BSG TWENTY-FLRBST EVENING.

G. I think I have seen a great many olf this sort.

7. Perhaps you may; but there are many other
kinds of plants extremely like it. It is one of a large
family called the wmbelliferous, which contains both
food, physic, and poison. It will be worth while tor
you to know something about them, so let us examine
this hemlock closely. You see this tall, hollow stalk,
which divides into several branches, from each of whica
spring spokes, or rundles, as they are.called, of fower-
stalks. You see they are like rays from a circle, or
the spokes of a wheel.

H. Or like the sticks ofan umbrella.

T. True; and they are called wmbels, which nas the
same derivation. If you pursue one of these rundles,
or umbels, you will find that each stick, or spoke,
terininates in another set of smaller stalks, each of
which bears a single small flower.

G. They are small ones, indeed.

T. But, if you look sharply, I dare say your eyes
are good enough to distinguish that they are divided
into five leaves, and furnished with five chives and two
pistils in the middle.

ff, I can see them.

G. And so can I.

T. The pistils are succeeded by a sort of fruit,
wnich is a twin seed, joined in the middle, as you may
see in this rundle that is past flowermg. Here I
divide one of them into two.

G. Would each of these grow ?

T. Yes. Well, this is the structure of the flowermg
part of the umbelliferous tribe. Now for the leaf.
Pluck one. |

HT, Is this one leaf, or many ? :

T. It is properly one, but it is cut and divided into
many portions. From this mid-rib spring smaller
leaves, set opposite each other; and from the rib of
each of these, proceed others, which themselves are also
divided. These are called doubly or trebly pinnated
leaves; and most of the umbelliferous plants, but not
all, have leaves of this kind, :