Pl. 7.
USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.
VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS.
INTRODUCTION.
1. Vegetables or Plants are natural bodies endowed with organization and life, but destitute of voluntary motion and sense; and Botany is that branch of natural science which treats of their structure and functions, the systematical arrangement and denomination of their several kinds, and their peculiar properties and uses.
2. The principal parts of plants are the root; the herb or plant itself; and the fructification, or flower and fruit.
3. As it is the sole object of this introduction to describe, in a concise manner, the Linnæan arrangement of plants, for the purpose of explaining the classification adopted in the present volume, the parts of fructification only will be mentioned. These are the calyx, corolla, stamens, pistil, seed-vessel, seeds, and receptacle.