—Involucre oblong, its scales membranous at the Imbricated, laid one over the other, like tiles on a house.

*

margin, and imbricated, containing but few flowers; receptacle naked; fruit flattened, beaked; pappus hairy. Name from lac, milk, from its milky juice.

8. MULGÉDIUM. (Blue Sow-thistle).—Involucre double, many-flowered, inner of one row of equal scales, outer of short lax ones overlapping each other; receptacle naked; pappus brittle. Named from mulgeo, to milk, from its milky juice.

9. SÓNCHUS (Sow-thistle).—Involucre with 2 or 3 rows of unequal imbricated scales, swollen at the base, and few-flowered; receptacle naked; fruit flattened, transversely wrinkled, not beaked; pappus hairy. Name in Greek, alluding to its hollow stems.

10. CREPIS (Hawk's-beard).—Involucre double, inner of one row, outer of short loose scales; receptacle naked; fruit not flattened, furrowed, tapering upwards; pappus soft and feathery, usually white, abundant. Name in Greek signifying a sandal, but the cause of this name is unknown.

11. BORKHAUSIA.—Involucre oval, with awl-shaped scales which soon fall off; receptacle naked; fruit rounded, transversely wrinkled, and having a long beak. Name in honour of Moritz Borkhausen, a German botanist.

12. LEÓNTODON (Dandelion).—Involucre imbricated with numerous scales, the outer ones loose, and often turned downwards; receptacle dotted; fruit slightly flattened, rough, with a long and slender beak. Name from the Greek, leon, a lion, and odous, a tooth, from the tooth-like edges of the leaves.

13. HIERÁCIUM (Hawk-weed).-Involucre imbricated with numerous oblong scales; receptacle dotted; fruit angular, furrowed with an entire or toothed margin at the top, without a beak. Name from the Greek, hierax, a hawk, because it was supposed that birds of prey used the plant to strengthen their powers of vision.

14. LAPSANA (Nipple-wort).—Involucre a single row of erect scales, with 4 -5 small ones at the base, few-flowered; receptacle naked; fruit flattened, furrowed; pappus none. Name of Greek origin.

15. CICHÓRIUM (Succory).-Involucre in two rows, inner of 8 scales, which bend back after flowering, outer of 5 smaller loose scales; receptacle naked, or slightly hairy; fruit thick above, tapering downwards; pappus a double row of chaffy scales. Name from the Arabic, chikoùryeh.

SUB-ORDER II.

CYNAROCEPHALE. THISTLE TRIBE.
Florets all tubular.

16. ÁRCTIUM (Burdock).-Involucre globose, scales ending in hooked points; receptacle chaffy; fruit oblong, 4-sided; pappus short. Name from the Greek, arctos, a bear, from the roughness of the involucres.

17. SERRÁTULA (Saw-wort).—Stamens and pistils on different plants; involucre imbricated, scales not prickly; receptacle chaffy or bristly; fruit flattened, not beaked; pappus hairy. Name from the Latin, serrula, a little saw, the leaves being finely serrated.

18. SAUSSUREA.—Involucre imbricated, scales not prickly; anthers bristly at the base; receptacle chaffy; pappus double, outer bristly, inner longer, feathery. Named in honour of the two Saussures, eminent botanists.

19. CARDUUS (Thistle).—Involucre swollen below, imbricated with spinous scales; receptacle bristly; pappus hairy, united by a ring at the base, and soon falling off. The Latin name of the plant.

20. CNíCUS (Plume-thistle).-Involucre swollen below, imbricated with spinous scales; pappus equal and feathery. Name from the Greek, cnizo, to prick or wound.